Title 8. Calhoun County, Local Provisions, Alabama Constitution

Alabama Constitution
Preamble
Articles
I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI •XII •XIII •XIV • XV • XVI • XVII • XVIII
Local Provisions

Chapter 1

“ Chapter 1. Miscellaneous Provisions RESERVED ”

Chapter 2

“ Chapter 2. Courts Article 1. Court Costs §8-2.00. General Authority. (Amendment 412) The county governing body may from time to time, by resolution fix, alter and regulate the costs and charges of courts in Calhoun county, and the method of disbursement thereof, upon notice to affected citizens not less than 60 days from the effective date. Provided, however, a majority of the qualified electors of the county shall first give approval therefor in an election called by the county governing body to determine this issue; provided further, however, that if a majority of the qualified electors of Calhoun county who participate in the election held on the adoption of this amendment vote in favor thereof, no further election need be held. (Amendment 412) §8-2.01. General Authority; Additional Provisions. (Amendment 746) The Legislature, from time to time, may fix, regulate, and alter the costs and charges of court in Calhoun County and may authorize the Calhoun County Commission to fix, regulate, and alter the costs and charges of court, including booking fees, in Calhoun County. The Legislature may provide or may allow the Calhoun County Commission to provide for the distribution of any additional revenue. Any local act authorized in this amendment which has been previously enacted prior to the ratification of this amendment shall be ratified, approved, and confirmed. (Amendment 746) ”

Chapter 3

“ Chapter 3. County Government, Finance, and Operations Article 1. Elections. §8-3.00. Processing of Absentee Ballots. (Amendment 876) Upon the expiration of the current term of office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Calhoun County, the Calhoun County Commission shall manage the processing of absentee election ballots. The county commission may process the ballots with staff of the county commission at no cost or may process the ballots by the hiring of temporary employees or by contracting with a nonprofit agency. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this amendment shall change the manner, rate, or amount Calhoun County or the Calhoun County Commission is reimbursed for an election. (Amendment 876) ”

