Alabama Constitution, 10 amendments on Nov. 8 ballot
Alabama voters on Nov. 8 will decide whether to strip racist language from the state constitution. They will also vote on 10 amendments. Here’s a brief look at what’s on the ballot: Ratification of the Constitution of Alabama of 2022: Voters will decide whether to ratify a recompiled Alabama Constitution. The recompiled document deletes racist language and repealed provisions. It also reorganizes the sprawling document. The changes are designed to remove the lingering stain of the state’s segregationist past and make the document more user-friendly. Amendment 1 – Bail restriction The measure is aimed at giving judges more discretion to deny bail to people charged with violent crimes. It adds murder, kidnapping, rape, and other offenses to the list of crimes for which bail can be denied. The measure is named Aniah’s Law after 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard, who was killed in 2019 after being abducted from an Auburn gas station. Amendment 2 – Broadband funding The amendment is part of the state’s effort to expand broadband access. It clarifies that local governments can grant federal funds or other state funding to a public or private organization to expand access to high-speed internet infrastructure. Amendment 3 – Death sentence commutations The amendment would require the governor to provide notice to the attorney general and the victim’s family before commuting a death sentence. Only one sentence has been commuted since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Gov. Fob James in 1999 commuted Judith Ann Neelley’s sentence to life in prison. Amendment 4 – Election procedures The amendment would prevent lawmakers from making election procedure changes within six months of an election. This amendment requires any legislation affecting how a general election is held to take effect at least six months before the election. Amendment 5 – Delete outdated reference Deletes the outdated phrase “orphans’ business” in regards to a probate judges’ duties. The amendment only removes the wording. Judges would continue to handle adoptions and guardianships. Amendment 6 – Local government projects This amendment says cities and towns that collect a special property tax may use those tax dollars to directly “pay-as-you-go” for construction projects instead of going into debt. Amendment 7 – Economic development This amendment is aimed at giving local governments more power to issue economic development incentives. It would clarify all local governments can use public funds to sell public property, lend their credit, or become indebted for economic development purposes. Amendment 8 and Amendment 9 – Local sewer projects These amendments would bring certain privately owned sewer systems, at least temporarily, under regulation by the Public Service Commission. Amendment 8 applies only to Shelby County. Amendment 9 applies only to the town of Lake View in Tuscaloosa and Jefferson Counties. Amendment 10 – Companion to new constitution ratification This is a companion amendment to the ratification vote. If the new constitution is ratified, it would allow any new amendments to be placed within the document, instead of just listed at the end. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Voters can erase racist wording in Alabama Constitution
The Alabama Constitution, approved in 1901 to entrench white supremacy, still has language regarding segregated schools, poll taxes, and bans on interracial marriage. But a seismic change could be in store. Alabama voters on November 8 will decide whether to ratify a new constitution that strips out the Jim Crow-era language. It would also reorganize the unwieldy governing document, which has been amended 978 times and tops over 400,000 words. The Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama says the size makes it the longest such document in the world. Voters in 2020 authorized state officials and lawmakers to cut the racist language that lingers from the era of racial segregation. That work, finally completed, now goes back before voters to ratify the Alabama Constitution of 2022. Proponents say the changes that will demonstrate Alabama is a different place today — and streamline the sprawling constitution to be more user-friendly. “This is an effort to show, not only the rest of the country but the world who we are today,” said state Rep. Merika Coleman, one of the lawmakers who led the bipartisan effort. However, it does not make the policy changes that some reformers have sought — such as giving counties more home rule and removing tax earmarks, which dedicate taxes to a specific program or purpose. To approve the measure, voters must vote ‘Yes’ on the question asking whether to ratify the “Constitution of Alabama of 2022. ” The ratification question will appear on the ballot after the list of candidates for office. There is also a separate amendment, Amendment 10, to authorize the code commissioner to renumber and nest the newest amendments within the Constitution. The framers of the 1901 constitution were direct about their goal to maintain a government controlled by whites. “The new constitution eliminates the ignorant negro vote and places the control of our government where God Almighty intended it should be -– with the Anglo-Saxon race,” John Knox, president of the constitutional convention, said in a speech urging voters to ratify the document. The Alabama Constitution has language allowing parents to opt for students to “attend schools provided for their own race” and sections about poll taxes, bans on interracial marriage, and a convict labor system in which Black Alabamians, often arbitrarily arrested, were forced to work in mines and labor camps. The provisions were long ago invalidated by court rulings or later amendments, but the language remains in the state’s government document. Alabama has seen efforts previously to invalidate racist language, but this goes further, said Othni Lathram, the director of the Legislative Services Agency. For