Title 40. Lawrence County, Local Provisions, Alabama Constitution

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Local Provisions

Chapter 1

“ Chapter 1. Miscellaneous Provisions RESERVED ”

Chapter 2

“ Chapter 2. Courts Article 1. Court Costs §40-2.00. Compensation of Certain Officials. (Amendment 321) The legislature may, from time to time, by general or local laws applicable to or operative in Lawrence county, fix, regulate, and alter the costs and charges of court and the fees, commissions, allowances, and salaries, including the method and basis of their compensation, to be charged or received by the judge of probate, tax assessor, tax collector, and the clerk and register of the circuit court of Lawrence 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. (Amendment 321) ”

Chapter 3

“ Chapter 3. County Government, Finance, and Operations Article 1. Bonds §40-3.00. Courthouse. (Amendment 30) Lawrence county may become indebted and may issue bonds therefor in an amount not exceeding $130,000 in addition to that now authorized, for the construction of and equipping of a courthouse in said county. To pay said indebtedness, and interest thereon, Lawrence county may levy and collect an annual tax on all property situated therein at a rate not in excess of 3 mills. The indebtedness, the bonds and the tax authorized hereby shall be in addition to those authorized prior to the adoption of this amendment. But no such additional indebtedness shall be incurred, no such bonds shall be issued and no such tax shall be levied until the estimated cost of the construction and equipping of said courthouse hereby proposed to be built, its time of completion, and the amount of the increased indebtedness, the rate of interest to be paid thereon, and the period over which the bonds to be issued will be refunded, shall have been determined upon and made public by the county governing body of said county; and the proposed increase in indebtedness and the issuance of bonds and the increase in rate of taxation first shall have been authorized by a majority of the qualified electors of said county voting upon such proposal at an election to be called by said county governing body for said purposes to be held not less than sixty (60) nor more than (120) one hundred twenty days after the adoption of this amendment. (Amendment 30) ”

