Alabama Legislature
Encyclopedia
The Alabama Legislature is the legislative branch of the state
government of Alabama
. It is a bicameral body composed of the Alabama House of Representatives
, with 105 members, and the Alabama Senate
, with 35 members. Historically, the Alabama Legislature has been dominated by Democrats
; however, after the 2010 elections, for the first time in 136 years, both houses came under Republican
control.
The Legislature meets in the Alabama State House
(officially designated as such by Amendment 427 to the Alabama Constitution
) in Montgomery
. The original capitol building
located nearby has not been used by the Legislature since 1985, when it closed for renovations. It serves as the seat of the executive branch as well as a museum.
. Following the federal Alabama Enabling Act of 1819 and the successful passage of the first Alabama Constitution
in the same year, the Alabama General Assembly became a fully fledged state legislature upon its accession to statehood.
The General Assembly was one of the 11 state legislatures of the Confederate States of America
during the American Civil War
. Following the state's secession from the Union in January 1861, delegates from across the South
met at the state capital of Montgomery
to create the Confederate government. Between February and May 1861, Montgomery served as the Confederacy's capital, where Alabama state officials let members of the new Southern federal government make use of its offices. The Provisional Confederate Congress
met for three months inside the General Assembly's chambers at the Alabama State Capitol
, while Jefferson Davis
was inaugurated as the Confederacy's first (and only) president
on the steps of the capitol.
However, following complaints from Southern bureaucrats over Montgomery's uncomfortable conditions and Virginia
's entry into the Confederacy, the Confederate government moved to Richmond in May 1861.
Following the Confederacy's defeat in 1865, the state government
underwent a transformation. Upon the state's readmission into the United States
in 1868, Radical Republicans, including white Northerners known as "carpetbaggers", "scalawag
" Southern Republicans, and "freedmen" African-Americans dominated both the state governorship and General Assembly. For the first time, blacks could vote and were elected to the legislature, a feat that would not be repeated for another one hundred years. The resulting 1868 Constitution reflected the radicals period in the state government.
Yet as in other states during Reconstruction, former Confederate and reactionary "redeemer" forces from the Democratic Party
gradually overturned the radicals. By the 1874 state general elections, the General Assembly was once again a body dominated by Bourbon Democrats. Both the resulting 1875 and 1901 Constitutions
disfranchised blacks and destroyed Republican influence, leading to the creation and enforcement of Jim Crow laws
. It was also in the 1901 Constitution that the General Assembly changed its name to the Alabama Legislature.
began only miles away from the Alabama Legislature's chambers with Rosa Parks
' refusal to change seats on a Montgomery bus in December 1955. The subsequent Montgomery Bus Boycott
and the rise of both Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr.
to national and international prominence began a decade and a half of tumultuous political and social changes.
Throughout the late 1950s and into the 1960s, the Alabama Legislature and a series of succeeding segregationist governors massively resisted
Civil Rights protesters. During this period, the Legislature created the Alabama State Sovereignty Commission. Mirroring Mississippi
's own similarly named authority
, the commission acted as a state intelligence agency to spy on Alabama citizens suspected of sympathizing with the Civil Rights movement.
However by the 1970s, with federal legislation enforcing bans on poll tax
es, literacy tests and other blatant bureaucratic tools of discrimination, African-Americans entered the Legislature for the first time since Reconstruction.
In May 2007, the Alabama Legislature officially apologized for slavery
, making it the fourth Deep South
state to do so.
is also the longest written constitution in both the United States
and the entire world.
The Governor of Alabama can call, by proclamation, special sessions of the Alabama Legislature. The Governor must list the subjects on which legislation will be debated upon. These sessions are limited to 12 legislative days within a 30 calendar day span. In a regular session, bills may be enacted on any subject. In a special session, legislation must be enacted only on those subjects which the Governor announces on their proclamation or "call." Anything not in the "call" requires a two-thirds vote of each house to be enacted.
Unlike other state legislatures, where gubernatorial veto
s require a three-fifths or even a two-thirds majority vote to be overridden, the Alabama Legislature has the power to override a veto with a simple majority vote in both houses. The Legislature also has the constitutional power to override line item vetos by a simple majority. This has led to contention in recent years between the Governor's Office and the Legislature.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
government of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. It is a bicameral body composed of the Alabama House of Representatives
Alabama House of Representatives
The Alabama House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal amount of districts, with each constituency containing at least 42,380 citizens. There are no term...
