Article IV, Alabama Constitution

Alabama Constitution
Preamble
Articles
I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI •XII •XIII •XIV • XV • XVI • XVII • XVIII
Amendments

Article IV of the Alabama Constitution is entitled Legislative Department and consists of 68 sections.

Section 44

	Text of Section 44: Composition of Legislature “ The legislative power of this state shall be vested in a legislature, which shall consist of a senate and a house of representatives. ”

Section 45

Text of Section 45: Style of Laws; Division of Laws; Laws Restricted to One Subject; Amendment or Revival of Laws by Title Only “ The style of the laws of this state shall be: "Be it enacted by the legislature of Alabama," which need not be repeated, but the act shall be divided into sections for convenience, according to substance, and the sections designated merely by figures. Each law shall contain but one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title, except general appropriation bills, general revenue bills, and bills adopting a code, digest, or revision of statutes; and no law shall be revived, amended, or the provisions thereof extended or conferred, by reference to its title only; but so much thereof as is revived, amended, extended, or conferred, shall be re-enacted and published at length. ”

Section 46

Text of Section 46: Election and Terms of Office of Senators and Representatives; Vacancies in Office (a) Senators and representatives shall be elected by the qualified electors on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November unless the Legislature shall change the time of holding elections and in every fourth year thereafter. The terms of office of the senators and representatives shall commence on the day after the general election at which they are elected, and expire on the day after the general election held in the fourth year after their election, except as otherwise provided in this Constitution. At the general election in the year nineteen hundred and two all the representatives, together with the senators for the even numbered districts a fourth year thereafter, all the senators and representatives shall be elected. (b) Except as provided in subsection (c), when a vacancy occurs in either house of the Legislature, the Governor shall issue a writ of election to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term. However, if the Secretary of State determines that a legally qualified candidate for election to the vacancy is unopposed when the last date for filing certificates of nomination has passed, the election shall not be held. The Secretary of State shall issue a certificate of election to the candidate, the same as if an election had been held, and the certificate shall be accepted by the house in which the vacancy occurred as evidence of the unopposed candidate's right to fill the position created by the vacancy. In the event an election is held, all the costs and expenses incurred thereby shall be paid out of any funds in the State Treasury not otherwise appropriated. (c) When a vacancy occurs in either house of the Legislature on or after October quadrennium, the seat shall remain vacant until a successor is elected at the next succeeding general election.

Amendments

• Amended with the approval of Alabama Amendment 4, Legislative Vacancies Amendment (2018) on November 6, 2018.

Section 47

Text of Section 47: Qualifications of Senators and Representatives “ Senators shall be at least twenty-five years of age, and representatives twenty-one years of age at the time of their election. They shall have been citizens and residents of this state for three years and residents of their respective counties or districts for one year next before their election, if such county or district shall have been so long established; but if not, then of the county or district from which the same shall have been taken; and they shall reside in their respective counties or districts during their terms of office. ”

Section 48

Text of Section 48: Time and Place of Meetings of Legislature; Maximum Length of Sessions “ The legislature shall meet quadrennially at the capitol in the senate chamber, and in the hall of the house of representatives, on the second Tuesday in January next succeeding their election, or on such other day as may be prescribed by law; and shall not remain in session longer than sixty days at the first session held under the Constitution, nor longer than fifty days at any subsequent session. If at any time it should from any cause become impossible or dangerous for the legislature to meet or remain at the capitol or for the senate to meet or remain in the senate chamber, or for the representatives to meet or remain in the hall of the house of representatives, the governor may convene the legislature, or remove it after it has convened, to some other place, or may designate some other place for the sitting of the respective houses, or either of them, as necessity may require. ”

Section 49

	Text of Section 49: Compensation of Members of Legislature “ The pay of the members of the legislature shall be four dollars per day, and ten cents per mile in going to and returning from the seat of government, to be computed by the nearest usual route traveled. ”

