Brian Lyman

Montgomery Advertiser

There's more suspense about changes to the Alabama Constitution than changes to state leadership.

State voters will have the chance to vote on 14 amendments to the state Constitution. Some deal with big issues like economics and labor. Some aim to clarify constitutional language. Some repeal age limits for elected officials.

Any one of them winning passage will add to the pile of amendments passed to address issues (real or perceived) that state or local government can't or won't tackle. There are currently 895 amendments to the Alabama Constitution, passed in 1901.

Amendment 1: War Legal

Auburn, like the University of Alabama, is established through the state Constitution. Changes to the governing structure need constitutional amendments.

Amendment 1 adds two additional at-large members selected nationwide to enhance the diversity of the board. Auburn’s Board of Trustees, like Alabama’s, is self-perpetuating, and the nominees for the positions will come from an appointing committee. The state Senate would confirm nominees.

Brian Keeler, director of public affairs for Auburn University, wrote in an email that the amendment would allow "members of the Auburn family with different experiences and perspectives to serve.

The amendment would also allow trustees to serve a lengthier term should four or more trustees terms expire in the same year. Keeler said the amendment would address a coming bottleneck in the board. Nine of the 14 trustees' terms will expire in 2019.

"If the constitutional amendment passes, no more than three trustee terms would expire in a calendar year," he wrote.

Amendment 2: Park security

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources – which runs Alabama’s state parks – gets no money from the state’s General Fund, and relies instead on what it collects from people using parks, like admittance and rental fees. Money for park maintenance goes into three separate funds.

Facing a budget deficit in 2015, the Legislature transferred about $3 million out of the state’s parks funds. That led to the closing of five parks and layoffs. Local communities and private companies ultimately took over management of four of the five parks.

“It reduces our ability as citizens to access those parks and enjoy them,” said Tammy Herrington, the executive director of Conservation Alabama.

The amendment, sponsored by Sen. Clay Scofield, R-Guntersville, would prevent park fund transfers. The amendment includes a clause that would allow a reduction in the parks’ share of sales, use and cigarette taxes if revenue to the state Parks Revolving Fund exceeds $50 million, adjusted for inflation. But the parks won't reach that cap for awhile: The Revolving Fund should get $37.7 million next year.

Amendment 3: Local voting

The Alabama Constitution concentrates most power in Montgomery, meaning counties have to get approval from the Legislature for even mundane activities (the most infamous, arguably, being mosquito spraying). Two amendments on the ballot this year aim to return some of that back.

The first, sponsored by Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, addresses local constitutional amendments. Currently, local amendments need a unanimous vote of both chambers to limit the vote to the county affected. A single no vote sends the amendment to a statewide vote. As Coleman-Madison points out, several statewide amendments on the ballot this year have no effect beyond one county.

“Calhoun, Etowah, Pickens – I don’t know why they would be on the Jefferson County ballot,” she said. “I don’t know why Jefferson County residents would have to vote on something in those counties they don’t understand, and vice versa.”

The amendment would change the local amendment process. After the vote on the amendment – which could now rack up as many no votes as possible – the chambers would consider a resolution on whether to keep the vote in the county.

A single no vote on the resolution could send it to a statewide vote. But Sonny Brasfield, executive director of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama, said he thinks the change will reduce the number of local amendments voted on statewide.

“What we think we’ve done is separated the question of opposition to content vs. opposition to a local referendum,” he said. “People opposed to the content could still vote no on the bill, but they would still let local people vote on the issue.”

The amendment also says local amendments sent to statewide votes would only go into effect if the county affected voted for the measure.

Amendment 4: Local sovereignty (over litter)

The state Constitution’s concentration of power also means that counties must wait for the Legislature to convene to take care of what would normally be routine administrative matters. For instance: There are 40 local laws for counties to allow retiring sheriffs to keep their badges after their departure.

Amendment 4 would give some limited administrative powers to county governments. County governments could not levy taxes, issue fines or regulate land unless an earlier amendment granted those powers. But the measure would allow counties to do things like coordinate litter clean-up; establish safety, personnel and limited animal nuisance programs; management of county highways and disposal of unclaimed property.

“If the county wants to have a safety committee and once a quarter gives a t-shirt to an employee . . . if the county wants to coordinate litter clean-ups, we can’t do that today,” Brasfield said.

Amendment 5: Constitutional clean-up

The first of two amendments recommended by the state’s Constitutional Revision Commission modernizes the language in Article III of the Alabama Constitution, which divides state government into executive, legislative and judicial branches. The 1901 Constitution calls them “departments.” The new language calls them branches and retains language preventing one branch from exercising powers delegated to the other two.

The amendment also preserves language requiring a legislative vote before disbursement of funds required by state court order.

Amendment 6: Clearing up impeachment

Like most governing documents – including the U.S. Constitution – the Alabama Constitution is vague on the process of impeachment. That lack of clarity has proved an issue into the House Judiciary Committee’s ongoing investigation of Gov. Robert Bentley’s possible impeachment over allegations he used state resources to pursue an affair and attempted to interfere in a criminal investigation of former House Speaker Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn. Bentley denies the charges.

