HB313 Alabama 2013 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Greg Wren

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2013

Title

Legislative, sessions to consist of organizational, regular of 20 day, budget of 10 days, and special sessions, Secs. 71.01 and 76 of Article IV of Recompiled Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, repealed, const. amend.

Summary

HB313 would enact a self-executing constitutional amendment that fixes when and how long organizational, regular, budget, and special legislative sessions occur, controls what may be considered in those sessions, sets the Governor's budget submission deadline, and repeals two existing amendments.

What This Bill Does

If enacted, the bill would set organizational session rules and specific start dates for the regular session, with the first regular session after 2014 starting on the first Tuesday in March and lasting up to 60 calendar days (20 legislative days); the budget session would begin after the regular session ends and last up to 45 calendar days (10 legislative days); and special sessions would be limited to 12 legislative days and 30 calendar days. It would also restrict what kinds of bills may be considered during regular and budget sessions, and require the Governor to submit the state's proposed budget plans by the first legislative day of each regular session. Finally, the amendment would repeal Amendment 339 and Amendment 448 and make these changes self-executing once approved by voters.

Who It Affects

• State legislators and legislative staff, whose schedules, workloads, and permissible topics will be governed by fixed session dates, lengths, and restrictions.
• Governor and state budget offices/departments, who must prepare and submit the state budget under a defined timeline and operate within a budget-focused, time-limited session structure.

Key Provisions

• Establish organizational, annual regular, annual budget, and special sessions with fixed dates and time limits (regular: up to 60 calendar days and 20 legislative days; budget: up to 45 calendar days and 10 legislative days; special: up to 30 calendar days and 12 legislative days).
• Regular session topics limited by specified exemptions; budget session restricted to revenue, appropriations, debt, bond issues, education funding, and emergency/local legislation, with other general constraints.
• Governor must transmit the proposed state budget plans by the first legislative day of each annual regular session.
• Special sessions limited to Governor-designated subjects, unless two-thirds of each house agrees to add topics; duration and scope defined.
• Repeals Amendments 339 and 448 (regarding Article IV sections) from the Constitution, with changes becoming self-executing after voter approval.

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

Subjects

Legislature