Section 50

Text of Section 50: Numbers of Senators and Representatives; Apportionment of Legislators “ The legislature shall consist of not more than thirty-five senators, and not more than one hundred and five members of the house of representatives, to be apportioned among the several districts and counties, as prescribed in this Constitution; provided that in addition to the above number of representatives, each new county hereafter created shall be entitled to one representative. ”

Section 51

Text of Section 51: Election of President Pro Tem. of Senate and Speaker of House of Representatives; Temporary President and Speaker; Officers of Each House; Each House Judge of Election, Returns and Qualifications of Members “ The senate, at the beginning of each regular session, and at such other times as may be necessary, shall elect one of its members president pro tem. thereof, to preside over its deliberations in the absence of the lieutenant-governor; and the house of representatives, at the beginning of each regular session, and at such other times as may be necessary, shall elect one of its members as speaker; and the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives shall hold their offices respectively, until their successors are elected and qualified. In case of the temporary disability of either of said presiding officers, the house to which he belongs may elect one of its members to preside over that house and to perform all the duties of such officer during the continuance of his disability; and such temporary officer, while performing duty as such, shall receive the same compensation to which the permanent officer is entitled by law, and no other. Each house shall choose its own officers and shall judge of the election, returns, and qualifications of its members. ”

Section 52

	Text of Section 52: Quorum in Each House “ A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day and compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as each house may provide. ”

Section 53

Text of Section 53: Rules of Proceedings of Both Houses; Punishment for Contempt or Disorderly Behavior; Enforcement of Process; Protection of Members from Violence, Bribes, Etc.; Expulsion of Members “ Each house shall have power to determine the rules of its proceedings and to punish its members and other persons, for contempt or disorderly behavior in its presence; to enforce obedience to its processes; to protect its members against violence, or offers of bribes or corrupt solicitation; and with the concurrence of two-thirds of the house, to expel a member, but not a second time for the same offense; and the two houses shall have all the powers necessary for the legislature of a free state. ”

Section 54

	Text of Section 54: Expulsion for Corruption Bar to Further Service in Legislature; Punishment for Contempt or Disorderly Behavior Not Bar to Indictment for Same Offense “ A member of the legislature, expelled for corruption, shall not thereafter be eligible to either house, and punishment for contempt or disorderly behavior shall not bar an indictment for the same offense. ”

Section 55

Text of Section 55: Journal of Proceedings of Each House “ Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings and cause the same to be published immediately after its adjournment, excepting such parts as, in its judgment, may require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house on any question shall, at the request of one-tenth of the members present, be entered on the journal. Any member of either house shall have liberty to dissent from or protest against any act or resolution which he may think injurious to the public, or to an individual, and have the reason for his dissent entered on the journal. ”

Section 56

Text of Section 56: Immunity of Legislators “ Members of the legislature shall, in all cases, except treason, felony, violation of their oath of office, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either house shall not be questioned in any other place. ”

Section 57

Text of Section 57: Doors of Each House to Be Open; Exceptions; Restrictions on Admittance to Floor “ The doors of each house shall be opened except on such occasions as, in the opinion of the house, may require secrecy, but no person shall be admitted to the floor of either house while the same is in session, except members of the legislature, the officers and employes of the two houses, the governor and his secretary, representatives of the press, and other persons to whom either house, by unanimous vote, may extend the privileges of its floor. ”

Section 58

	Text of Section 58: Adjournment or Change of Place of Sitting by One House without Consent of Other House “ Neither house shall, without consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which they may be sitting except as otherwise provided in this Constitution. ”

Section 59

Text of Section 59: Appointment of Legislators to Other Offices during Terms for Which Elected “ No senator or representative shall, during the term for which he shall have been elected, be appointed to any office of profit under this state, which shall have been created, or the emoluments of which shall have been increased during such term, except such offices as may be filled by election by the people. ”

Section 60

	Text of Section 60: Conviction of Certain Crimes Bar to Eligibility for Legislature and to Holding State Office of Trust or Profit “ No person convicted of embezzlement of the public money, bribery, perjury, or other infamous crime, shall be eligible to the legislature, or capable of holding any office of trust or profit in this state. ”

