AL
Alabama House Bill HB561

Alabama 2025 Regular Session

Alabama House Bill HB561 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
OldNewDifferences
11 HB561INTRODUCED
22 Page 0
33 HB561
44 YMMZJ62-1
55 By Representatives Lands, Daniels, Tillman, Bracy, Hall,
66 Hollis(Constitutional Amendment)
77 RFD: Constitution, Campaigns and Elections
88 First Read: 10-Apr-25
99 1
1010 2
1111 3
1212 4
1313 5
1414 6 YMMZJ62-1 03/04/2025 PMG (L)cr 2025-1010
1515 Page 1
1616 First Read: 10-Apr-25
1717 SYNOPSIS:
1818 Under existing law, the Constitution of
1919 Alabama of 2022, may be amended by the Legislature
2020 submitting a proposed constitutional amendment for
2121 ratification or rejection by the people which becomes
2222 effective upon ratification and proclamation. General
2323 and local laws must be enacted by the Legislature and
2424 generally become effective upon enactment or at a
2525 later date provided by the statute.
2626 This bill would propose an amendment to the
2727 Constitution of Alabama of 2022, to provide that the
2828 people also may propose the enactment of general laws
2929 and constitutional amendments by an initiative
3030 measure subject to the same limitations imposed on
3131 the Legislature and that the Legislature may offer an
3232 alternate proposal.
3333 A BILL
3434 TO BE ENTITLED
3535 AN ACT
3636 Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama
3737 of 2022; to provide that the people also may propose the
3838 enactment of general laws and constitutional amendments by an
3939 1
4040 2
4141 3
4242 4
4343 5
4444 6
4545 7
4646 8
4747 9
4848 10
4949 11
5050 12
5151 13
5252 14
5353 15
5454 16
5555 17
5656 18
5757 19
5858 20
5959 21
6060 22
6161 23
6262 24
6363 25
6464 26
6565 27
6666 28 HB561 INTRODUCED
6767 Page 2
6868 enactment of general laws and constitutional amendments by an
6969 initiative measure subject to the same limitations imposed on
7070 the Legislature and that the Legislature may offer an
7171 alternate proposal.
7272 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
7373 Section 1. The following amendment to the Constitution
7474 of Alabama of 2022, is proposed:
7575 PROPOSED AMENDMENT
7676 Part I. (a)(1) The people may propose by the
7777 initiative process that a general law be enacted by filing
7878 with the Secretary of State a concise summary of the proposal
7979 accompanied by a preliminary petition signed by no less than
8080 1000 qualified Alabama voters and a filing fee of one thousand
8181 dollars ($1,000). The filing fee shall be refundable, less any
8282 administrative expenses incurred, if the initiative is
8383 successfully adopted or enacted.
8484 (2) The preliminary filing must be in the name of an
8585 individual qualified elector who becomes the registered agent
8686 for the proposition. The named individual registered agent is
8787 the responsible party for any future filings and must file any
8888 election reports and disclosures required by the election laws
8989 in the same manner as a candidate seeking elected office. The
9090 registered agent is subject to all other requirements and
9191 liabilities as candidates for office.
9292 (3) The Secretary of State shall verify that the name
9393 and address of each qualified Alabama voter signing the
9494 preliminary petition are the same or substantially similar to
9595 the name and address that appear on the registered voter list.
9696 (b) The Secretary of State shall review the
9797 29
9898 30
9999 31
100100 32
101101 33
102102 34
103103 35
104104 36
105105 37
106106 38
107107 39
108108 40
109109 41
110110 42
111111 43
112112 44
113113 45
114114 46
115115 47
116116 48
117117 49
118118 50
119119 51
120120 52
121121 53
122122 54
123123 55
124124 56 HB561 INTRODUCED
125125 Page 3
126126 (b) The Secretary of State shall review the
127127 preliminary filing subject to any restrictions and limitations
128128 imposed by the Legislature by general law and any
129129 administrative rules adopted by the Secretary of State
130130 regarding initiatives. Upon approval, the Secretary of State
131131 shall certify to the registered agent the preliminary summary
132132 of the proposal for preparation of the full text and official
133133 summary of the proposal.
