Title 14. Clay County, Local Provisions, Alabama Constitution

Chapter 1

“ Chapter 1. Miscellaneous Provisions RESERVED ”

Chapter 2

“ Chapter 2. Courts Article 1. Court Costs §14-2.00. Compensation of Certain Officials. (Amendment 359) The legislature may, from time to time, by general or local laws applicable to or operative in Clay county, fix, regulate, and alter the costs and charges of courts and fees, commissions, allowances, and salaries, including the method and basis of their compensation, to be charged or received by the county officers of Clay county; and may place any or all of such officers on a salary and provide for the fees, commissions, allowances, and percentages collectible by such officers to be paid into the treasury from which their salaries are paid. This amendment shall not have been adopted unless a majority of the qualified electors of Clay county who participate in the election held on the adoption of this amendment vote in favor thereof. (Amendment 359) Article 2. Courthouses §14-2.20. Location of Courthouse. (Amendment 945) (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares: (1) The Clay County Courthouse is a neoclassical revival structure that was designed by C.W. Carlton and completed and dedicated in 1906. The building is surmounted by an impressive two-story high rotunda with a domed roof and cupola that is topped with a sculpture holding the scales of justice. (2) The courthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 21, 1976, and was restored in 2006 with donations and grants from federal, state, and local governments. (3) The courthouse houses the Justice Hugo L. Black Courtroom, designated by the Clay County Commission on April 12, 1993. (b) Upon the ratification of this amendment, the state courts located in Clay County may not be moved from the present location at the historical Clay County Courthouse, provided the structure is standing and habitable. (Amendment 945) ”

Chapter 3

“ Chapter 3. County Government, Finance, and Operations RESERVED ”

Chapter 4

“ Chapter 4. Economic and Industrial Development Article 1. Economic development §14-4.00. Clay County and Municipalities Therein. (Amendment 682) The Legislature, by general, local, or special law, may provide for the creation, incorporation, organization, operation, administration, authority, and financing of a public corporation empowered or intended to assist or aid in any way Clay County or any municipality therein in promoting industry, trade, and economic development of Clay County and each municipality situated in the county, and the Legislature may grant the corporation all powers, rights, privileges, exemptions, and authority as the Legislature considers necessary or desirable for the furtherance and accomplishment of the purposes of the public corporation. (Amendment 682) ”

Chapter 5

“ Chapter 5. Education RESERVED ”

Chapter 6

“ Chapter 6. Health and Environment RESERVED ”

Chapter 7

“ Chapter 7. Gaming RESERVED ”

Chapter 8

“ Chapter 8. Officials and Employees Article 1. Retirement §14-8.00. Phase-out of Supernumerary Program; Participation in RSA. (Amendment 940) No elected or appointed Clay County official may assume a supernumerary office after the effective date of this amendment. Any person who, on the effective date of this amendment, is entitled to participate in a supernumerary program may continue to participate in that supernumerary program, which shall include the assumption of a supernumerary office according to the terms and conditions of the law which established that supernumerary program. Every elected or appointed Clay County official may participate in the Employees' Retirement System of Alabama upon the same terms and conditions as may be specified by law for any other employee in the same retirement system, and shall be treated as an employee of the county. Clay County officials holding office at the time of the ratification of this amendment shall be eligible to purchase service credit in the Employees' Retirement System for the time the official has served in the current office. No person may participate in both a supernumerary program and the Employees' Retirement System based on the same service. For the purposes of this amendment, the words "elected or appointed Clay County official" shall include, subject only to express limitation, any person elected to represent Clay County in any representative body of the state and includes any person appointed to serve the remaining term of an elected or appointed Clay County official. The words do not include a judge, district attorney, constable, school board member, or any official elected from a judicial circuit. (Amendment 940) ”

Chapter 9

“ Chapter 9. Public Safety RESERVED ”

Chapter 10

“ Chapter 10. Taxation Article 1. Miscellaneous Provisions RESERVED Article 2. Schools §14-10.20. Special Tax for Educational Purposes. (Amendment 169) Section 1. If authorized at an election held for such purpose, the governing body of Clay county may levy and collect a special county tax at a rate not exceeding one-half of one percent on the value of the taxable property within the county as assessed for state taxation, the proceeds of which shall be used exclusively for public school purposes. Section 2. An election shall be ordered by the county governing body to determine whether or not a special tax shall be levied for public school purposes as authorized herein upon the request of the county board of education, and the election shall be held and conducted in accordance with general laws providing for school tax elections pursuant to Sections 269.01 through 269.03. (Amendment 169) ”