Section 61

	Text of Section 61: Laws to Be Passed by Bills; Restrictions on Amendments to Bills “ No law shall be passed except by bill, and no bill shall be so altered or amended on its passage through either house as to change its original purpose. ”

Section 62

	Text of Section 62: Referral of Bills to Standing Committees “ No bill shall become a law until it shall have been referred to a standing committee of each house, acted upon by such committee in session, and returned therefrom, which facts shall affirmatively appear upon the journal of each house. ”

Section 63

Text of Section 63: Number of Readings for Bills; Recordation of Votes on Bills; Majority Vote Required for Passage of Bills “ Every bill shall be read on three different days in each house, and no bill shall become a law, unless on its final passage it be read at length, and the vote be taken by yeas and nays, the names of the members voting for and against the same be entered upon the journals, and a majority of each house be recorded thereon as voting in its favor, except as otherwise provided in this Constitution. ”

Section 64

Text of Section 64: Procedure for Amendment of Bills; Adoption of Reports of Committees of Conference “ No amendment to bills shall be adopted except by a majority of the house wherein the same is offered, nor unless the amendment with the names of those voting for and against the same shall be entered at length on the journal of the house in which the same is adopted, and no amendment to bills by one house shall be concurred in by the other, unless a vote be taken by yeas and nays, and the names of the members voting for and against the same be recorded at length on the journal; and no report of a committee of conference shall be adopted in either house, except upon a vote taken by yeas and nays, and entered on the journal, as herein provided for the adoption of amendments. ”

Section 65

Text of Section 65: Lotteries and Gift Enterprises Prohibited “ The legislature shall have no power to authorize lotteries or gift enterprises for any purposes, and shall pass laws to prohibit the sale in this state of lottery or gift enterprise tickets, or tickets in any scheme in the nature of a lottery; and all acts, or parts of acts heretofore passed by the legislature of this state, authorizing a lottery or lotteries, and all acts amendatory thereof, or supplemental thereto, are hereby avoided. ”

Section 66

Text of Section 66: Signature of Bills by Presiding Officer of Each House; Reading of Bills at Length May Be Dispensed with “ The presiding officer of each house shall, in the presence of the house over which he presides, sign all bills and joint resolutions passed by the legislature, after the same shall have been publicly read at length immediately before signing, and the fact of reading and signing shall be entered upon the journal; but the reading at length may be dispensed with by a two-thirds vote of a quorum present, which fact shall also be entered on the journal. ”

Section 67

	Text of Section 67: Number, Duties and Compensation of Officers and Employees of Each House “ The legislature shall prescribe by law the number, duties, and compensation of the officers and employes of each house, and no payment shall be made from the state treasury or be in any way authorized to any person except to an acting officer or employe elected or appointed in pursuance of law. ”

Section 68

Text of Section 68: Extra Compensation Not to Be Granted Public Officer, Employee, Contractor, Etc., after Service Rendered or Contract Made; Increase or Decrease of Compensation of Officers During Term of Office “ The legislature shall have no power to grant or to authorize or require any county or municipal authority to grant, nor shall any county or municipal authority have power to grant any extra compensation, fee, or allowance to any public officer, servant, or employe, agent or contractor, after service shall have been rendered or contract made, nor to increase or decrease the fees and compensation of such officers during their terms of office; nor shall any officer of the state bind the state to the payment of any sum of money but by authority of law; provided this section shall not apply to allowances made by commissioners' courts or boards of revenue to county officers for ex officio services, nor prevent the legislature from increasing or diminishing at any time the allowance to sheriffs or other officers for feeding, transferring, or guarding prisoners. ”

