SB175 Alabama 2011 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Bryan Taylor

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2011

Title

Legislature, certain expense allowances deemed compensation, compensation may not be increased during a current term of office, Legislature may be reimbursed only for actual expenses, Amendment 92 (Section 68.01, Recompiled Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended), am'd., const. amend.

Summary

SB175 would amend Amendment 92 to treat lawmakers' expense allowances as part of their pay, with reimbursements for actual expenses still allowed.

What This Bill Does

If passed, it would make any expense allowance for members of the Legislature count as personal compensation and be limited by the constitution’s pay rules. Only reimbursements for actual expenses incurred in official duties, and properly substantiated, would not be counted as compensation. The existing rule that salaries or compensation cannot be increased or decreased during a term (and for unexpired terms, changes take effect after the term ends) would remain in place for legislators and counties.

Who It Affects

• State legislators: their expense allowances would be treated as compensation and subject to the same constitutional limits, with reimbursement for actual expenses still allowed if properly documented.
• County officials and other officers covered by Amendment 92: they would continue to be subject to the term-based compensation limits; the bill’s change specifically affects legislative expense allowances, not county expense practices.

Key Provisions

• Amendment 92 would be revised to say that, except for reimbursements for actual expenses incurred in performing official duties and substantiated as required by law, any expense allowance for Legislature members is part of their compensation and subject to the amendment's limits.
• The existing prohibition on increasing or decreasing compensation during a term for legislators or counties remains, and adjustments for unexpired terms would take effect after the term ends.
• Only properly substantiated actual expense reimbursements are excluded from the compensation calculation; other expense allowances would count toward compensation.
• The proposed constitutional amendment would be presented to voters for approval.

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