134134 (c) Upon the request of the registered agent,
135135 accompanied by the certification by the Secretary of State,
136136 the Alabama Law Institute shall prepare the full text of the
137137 initiative proposal, along with an official summary within 90
138138 days after the request, unless the registered agent agrees in
139139 writing to extend the time for preparation. The registered
140140 agent must file a copy of the full text and summary as
141141 prepared by the Alabama Law Institute with the Secretary of
142142 State for registration and publication to seek signatures for
143143 the final filing and to proceed for legislative consideration.
144144 (d) Upon receipt of the full text and summary of a
145145 proposal filed by the registered agent, the Secretary of State
146146 shall publish the full text and summary of the proposal on the
147147 Secretary of State's website. The full text of each proposal
148148 shall remain published on the website for a period of no less
149149 than 90 days. The summary of each proposal shall remain
150150 published on the website throughout the next regular session
151151 of the Legislature.
152152 (e) Any proposal properly filed with the Office of the
153153 Secretary of State prior to the first legislative day of any
154154 regular session shall be published by the Office of the
155155 57
156156 58
157157 59
158158 60
159159 61
160160 62
161161 63
162162 64
163163 65
164164 66
165165 67
166166 68
167167 69
168168 70
169169 71
170170 72
171171 73
172172 74
173173 75
174174 76
175175 77
176176 78
177177 79
178178 80
179179 81
180180 82
181181 83
182182 84 HB561 INTRODUCED
183183 Page 4
184184 regular session shall be published by the Office of the
185185 Secretary of State for the review and consideration by the
186186 individual members of the Legislature. No later than the third
187187 legislative day, the Secretary of State shall prepare and
188188 disseminate to all members of the Legislature a complete list
189189 of the official summaries of all timely filed proposals. Upon
190190 request by any individual member of the Legislature, the
191191 Secretary of State shall provide a copy of the full text of
192192 the proposal to the member. A member may elect to sponsor the
193193 initiative proposal before the Legislature during that regular
194194 session in the same manner as any other sponsored legislation.
195195 (f) If no member of the Legislature elects to sponsor
196196 a proposal, or the registered agent determines that no
197197 suitable action was taken by any individual in the Legislature
198198 on the proposal, the registered agent may resume the
199199 initiative process only after the end of the regular session
200200 by proceeding to obtain signatures in a final petition format
201201 provided by the Secretary of State for qualifying the full
202202 text of the proposal for consideration. The final petition
203203 must be signed by qualified Alabama voters in a number that
204204 equals at least seven percent of the total votes cast for
205205 Governor in the last preceding gubernatorial general election.
206206 Each petition shall contain a minimum number of signatures of
207207 qualified Alabama voters from each congressional district in
208208 the state equal to one percent of the total votes cast for
209209 Governor in the last preceding gubernatorial general election
210210 within each district. The Secretary of State shall verify that
211211 the name and address of each qualified Alabama voter signing
212212 the final petition are the same or substantially similar to
213213 85
214214 86
215215 87
216216 88
217217 89
218218 90
219219 91
220220 92
221221 93
222222 94
223223 95
224224 96
225225 97
226226 98
227227 99
228228 100
229229 101
230230 102
231231 103
232232 104
233233 105
234234 106
235235 107
236236 108
237237 109
238238 110
239239 111
240240 112 HB561 INTRODUCED
241241 Page 5
242242 the final petition are the same or substantially similar to
243243 the name and address that appear on the registered voter list.
244244 The 1,000 signatures contained on the preliminary petition may
245245 be used toward the total requirement for the final petition.