Section 69

Text of Section 69: Stationery, Printing, Fuel, Etc., to Be Furnished by Lowest Responsible Bidder; Conflicts of Interest “ All stationery, printing, paper, and fuel used in the legislative and other departments of government shall be furnished and the printing, binding, and distribution of laws, journals, department reports, and all other printing, binding, and repairing and furnishing the halls and rooms used for the meeting of the legislature and its committees, shall be performed under contract, to be given to the lowest responsible bidder below a maximum price, and under such regulations as shall be prescribed by law; no member or officer of any department of the government shall be in any way interested in such contract, and all such contracts shall be subject to the approval of the governor, auditor, and treasurer. ”

Section 70

Text of Section 70: Revenue Bills to Originate in House of Representatives; Preparation of General Revenue Bill; Amendments to Revenue Bills by Senate; Time Limit for Passage of Revenue Bills “ All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the house of representatives. The governor, auditor, and attorney-general shall, before each regular session of the legislature, prepare a general revenue bill to be submitted to the legislature, for its information, and the secretary of state shall have printed for the use of the legislature a sufficient number of copies of the bill so prepared, which the governor shall transmit to the house of representatives as soon as organized, to be used or dealt with as that house may elect. The senate may propose amendments to revenue bills. No revenue bill shall be passed during the last five days of the session. ”

Section 71

Text of Section 71: Restrictions on General Appropriation Bill “ The general appropriation bill shall embrace nothing but appropriations for the ordinary expenses of the executive, legislative, and judicial departments of the state, for interest on the public debt, and for the public schools. The salary of no officer or employe shall be increased in such bill, nor shall any appropriation be made therein for any officer or employe unless his employment and the amount of his salary have already been provided for by law. All other appropriations shall be made by separate bills, each embracing but one subject. ”

Section 72

Text of Section 72: Payment of Money Out of State Treasury; Publication of Annual Statement of Receipts and Expenditures “ No money shall be paid out of the treasury except upon appropriations made by law, and on warrant drawn by the proper officer in pursuance thereof; and a regular statement and account of receipts and expenditures of all public moneys shall be published annually, in such manner as may be by law directed. ”

Section 73

Text of Section 73: Appropriations to Charitable or Educational Institutions Not under Absolute Control of State “ No appropriation shall be made to any charitable or educational institution not under the absolute control of the state, other than normal schools established by law for the professional training of teachers for the public schools of the state, except by a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house. ”

Section 74

Text of Section 74: Authorization of Investment of Trust Funds by Executors, Trustees, Etc., in Bonds or Stock of Private Corporations Prohibited “ No act of the legislature shall authorize the investment of any trust fund by executors, administrators, guardians, or other trustees in the bonds or stock of any private corporation; and any such acts now existing are avoided, saving investments heretofore made. ”

Amendments

• Amended by: Amendment 40, Alabama Constitution

Section 75

	Text of Section 75: Change of Venue in Civil and Criminal Cases “ The power to change the venue in civil and criminal causes is vested in the courts, to be exercised in such manner as shall be provided by law. ”

Section 76

	Text of Section 76: Restrictions on Legislation at Special Sessions; Duration of Special Sessions “ When the legislature shall be convened in special session, there shall be no legislation upon subjects other than those designated in the proclamation of the governor calling such session, except by a vote of two-thirds of each house. Special sessions shall be limited to thirty days. ”

Section 77

	Text of Section 77: State Office for Inspection or Measuring of Merchandise, Commodities, Etc., Prohibited “ No state office shall be continued or created for the inspection or measuring of any merchandise, manufacture, or commodity, but any county or municipality may appoint such officers when authorized by law. ”

Section 78

	Text of Section 78: Legislation to Change Seat of Government of State “ No act of the legislature changing the seat of government of the state shall become a law until the same shall have been submitted to the qualified electors of the state at a general election, and approved by a majority of such electors voting on the same; and such act shall specify the proposed new location. ”

