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SB403 Alabama 2017 Session

Updated Feb 27, 2026
High Interest

Summary

Primary Sponsor
Gerald O. Dial
Gerald O. Dial
Republican
Session
Regular Session 2017
Title
Senate, districts redrawn, Sec. 29-1-2.3 repealed; Sec. 29-1-2.3 added
Summary

SB403 redraws Alabama's Senate districts to conform to a federal court ruling, creating 35 districts for the 2018 election and continuing until the next census.

What This Bill Does

It repeals the existing Senate district law and replaces it with a new provision establishing 35 Senate districts, with members required to reside in their district. The boundaries are defined using detailed census tracts and blocks, to be used for the 2018 General Election and until the next federal census is released. It directs the official maps to be kept by the Secretary of State and to prevail over any conflicting boundary descriptions, and it makes the act severable and effective immediately upon governor approval.

Who It Affects
  • Voters in Alabama, who will vote in the 2018 Senate elections under the new 35-district map and in future elections until reapportionment.
  • Candidates running for the Alabama Senate in 2018 and thereafter, who must reside in and represent the newly defined districts.
Key Provisions
  • Repeals Section 29-1-2.3 and adds a new Section 29-1-2.3 defining the Alabama Senate as consisting of 35 members with districts based on the federal court–ordered reapportionment.
  • District boundaries are specified using enumerated census tracts and blocks across multiple counties; the bill provides a detailed boundary framework to implement the 35 districts for the 2018 election and until the next federal census.
  • Official maps shall be retained by the Secretary of State and printed as part of the Acts; boundary descriptions in the maps prevail over boundary descriptions derived from census tracts or blocks in case of any conflict.
  • The provisions are severable; if any part is invalid, the rest remains in effect.
  • The act becomes effective immediately upon passage and governor's approval, and applies to the 2018 Senate election.
AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.
Subjects
Reapportionment

Bill Actions

S

Assigned Act No. 2017-347.

S

Enrolled

H

Signature Requested

S

Passed Second House

H

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass adopted Roll Call 984

H

Knight Dissent Filed

H

Ledbetter motion to Previous Question adopted Roll Call 983

H

Third Reading Passed

H

Read for the second time and placed on the calendar

H

Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Constitution, Campaigns and Elections

S

Engrossed

S

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass adopted Roll Call 915

S

Rules Committee Petition to Cease Debate adopted Roll Call 913

S

Smitherman motion to Adopt lost Roll Call 912

S

Smitherman first Substitute Offered

S

Dial motion to Adopt adopted Roll Call 911

S

Tourism and Marketing first Substitute Offered

S

Third Reading Passed

S

Read for the second time and placed on the calendar with 1 substitute and

S

Read for the first time and referred to the Senate committee on Tourism and Marketing

Bill Text

Download Introduced PDF

Votes

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass

May 4, 2017 Senate Passed
Yes 25
No 7
Absent 3

Rules Committee Petition to Cease Debate

May 4, 2017 Senate Passed
Yes 23
No 9
Absent 3

Ledbetter motion to Previous Question

May 18, 2017 House Passed
Yes 50
No 7
Absent 48

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass

May 18, 2017 House Passed
Yes 71
No 32
Absent 2

Documents

Bill Text (Introduced) SB403 Alabama 2017 Session - Introduced

Source: Alabama Legislature