State representatives examine bills that could update the 1901 Alabama Constitution
A bill, proposed in the House of Representatives by Demetrius Newton, D-Jefferson, and in the Senate by Ted Little, D-Lee, Russell and Tallapoosa, could lead to a convention to reform Alabama’s Constitution.
The constitution, which contains 799 amendments, has governed Alabama since 1901, and it’s the longest constitution in the United States.
The convention would involve 210 elected delegates who would meet to rewrite the current state constitution. The constitution would then be voted on by the people of Alabama.
By the current constitution, legislatures must pass bills to govern local governments. This limits the power of local governments and people.
“It would enfranchise some people who were disenfranchised and put power back into the hands of the people and local government where it belongs,” Newton said.
Many senators, including Rep. Micky Hammon, R-Limestone and Morgan, are opposed to having a convention to reform the Alabama constitution.
They believe the constitution should be reformed article-by-article.
This process is one of two ways in which the constitution could be changed. The Legislature would revise each article or a set of articles and then allow the people to approve the change.
This process would take several years.
“The time frame is too short (for a convention),” Hammon said. “Few words changed could have a tremendous effect in one way or another. It’s in the best interest to do this slow.”
Hammon believes a convention would make it easier for special interest groups to control reform of the Alabama constitution.
“If we do it article-by-article, it would help the image as a state and make it more user-friendly,” Hammon said. “It would help the industry in the country and around the world.”
The article-by-article reform has only occurred to one amendment.
“Everybody gets a right to participate,” Newton said. “It mimics the House of Representatives, which is representative of the people.”
The 1901 constitution is the sixth Alabama has had.
It is 12 times longer than any other state constitution and 40 times longer than the United States Constitution.
Alabama’s constitution is so long because it required the state legislature to pass laws for each county. Laws pertaining to activities such as bingo can be found in the current constitution.
More than 70 percent of the constitutional amendments pertain to a local city or county.
Reform to the constitution would take out many unnecessary amendments, along with removing other things such as outdated, racist language.
“It would put us in a better light nationally,” Newton said. “We’re the only state that still operates on a constitution that works on language that is disenfranchising.”
Reform of the constitution would make it shorter and easier for those in charge of reforming the constitution. However, there may not necessarily be a large change for the citizens of the state.
“It won’t be life changing for citizens,” Hammon said. “For those who work with it, it’ll be more user-friendly.”