Section 79

Text of Section 79: Bribery - Solicitation, Acceptance, Etc., of Bribes by Legislators “ A member of the legislature who shall solicit, demand, or receive, or consent to receive, directly or indirectly, for himself or for another, from any company, corporation, association, or person, any money, office, appointment, employment, reward, thing of value, or enjoyment, or of personal advantage or promise thereof, for his vote or official influence, or for withholding the same; or with an understanding, expressed or implied, that his vote or official action shall be in any way influenced thereby; or who shall solicit or demand any such money or other advantage, matter, or thing aforesaid, for another as the consideration for his vote, or influence, or for withholding the same; or shall give or withhold his vote or influence in consideration of the payment or promise of such money, advantage, matter, or thing to another, shall be guilty of bribery within the meaning of this Constitution; and shall incur the disabilities and penalties provided thereby for such offense, and such additional punishment as is or shall be provided by law. ”

Section 80

Text of Section 80: Same - Offer, Gift, Etc., of Money, Etc., to Executive or Judicial Officers or Members of Legislature to Influence Official Acts “ Any person who shall, directly or indirectly, offer, give, or promise any money, or thing of value, testimonial, privilege, or personal advantage, to any executive or judicial officer or member of the legislature to influence him in the performance of any of his public or official duties, shall be guilty of bribery, and be punished in such manner as may be provided by law. ”

Section 81

Text of Section 81: Offense of Corrupt Solicitation to Be Defined by Law “ The offense of corrupt solicitation of members of the legislature or of public officers of this state or of any municipal division thereof, and any occupation or practice of solicitation of such members or officers, to influence their official action, shall be defined by law, and shall be punished by fine and imprisonment in the penitentiary; and the legislature shall provide for the trial and punishment of the offenses enumerated in the two preceding sections, and shall require the judges to give the same specially in charge to the grand juries in all the counties of this state. ”

Section 82

	Text of Section 82: Disclosure of Personal or Private Interest in Bills, Etc., by Legislators “ A member of the legislature who has a personal or private interest in any measure or bill proposed or pending before the legislature, shall disclose the fact to the house of which he is a member, and shall not vote thereon. ”

Section 83

	Text of Section 83: Voting in Elections by Legislature “ In all elections by the legislature the members shall vote viva voce, and the votes shall be entered on the journal. ”

Section 84

	Text of Section 84: Adoption of Laws to Provide for Arbitration between Parties “ It shall be the duty of the legislature to pass such laws as may be necessary and proper to decide differences by arbitrators to be appointed by the parties who may choose that mode of adjustment. ”

Section 85

	Text of Section 85: Periodic Revision and Promulgation of Laws “ It shall be the duty of the legislature, at its first session after the ratification of this Constitution, and within every subsequent period of twelve years, to make provision by law for revising, digesting, and promulgating the public statutes of this state, of a general nature, both civil and criminal. ”

Section 86

	Text of Section 86: Suppression of Dueling “ The legislature shall pass such penal laws as it may deem expedient to suppress the evil practice of dueling. ”

Section 87

	Text of Section 87: Deductions from Salaries or Compensation of Public Officers for Neglect of Duty “ It shall be the duty of the legislature to regulate by law the cases in which deduction shall be made from the salaries or compensation of public officers for neglect of duty in their official capacities, and the amount of such deduction. ”

Section 88

	Text of Section 88: Counties to Provide for Maintenance of the Poor “ It shall be the duty of the legislature to require the several counties of this state to make adequate provision for the maintenance of the poor. ”

Section 89

	Text of Section 89: Municipalities Not to Pass Laws in Conflict with General Laws of State “ The legislature shall not have power to authorize any municipal corporation to pass any laws inconsistent with the general laws of this state. ”

Section 90

Text of Section 90: Acquisition of Foreign Territory; Rights and Privileges of Inhabitants of Acquired Territory “ In the event of the annexation of any foreign territory to this state, the legislature shall enact laws extending to the inhabitants of the acquired territory all the rights and privileges which may be required by the terms of acquisition not inconsistent with this Constitution. Should the state purchase such foreign territory, the legislature, with the approval of the governor, shall be authorized to expend any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, and, if necessary, to provide also for the issuance of state bonds, to pay for the purchase of such foreign territory. ”