Chapter 4

“ Chapter 4. Economic and Industrial Development Article 1. Economic Development §40-4.00. Lawrence County and Municipalities Therein. (Amendment 190) Any provision of the Constitution or laws of the state of Alabama to the contrary notwithstanding, Lawrence county and any municipality located therein shall have full and continuing power and authority to do any one or more of the following provided that such action is first approved by a majority of the qualified electors of the county or the municipality who vote at an election held for such purpose. 1. To purchase, construct, lease, or otherwise acquire real property, plants, buildings, factories, works, facilities, machinery and equipment of any kind. 2. To lease, sell for cash or on credit, exchange or give and convey any such property described in subdivision 1 above, to any person, firm, association or corporation. 3. To promote local industrial, commercial, or agricultural development and the location of new industries or businesses therein. 4. To become a stockholder in any corporation, association or company. 5. To lend its credit or to grant public moneys and things of value in aid of, or to, any individual, firm, association, or corporation whatsoever. 6. To become indebted and to issue and sell interest-bearing bonds, warrants (which may be payable from funds to be realized in future years), notes or other obligations or evidences of indebtedness, to a principal amount not exceeding fifty percent of the assessed value of taxable property therein as determined for state taxation, in order to secure funds for the purchase, construction, lease or acquisition of any of the property described in subdivision 1 above or to be used in furtherance of any of the other powers or authorities granted in this amendment. Such obligations or evidences of indebtedness may (in addition to any pledge or pledges authorized by subdivision 8 of this amendment) be issued upon the full faith and credit of the county or municipality or may be limited as to the source of their payment. 7. To levy and collect, in addition to all other taxes now authorized or permitted, a special county or municipal privilege license tax or taxes of not exceeding one percent paralleling the state sales and use taxes imposed by chapter 20 of Title 51, Code of Alabama 1940 as amended. 8. To pledge to the payment of any bonds, warrants, notes or other obligations or evidences of indebtedness the annual proceeds from any such special tax or taxes and to obligate itself irrevocably to continue to levy and collect such taxes annually until such obligations or evidences of indebtedness are paid in full and to pledge thereto any rental or sales proceeds of property leased or sold by it. 9. To create a public authority or corporation having such powers, managed and governed by such board or governing body and subject to such limitations as the governing body of Lawrence county or any municipality may impose, by approving and filing a certificate to that effect in the office of the judge of probate or the secretary of state, or their respective successors in function, and to delegate to such public authority or corporation and its board or governing body and all powers and authority conferred in this amendment upon the county and municipalities. The recital in any bonds, warrants, notes or other obligations or evidences of indebtedness that they were issued pursuant to this amendment or that they were issued to provide funds to be used in furtherance of any power or authority herein authorized or that any special tax herein authorized has been pledged to the payment thereof shall be conclusive; no purchaser or holder thereof need inquire further; and the levy and collection of such tax shall continue until the principal of and interest on such obligations or evidences of indebtedness shall have been paid in full. The bonds, warrants, notes, or other obligations or evidences of indebtedness issued hereunder shall not be considered an indebtedness of Lawrence county for the purpose of determining the borrowing capacity of such county under section 224 of the Constitution. This amendment shall be self-executing; but the legislature shall have the power by general, special or local act to adopt laws supplemental to this amendment or in furtherance of the purposes and objectives hereinabove set forth. (Amendment 190) §40-4.01. Promotion of Economic and Industrial Development in Certain Counties. (Amendment 429) For the promotion of local economic and industrial development, the governing body of Bullock, Coffee, Coosa, Dallas, Etowah, Geneva, Houston, Jefferson, Lawrence, Macon, Marengo, Mobile, Morgan, Talladega, Madison, Shelby, and Tuscaloosa counties and of each municipality situated in said counties, other provisions of law or this Constitution notwithstanding, shall each have, independently or in cooperation with one or more of such governmental entities in such counties, full and continuing power (a) to purchase, lease or otherwise acquire, land, or to utilize land heretofore purchased or otherwise acquired, and to improve and develop such land for use as industrial site, or industrial park, projects, including, but not limited to, grading and the construction of roads, drainage, sewers, sewage and waste disposal systems, parking areas and utilities to serve said projects, and (b) to lease, sell, grant, exchange, or otherwise convey, on terms approved by the governing body of the county, or of municipality exercising such power, all, or any part of, any such project to any person, firm or corporation, public or private, including to any industrial development board or authority heretofore or hereafter created by any such county or municipality therein, for the purpose of the constructing, or developing thereon, by such purchaser or lessees, and the equipping and operating of, industrial, transportation, distribution, warehouse or research facilities, and of office and other facilities auxiliary to the foregoing. Nothing herein shall authorize the counties named, or any municipality there, to construct residential or any other buildings for the purpose of lease or sale. In carrying out the purposes of this amendment, neither the governing bodies of the counties named hereinabove, nor of any municipality situated in said counties to which this amendment is or becomes applicable, shall be subject to the provisions of sections 93 or 94 of the Constitution of Alabama, as amended. The provisions of this amendment shall be self-executing and the powers granted hereby may be exercised as alternative to, or cumulative with, and in no way restrictive of, powers otherwise granted by law to the governing body of such counties, or of any municipality therein, or to any agency, board, or authority created or approved thereby pursuant to this Constitution or the laws of this state. The names and addresses of all parties involved in conveyances of land herein provided, and the amount of any monies paid or received, shall be published in the newspaper in the county with the largest circulation. This amendment shall not be construed to grant any power of eminent domain in addition to that which may be provided otherwise by statute heretofore or hereafter enacted by the legislature of Alabama; nor shall this amendment be construed to affect the annexation statutes heretofore or hereafter enacted by said legislature. Furthermore, no county or municipality shall sell any real property acquired under the authority hereof for a price less than its actual purchase and development cost of such property, unless: (a) The price be approved at a public meeting of the governing body of such county or municipality; and (b) At least fourteen (14) days prior to such public meeting at which such price is approved by such governing body, it has published notice in the newspaper with the largest circulation in the county in which the property is located stating (1) the acreage proposed to be sold, (2) the section or sections or subdivisions of record in which the property is located, (3) the price per acre at which sale is proposed to be made, and (4) the place where a map of the property can be examined by the public; and (c) The price thus approved is no less than the price advertised as aforesaid; provided, however, that should any real property be acquired for any purpose authorized by this amendment by eminent domain pursuant to other legislative authority as aforesaid, such property shall not be sold, in any event, for less than the price determined and paid pursuant to the orders of the court in such condemnation proceedings. Provided further, that no municipality shall acquire real property in unincorporated areas without a prior consent thereto as expressed in a resolution by the county governing body. Provided further, that no county or municipality shall acquire real property which is located in another county or municipality without such other county's or municipality's prior consent thereto as expressed in a resolution by its governing body. Nothing in the provisions of this constitutional amendment shall be construed to allow construction of dormitories or other type housing on or off university or college campuses. (Amendment 429) [Note: Amendment 759 is identical to Amendment 429. except for the addition of Baldwin County. For the text of Amendment 759, see §2-4.01.] Article 2. Industrial Development §40-4.20. Industrial Development Board. (Amendment 545) The Legislature may provide by local law, from time to time, for the consolidation of the power and authority granted to Lawrence County pursuant to Section 40-4.00, or to any public authority or corporation created by Lawrence County pursuant to Section 40-4.00 into the Industrial Development Board of Lawrence County George C. Wallace Airpark Authority, which shall have all of the power and authority and assume all of the obligations of Lawrence County pursuant to Section 40-4.00, or any public authority or corporation created by Lawrence County pursuant to Section 40-4.00. The Legislature may in addition provide by local law for the organization and membership of the board of directors of the public authority or corporation. Any taxes currently levied pursuant to Section 40-4.00 shall remain in full force and effect. Any action currently required to be approved by a vote of electors shall be approved by a vote of the electors of the county. (Amendment 545) ”

