HB328 Alabama 2019 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Merika ColemanSenator

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2019

Title

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

Summary

HB 328 would let the Legislature recompile Alabama's Constitution in 2022 by reorganizing content, removing racist language, and consolidating provisions, then submit the revised version to voters for ratification.

What This Bill Does

It authorizes the Legislature, based on a draft from the Director of the Legislative Services Agency, to reorganize the Constitution into clearly defined articles, parts, and sections, remove racist language, delete duplicative and repealed provisions, and consolidate economic development provisions; local amendments would be arranged by county during the 2022 Regular Session. The draft arrangement must be approved by a three-fifths vote of both houses via a joint resolution and then submitted to voters for ratification. The proposed text will be published on the Secretary of State's website and provided at no cost to state and local agencies with public websites. If voters approve, the recompiled Constitution becomes the supreme law of Alabama.

Who It Affects

• Alabama voters who would vote to ratify or reject the recompiled Constitution.
• Local governments and residents, as local amendments would be arranged by county and the proposed text would be accessible to the public.
• The Legislature and the Director of the Legislative Services Agency, who would draft, arrange, and oversee the process, with a required 3/5 vote in each chamber to move forward.

Key Provisions

• The Legislature may recompile the Constitution during the 2022 Regular Session, organizing it into articles/parts/sections, removing racist language, deleting duplicative/repealed provisions, consolidating economic development provisions, and arranging local amendments by county; no other changes are allowed.
• A proposed draft must be approved by a three-fifths vote of both the House and Senate via joint resolution and then submitted to voters for ratification under the applicable constitutional process.
• The proposed Constitution text must be published on the Secretary of State's website and provided free of charge to state and local government agencies operating public access websites.
• If voters approve, the recompiled Constitution becomes the supreme law of Alabama.

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