example, voters in 2000 approved an amendment repealing an unenforceable interracial marriage ban — although 40% of voters voted against the repeal — but the language about the ban remains in the Constitution, and “you have to make it to the Amendment 667 to know that it’s been repealed,” he said. “With the recompilation, it completely goes away,” he said. The reorganization effort is designed to make the document more user-friendly, Lathram said. Repealed provisions will be removed and the nearly 1,000 amendments will be incorporated into the document. Amendments related to local areas will be organized by county so they can be more easily found. Tom Spencer, a senior research associate at the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, said the proposal will strip remaining racist language. However, it will continue the current structure that centralizes power in the Legislature, and will not change the state’s tax structure. The Alabama Constitution of 1901 is currently 420,000 words. The new Constitution would shrink slightly to 373,274 words, but that is three times more words than the next-longest state constitution – Texas, according to an analysis from the PARCA. “Power will still be concentrated in the Legislature, and local matters, like whether counties can regulate golf carts on public roads, will continue to clutter the state constitution … And it will still be the world’s longest constitution. Even with the organizational fixes, the document is a confusing mess,” Spencer wrote. The state committee that worked on the recompilation and the lawmakers who approved it only had a narrow charge to delete racist or repeated language and to reorganize, according to Coleman. However, she is hopeful the ratification will be approved. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Steve Flowers: Election year observations
This 2022 Election Year in Alabama has been monumental and memorable. Any gubernatorial year is big in the state. It is the brass ring of Alabama politics to be governor. However, the race to succeed our Senior Senator Richard Shelby has been the marquee contest. This year will be the last hurrah for our two leading political figures in the state. Senator Richard Shelby is retiring after 36 years in the U.S. Senate at age 88. Governor Kay Ivey will be elected to her final term as Governor at 78. An observation that occurred to me during the year that many of you may not know or realize is the power that Jimmy Rane, the legendary successful businessman from Abbeville, possesses. He is known to many Alabamians as the famous friendly giant sitting atop a horse as the Yella Fella on the ads of yesteryear promoting his Great Southern Wood Company. In my years of observing Alabama politics, I do not believe there has been an individual that has been the closest confidant and friend to the two most powerful political people in the state. Senator Shelby and Governor Ivey are unquestionably the two most powerful political people in the state, but they are arguably two of the most important political figures in modern Alabama political history. If you sat both Ivey and Shelby down and asked them to tell you their best friend and confidant, they both would probably say Jimmy Rane. Governor Ivey and Rane have been friends and allies since their college days at Auburn University 60 years ago. Shelby and Rane have been bonded for at least 36 years. As busy as Senator Shelby has been as one of the most important leaders in Washington and world affairs in the last ten years, a week does not go by that Shelby and Rane do not talk. Rane knows when Shelby has a cold before his wife Annette knows. Rane has been Ivey’s and Shelby’s benefactor and ally for not what they can do for him. He does not get anything out of his relationship with Shelby and Ivey. He is just their friend. He is also loyal to his hometown of Abbeville and Henry County. The Great Southern Wood is the main thing in Abbeville and a mainstay for the entire Wiregrass. His benevolence to his hometown is unparalleled. Another development I have watched this year is some good old-fashioned hardnosed hard work on the campaign trail by some of the 2022 candidates. It is understandable that those running for office on this year’s ballot would be on the campaign trail. However, one Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh, the President of the Public Service Commission, has canvassed the rural counties of Alabama more extensively than most of the successful candidates running statewide this year. And, folks, her name was not even on the ballot this year. She will run for reelection to the PSC Presidency in 2024. To say that she will be unbeatable for reelection to her post as head of the PSC would be an understatement. Twinkle Cavanaugh is probably the best-known political figure in the state going forward in the post-Richard Shelby/Kay Ivey era. She has run statewide numerous times and has been successful in most of those races. When you run that many times, you build a grassroots organization. Then you add that she has been Chairman of the Republican Party and a loyal supporter of popular past Republican presidents. She has not let any grass grow under her feet this year. She has watered that grassroots organization during this off-year with one-on-one visits, especially to the remote rural counties of the state. Her diligence will pay off in future years. She is still young and a good bet to be governor or U.S. Senator one day. Folks in Montgomery and throughout the state are glad to see State Senator Billy Beasley run again, successfully, for another term. He is one of the most well-liked and respected members of the upper chamber in the State Capitol. Billy is the only white Democrat in the Alabama Senate. Do not bet on his not running again in 2026. He is the youngest looking 82-year-old I have ever seen, and his brother Jere is the youngest 85-year-old I have ever seen. They must have pretty good genes. See you next week. Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at: www.steveflowers.us.