Chapter 5

“ Chapter 5. Education Article 1. Special School Districts §40-5.00. Established; Courtland. (Amendment 79) The board of education of Lawrence county may designate and establish a special school district within the school district in which the municipality of Courtland is located, and it may become indebted and issue bonds in an amount not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for the construction and equipment of a school building within said district. To pay said indebtedness, and the interest thereon, Lawrence county may levy and collect an annual tax on all property situated within said district, at a rate not in excess of five mills; provided, whenever enough has been collected to retire the bonds and pay the interest thereon the tax will cease and any surplus remaining will revert to the Courtland school district. The indebtedness, the bonds, and the tax herein authorized shall be in addition to those heretofore authorized; but no such additional indebtedness shall be incurred, no such bonds shall be issued, and no such tax shall be levied, until the estimated cost of constructing and equipping said school building hereby proposed to be built, its time of completion, and the amount of the increased indebtedness, the rate of interest to be paid thereon, and the period over which the bonds to be issued will be refunded, shall have been determined upon and made public by the board of education of said county, and the proposed increase in indebtedness and the issuance of bonds and the increase in the rate of taxation shall have been authorized by a majority of the qualified electors of said special school district voting upon such proposal at an election to be called by the county governing body for said purposes, said election to be held not less than sixty (60) nor more than one hundred twenty (120) days after the adoption of this amendment. The election provided for herein shall be called, held, and conducted as three-mill school tax elections are held pursuant to article 7, chapter 10, Title 52 of the Code of Alabama (1940). (Amendment 79) §40-5.01. Authorized to be Established. (Amendment 99) The board of education of Lawrence county may designate one or more school districts within said county (except that no part of the territory embraced within the special school district established under the provisions of Section 40-5.00 shall be included in any such special school district) and may sell the issue bonds in an amount not exceeding one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) for each such special school district for the construction, improving, adding to, or equipping of a school building, or buildings, within said district. To pay the principal of and interest on said bonds and any redemption premium thereon, Lawrence county may levy and collect an annual tax on all taxable property situated within the special school district with respect to which such bonds may be issued, at a rate not in excess of five mills on each dollar's worth of said property as assessed for state taxation for the preceding tax year; provided, that whenever said tax has produced an amount sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on said bonds the tax shall not be thereafter levied and any surplus remaining therefrom shall be used for general school purposes in said school district. The bonds and tax herein authorized shall be in addition to those heretofore authorized, and no such bonds shall be issued, no such tax shall be levied, until the estimated cost of constructing, improving, adding to, or equipping the school building or buildings to be built in such district, its estimated time of completion, the maximum principal amount of the bonds proposed to be issued, the maximum rate of interest to be paid thereon, and the period over which the bonds to be issued will be retired, shall have been determined and made public by the board of education of said county, and the proposed issuance of bonds and increase in the rate of taxation shall have been authorized by a majority of the qualified electors of such special school district voting upon such proposal at an election to be called by the county governing body for said purpose, said election to be held not less than sixty days after the adoption of this amendment, but at anytime thereafter at the discretion of the said county governing body. The election provided herein shall be called, held, conducted and canvassed, and may be contested, as in the case of three mill school tax elections held pursuant to article 7, chapter 10, Title 52 of the Code of Alabama of 1940. Any bonds issued pursuant to this amendment shall be payable solely out of the proceeds of said tax which may be pledged therefor, but said bonds shall constitute negotiable instruments although payable from a limited source, and said bonds shall be eligible for the investment of trust funds. This amendment shall be self-executing. (Amendment 99) ”

