SB308 Alabama 2023 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Chris ElliottSenator

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2023

Title

Proposing to amend Section 76 of the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, and add a new section to the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, to authorize the Legislature to call itself into a special session and provide for the process for convening a special session.

Summary

SB308 would let the Alabama Legislature call itself into a special session under defined rules, instead of requiring the governor to do it.

What This Bill Does

It creates a process where at least 30% of legislators can request a special session through the Secretary of State, who must poll all members within seven days. If a majority in both chambers votes to proceed, the Secretary notifies leaders and a joint proclamation would call the session, with the start date set between 14 and 21 days after notification. When convened, the session can only address topics designated in the governor's proclamation unless two-thirds of each house vote to include other topics, and it is limited to 12 legislative days or 30 calendar days. If the required requests are not received within 60 days of the first request, all written requests become void, and the governor’s authority to convene remains unaffected.

Who It Affects

• Members of the Legislature: must meet a 30% written-request threshold to trigger a poll, then must obtain a majority vote in both chambers to proceed, and are subject to topic and duration limits during a special session.
• Voters/General public: after passage, must vote in an election to ratify the constitutional amendment, which would allow lawmakers to call themselves into a special session.

Key Provisions

• Amends Section 76 of the Constitution to restrict special-session legislation to the governor's designated topics unless two-thirds of each house vote to expand topics, and limits special sessions to 12 legislative days or 30 calendar days.
• Adds a new section allowing the Legislature to call itself into a special session: 30% of members must request in writing, the Secretary of State polls members within seven days, and a majority in both houses must approve to trigger the session.
• If triggered, the Governor's office and legislative leaders issue a joint proclamation setting the session start date to be between 14 and 21 days after notification.
• If the required requests are not received within 60 days after the first request, all requests are void and cannot be used again.
• The Governor's power to convene a special session under Section 122 is not repealed or altered by this provision.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.