When Alabama voters go to the polls for the March 5, 2024, primary elections, they will also vote on one constitutional amendment.
Amendment One will appear on all ballots, regardless of whether the voter casts a ballot in the Republican or Democratic Primary.
The language of Amendment One reads as follows: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama 2022, to amend Section 71.01 authorizing the Legislature to sign and transmit local laws or constitutional amendments before the transmission of basic appropriations.
Section 71.01 of the Alabama Constitution prohibits any bill or law from being considered by the House of Representatives or Senate before budgets are approved by the Legislature and sent to the Governor, unless an additional vote is approved by the House and Senate of at least a three-fifths (3/5ths) vote.
Essentially, the Constitution requires the Legislature to pass a budget and send it the governor for signature before it can consider any other legislation.
If voters approve Amendment One, the Legislature may vote on and approve local laws or local Constitutional amendments even before the budget is approved.
Local laws are those which are not classified as general, special or private laws. While general laws apply to the entire state, a local law only impacts the residents of a particular county or counties.
The same is true for a local Constitutional Amendment. An example of a local Constitutional Amendment for Franklin County came in 2018 when voters were asked to consider extending the county's one-cent sales tax (with 75% going to the two school systems in Franklin County and 25% to the Franklin County Commission for road and bridge improvements) for a 30-year period.
Previously the one-cent tax was considered by Franklin County voters every two years.
Under the 2024 amendment, the Legislature could approve local legislation and clear the way for local amendments to be placed on the November general election ballot.
The Legislature has frequently used the three-fifths rule to usher through bills before approval of a budget, a procedural step called the Budget Isolation Reduction.
Why a Constitutional amendment is needed is something advocates of Amendment One must explain to voters. Count the Association of County Commissions of Alabama Executive Director Sonny Brasfield as one who supports the amendment.
“Local legislation is designed to deal with a problem in a particular county that's different from problems in neighboring counties. We think legislators ought to be able to bring those bills at any time and not be restricted by this budget isolation vote,” Brasfield told a Birmingham television station last week.
Whether Alabama voters agree remains to be seen.
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