Section 91

Text of Section 91: Exemption from Taxation of State, County, Municipal, Cemetery and Certain Religious, Educational and Charitable Property “ The legislature shall not tax the property, real or personal, of the state, counties, or other municipal corporations, or cemeteries; nor lots in incorporated cities and towns, or within one mile of any city or town to the extent of one acre, nor lots one mile or more distant from such cities or towns to the extent of five acres, with the buildings thereon, when same are used exclusively for religious worship, for schools, or for purposes purely charitable. ”

Section 92

	Text of Section 92: Rules and Regulations to Ascertain Value of Property Exempted from Sale under Legal Process “ The legislature shall by law prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary to ascertain the value of real and personal property exempted from sale under legal process by this Constitution, and to secure the same to the claimant thereof as selected. ”

Section 93

Text of Section 93: State Not to Engage in Internal Improvements or Lend Money or Credit for Same; State Interest in Private or Corporate Enterprises Prohibited “ The state shall not engage in works of internal improvement, nor lend money or its credit in aid of such; nor shall the state be interested in any private or corporate enterprise, or lend money or its credit to any individual, association, or corporation. ”

Amendments

• Amended by: Amendment 1, Alabama Constitution
• Amended by: Amendment 12, Alabama Constitution
• Amended by: Amendment 58, Alabama Constitution

Section 94

Text of Section 94: Municipalities Not to Grant Public Money or Lend Credit to Private Persons or Corporations “ The legislature shall not have power to authorize any county, city, town, or other subdivision of this state to lend its credit, or to grant public money or thing of value in aid of, or to any individual, association, or corporation whatsoever, or to become a stockholder in any such corporation, association, or company, by issuing bonds or otherwise. ”

Amendments

• Amended by: Amendment 112, Alabama Constitution
• Amended by: Amendment 558, Alabama Constitution

Section 95

Text of Section 95: Impairing Obligation of Contracts; Revival of Barred Rights or Remedies; Removal of Cause of Action or Defense to Suit after Commencement of Suit “ There can be no law of this state impairing the obligation of contracts by destroying or impairing the remedy for their enforcement; and the legislature shall have no power to revive any right or remedy which may have become barred by lapse of time, or by any statute of this state. After suit has been commenced on any cause of action, the legislature shall have no power to take away such cause of action, or destroy any existing defense to such suit. ”

Section 96

	Text of Section 96: Uniformity of Laws Regulating Court Costs and Charges and Fees, Commissions and Allowance of Public Officers “ The legislature shall not enact any law not applicable to all the counties in the state, regulating costs and charges of courts, or fees, commissions or allowances of public officers. ”

Section 97

	Text of Section 97: Payment of Salary of Deceased Officer after Date of Death “ The legislature shall not authorize payment to any person of the salary of a deceased officer beyond the date of his death. ”

Section 98

	Text of Section 98: Payments or Grants to Retiring Officers “ The legislature shall not retire any officer on pay, or part pay, or make any grant to such retiring officer. ”

Amendments

• Amended by: Amendment 513, Alabama Constitution

Section 99

Text of Section 99: Restrictions on Donation or Sale of State Lands to Private Corporations or Individuals; Grant of Easements to Railroad, Telephone and Telegraph Companies “ Lands belonging to or under the control of the state shall never be donated, directly or indirectly, to private corporations, associations, or individuals, or railroad companies; nor shall such lands be sold to corporations or associations for a less price than that for which they are subject to sale to individuals; provided, that nothing contained in this section shall prevent the legislature from granting a right of way, not exceeding one hundred and twenty-five feet in width, as a mere easement, for railroads or telegraph or telephone lines across state land, and the legislature shall never dispose of the land covered by such right of way except subject to such easement. ”