Chapter 4

“ Chapter 4. Economic and Industrial Development Article 1. Economic Development §8-4.00. Calhoun County and Municipalities Therein. (Amendment 563) (a) The Legislature may, by general, local, or special law, 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 Calhoun County or any municipality there in promoting industry, trade, and economic development of Calhoun 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. The passage and enactment of Act No. 82-222 of the 1982 Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature, and all terms and provisions of Act No. 82-222, are approved, ratified, and confirmed in all respects, any provision of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, to the contrary notwithstanding, and Act No. 82-222 shall be effective from and as of the date of its passage and approval by the Governor during the 1982 Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature. Any act enacted during the 1993 Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature, or during any subsequent regular or special session of the Alabama Legislature, in amendment of or supplementary to Act No. 82-222 shall be effective as of the date of its passage by the Legislature and approval by the Governor, or upon its otherwise becoming a law. The creation, incorporation, organization, operation, administration, authority, and financing of the Calhoun County Economic Development Council is approved, ratified, and confirmed from and as of the date of passage and approval by the Governor of Act No. 82-222 during the 1982 Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature. All actions taken, and all obligations, whether secured or unsecured and whether general or limited as to the source of payment, incurred or assumed, in the name and on behalf of the Calhoun County Economic Development Council by any directors, officers, employees, representatives, or agents thereof in furtherance of the powers and purposes of the council as set forth in Act No. 82-222, as the same may be at any time amended or supplemented, prior to the date this amendment is proclaimed ratified, are approved, ratified, and confirmed as fully effective for all purposes from and as of the respective dates of which the actions were taken and the obligations were incurred or assumed. (b) This amendment shall not become effective unless approved at a referendum by a majority of the qualified electors of Calhoun County voting on the proposition. The referendum shall be held at the same time as the election for the ratification of this act, as provided for in Section 2 of this act, and no further election shall be required. (Amendment 563) Article 2. Industrial Development. §8-4.20. Industrial Sites and Industrial Park Projects. (Amendment 415) For the promotion of local economic and industrial development, Calhoun county and each municipality situated in said county, shall, other provisions of law or this Constitution notwithstanding, have, independently or in cooperation with one or more of such governmental entities, 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 sites 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, (b) to lease, sell, grant, exchange or otherwise convey, on terms approved by the governing body of such county or municipality, all or any part of any such project to any person, firm or corporation, public or private, including any industrial development board, other public corporation, or authority heretofore or hereafter created by the county or any municipality therein, for the purpose of constructing or developing thereon, by such purchaser or leasee, and equipping and operating, industrial, transportation, distribution, warehouse or research facilities, and offices and other facilities auxiliary to the foregoing, and (c) to grant public funds to such industrial development boards, public corporations or authorities. Nothing herein shall authorize the county, or any municipality therein, to construct buildings for the purpose of lease or sale. In carrying out the purposes of this amendment, neither Calhoun county nor any municipality in said county shall be subject to the provisions of Sections 93 or 94 of the Constitution of Alabama, as amended, and the legislature shall have the power, by special or local law, to create, or provide for the creation of, any public corporation, authority, board, agency, or other entity empowered or intended to assist or aid in any way Calhoun county or any municipality therein in carrying out the purposes of this amendment and such special or local law 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 such county, or to any municipality therein, or to any agency, board, or authority created pursuant to the laws of this state. No action may be taken under this amendment by the said county or any of the municipalities therein until after the question of whether the county and the said municipalities shall have the authority to take such action shall have been submitted to the qualified electors of the county at an election called for that purpose by the governing body of the county and a majority of the said qualified voters voting at the said election shall have voted in favor of the county and the said municipalities having the authority to take such action; provided, that if a majority of the qualified electors of the county participating in the election on the adoption of this amendment shall vote for the adoption thereof, then the approval of this amendment expressed by said vote in favor of its adoption shall of itself authorize the taking of any and all action provided for in the first sentence of this amendment and no additional election by the electors of the county shall ever be required to authorize the taking of any such action. If the majority of the qualified electors of the county participating in the election on the adoption of this amendment shall not vote in favor of the adoption of this amendment, or if the majority of the qualified electors of the county voting in any election called by the governing body under the provisions of this amendment should not vote in favor of the county and the municipalities having the authority to take such action at an election so called, the governing body of the county may from time to time call other elections hereunder on the question of whether the county and the municipalities therein shall be authorized to take such action, but not more than one such election shall be held during any period of twelve consecutive months. Any such election called by the governing body of the county shall be called, held, conducted and canvassed and may be contested in the manner and within the time provided by the then existing general laws of Alabama pertaining to elections on the issuance of bonds by counties. Any such election shall be conclusive on the question of whether the county and the municipalities therein shall have the authority to take such action and it will not thereafter be necessary for an election to be held in connection with each exercise by either the county or the municipalities of the power and authority granted them by the provisions of the first sentence of this amendment. (Amendment 415) ”

Chapter 5

“ Chapter 5. Education RESERVED ”

Chapter 6

“ Chapter 6. Health and Environment RESERVED ”

