HB201 Alabama 2010 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Mike Hill

Republican

Co-Sponsors

Mac McCutcheonGregory CanfieldMike BallRandy WoodBlaine Galliher

Session

Regular Session 2010

Title

Initiative, constitutional amendments, proposed by people, authorized, Legislature may offer alternate proposal, const. amend.

Summary

HB201 would let Alabama residents initiate general laws and constitutional amendments through a formal initiative process, with the Legislature able to offer an alternative proposal and detailed steps to qualify and place measures on the ballot.

What This Bill Does

The bill creates an initiative pathway for both general laws and constitutional amendments, subject to the same limits as the Legislature, and allows the Legislature to propose an alternate measure. It requires a preliminary filing with a summary, 1,000 signatures, and a $1,000 fee, handled by a registered agent; the Secretary of State reviews the filing and the Alabama Law Institute prepares the full text and an official summary. If no Legislator sponsors the proposal, the process can continue after the session with a final petition requiring signatures totaling at least 7% of gubernatorial votes, distributed across districts, and the proposal must be filed within two years. For general laws, the Legislature receives the proposal 30 days before the session, can act as usual or offer an alternative, and, if not enacted by a deadline, it goes to a statewide ballot where the measure with the most votes wins; for constitutional amendments, the threshold is 10% of gubernatorial votes, and both the initiative and legislative alternative would appear on the ballot after 90 days, with no governor’s signature required if approved by voters.

Who It Affects

• Qualified Alabama voters who may sign preliminary and final petitions to place an initiative on the ballot, with signature requirements and district representation.
• Registered initiative agents and state offices (Secretary of State, Alabama Law Institute, Legislative Reference Service) who manage filing, review, publication, and analysis of initiative proposals, and who interact with the Legislature during consideration.

Key Provisions

• Allows citizens to initiate the enactment of general laws or constitutional amendments by initiative, with the Legislature free to offer an alternate proposal.
• Preliminary filing requires a concise summary, at least 1,000 signatures from qualified voters, and a $1,000 filing fee; a registered agent represents the proposal.
• Secretary of State reviews preliminary filing; Alabama Law Institute prepares full text and official summary within 90 days; full text published online for at least 90 days; summaries published through the next regular session.
• If no Legislator sponsors the proposal, the initiative can resume after the regular session with a final petition needing signatures equal to at least 7% of governor votes, with at least 1% from each congressional district; preliminary 1,000 signatures may count toward this.
• For general laws, the proposal is submitted to the Legislature 30 days before the regular session; the Legislature may pass it as a bill or offer an alternate proposal; if not enacted by the 30th legislative day, it goes to the ballot; if both the initiative and the alternate appear, the one with more votes wins.
• For constitutional amendments, signatures must total at least 10% of governor votes; both the initiative and any Legislature-proposed alternative go to the ballot after 90 days; no governor’s signature is required for approval.
• No more than two initiative-proposed pieces of legislation (general laws or amendments) may be enacted by the Legislature in a single session; ballot language must be impartial.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Constitutional Amendments