Section 100

Text of Section 100: Obligations and Liabilities of Corporations, Etc., Held or Owned by State, Counties or Municipalities “ No obligation or liability of any person, association, or corporation held or owned by this state, or by any county or other municipality thereof, shall ever be remitted, released, or postponed, or in any way diminished, by the legislature; nor shall such liability or obligation be extinguished except by payment thereof; nor shall such liability or obligation be exchanged or transferred except upon payment of its face value; provided, that this section shall not prevent the legislature from providing by general law for the compromise of doubtful claims. ”

Section 101

Text of Section 101: Lobbying in Legislature by State or County Officials “ No state or county official shall, at any time during his term of office, accept, either directly or indirectly, any fee, money, office, appointment, employment, reward, or thing of value, or of personal advantage, or the promise thereof, to lobby for or against any measure pending before the legislature, or to give or withhold his influence to secure the passage or defeat of any such measure. ”

Section 102

	Text of Section 102: Miscegenation Laws “ The legislature shall never pass any law to authorize or legalize any marriage between any white person and a negro, or descendant of a negro. ”

This section has been annulled by Amendment 667.

Section 103

Text of Section 103: Regulation, Etc., of Common Carriers, Partnerships, Associations, Trusts, Monopolies and Combinations of Capital “ The legislature shall provide by law for the regulation, prohibition, or reasonable restraint of common carriers, partnerships, associations, trusts, monopolies, and combinations of capital, so as to prevent them or any of them from making scarce articles of necessity, trade, or commerce, or from increasing unreasonably the cost thereof to the consumer, or preventing reasonable competition in any calling, trade, or business. ”

Section 104

Text of Section 104: Special, Private or Local Laws - Prohibited in Certain Cases “ The legislature shall not pass a special, private, or local law in any of the following cases: (1) Granting a divorce; (2) Relieving any minor of the disabilities of nonage; (3) Changing the name of any corporation, association, or individual; (4) Providing for the adoption or legitimizing of any child; (5) Incorporating a city, town, or village; (6) Granting a charter to any corporation, association, or individual; (7) Establishing rules of descent or distribution; (8) Regulating the time within which a civil or criminal action may be begun; (9) Exempting any individual, private corporation, or association from the operation of any general law; (10) Providing for the sale of the property of any individual or estate; (11) Changing or locating a county seat; (12) Providing for a change of venue in any case; (13) Regulating the rate of interest; (14) Fixing the punishment of crime; (15) Regulating either the assessment or collection of taxes, except in connection with the readjustment, renewal, or extension of existing municipal indebtedness created prior to the ratification of the Constitution of eighteen hundred and seventy-five; (16) Giving effect to an invalid will, deed, or other instrument; (17) Authorizing any county, city, town, village, district, or other political subdivision of a county, to issue bonds or other securities unless the issuance of said bonds or other securities shall have been authorized before the enactment of such local or special law, by a vote of the duly qualified electors of such county, township, city, town, village, district, or other political subdivision of a county, at an election held for such purpose, in the manner that may be prescribed by law; provided, the legislature may, without such election, pass special laws to refund bonds issued before the date of the ratification of this Constitution; (18) Amending, confirming, or extending the charter of any private or municipal corporation, or remitting the forfeiture thereof; provided, this shall not prohibit the legislature from altering or rearranging the boundaries of the city, town, or village; (19) Creating, extending, or impairing any lien; (20) Chartering or licensing any ferry, road, or bridge; (21) Increasing the jurisdiction and fees of justices of the peace or the fees of constables; (22) Establishing separate school districts; (23) Establishing separate stock districts; (24) Creating, increasing, or decreasing fees, percentages, or allowances of public officers; (25) Exempting property from taxation or from levy or sale; (26) Exempting any person from jury, road, or other civil duty; (27) Donating any lands owned by or under control of the state to any person or corporation; (28) Remitting fines, penalties, or forfeitures; (29) Providing for the conduct of elections or designating places of voting, or changing the boundaries of wards, precincts, or districts, except in the event of the organization of new counties, or the changing of the lines of old counties; (30) Restoring the right to vote to persons convicted of infamous crimes, or crimes involving moral turpitude; (31) Declaring who shall be liners between precincts or between counties. The legislature shall pass general laws for the cases enumerated in this section, provided that nothing in this section or article shall affect the right of the legislature to enact local laws regulating or prohibiting the liquor traffic; but no such local law shall be enacted unless notice shall have been given as required in section 106 of this Constitution. ”