Chapter 7

“ Chapter 7. Gaming Article 1. Bingo §8-7.00. Operation of Bingo by Nonprofits. (Amendments 508, 931, and 960) The operation of bingo games for prizes or money by certain nonprofit organizations for charitable, educational, or other lawful purposes shall be legal in Calhoun county, subject to the provisions of any resolution or ordinance by the county governing body or the governing bodies of the respective cities and towns, within their respective jurisdictions as provided by law regulating such operation. The said governing bodies shall have the authority to promulgate rules and regulations for the issuance of permits or licenses and for operation of bingo games, within their respective jurisdictions; provided, however, that said governing bodies must ensure compliance pursuant to said law and the following provisions: (a) No person under the age of 19 shall be permitted to play any game or games of bingo, unless accompanied by a parent or guardian; nor shall any person under the age of 19 be permitted to conduct or assist in the conduct of any game of bingo; (b) No bingo permit or license shall be issued to any nonprofit organization, unless such organization shall have been in existence for at least 12 months immediately prior to the issuance of the permit or license; (c) Bingo games shall be operated only on the premises owned or leased by the nonprofit organization operating the bingo game. If the premises is leased, the rate or rental shall not be based on a percentage of receipts or profits resulting from the operation of bingo games; (d) No nonprofit organization shall enter into any contract with any individual, firm, association or corporation to have said individual or entity operate bingo games or concessions on behalf of the nonprofit organization, nor shall said nonprofit organization pay consulting fees to any individual or entity for any services performed in relation to the operation or conduct of a bingo game; (e) A nonprofit organization shall not lend its name or allow its identity to be used by any other person or entity in the operating or advertising of a bingo game in which said nonprofit organization is not directly and solely operating said bingo game; (f) Prizes given by any qualified nonprofit organization for the playing of bingo games shall not exceed the cash amount or gifts of equivalent value, set by the legislature, during any bingo session. The legislature shall set a maximum amount for any calendar week; (g) No person or organization, by whatever name or composition thereof, shall take any expenses for the operation of a bingo game except as permitted by law. (h) No bingo permittee or licensee may operate any bingo game in the unincorporated areas of the county within 1,000 yards of a residence or in a residential area. The provisions of this constitutional amendment shall be self-executing, but the legislature shall have the right and power by general, special or local act to adopt laws supplemental to this amendment or in furtherance of the general purposes and objectives herein set forth. (Amendments 508, 931, and 960) ”

Chapter 8

“ Chapter 8. Officials and Employees Article 1. Compensation §8-8.00. Certain Public Officials in Calhoun and Tuscaloosa Counties. (Amendment 33) The legislature of Alabama may hereafter, from time to time, by general or local laws, fix, regulate and alter the fees, commissions, allowances and salaries, including the method or basis of their compensation, to be charged or received by the tax assessors, tax collectors, probate judges, circuit clerks, sheriffs, and registers of the chancery courts, and including the right to place any one or all of said officers on a salary and provide for the fees charged and collected by said officers to be paid into the treasury from which their salaries are paid, and provide the method and basis of their compensation, or consolidate any of said offices in the following named counties: Calhoun and Tuscaloosa. All acts of the regular session of the legislature 1935 heretofore passed and applicable, or purporting to be applicable, to any or all of said counties, and fixing, or purporting to fix the compensation of said named county officers, on a salary basis, are hereby validated and confirmed. (Amendment 33) Article 2. Retirement §8-8.20. Phase-out of Supernumerary Program; Participation in RSA. (Amendment 629) (a) For the purposes of this amendment, the words "elected or appointed county official" shall mean any person holding an office that entitles the person to participate in a supernumerary program or any person appointed to serve the remaining term of an elected or appointed county official. (b) A mayor, sheriff, or elected or appointed Calhoun County official may not 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 mayor, sheriff, or elected or appointed Calhoun 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. Calhoun 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; provided, however, the official shall forego the assumption of a supernumerary office and must make the election within one year of the effective date of this amendment. (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b), the county commission may negotiate terms of any contract with a sheriff, mayor, or elected or appointed official who under this amendment will be eligible to participate in the Employees' Retirement System. (Amendment 629) ”

Chapter 9

“ Chapter 9. Public Safety RESERVED ”

