SB26 Alabama 2015 Session

Updated Feb 27, 2026

High Interest

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Greg AlbrittonSenator
Republican
Session: Regular Session 2015
Title: Impeachment of state and local officers and officials, Article 7, Constitution of Alabama of 1901, repealed and reenacted, const. amend.
Summary: SB26 would repeal and rewrite Alabama’s impeachment article to broaden who can be impeached and update the process for state and local officers.
What This Bill Does
The bill repeals the current Article VII and replaces it with a new version that includes nonsubstantive technical edits and substantive changes to who can be impeached and how impeachment works. It expands impeachable officials to include state board of education members and certain high-level state officers, and it updates the process (e.g., two-thirds Senate conviction, House charges, Senate as court, and new presiding rules) while removing an old summons-by newspaper requirement. It also extends impeachment to district court judges, district attorneys, sheriffs, and all county and municipal officers, with procedures for removal or trial at various levels. The changes would take effect January 1, 2017.

Who It Affects
State-level officials and State Board of Education members (Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, State Auditor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Board of Education members, Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, and Supreme Court justices) who could be impeached for willful neglect, corruption, incompetency, intemperance, or moral turpitude.
Judges, prosecutors, and local officers (district and circuit court judges, probate judges, other courts, district attorneys, sheriffs, and county/municipal officers) who could be impeached or removed under the revised article and may face impeachment or related removal processes at state or local levels.

Key Provisions
Repeals existing Article VII and adds a new Article VII, operative January 1, 2017, including nonsubstantive edits (renumbering, capitalization, gender-neutral language).
Section 173: expands impeachable officials to include Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, State Auditor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Board of Education members, Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, and Supreme Court justices; specifies grounds for impeachment (willful neglect, corruption, incompetency, intemperance, or moral turpitude).
Section 173: House files articles of impeachment; Senate sits as the court of impeachment and must convict by two-thirds of those present; Lieutenant Governor presides, with alternate presiding rules if the Governor/Lt. Governor are impeached.
Section 173: removes the old requirement that legislators be summoned to the capitol by newspaper publication for impeachment proceedings.
Section 174: adds district court judges, circuit court judges, probate judges, other courts with direct appeal to the Supreme Court, district attorneys, and sheriffs as impeachable/officers subject to removal by the Supreme Court or by rules established by law; Legislature may extend impeachment/removal to other officers.
Section 175: extends impeachment to county and municipal officers; specifies trial locations and the Legislature’s role in setting procedures, with rights to jury trial and appeal in such cases.
Section 176: penalties are removal from office and disqualification from future office; but the accused can still be indicted and punished under other laws.

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