Section 105

Text of Section 105: Same Prohibited in Cases Provided for by General Law; Exception as to Time of Holding Courts; Partial Repeal of General Laws “ No special, private, or local law, except a law fixing the time of holding courts, shall be enacted in any case which is provided for by a general law, or when the relief sought can be given by any court of this state; and the courts, and not the legislature, shall judge as to whether the matter of said law is provided for by a general law, and as to whether the relief sought can be given by any court; nor shall the legislature indirectly enact any such special, private, or local law by the partial repeal of a general law. ”

Section 106

Text of Section 106: Same Publication or Posting of Notice of Intent to Apply Therefor Within County or Counties Affected Prior to Introduction of Bill “ No special, private, or local law shall be passed on any subject not enumerated in section 104 of this Constitution, except in reference to fixing the time of holding courts, unless notice of the intention to apply therefor shall have been published, without cost to the state, in the county or counties where the matter or thing to be affected may be situated, which notice shall state the substance of the proposed law and be published at least once a week for four consecutive weeks in some newspaper published in such county or counties, or if there is no newspaper published therein, then by posting the said notice for four consecutive weeks at five different places in the county or counties prior to the introduction of the bill; and proof by affidavit that said notice has been given shall be exhibited to each house of the legislature, and said proof spread upon the journal. The courts shall pronounce void every special, private, or local law which the journals do not affirmatively show was passed in accordance with the provisions of this section. ”

Amendments

• Amended by: Amendment 341, Alabama Constitution

Section 107

	Text of Section 107: Same Notice Required by Section 106 Prerequisite to Repeal or Amendment “ The legislature shall not, by a special, private, or local law, repeal or modify any special, private, or local law except upon notice being given and shown as provided in the last preceding section. ”

Section 108

Text of Section 108: Suspension of General Laws for Benefit of Individuals or Private Corporations; Exemption of Individuals or Private Corporations from Operation of General Laws “ The operation of a general law shall not be suspended for the benefit of any individual, private corporation, or association; nor shall any individual, private corporation or association be exempted from the operation of any general law except as in this article otherwise provided. ”

Section 109

	Text of Section 109: General Laws for Protection of Local and Private Interests “ The legislature shall pass general laws under which local and private interests shall be provided for and protected. ”

Section 110

Text of Section 110: "General Law," "Local Law" and "Special or Private Law" Defined “ A general law within the meaning of this article is a law which applies to the whole state; a local law is a law which applies to any political subdivision or subdivisions of the state less than the whole; a special or private law within the meaning of this article is one which applies to an individual, association, or corporation. ”

Amendments

• Amended by: Amendment 375, Alabama Constitution
• Amended by: Amendment 397, Alabama Constitution

Section 111

	Text of Section 111: Amendment of Bill Introduced as General Law so as to Become Special, Private or Local Law on Passage “ No bill introduced as a general law in either house of the legislature shall be so amended on its passage as to become a special, private or local law. ”

See also

• State constitution
• Constitutional article
• Constitutional amendment
• Constitutional revision
• Constitutional convention
• Amendments
  • Initiated constitutional amendment
  • Legislatively-referred constitutional amendment
  • Publication requirements for proposed state constitutional amendments
  • Rules about constitutional conventions in state constitutions
  • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures

External links

Suggest a link

• Text of the Constitution
• An Overview of Alabama's Six Constitutions
• Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform
• It's a Thick Book (dead link)

Additional reading

• Connor, George E. Connor, and Christopher W. Hammons (2008). The Constitutionalism of American States. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press.
• McMillan, Malcolm Cook (1955). Constitutional Development in Alabama, 1798-1901: A Study in Politics, the Negro, and Sectionalism. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press.