246246 (g) Once the required signatures are obtained, the
247247 registered agent shall submit a copy of the full text of the
248248 proposal, the summary, and final petition to the Secretary of
249249 State. The registered agent has two calendar years from the
250250 date of registration of the full text of the proposal and
251251 summary to qualify the proposal and summary for final filing
252252 and consideration. The Secretary of State shall issue to the
253253 registered agent a certification for filing the full text
254254 proposal and summary with the Legislature. The registered
255255 agent must file the full text proposal and summary with the
256256 Legislature within two years and an initiative proposal may
257257 only be filed in a regular session of the Legislature.
258258 (h) A full text proposal and summary for the enactment
259259 of a general law shall be submitted by the registered agent
260260 with certifying documentation from the Secretary of State to
261261 the Legislature 30 days prior to the first legislative day of
262262 the regular session by filing a copy with the Legislative
263263 Services Agency, Legal Division and Fiscal Division, for a
264264 constitutional and fiscal analysis, respectively. The
265265 Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of
266266 Representatives shall prefile in the respective houses the
267267 proposal for a general law and on the first day of the session
268268 the proposal shall be introduced by the President Pro Tempore
269269 of the Senate and the Speaker Pro Tempore of the House of
270270 Representatives. The proposal shall be presented in bill form
271271 113
272272 114
273273 115
274274 116
275275 117
276276 118
277277 119
278278 120
279279 121
280280 122
281281 123
282282 124
283283 125
284284 126
285285 127
286286 128
287287 129
288288 130
289289 131
290290 132
291291 133
292292 134
293293 135
294294 136
295295 137
296296 138
297297 139
298298 140 HB561 INTRODUCED
299299 Page 6
300300 Representatives. The proposal shall be presented in bill form
301301 and treated in every respect the same as any other bill for a
302302 general law except as otherwise provided by this amendment and
303303 except that the measure shall not be sent to the Governor nor
304304 require the Governor's signature. The Legislature, upon
305305 considering the proposal for the enactment of a general bill
306306 by the initiative, may not alter or amend the original
307307 proposal; however, the Legislature may offer an alternate
308308 proposal to be considered in the same manner. If the
309309 Legislature does not enact the proposal by 12:01 a.m. of the
310310 30th legislative day, the proposal shall be placed on the
311311 ballot by the Secretary of State. If the Legislature approves
312312 an alternate proposal, both the original proposal from the
313313 initiative process and the alternate legislative proposal
314314 shall be placed on the ballot. The question shall be submitted
315315 to the qualified voters at the first statewide election held
316316 90 days or more after the Legislature adjourns. No special
317317 election may be called solely for the purpose of a voter
318318 initiative. "Enact" as used in this subsection means the
319319 proposal is considered for a third reading before each body
320320 and is voted upon by each house of the Legislature, in its
321321 original form as proposed, by the end of the 29th legislative
322322 day. The proposal may be a bill for a new statute, a bill to
323323 amend an existing statute, or a bill to repeal an existing
324324 statute in whole or in part. Upon enactment in the
325325 Legislature, the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the
326326 House of Representatives, respectively, shall deliver any
327327 enactment by the initiative proposal to the Secretary of
328328 State. The time for delivery from the Legislature to the
329329 141
330330 142
331331 143
332332 144
333333 145
334334 146
335335 147
336336 148
337337 149
338338 150
339339 151
340340 152
341341 153
342342 154
343343 155
344344 156
345345 157
346346 158
347347 159
348348 160
349349 161
350350 162
351351 163
352352 164
353353 165
354354 166
355355 167
356356 168 HB561 INTRODUCED
357357 Page 7
358358 State. The time for delivery from the Legislature to the
359359 Secretary of State shall be the same as for the Governor
360360 pursuant to Section 125 of the Constitution of Alabama of
361361 2022, and shall not be subject to veto of any nature. The
362362 initiative proposal for a general law enacted by the
363363 Legislature shall become law effective upon delivery to the
364364 Secretary of State, or upon the terms of the initiative. If
365365 two or more proposals, including an initiative proposal and a
366366 legislative alternative for a general law, proposed separately
367367 for the initiative procedure or as an initiative and an
368368 alternate legislative proposal, relating to essentially the
369369 same subject, appear on the ballot and are adopted, the
370370 measure that receives the highest number of affirmative votes
371371 shall prevail to the extent of any conflict.