Katie Britt urges voters to vote for Republicans up and down the ballot
On Monday, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, Katie Britt, was joined at a rally in Madison by Republican leaders across the state of Alabama in Huntsville. U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) expressed her support for Britt and urged everyone to encourage their friends to go to the polls to vote for Britt and other Republicans on November 8. Britt urged voters to vote “for Republicans up and down the ballot.” Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon said, “We have a lot of great leaders here for our state and nation. Thank you, Sen. Blackburn, for being here. I want to thank everyone for coming here. We have an election coming up. I want to tell you that this is a very important election for this state and also for this nation as well. Go vote and take someone with you as well. Rex Vaughn with the Alabama Farmers Federation (ALFA) said he met with Katie Britt when she began her campaign. “We talked about what it would take to get the ALFA and Farmers Federation endorsement,” Vaughn said. “It was a tall order. She was down 40 points in name identification.” “I thought that Tommy Tuberville could not be surpassed (in working hard on the campaign trail), but she did,” Vaugh said. “We (the Farmers’ Federation) were told by many political experts across this state that we would regret our endorsement of her.” Britt defeated Congressman Mo Brooks and businessman and veteran Mike Durant in the Republican primary. She appears poised to take the Senate seat in one week. “I want you to leave here and contact ten and hopefully twenty people that you know and tell them to come out to vote,” said McCutcheon. McCutcheon urged voters to support the Republican nominees. “All of the (Republican) candidates are in unison to come together and move us forward,” McCutcheon said. “We are here on election eve, and I am so excited by what w are going to see here Tuesday,” said Congressman Robert Aderholt. “I am so happy to be here with people from both the Fourth and Fifth Congressional Districts. It is an honor to be joined here by Sen. Blackburn. I have watched her from a distance, and she is someone who both says she is a conservative and is a conservative. As Marsha and I know, there are some people in Washington who give lip service to being conservative but don’t walk the walk.” “I am so excited to be here,” Sen. Blackburn said. “What a great crowd for Monday morning. Alabama is going to help us to fire Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi. Once we do that, you are going to have Chairman Aderholt (House Appropriations). We are looking forward to that. I look forward to Dale Strong coming to Congress. I have gotten to meet him. We are so excited that Katie is running. We are so excited for all the energy and enthusiasm that she brings to this race.” “I fully believe that, and you believe, that America’s best days are ahead of us,” Blackburn said. “We cannot win if we do not get out the vote. We cannot send the message that North Alabama is not purple, but red if we do not get people out to vote.” Blackburn continued, “The message this year: people are all concerned about inflation, are all concerned about the crisis on the border. This year you have got such a great opportunity from the local level to the state level to the federal level to send that message.” Blackburn commented about Britt, “You are going to send an absolute fireball to the U.S. Senate. She is going to do a great job working with Sen. Tuberville. I cannot wait to have her in the U.S. Senate.” “Thank you for your continued service. I cannot wait to serve alongside you,” Britt said of Blackburn. “Look at this crowd. I cannot believe so many people came out on a Monday with Halloween and school and so much going on.” “If we are going to put this nation back on the right track, we are going to have to do it by putting in Republicans from the top to the bottom of the ballot,” Britt continued. “We knew that we believed in the state and the nation. If our generation at age 40 does not stand up, then we will be the first generation who leaves our children a worse nation than the one that we grew up in. We have to stand up and fight for our children and grandchildren, or they might not have much left to fight for.” “Under Joe Biden’s failed leadership, he has left our border open to human traffickers, drug traffickers, and terrorists,” Britt said. “Rest assured that when I am in the Senate, I will stand alongside Senator Tuberville, Senator Cotton, and Senator Blackburn to make sure that we will not let the Chinese government buy up our farmland.” State Senate Majority Leader Clay Scofield said that Alabama Republican leadership has been more positive than Democrat leadership. “The state was in terrible shape, our budgets were in terrible shape, our ethics laws were nonexistent,” Scofield argued. “Our schools were in terrible shape. Why would we go back to that? We have two Senators on the ballot in Madison County next week: Sen. Tom Butler and Sen. Sam Givhan. I serve with these two men not just in the State Senate but serving with them on the Madison County Delegation. They are effective for us in Madison County.” House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter urged residents of Madison County to support Republican candidates Dr. David Cole and Phillip Rigsby, who are in hotly contested races with Democrats. “November 8 is a big day for Madison County,” Ledbetter said. “One of two things are going to happen. Madison County is going to set the stake for the state, or it’s going to fail.” Britt urged voters to vote for Republican Greg Cooke for Alabama Supreme Court. Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth stated, “We are on fire with this economy. The talk was we were going to lose a congressional seat, then we were going to lose two congressional