Chapter 6

“ Chapter 6. Health and Environment Article 1. Solid Waste §40-6.00. Prohibition Against Use of Certain Biosolids. (Amendment 830) In Lawrence County, biosolids derived from treated human sewage sludge may not be applied on land as a fertilizer or soil amendment. (Amendment 830) §40-6.01. Use of Funds from Operation of Landfills. (Amendment 832) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the Lawrence County Commission may use a portion of any funds or revenues from the operation and use of any landfill in the county, including, but not limited to, funds in or credited to its reserve account on the effective date of this amendment, for general county purposes, provided the county commission makes a determination that the funds are not needed for the operation and implementation of its solid waste disposal program. (Amendment 832) ”

Chapter 7

“ Chapter 7. Gaming RESERVED ”

Chapter 8

“ Chapter 8. Officials and Employees Article 1. Retirement §40-8.00. Phase-out of Supernumerary Program; Participation in RSA. (Amendments 691 and 731) No elected or appointed Lawrence County official, including the sheriff, 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 Lawrence County official, including the sheriff, 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. Lawrence County officials holding office at the time of the ratification of this amendment, or any amendment thereto, 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 Lawrence County official" include, subject only to express limitation, any person elected to represent Lawrence County in any representative body of the state, including the sheriff, and includes any person appointed to serve the remaining term of an elected or appointed Lawrence County official. The words do not include a judge, legislator, district attorney, constable, school board member, or any official elected from a judicial circuit. (Amendments 691 and 731) ”

Chapter 9

“ Chapter 9. Public Safety RESERVED ”