372372 (i) No measure proposed as a statutory initiative
373373 shall be sent to the Governor, but shall be sent directly to
374374 the Legislative Services Agency, Legal Division, for
375375 preparation of a review and comment, including an official
376376 summary of the proposal for use on the ballot. Both the ballot
377377 title and the official summary for the ballot shall be
378378 impartial and not likely to create prejudice for or against
379379 the measure and shall be prepared in consultation with the
380380 initiative committee and proponents. The initiative shall be
381381 sent to the Secretary of State for inclusion in the
382382 appropriate election.
383383 (j) No law adopted by the initiative under this
384384 amendment shall be repealed or amended except by vote of the
385385 people, unless it is otherwise provided by its terms.
386386 Part II. (a) The people may propose a constitutional
387387 169
388388 170
389389 171
390390 172
391391 173
392392 174
393393 175
394394 176
395395 177
396396 178
397397 179
398398 180
399399 181
400400 182
401401 183
402402 184
403403 185
404404 186
405405 187
406406 188
407407 189
408408 190
409409 191
410410 192
411411 193
412412 194
413413 195
414414 196 HB561 INTRODUCED
415415 Page 8
416416 Part II. (a) The people may propose a constitutional
417417 amendment with statewide application by filing a preliminary
418418 petition containing a summary of the proposal with the
419419 Secretary of State and proceeding further in the same manner
420420 and with the same requirements and following the same
421421 procedures as for the petition process and the proposal of a
422422 general law outlined in Part I, including the refund of the
423423 filing fee, less any administrative expenses incurred, for an
424424 initiative that is successfully adopted; provided, however,
425425 the petition must be signed by qualified Alabama voters and
426426 verified as outlined in Part I. The total number of signatures
427427 on the final petition required for a proposed constitutional
428428 amendment must equal at least 10 percent of the total votes
429429 cast for Governor in the last preceding gubernatorial general
430430 election. Each final petition shall contain a minimum number
431431 of signatures of qualified Alabama voters from each
432432 congressional district in the state equal to 1.3 percent of
433433 the total votes cast for Governor in the last preceding
434434 gubernatorial general election within each district. The
435435 Legislature may approve an alternative amendment which shall
436436 appear on the ballot at the same time following the same
437437 procedure as for a general law in Part I.
438438 (b) The proposal and any alternative shall be
439439 submitted to the qualified voters at the first statewide
440440 election held 90 days or more after the measure qualifies;
441441 however, a special election may not be called solely for the
442442 purpose of a voter initiative proposal.
443443 (c) No measure proposed pursuant to this part of this
444444 amendment shall be sent to the Governor, but shall be sent
445445 197
446446 198
447447 199
448448 200
449449 201
450450 202
451451 203
452452 204
453453 205
454454 206
455455 207
456456 208
457457 209
458458 210
459459 211
460460 212
461461 213
462462 214
463463 215
464464 216
465465 217
466466 218
467467 219
468468 220
469469 221
470470 222
471471 223
472472 224 HB561 INTRODUCED
473473 Page 9
474474 amendment shall be sent to the Governor, but shall be sent
475475 directly to the Legislative Services Agency, Legal Division,
476476 for preparation of a review and comment, including an official
477477 summary of the proposal for use on the ballot. Both the ballot
478478 title and the official summary shall be impartial and not
479479 likely to create prejudice for or against the measure and
480480 shall be prepared in consideration with the initiative
481481 committee and proponents. The initiative shall be sent to the
482482 Secretary of State for inclusion in the appropriate election.
483483 (d) A proposed amendment or the legislative
484484 alternative shall become part of this constitution if approved
485485 by a majority of electors voting on the proposal.