Chapter 10

“ Chapter 10. Taxation Article 1. Miscellaneous Provisions §8-10.00. Sale of Lands for Delinquent Taxes. (Amendment 562) (a) Notwithstanding Sections 104 and 105 to the contrary, the Legislature of the state of Alabama may enact local legislation applicable to Calhoun County to change the method prescribed by law for giving notice to delinquent Calhoun County taxpayers of their failure to pay taxes assessed against any property which is assessed to them and to change the notice required to be given them prior to the sale for taxes of the property and to change the method for issuing decrees for the sale of land and the trials held to determine whether the sales should be ordered and to change the method of giving notice to delinquent property owners to show cause why a decree of sale should not be rendered against them and to change the method regarding the sale of the property and the report of the amount of taxes collected from the sale. (b) This amendment shall not become effective unless approved at a referendum by a majority of the qualified electors of Calhoun County voting on the proposition. The referendum shall be held at the same time as the election for the ratification of this amendment, as provided for in Section 2 of this act, and no further election shall be required. (Amendment 562) §8-10.01. Business Tax Exemption for Residential Real Estate Rental. (Amendment 854) In Calhoun County, no municipal business license tax shall be levied on the rental of residential real estate based on a per unit tax rate. (Amendment 854) Article 2. Schools §8-10.20. Special School Tax; Debt Service on Bonds. (Amendment 68) In addition to any taxes now authorized, or that may be hereafter authorized, by the Constitution and laws of Alabama, there is hereby levied a special school tax of fifty cents on each one hundred dollars worth of taxable property in the cities of Jacksonville, Piedmont and Anniston and in the several school districts of Calhoun county to be used solely for public school purposes; provided such tax and the time it is to continue shall have been first submitted to the vote of the qualified electors of the school district in which such tax is to be collected and voted for by a majority of those voting at such election; otherwise said tax shall not be collected. A special separate election is hereby called on the first Tuesday after sixty days following the date this Constitutional provision becomes effective, in the cities of Jacksonville, Piedmont and Anniston and in the several school districts of Calhoun county, at which election the qualified voters in the cities of Jacksonville, Piedmont and Anniston and in the several school districts of Calhoun county may vote as to whether said special school tax herein levied shall be effective for a period of thirty years, and if the majority of those voting at said election vote in favor of said special school tax herein referred to, such school tax shall immediately be levied and collected annually thereafter on the first day of October by the tax collector of Calhoun county, and, if pledged, paid to the cities of Jacksonville, Piedmont and Anniston; otherwise by him immediately paid to the board of education of the cities of Jacksonville, Piedmont and Anniston, for a period of thirty years from the date of said election in the cities of Jacksonville, Piedmont and Anniston, and in the several school districts of Calhoun county and a special separate election is likewise hereby called in each other school district in Calhoun county on the first Tuesday after sixty days following the date this Constitutional provision becomes effective and the qualified electors of each such other school district in Calhoun county shall vote as to whether said special school tax herein levied shall be effective in their respective districts for a period of thirty years, and where a majority of those voting at said election in any such school district vote in favor of said special school tax such special school tax shall be immediately levied and collected annually thereafter on the first day of October by the tax collector of Calhoun county and if pledged, paid to county of Calhoun; otherwise by him immediately paid to the board of education of Calhoun county, for a period of thirty years in any such school district where the majority of such electors voting at said election vote therefor. This section shall be self-executing. The funds arising from the special school tax to be levied hereunder and to be collected therefrom shall be expended for public school purposes for the exclusive benefit of the school district in which collected with all such tax collected in the city of Jacksonville to be expended in the city of Jacksonville and with all such tax collected in the city of Piedmont to be expended in the city of Piedmont and all such tax collected within the Anniston school district to be expended in the Anniston school district. After said tax has been voted, and without further authorization or authority, as and when requested by the boards of education of the cities of Jacksonville, Piedmont and Anniston, the cities of Jacksonville, Piedmont and Anniston shall issue and sell interest bearing bonds with principal and interest to be paid from the funds to be derived from the special school tax hereby levied in the cities of Jacksonville, Piedmont and Anniston and in the school districts in which the cities