Amendment One/Forever Wild - This amendment would reauthorize the Forever Wild land conservation program for another 20 years. First approved in 1992, Forever Wild has so far allowed the state to buy 220,000 acres for public use. The money to purchase the land, up to $15 million each year, comes from a small portion of the interest and capital gains on invested revenue from state oil and gas drilling leases. The program has enjoyed widespread support from conservationists, hunting enthusiasts and others. But opponents have suggested the money could be put to better use.



Amendment Two/Industrial Incentives - The amendment would allow the state to issue millions more in bonds for industrial incentives. An existing constitutional amendment already allows the state to borrow up to $750 million for the purpose, but the state is approaching that ceiling. The amendment, which is being pushed by Gov. Robert Bentley, would allow the state to issue new bonds as the older ones are paid off as long as the state's total indebtedness doesn't exceed $750 million. In household terms, it's something like turning what was a one-time loan into a permanent line of credit that could be tapped as needed. Alabama has paid off about $130 million of the bonds issued so that is about how much more the state would have available for industrial incentives, if voters approve.



Amendment Three/Saving Stockton - This amendment would shield the tiny Baldwin County community of Stockton from ever being forcibly annexed by the Alabama Legislature into a neighboring city. Stockton residents could still choose annexation. The amendment would designate Stockton as a landmark district.



Amendment Four/Racist Language -- This is a second stab at taking language mandating segregated schools and poll taxes out of the Alabama Constitution after the state voted down a similar proposal in 2004.



Proponents say the Jim Crow provisions, although invalidated by the courts decades ago, portray the wrong image for the state. However, African-American legislators and the Alabama Education Association have come out against the proposal because it keeps in the Constitution other 1956 language, added in the wake of Supreme Court's school desegregation decision, that says there is no right to a taxpayer-funded education in Alabama. The sponsor of the proposal, Sen. Arthur Orr of Decatur, said he left it alone because when lawmakers tried to take it out with the 2004 vote, critics said that could lead to tax increases.



The AEA and others say that the "no right" language was struck a blow by the school equity funding lawsuit, and this amendment restates it as the law of the state. The director of the Alabama Law Institute and a constitutional law professor at Samford University have joined Orr in saying Amendment Four does nothing to threaten school funding or education rights.

Amendment Five/Prichard Water Works - This amendment would abolish the Prichard Water Works and Sewer Board in Mobile County and move its assets, debts and customers to the much-larger Mobile Area Water and Sewer System.



Amendment Six/Affordable Care Act -- This is a mostly symbolic challenge to the federal health care overhaul known as the Affordable Care Act. The amendment would rewrite the state constitution to say that people and employers in Alabama could opt out of the federal health care overhaul. However, since federal law trumps state law, it is unclear what effect it would have. Alabama lawmakers approved the law in 2011 saying it could be used to challenge the health care law or could take effect if Congress or the U.S. Supreme Court were to strike down all or parts of the federal act. The Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act earlier this year.

Amendment Seven/Unions - This amendment would allow unions to form only after secret ballot not by using card checks, where employees check a box on a card saying they want to organize a union. The proposal is part of a labor-business battle that has been playing out at both the state and federal level. Proponents say it will prevent union organizers from harassing employees. But opponents say it's aimed at stopping unions from organizing. The National Labor Relations Board sued Arizona last year over a similar law, but a federal judge rejected the challenge as premature.



Amendment Eight/Legislative Pay -- This amendment would tie state legislators' pay to the state's median household income. The Legislative Fiscal Office has estimated that the average lawmaker's compensation would drop by more than $7,000 under the proposal although the exact amount would depend on lawmakers' mileage expenses.

The proposal would do away with the old way of calculating expenses. Lawmakers would receive base pay equal to the state's median household income -- which was $41,415 in 2011 - plus mileage at $0.555 per mile and an additional $75 per day for 45 days to cover hotel expenses for lawmakers who live more than 50 miles away from Montgomery.

Currently, the minimum annual compensation for a legislator is $55,022.

The proposal would take effect after the 2014 elections and would also prohibit lawmakers from raising their own pay without a vote of the people.

Proponents say linking legislative pay to how families are doing economically is a fair way to compensate legislators. Critics say many lawmakers ran for office on repealing a controversial 2007 pay raise lawmakers voted themselves and believe lawmakers should roll back their pay to the old level of $36,660



Amendment Nine

/

Rewrite

- This has been described as a baby step toward constitutional reform by rewriting language in Article 12 of the Alabama Constitution that deals with corporations, railroads and canals. The amendment removes some antiquated language, including references to the telegraph, and makes updates to the section concerning corporations.

Amendment Ten/Rewrite - Similar to Amendment Nine, this amendment rewrites the section of the Alabama Constitution dealing with banks. The many changes include removing references to banks using the gold standard.

Amendment Eleven/Lawrence County - The amendment would prevent Decatur and other municipalities outside Lawrence County from enforcing a police or planning jurisdiction across county lines into Lawrence County.