November is Thank Alabama Teachers Month
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey on Tuesday kicked off the annual Thank Alabama Teachers observance to honor Alabama’s K-12 educators. Governor Ivey, at the commencement, announced that she is officially declaring November as Thank Alabama Teachers Month. The Thank Alabama Teachers initiative was created in 2020 to demonstrate gratitude in ample ways for the role Alabama teachers play in every facet of their students’ lives. Gov. Ivey was joined by Alabama State Superintendent of Education Dr. Eric Mackey at Carver High School for the event. “As someone whose career began in the classroom, I know the important work our teachers do on a daily basis,” Ivey said on Twitter. “Our educators are truly shaping the future – the future of AL & our nation!” The Governor asked that Alabamians show their support for teachers by visiting the website. The website both thanks Alabama teachers for their contributions to Alabama society but also encourages more people to enter the profession. “You could qualify for $17,500 or more in student loan forgiveness,” the site explains to prospective teachers. “Teachers in a low-income school or educational organizations having taught full time for at least five consecutive years, learn more here. Additionally, if you are teaching or plan to teach math or science, the Alabama Math and Science Teacher Education Program (AMSTEP) is a loan repayment program for you.” Alabama State Superintendent of Education Eric Mackey said on social media, “This morning, we kicked off #ThankALTeachers month with a press conference & proclamation from @GovernorKayIvey. Teachers truly make a difference in the lives of our students & we want everyone to let teachers know they are appreciated.” Gov. Ivey also issued a proclamation thanking teachers and declaring November as Thank Alabama Teachers Month. Education and the state’s long track record of underperforming in education is a major issue confronting the State Legislature in the next four years. There is growing pressure to respond by dramatically increasing school choice across Alabama. Any effort to increase options for families will be strongly opposed by teacher’s unions as well as the Alabama State Superintendents Association. Ivey was elevated to governor in 2017 and then elected to her own term in 2018. She is seeking a second term. On Tuesday, she faces Libertarian nominee Dr. James “Jimmy” Blake and Democratic nominee Yolanda Flowers in the November 8 general election. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Orphans would no longer be the jurisdiction of probate court if Amendment 5 passes
Voters will go to the polls on November 8 to elect our leaders going forward. In addition, Alabamians are considering a number of state constitutional amendments. Amendment 5 would remove orphans’ business from the jurisdiction of county probate courts. County probate courts would continue to be responsible for adoptions, guardianships, and granting letters of testamentary. This amendment is Senate Bill 68. It passed in the Senate with a unanimous vote of 28 to 0. Amendment 2 was passed in the House on April 15, 2021, by a vote of 90 to 0. Voting yes on Amendment 5 would mean deleting an existing provision giving the probate court of each county general jurisdiction over orphans’ business. The Alabama Fair Ballot Commission wrote the following ballot statement: “If the majority of the voters vote “yes” on Amendment 5, the outdated words “orphans’ business” will be removed from the Alabama Constitution. If the majority of the voters vote “no” on Amendment 5, the outdated words “orphans’ business” will remain in the Alabama Constitution. There are no costs to Amendment 5. There are 68 probate courts and judges in Alabama. Probate courts handle cases concerning wills, estates, property distribution, and debts of those who are deceased. County probate courts have general jurisdiction over cases concerning adoptions and guardianships. They also have jurisdiction over estates and wills as well as other areas, including areas of mental competency. A no vote would simply mean that things would simply remain the way that they are. Since 2000 to the present day, voters approved 79% of all the amendments that have been on the ballot in Alabama. The Alabama Constitution of 1901 is the longest constitution in the world. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