The amendment – passed by the Legislature months before the Bentley allegations surfaced – makes a few modifications. The current article does not have a conviction margin. The amendment requires two-thirds of the Senate to convict an impeached official. The amendment also removes the state superintendent from the list of impeachable officials. The State Board of Education appoints the superintendent; the position is not elected.

Another change makes the lieutenant governor the presiding officer over all impeachment trials, except those involving the governor and the lieutenant governor. In both those instances, the Chief Justice would preside.

Amendment 7: Etowah County

Amendment 7 is a local amendment that puts most employees of the Etowah County Sheriff's Office in the county under the personnel board.

Amendment 8: Right-to-work

Since 1953, Alabama has been a right-to-work state, which addresses memberships in labor unions. No one must join a union, but in non-right-to-work states, union contracts generally require non-union members to pay dues to the union to reap the benefits from the contract. In a right-to-work state – like Alabama – employees are not required to join unions or pay dues. By making dues collection more difficult, union organization -- and unions' ability to bargain over wages, benefits and workplace conditions -- weakens.

The amendment would put the state's right-to-work law into the Constitution. While the move wouldn’t change anything under current law, it would make any future attempts to change or alter it more difficult. As law, changes now require a simple majority vote of both legislative chambers and the signature of the governor. As a constitutional amendment, changes would require a three-fifths vote of both chambers, followed by a statewide vote.

Business groups argue that the measure will send an encouraging message to firms that may want to locate in Alabama. Labor unions say the purpose is to undercut unions and the attendant wages and benefits they bring to workers.

Alabama is the South’s most unionized state. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10.2 percent of the workforce belonged to a union in 2015.

Amendment 9: Pickens County probate judges

Another local amendment, the proposal would allow anyone up to the age of 75 to serve as Pickens County Probate Judge. The amendment would not impact any other age limits in state law. Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Tuscaloosa, said “evidently it must be an issue forthcoming in the future.”

“Our citizens not only here in Alabama but around the nation are living longer, healthier lives,” he said. “If they are qualified and they stay healthy, then the citizens should have the right to decide whether it’s time for them to come home.”

Amendment 10: Border issues

Amendment 10 deals with Calhoun County and the municipalities that border it. Some of those cities have police jurisdictions that extend into the county, and Rep. Randy Wood, R-Saks, said he has heard complaints from people living in rural areas of the county.

“It’s been going on, but it’s gotten bad,” he said. “I’m sure this is going to lead to other things down the road.”

The amendment says territories in Calhoun County can only be subject to the governmental bodies in the county.

Amendment 11: Getting 1901 out of the 21st century's way

In 2013, the Alabama Legislature passed a law allowing the creation of “Major 21st Century Zones,” contiguous areas of land of 250 acres or more in which an industry will invest $100 million or more. The municipality can then borrow money against expected property tax bumps from increased property values.

The amendment tries to square the law with the Alabama Constitution’s broad prohibitions on the use of money for internal developments and prohibitions on municipalities giving grants of money to individuals or corporations. The amendment would also give municipalities “the sole discretion” to determine the compensation for the property.

State officials have mounted a push to pass the amendment. Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle told the Advertiser earlier this month the measure would allow municipalities to lay down the infrastructure to attract larger firms.

“You have to provide that infrastructure, and infrastructure costs money,” he said. “So every community has to provide that to attract industries.”

Amendment 12: Tolls and bridges in Baldwin County

The final local amendment on the statewide ballot would allow the Legislature to give municipalities in Baldwin County the power to create toll roads and bridge authorities. If approved, the Legislature would have to pass laws allowing municipalities to do it.

Amendment 13: Age limits

Amendment 13 would repeal any age limits for election or appointment to a statewide office – save judicial offices, where the limit of 70 would remain.

The bill as introduced in this summer’s special session was the latest of several pieces of legislation known as “Roy Moore bills,” named after the Alabama chief justice. Moore – suspended over an order that tried to stop same-sex marriages in the state earlier this year – turns 70 in February and will not be able to run for chief justice again. But the bill as passed included language that kept the age limits for judges.

Amendment 14: Saving the local laws

The final statewide amendment could have the most impact. Under a constitutional amendment that went into effect in 1984, legislation introduced before the Legislature passes its budgets must first pass a budget isolation resolution (BIR) before going to a final vote. For decades, though, the House of Representatives used a different standard for BIR passage than what the amendment prescribed. Last December, a Jefferson County circuit judge ruled a sales tax in that county unconstitutional because the House did not adopt a BIR as prescribed by the constitutional amendment.

The decision is on appeal. According to the Association of County Commissions of Alabama, the decision threatens at least 477 local laws, which do everything from authorize beer sales to provide funding for hospital construction and fire departments. Autauga and Elmore counties would be particularly hard hit. The amendment would retroactively apply the BIR to all amendments passed before Nov. 8.

Montgomery County local amendments

Montgomery County voters will have at least one local amendment to decide. The one on all ballots will be to decide whether to allow the Montgomery County sheriff to participate in the Employees Retirement System. A second referendum – which will not be on all ballots – would allow the county commission to exercise certain powers, such as animal control, weed abatement, litter control and noise abatement in unincorporated areas of the county.

Autauga County local amendment

The single Autauga County local amendment would, like the one in Montgomery, allow the sheriff to participate in the Employees Retirement System.

Elmore County does not have any local amendments.