Alabama Constitution of 1901
The Alabama Constitution of 1901 is the current fundamental governing document of the State of Alabama. It was adopted on November 28, 1901 as the state's sixth constitution.
Because it delegates few powers to the Alabama State Legislature or to political subdivisions (counties and municipalities), the constitution has been lengthened with hundreds of amendments. It currently ranks as the longest constitution in use anywhere in the world. Many of its provisions have been either specifically struck down by federal judges, or rendered unenforceable by conflict with federal laws or judicial precedent.
There have been many calls for a new constitutional convention to replace the 1901 Constitution, but none have succeeded. In 2021 a "Joint Interim Legislative Committee On The Recompilation Of The Constitution", chaired by Merika Coleman, began meeting to draft a "recompilation" of the 1901 Constitution. In addition to re-organizing its sections and amendments to remove redundancies and make the document easier to reference, the committee has also proposed removing references to race.
References
- "Constitution of Alabama." (November 11, 2021) Wikipedia - accessed November 11, 2021
External links
- Text of the Constitution at legislature.state.al.us
- "It's a Thick Book" on Youtube.com