of Jacksonville, Piedmont and Anniston are located, for the sole purpose of construction and improvement of school buildings and the acquiring of sites therefor; provided, said net proceeds of said bonds shall immediately be paid to the boards of education of the cities of Jacksonville, Piedmont and Anniston and said bonds shall not be issued for a longer period than thirty years, and said funds to be derived from said special school tax may be pledged by the cities of Jacksonville, Piedmont and Anniston for the payment of said bonds and the interest thereon, and provided that said bonds shall not be a general obligation of the cities of Jacksonville, Piedmont and Anniston or of Calhoun county and shall not be charged to the constitutional debt limit of the cities of Jacksonville, Piedmont and Anniston or of Calhoun county. After said tax has been voted, and without further authorization or authority, as and when requested by the board of education of Calhoun county, Calhoun county shall issue and sell interest bearing bonds with principal and interest to be paid from the funds to be derived from the special school tax hereby levied in each school district in Calhoun county, other than in the cities of Jacksonville, Piedmont and Anniston and the school districts in which the cities of Jacksonville, Piedmont and Anniston are located, for the sole purpose of the construction and improvement of public school buildings and the acquiring of sites therefor; provided, the net proceeds of said bonds shall immediately be paid to the board of education of Calhoun county and that said bonds shall not be issued for longer than thirty years and said funds arising from said school tax may be pledged by Calhoun county for the payment of said bonds and interest thereon and provided that said bonds shall not be a general obligation of Calhoun county and shall not be charged to the constitutional debt limit of Calhoun county. Except as herein otherwise provided the elections hereinabove provided for shall be called, held, and conducted as provided by law for calling, holding and conducting of district school tax elections. The governing bodies of the cities of Jacksonville, Piedmont and Anniston shall appoint and designate the officers, managers, clerks and returning officers and shall call, canvass, tabulate, and declare the result of the elections provided for in the cities of Jacksonville, Piedmont and Anniston and in the school districts in which the cities of Jacksonville, Piedmont and Anniston are located. The governing body of Calhoun county shall appoint and designate the election officers, managers, clerks, and returning officers and shall call, canvass, tabulate, and declare the result of the elections as to any and all school districts in Calhoun county, other than in the cities of Jacksonville, Piedmont and Anniston and the school districts in which the cities of Jacksonville, Piedmont and Anniston are located. All such elections shall otherwise be conducted, held, canvassed, tabulated and the results declared as general elections are conducted, held, canvassed, tabulated and the results declared in Alabama. (Amendment 68) §8-10.21. Use of Special School Tax Funds, Refunding of Bonds. (Amendment 165) Any funds derived from the voted special school taxes levied in certain cities and school districts in Calhoun county under Section 8-10.20 that are not needed to pay debt service on bonds issued under said amendment, or to comply with any other covenants contained in proceedings authorizing the issuance of such bonds, may, to such extent as the governing body of the political subdivision or agency entitled thereto may determine are excess of the amount then needed for the specific public school purpose for which said taxes were voted, be used for public school purposes generally. Any bonds which are now outstanding or which may hereafter be issued under the provisions of said amendment or this amendment may at any time and from time to time be refunded, whether before, at or after the maturity of the bonds refunded, by the issuance of new bonds, payable from the same sources as those refunded, in a principal amount sufficient to pay said bonds so refunded and any premium necessary to redeem, pay, purchase or otherwise retire said bonds; and bonds may be issued for the combined purpose of so refunding any such bonds and obtaining funds for acquiring, constructing and improving public school buildings, including sites therefor. Notwithstanding the fact that they may be payable solely from a specified source, all bonds hereafter issued under the provisions of said amendment or this amendment shall be negotiable instruments within the meaning of the negotiable instruments law of Alabama if they otherwise possess all the characteristics of negotiable instruments under the laws of Alabama and shall be legal investments for trust funds. Bonds authorized to be issued hereunder shall be issued in the same manner and by the same respective political subdivisions as those authorized to be issued under said amendment proposed by Section 8-10.20 and may be so issued without the necessity of any further election. No bonds issued hereunder shall be chargeable against the constitutional debt limit of the political subdivision by which they are issued. (Amendment 165) §8-10.22. Validation of Ad Valorem Tax for School Purposes. (Amendment 747) Any provision