486486 (e) If two constitutional amendments proposed
487487 separately by the initiative procedure relating to essentially
488488 the same subject appear on the ballot and are adopted, the
489489 amendment which receives the highest number of affirmative
490490 votes shall prevail to the extent of any conflict and shall be
491491 proclaimed upon the date of ratification.
492492 (f) No more than two pieces of legislation proposed
493493 pursuant to this amendment may be enacted by the Legislature
494494 pursuant to this amendment in any legislative session. If more
495495 than two pieces of legislation are proposed, the two pieces of
496496 legislation which may be enacted or placed on the ballot shall
497497 be the two proposals having the greatest number of signatures.
498498 If a proposal by initiative, whether a general bill or an
499499 amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, has an
500500 alternative proposal made by the Legislature, the ballot
501501 language shall be as follows:
502502 Do you favor amending general law or proposing a
503503 225
504504 226
505505 227
506506 228
507507 229
508508 230
509509 231
510510 232
511511 233
512512 234
513513 235
514514 236
515515 237
516516 238
517517 239
518518 240
519519 241
520520 242
521521 243
522522 244
523523 245
524524 246
525525 247
526526 248
527527 249
528528 250
529529 251
530530 252 HB561 INTRODUCED
531531 Page 10
532532 Do you favor amending general law or proposing a
533533 constitutional amendment regarding _____?
534534 Yes ___ No ___
535535 Which change do you prefer?
536536 ____ (A) The change proposed by the initiative process
537537 which _________.
538538 ____ (B) The change offered as an alternative proposal
539539 which _______.
540540 Part III. If an initiative proposed by Part I or Part
541541 II fails to be adopted or approved pursuant to the process
542542 provided in this amendment, an identical initiative may not be
543543 resubmitted sooner than two years following the failure of the
544544 prior initiative.
545545 Upon ratification of this constitutional amendment,
546546 the Code Commissioner shall number and place this amendment as
547547 appropriate in the constitution omitting this instructional
548548 paragraph and may make the following nonsubstantive revisions:
549549 change capitalization, hierarchy, spelling, and punctuation
550550 for purposes of style and uniformity; correct manifest
551551 grammatical, clerical, and typographical errors; revise
552552 internal or external citations and cross-references; harmonize
553553 language; and translate effective dates.
554554 Section 2. An election upon the proposed amendment
555555 shall be held in accordance with Sections 284 and 285 of the
556556 Constitution of Alabama of 2022, and the election laws of this
557557 state. The appropriate election official shall assign a ballot
558558 number for the proposed constitutional amendment on the
559559 election ballot and shall set forth the following description
560560 of the substance or subject matter of the proposed
561561 253
562562 254
563563 255
564564 256
565565 257
566566 258
567567 259
568568 260
569569 261
570570 262
571571 263
572572 264
573573 265
574574 266
575575 267
576576 268
577577 269
578578 270
579579 271
580580 272
581581 273
582582 274
583583 275
584584 276
585585 277
586586 278
587587 279
588588 280 HB561 INTRODUCED
589589 Page 11
590590 of the substance or subject matter of the proposed
591591 constitutional amendment:
592592 "Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama
593593 of 2022, providing that the people may initiate the enactment
594594 of certain general laws or constitutional amendments and that
595595 the Legislature may offer an alternative proposal.
596596 Proposed by Act ________."
597597 This description shall be followed by the following
598598 language:
599599 "Yes ( ) No ( )."
600600 Section 3.The proposed amendment shall become valid as
601601 a part of the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, when approved
602602 by a majority of the qualified electors voting thereon.
603603 281
604604 282
605605 283
606606 284
607607 285
608608 286
609609 287
610610 288
611611 289
612612 290
613613 291
614614 292