Chapter 11

“ Chapter 11. Zoning, Planning, and Utilities Article 1. Fire Protection §14-11.00. Fire Protection Purposes. (Amendment 585) The Legislature declares that the fire departments and rescue squads which receive funds pursuant to this amendment are organizations which are public in nature as they promote and protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the county. In addition to all other taxes now or hereafter provided by law, there shall be levied and collected in Clay County a special property tax of two mills on each one dollar's worth of taxable property as assessed for the state ad valorem taxation during the preceding year. The proceeds of the additional taxes levied by this amendment shall be used exclusively for fire protection and safety services. The Revenue Commissioner of Clay County shall assess the tax herein provided for and shall collect the tax in the same manner and method that other ad valorem taxes are collected. The proceeds of the tax shall be paid by the commissioner directly to the Clay County Volunteer Fire Department Association. The proceeds shall be divided by the association among the eligible volunteer fire departments and rescue squads so that the proceeds of the tax collected within the corporate limits of the Cities of Ashland and Lineville shall be allocated proportionately to the volunteer fire departments of those cities and any rescue squads serving those cities, and the proceeds from collections in the unincorporated areas of the county shall be allocated equally among the volunteer fire departments and the rescue squads which serve the unincorporated areas of the county. The rescue squads shall also receive the same percentage of the proceeds distributed proportionately to Ashland and Lineville which the rescue squads receive from the county portion of the proceeds. An eligible fire department, for purposes of this amendment, means a fire department in Clay County which is a member in good standing with the Clay County Volunteer Fire Department Association according to guidelines established by the Alabama Volunteer Fire Department Association. An eligible rescue squad for purposes of this amendment, means a rescue squad in Clay County which is in good standing according to guidelines established by the Alabama Association of Rescue Squads. Funds paid to eligible fire departments and rescue squads shall only be expended for fire protection and safety services including training, supplies, and equipment. The funds may also be expended to purchase liability insurance to insure coverage of acts or omissions which are directly related to the functions of a fire department or rescue squad which are committed by the department or squad or the personnel of a fire department or rescue squad. The funds may not be expended for food, drink, social activities, salaries, or fund-raising activities. After receiving funds, the fire departments and rescue squads shall keep accurate records to verify that the funds were properly expended. By September 15 of each year, the association shall file a financial statement with the Clay County Commission detailing the expenditure of all funds received from this amendment during the previous 12 months. The filing shall also account for all unspent funds and whether the unspent funds have been obligated. No new fire departments or rescue squads shall be funded within Clay County without prior approval of the Clay County Volunteer Fire Department Association. Upon dissolution or abandonment of any eligible fire department or rescue squad, any remaining funds derived from this amendment or any assets purchased with funds derived from this amendment shall, after all indebtedness has been satisfied, be transferred to the Clay County Volunteer Fire Department Association. The funds and assets shall be reallocated by the association equally to the other fire departments and rescue squads. In the event the association is dissolved, the additional property tax levied under this amendment shall self-destruct and no longer be levied and collected. The personnel of fire departments and rescue squads provided for in this amendment shall not be considered employees, servants, or agents of the county and the members of the county commission and the employees of the county shall not be liable in either their official capacity or in a private capacity for the actions of the personnel of fire departments or rescue squads. This amendment shall apply to collections of ad valorem taxes for the 1995-96 tax year and thereafter. The initial provisions of this amendment may hereafter be amended by local legislation which may become effective without referendum approval. (Amendment 585) ”

See also

• State constitution
• Constitutional article
• Constitutional amendment
• Constitutional revision
• Constitutional convention
• Amendments
  • Initiated constitutional amendment
  • Legislatively-referred constitutional amendment
  • Publication requirements for proposed state constitutional amendments
  • Rules about constitutional conventions in state constitutions
  • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures

External links

Suggest a link

• Text of the Constitution
• An Overview of Alabama's Six Constitutions
• Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform

Additional reading

• Connor, George E. Connor, and Christopher W. Hammons (2008). The Constitutionalism of American States. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press.
• McMillan, Malcolm Cook (1955). Constitutional Development in Alabama, 1798-1901: A Study in Politics, the Negro, and Sectionalism. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press.