of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, or the laws of the State of Alabama to the contrary notwithstanding, the levy and collection in each year of each ad valorem tax for public school purposes or educational purposes in Calhoun County, Alabama, and in any municipality located, in whole or in part, in Calhoun County, Alabama, and in any school tax district located in Calhoun County, Alabama, which tax was approved by a majority vote of the appropriate electorate prior to October 1, 2002, and which was being levied and collected for the tax year that began on October 1, 2002, is hereby: (a) Authorized, ratified, validated, and confirmed from and after the date of the initial levy of such tax regardless of any statutory or constitutional defects, mistakes, errors, or ambiguities in the authorization or levy thereof or the election thereon, or in any act of the Legislature with respect thereto; and (b) Continued and extended beginning with the levy and collection of such tax for the tax year next succeeding the tax year initially established for the final levy and collection of such tax and continuing for each tax year thereafter without limit as to time. (Amendment 747) §8-10.23. Additional Special School Tax. (Amendment 335) In addition to any taxes now authorized or that may be hereafter authorized by the Constitution and laws of Alabama, each school district in Calhoun county, except the school district comprising the city of Anniston, shall have the power to levy and collect for public school purposes in such district an annual special ad valorem tax on the taxable properties in such district at a rate not exceeding in any one year five mills on each dollar of the value of the said properties as the same shall be assessed for state taxation; provided, that the said special ad valorem district tax shall not be levied in any such district for any year prior to the year for which the said tax if levied will become due and payable on October 1, 1978; provided further, that prior to the levy of any special tax authorized in this paragraph, there shall be submitted to the electors of the district in which the tax is proposed to be levied, at a special election called for that purpose in the said district, the question of whether the said tax or any part thereof shall be levied, the rate thereof, the time it is to continue (which shall not exceed thirty years), and the purpose thereof, and the said tax shall be authorized at such election by a majority of the qualified electors of the said district who vote at such election; provided further, that if a majority of the qualified electors of any of the said districts participating in the election on the ratification of this amendment shall vote for the ratification of this amendment, then the approval of this amendment as expressed by the vote in said district in favor of its ratification shall, of itself, authorize the levy and collection of the said special tax for public school purposes in that district for a period of thirty years commencing with the levy for the tax year for which taxes will become due and payable to the said district on October 1, 1978. Elections on the question of the levy of a district tax under the provisions of this amendment may be held at any time and from time to time, provided, that if at any such election held after the ratification of this amendment the proposal to levy the tax so submitted should be defeated then the proposal may not be submitted at another election held in the same district within six months from the last election held under this amendment. Each such election held after the ratification of this amendment shall be called and held, the results declared, and the tax levied and collected in the same manner as now or hereafter provided by law in the case of school district taxes authorized by Sections 269.01 through 269.03, except that no county-wide tax shall be required as a condition precedent for a district tax under this amendment. The funds arising from the district tax herein authorized to be levied shall be expended for the exclusive benefit of the school district in which such district tax is levied. Nothing in this amendment shall be deemed to prevent the consolidation of any two or more school districts in Calhoun county in accordance with the applicable provisions of general law. Pursuant to Section 8-10.20, there is currently being levied in each school district in Calhoun county a special district school tax at the same rate as is specified in the first paragraph of this amendment, but the last tax year for which the special tax provided for in Section 8-10.20 is authorized to be levied is the tax year for which taxes will become due and payable on October 1, 1977. It is intended by this amendment to make provision for the authorization of the continued levy in each school district in Calhoun county, except the school district comprising the city of Anniston, of a special district ad valorem school tax at the same rate as, but in lieu of, the tax authorized in Section 8-10.20, to commence with the tax year next following the final tax year for which the tax provided for in Section 8-10.20 is authorized to be levied. It is not intended by this amendment to provide for or authorize an increase in the total rate of taxation for public school purposes in excess of that currently authorized to be levied in the several school districts in Calhoun county. (Amendment 335) ”