Chapter 10

“ Chapter 10. Taxation Article 1. Miscellaneous Provisions §40-10.00. Occupational Tax Prohibited. (Amendment 844) No privilege or license tax on the gross receipts of any natural person derived from the conduct of a vocation, occupation, calling, or profession may be levied in Lawrence County. Nothing in this amendment is intended to repeal or affect the current authority granted by local act to Lawrence County to impose business licenses or the current authority granted to municipalities to impose municipal business licenses, including those imposed pursuant to Sections 11-51-90, 11-51-91, 11-51-92, and 11-51-93, Code of Alabama 1975. (Amendment 844) Article 2. Schools §40-10.20. Elections in Certain Districts. (Amendment 20) Town Creek school district No. 59, Landersville school district No. 23, and Moulton school district No. 28, in Lawrence county, Alabama, shall each have the right and power by vote of a majority of the qualified electors of such district at an election held for that purpose to levy and collect for the purpose of acquiring, constructing or repairing of school buildings in such districts or paying for school buildings already built, a tax of not over five mills in any one year, in addition to all other taxes now authorized by law. The election in such district to determine whether or not such tax shall be levied shall be called, held and conducted as now provided by law for calling, holding and conducting of elections to determine whether or not a three-mill district school tax shall be levied and collected. (Amendment 20) §40-10.21. Additional Elections in Certain Districts. (Amendment 32) Enon school district, Hendon school district, Oakville school district, Cave Springs school district, Center school district, Piney Grove school district, Shiloh school district and Speake school district in Lawrence county, Alabama, shall each have the right and power by vote of a majority of the qualified electors of such district at an election held for that purpose to levy and collect for the purpose of, acquiring, constructing or repairing of school buildings in such districts or paying for school buildings already built, a tax of not over three mills in any one year, in addition to all other taxes now authorized by law. The election in such district to determine whether or not such tax shall be levied shall be called, held and, conducted as now provided by law for calling, holding and conducting of election to determine whether or not a three mill district school tax shall be levied and collected. (Amendment 32) §40-10.22. Elections in All Districts. (Amendment 294) Each school district of Lawrence county shall, subject to authorization at an election in such district as hereinafter provided, have power to levy and collect a special district tax, at a rate not exceeding five mills on each dollar (being equivalent to 50 cents on each $100) of the assessed valuation of the taxable property in such district for public school purposes therein, which special tax shall be in addition to all taxes now authorized or that may hereafter be authorized by the Constitution of Alabama to be levied in such district; provided, that no tax shall be levied under this amendment unless the rate of such tax, the time it is to continue, and the purpose thereof shall have been first submitted to the vote of the qualified electors of the district in which the tax is proposed to be levied and shall have been authorized by a majority of the qualified electors voting at the election at which the submission is made. Each election held under this amendment shall be called and held, the ballots canvassed, the results declared, and the tax levied and collected in the same manner as is now or may hereafter be provided by law in the case of school district taxes authorized by Sections 269.01 through 269.03, except that no countywide tax shall be required to be levied as a condition precedent to either the authorization or levy of a district tax under this amendment. The holding of one election shall not preclude a later election in the same district under the authority of this amendment. The proceeds of any special district tax authorized by this amendment shall be expended solely for public school purposes in the district in which the tax shall be levied. The county board of education of Lawrence county may from time to time, without the necessity of any election, change the boundaries of any school district at any time existing in the county, or consolidate any two or more school districts therein, if the taxes authorized to be levied for public school purposes in all of the territory in such district after such change of boundaries or consolidation is effected shall be at the same aggregate rate and for the same duration of time; provided, that nothing contained herein shall be construed to impair or permit the impairment of the obligation of any contract created with respect to any securities theretofore issued with respect to any such school district. The provisions of the preceding sentence shall not be deemed to abridge any existing power conferred on the said county board of education by any existing law, but shall be in addition thereto. (Amendment 294) Article 3. Health §40-10.40. Special Property Tax for General Health Purposes in Several Counties. (Amendment 311) In addition to all taxes now, or hereafter authorized by the Constitution and laws of Alabama, the counties of Lawrence, Limestone and Morgan, in this state, each, shall have the power to levy and collect a special tax up to 3 mills on each dollar's worth of taxable property in the county, the proceeds of which shall be used exclusively for general health purposes; provided that such tax and the purpose or purposes thereof, and the times such taxes are proposed to be continued, shall have first been submitted to the vote of the qualified electors of each of such counties, and voted for by the majority of those voting at such elections in all three such counties. The special tax provided herein may be renewed from time to time, in the manner provided herein, for such periods of time as are necessary. If any proposal to levy the taxes is defeated in any election, subsequent elections thereon may be held at any time. The elections provided for herein shall be called, held, conducted, and governed otherwise in the manner provided for an election on the school district tax authorized in Sections 269.01 through 269.03 and by article 7, chapter 10, Title 52 of the Code of Alabama 1940; but the governing bodies of the counties of Lawrence, Limestone and Morgan shall each provide for paying the expense of the election in its county. The county tax collector of each of such counties shall collect the tax in the same manner and under the same requirements and laws as the taxes of the state are collected, and he shall keep the proceeds of this tax separate and apart from all other funds, and shall keep clear accounts thereof. The tax collector shall distribute the proceeds of this special tax in the manner prescribed by the governing body of the county and the revenue derived from the tax levied hereunder shall be used for general health purposes in the county where levied or in cooperation with the other two counties named above. (Amendment 311) ”

Chapter 11

“ Chapter 11. Zoning, Planning, and Utilities Article 1. Police Jurisdiction §40-11.00. Imposition of Certain Municipal Ordinances or Regulations. (Amendment 875) A municipality located entirely outside of Lawrence County is prohibited from imposing any municipal ordinance or regulation, including, but not limited to, any tax, zoning, planning, or sanitation regulations, and any inspection service in its police jurisdiction located in Lawrence County. A municipality prohibited from imposing any tax or regulation under this amendment shall not provide any regulatory function or police or fire protection services in its police jurisdiction located in Lawrence County, other than public safety mutual aid. (Amendment 875) ”

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.