SB338 Alabama 2018 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Rodger SmithermanSenator

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2018

Title

Constitution, Legislature authorized to recompile constitution and submit at 2022 Reg. Sess., and provide for its ratification, const. amend.

Summary

This bill would authorize the Legislature to recompile the Alabama Constitution during the 2022 Regular Session and submit the revised version to voters for ratification.

What This Bill Does

It allows the Constitution to be reorganized into proper articles, parts, and sections while omitting only provisions no longer in force, with no other language changes. The revised draft must be approved by a three-fifths vote of both the Senate and House via a joint resolution, then submitted to voters for ratification under the state's existing constitutional process. If voters approve, the amended Constitution becomes the supreme law of Alabama. The election to decide this would be conducted under current election laws, and ballots would describe the amendment with Yes/No choices.

Who It Affects

• Alabama voters: would decide whether to approve the proposed recompiled Constitution in the 2022 election.
• Legislature and state election officials: would arrange and draft the recompiled Constitution, obtain the required three-fifths approval in both chambers, oversee the submission to voters, and administer the election.

Key Provisions

• The Legislature may arrange the Constitution into proper articles, parts, and sections during the 2022 Regular Session, omitting all sections, clauses, and words not in force and making no other changes.
• A draft arrangement approved by a three-fifths vote of each house via joint resolution shall be submitted to voters under Amendment 714 (now Section 286.01) of the Constitution.
• If approved by the voters, the Constitution, with amendments made by this process, shall be the supreme law of the state.
• An election on the proposed amendment shall be held under existing sections 284-285 and applicable election laws, with a ballot description outlining the amendment and Yes/No options.

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