The County Line - Legislative Wrap-Up Issue 2000

Unhappy Anniversary--State to "Celebrate" 100 Year Anniversary of Outdated Document

Next year about this time we will have the opportunity to celebrate another one of those glorious Alabama events. Something that sets us apart from the rest of the nation, again.

Back in 1901 Alabama approved a new constitution. That wasn't really big news back in 1901 -- many states rewrote their constitution about that time. The news is that we've not seen fit in Alabama to write a new constitution in the century that has passed.

So we sit with a constitution that is -- by any objective measure -- outdated, ill equipped to deal with the 21st century and more often than not serves as a hindrance rather than an asset to state and local governments.

Because the document is so outdated, the state has been forced to consider literally hundreds of proposed amendments. More than 600 such amendments have been adopted to the constitution, making it difficult to read and understand -- even if you are a lawyer.

As evidence of the problem, a total of more than 40 constitutional amendments will be on the statewide and local ballots this November. The amending process is cumbersome, often times requiring voters statewide to consider matters that impact only one city or county of the state.

During the last six months momentum has grown for rewriting our constitution. But, given our history, one must remain rather pessimistic about the possibility of anything significant happening between now and the dudious anniversary next year.

A month or so ago a rally was held in west Alabama, with economic development officials crying out for a new constitution. Such a rewrite would help attract new industry because the new constitution could give industrial recruiters new tools to carry out those jobs.

Efforts to get the ball rolling have taken other forms, as well. In the Alabama House of Representatives several bills on this subject were introduced during the 2000 regular session. For example, Rep. Jack Venable, the chairman of the House Rules Committee, introduced and passed in the House two constitutional amendments repealing and then rewriting articles 1 and 2 of the existing constitution. Those bills passed in the House, but died in the Senate.

State Rep. Mac Gipson, a second termer from Autauga County, introduced a proposal that would have created a constitutional convention, allowing the voters of the state to participate "first hand" in the rewriting of the old document. That bill was not considered on the House floor.

Still another House member, Rep. Chris Pringle of Mobile introduced a series of constitutional amendments aimed at stripping from the old document many of its outdated sections. At least the House considered a half dozen of his proposals, with only half of those receiving enough votes for passage in that body. However, his bills also died in the Senate.

And late in the session, Sen. Roger Bedford unveiled a new constitution that he hopes will become the focal point for discussion of the constitutional revision. Sen. Bedford's proposal would set up a procedure that would also allow the new constitution to be amended in a more streamlined fashion that reduces the need for the hundreds of amendments that have been made to the 1901 document.

There is a feature in Sen. Bedford's proposal that makes it very attractive to county officials -- his document would grant "home rule" power to county governments in Alabama. Although this segment of his proposal will not be the most controversial issue, it certainly will gain attention.

Some people still believe that county officials should not be given the authority to respond to the needs of the local citizens. Those people, we must assume, believe the voters are capable of choosing leaders that will make good policy decisions. Those people, we must assume, believe that the voters would also not be smart enough to replace county commissioners who abused or failed to utilize this home rule authority.

Following Sen. Bedford's press conference, we advised members of the news media that any efforts at constitutional reform that do not address the issue of home rule for counties in Alabama cannot be considered real constitutional reform. And we hope that others around the state will agree.

About 100 years ago, there may have been some reason for vesting ALL the authority to make local decisions in the hands of the 140 members of the Alabama Legislature. But that time has past. Just as has the time for relying on a document that is fast approaching 100 years old.