SB275 Alabama 2010 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

T.D. “Ted” Little

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2010

Title

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

Summary

SB275 would let Alabama residents initiate the enactment of general laws or constitutional amendments by popular vote, with the Legislature able to offer an alternate proposal.

What This Bill Does

It would amend the Alabama Constitution to allow people to start general laws and constitutional amendments through an initiative process. It creates filing, petition, and review steps, requires signatures to reach on-ballot status, and mandates publication of full text and summaries with a two-year window to qualify. The Legislature may sponsor the proposal or offer an alternate proposal, and if voters approve, the measure becomes law or part of the Constitution; if multiple versions appear, the one with the most votes prevails.

Who It Affects

• Alabama voters who can initiate laws or constitutional amendments by collecting signatures and voting on the measures via the ballot.
• State and local officials, including the Secretary of State, the Legislature, and the Alabama Law Institute, who manage the initiative process, draft texts, publish information, and decide on ballot placement.

Key Provisions

• Allows the people to initiate the enactment of general laws or constitutional amendments through an initiative, with the Legislature allowed to offer an alternate proposal.
• Preliminary filing requires a concise summary, at least 1,000 signatures from qualified voters, and a filing fee of 1,000 dollars; a registered agent is designated to handle filings and disclosures.
• The Secretary of State reviews preliminary filings; the Alabama Law Institute drafts the full text and official summary within 90 days; these documents are filed with the Secretary for publication.
• Full text must be published on the Secretary of State website for at least 90 days; the summary remains available through the next regular legislative session.
• If no legislator sponsors the measure, the registered agent may resume the initiative after the regular session; final petition must total at least seven percent of governor votes, with at least one percent from each congressional district; up to seven percent preliminary signatures may count toward this final requirement.
• The initiative has a two-year window to qualify for final filing, after which the proposal must be refiled.
• For general laws, the proposal is filed with the Legislature 30 days before the regular session; it is treated as a normal bill, not sent to the Governor, and the Legislature may not amend the original proposal but may offer an alternate; if not enacted by the 30th legislative day, it goes to the ballot.
• If two proposals (initiative and legislative alternative) appear on the ballot for the same subject, the one with the higher vote total prevails.
• No more than two pieces of legislation can be enacted under this amendment in any regular session; if more than two are proposed, the two with the most signatures may be enacted or placed on the ballot.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 25, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Constitutional Amendments