Chapter 11

“ Chapter 11. Zoning, Planning, and Utilities Article 1. Fire Protection §8-11.00. Fire Protection Purposes. (Amendment 583) The Legislature declares that the fire departments 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 Calhoun County a special county-wide property tax of three mills on each one dollar's worth of taxable property as assessed for the state ad valorem taxation. The proceeds of the additional taxes levied by this amendment shall be used exclusively for fire protection services provided by volunteer and full-time fire departments. The Tax Assessor of Calhoun County shall assess the tax herein provided for and the tax collector 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 tax collector directly to the Calhoun County Volunteer Firefighters' Association and to the cities. The proceeds shall be divided so that the proceeds of the tax collected within the corporate limits of any city within the county shall be allocated to the fire department of that city and the proceeds from collections in the unincorporated areas of the county shall be allocated among the volunteer fire departments which serve the unincorporated area of the county, based on the following formula: (a) One-third of the proceeds shall be equally divided among the volunteer fire departments which are in good standing with the Calhoun County Volunteer Firefighters' Association. (b) One-third of the proceeds shall be divided to each volunteer fire department based upon the number of people who live within each respective fire district. (c) One-third of the proceeds shall be divided to each volunteer fire department based upon the number of acres of land contained in each fire district. From the proceeds collected in the police jurisdiction, but outside the corporate limits, of any city, one-third shall be allocated for the city serving the police jurisdiction and two-thirds shall be allocated to the Calhoun County Volunteer Firefighters' Association to be divided as herein prescribed. An eligible fire department, for purposes of this amendment, means a fire department in Calhoun County which is a member in good standing with the Calhoun County Volunteer Firefighters' Association according to guidelines established by the Alabama Volunteer Fire Department Association. Funds paid to eligible fire departments shall be expended for fire protection and rescue services including training, supplies, equipment, and facilities. The funds may also be expended to purchase insurance to insure coverage of acts or omissions which are directly related to the functions of a fire department which are committed by the department or the personnel of a fire department and to insure assets of the fire department. The funds may not be expended for food, drink, social activities, salaries, or fund-raising activities. After receiving funds, the fire departments shall keep accurate records to verify that the funds were properly expended. The records shall reasonably be open to the public for inspection. By September 15 of each year, the association shall file a financial statement with the Calhoun 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 shall be funded within Calhoun County without prior approval of the Calhoun County Volunteer Firefighters' Association. Upon dissolution or abandonment of any eligible fire department, 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 Calhoun County Volunteer Firefighters' Association. The funds and assets shall be reallocated by the association to the other fire departments based upon the formula previously set out in this amendment. In the event the association is dissolved, the additional property tax levied under this amendment shall end and no longer be levied and collected. The personnel of fire departments 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. This amendment shall apply to collections of ad valorem taxes for the 1996-97 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 583) Article 2. Police Jurisdiction §8-11.20. General Provisions. (Amendment 914) (a) This amendment shall apply only in Calhoun County. (b) Any territory located in Calhoun County shall be subject only to the police jurisdiction and planning jurisdiction of a municipality located wholly or partially in Calhoun County. (Amendment 914) §8-11.21. Territories Outside of Municipal Corporate Limits. (Amendment 935) (a) This amendment shall apply only to territory located in Calhoun County. (b) Except as provided in subsection (c), any territory located in Calhoun County outside of the corporate limits of a municipality shall not be subject to the police jurisdiction or planning jurisdiction of the municipality if the municipality is not located entirely in Calhoun County. (c) This amendment shall not affect the police jurisdiction or planning jurisdiction of the City of Oxford in Calhoun County. (Amendment 935) ”

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.