HB235 Alabama 2018 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Isaac Whorton

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2018

Title

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

Summary

HB 235 would allow Alabama voters to initiate general laws and constitutional amendments by ballot initiative and let the Legislature offer an alternate proposal.

What This Bill Does

HB 235 creates a citizen initiative process to enact general laws and constitutional amendments, and to initiate referenda on statutes and resolutions, with the Legislature allowed to propose an alternate measure. The process requires filing with the Secretary of State, verifying signatures, an attorney general review, drafting by the Alabama Law Institute, and publishing the proposal for signature gathering; final petitions must meet specific signature thresholds and the proposal remains open for signature collection within defined timeframes. If the Legislature does not enact the proposal, it goes to a statewide vote; constitutional amendments require a 10% signature threshold and, if approved by voters, become part of the Constitution, while general-law initiatives become law if approved by voters and certified for publication.

Who It Affects

• Alabama voters who would sign petitions and vote on proposed laws and constitutional amendments, and who may see citizen-initiated measures on election ballots.
• State and local government actors and entities (Secretary of State, Attorney General, Alabama Law Institute, Legislative Reference Service, Legislature, Governor) who administer, review, publish, and decide how the initiative process works and whether proposals move forward.

Key Provisions

• Creates an initiative process allowing the people to initiate enactment of general laws or constitutional amendments, and to initiate referenda on statutes and resolutions; Legislature may offer an alternate proposal.
• General-law initiative: 1000 qualified voters sign a preliminary petition and a $1,000 filing fee is paid (refundable if adopted); a registered agent manages filings; signatures are verified by the Secretary of State; Attorney General provides an opinion; if compliant, full text drafted by the Alabama Law Institute and published for signatures.
• Final petition for general-law initiatives requires at least 7% of the governor's total votes; proposals are valid for up to two years; if signed, filed with the Secretary of State and Legislature for consideration; the process moves toward ballot placement if not enacted by the Legislature.
• Legislature may sponsor the initiative or offer an alternate proposal; if not enacted by the 30th legislative day, the proposal goes to the ballot; if an alternate is approved, both proposals may appear on the ballot and are decided by voters.
• Constitutional amendments: petitions must have at least 10% of the governor's votes; the Legislature may propose an alternative amendment; proposals are placed on the ballot 90 days after qualification; constitutional amendments win by majority of electors voting.
• Limitations: no more than three initiatives may be enacted by the Legislature in one legislative session; if more than three qualify, the top three by signatures move forward; if two related proposals appear and both pass, the one with more votes prevails on the subject.
• If an initiative fails, an identical initiative may not be resubmitted for two years.

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