The chairman of the state budget committee in the Alabama House said he wants to save taxpayers the cost of another special election should another vacancy occur in the U.S. Senate.

Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, has pre-filed a bill for the 2018 legislative session to change the law on how a vacancy is filled.

Under current law, when a vacancy occurs the governor appoints an interim replacement and schedules a special election.

Under Clouse's bill, the governor would appoint an interim replacement, followed by an election to coincide with the next general election occurring more than one year after the seat becomes vacant. The state holds general elections every two years.

Clouse, chairman of the House Ways and Means General Fund Committee, said the ongoing special election for the seat Jeff Sessions left to become attorney general will cost the cash-strapped General Fund about $10 million.

"I think people now begin to realize that this wasn't one special election," Clouse said. "It was three special elections when you consider the primary, the runoff and then the general."

Clouse said each of the three rounds is expected to cost about $3.5 million.

The primary was Aug. 15. Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore and Sen. Luther Strange square off in a Sept. 26 runoff for the Republican nomination. The winner faces Democrat Doug Jones on Dec. 12.

Clouse said the second purpose of his bill is to clarify the law.

Former Gov. Robert Bentley initially scheduled the election for Sessions' seat to coincide with the 2018 election cycle.

That sparked objections from the Alabama Legislative Black Caucus and others, as well as a lawsuit by State Auditor Jim Zeigler.

Critics of Bentley's decision said the law demanded an earlier election date. State law, Code of Alabama 36-9-8, says that if a vacancy occurs in the U.S. Senate more than four months before a general election, "the governor shall forthwith order an election" to fill the unexpired term. The Bentley administration interpreted "forthwith" differently than some others.

When Gov. Kay Ivey replaced Bentley, she rescheduled the election for this year. Clouse does not disagree with the decision, but said the law should be more specific.

"It's probably the right thing to do based on the law that we go ahead and have this," Clouse said. "But I think that language needs to be either changed or more clearly spelled out."

The legislative session begins Jan. 9.