, with 105 members, and the Alabama Senate
Alabama Senate
The Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal amount of districts across the state, with each district containing at least 127,140 citizens...
, with 35 members. Historically, the Alabama Legislature has been dominated by Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
; however, after the 2010 elections, for the first time in 136 years, both houses came under Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
control.
The Legislature meets in the Alabama State House
Alabama State House
The Alabama State House is a building located in Montgomery, Alabama. It houses several state agencies, most notably the Alabama Legislature.-History:The State House was opened in 1963 as the Alabama Highway Department Building...
(officially designated as such by Amendment 427 to the Alabama Constitution
Alabama Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Alabama is the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Alabama. It was adopted in 1901 and is the sixth constitution that the state has had....
) in Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
. The original capitol building
Alabama State Capitol
The Alabama State Capitol, also known as the First Confederate Capitol, is the state capitol building for Alabama. It is located on Capitol Hill, originally Goat Hill, in Montgomery. It was declared a National Historic Landmark on December 19, 1960....
located nearby has not been used by the Legislature since 1985, when it closed for renovations. It serves as the seat of the executive branch as well as a museum.
Creation and Civil War
The Alabama Legislature was created in 1818 as a territorial legislature for the Alabama TerritoryAlabama Territory
The Territory of Alabama was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 15, 1817, until December 14, 1819, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Alabama.-History:...
. Following the federal Alabama Enabling Act of 1819 and the successful passage of the first Alabama Constitution
Alabama Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Alabama is the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Alabama. It was adopted in 1901 and is the sixth constitution that the state has had....
in the same year, the Alabama General Assembly became a fully fledged state legislature upon its accession to statehood.
The General Assembly was one of the 11 state legislatures of the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Following the state's secession from the Union in January 1861, delegates from across the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
met at the state capital of Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
to create the Confederate government. Between February and May 1861, Montgomery served as the Confederacy's capital, where Alabama state officials let members of the new Southern federal government make use of its offices. The Provisional Confederate Congress
Provisional Confederate Congress
The Provisional Confederate Congress, for a time the legislative branch of the Confederate States of America, was the body which drafted the Confederate Constitution, elected Jefferson Davis President of the Confederacy, and designed the first Confederate flag...
met for three months inside the General Assembly's chambers at the Alabama State Capitol
Alabama State Capitol
The Alabama State Capitol, also known as the First Confederate Capitol, is the state capitol building for Alabama. It is located on Capitol Hill, originally Goat Hill, in Montgomery. It was declared a National Historic Landmark on December 19, 1960....
, while Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
was inaugurated as the Confederacy's first (and only) president
President of the Confederate States of America
The President of the Confederate States of America was the Head of State and Head of Government of the Confederate States of America, which was formed from the states which declared their secession from the United States, thus precipitating the American Civil War. The only person to hold the...
on the steps of the capitol.
However, following complaints from Southern bureaucrats over Montgomery's uncomfortable conditions and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
's entry into the Confederacy, the Confederate government moved to Richmond in May 1861.
Reconstruction
Government of Alabama
The government of Alabama is organized under the provisions of the 1901 Constitution of Alabama, which is the lengthiest constitution of any political entity in the world...
underwent a transformation. Upon the state's readmission into the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1868, Radical Republicans, including white Northerners known as "carpetbaggers", "scalawag
Scalawag
In United States history, scalawag was a derogatory nickname for southern whites who supported Reconstruction following the Civil War.-History:...
" Southern Republicans, and "freedmen" African-Americans dominated both the state governorship and General Assembly. For the first time, blacks could vote and were elected to the legislature, a feat that would not be repeated for another one hundred years. The resulting 1868 Constitution reflected the radicals period in the state government.
Yet as in other states during Reconstruction, former Confederate and reactionary "redeemer" forces from the Democratic Party
History of the United States Democratic Party
The history of the Democratic Party of the United States is an account of the oldest political party in the United States and arguably the oldest democratic party in the world....
gradually overturned the radicals. By the 1874 state general elections, the General Assembly was once again a body dominated by Bourbon Democrats. Both the resulting 1875 and 1901 Constitutions
Alabama Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Alabama is the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Alabama. It was adopted in 1901 and is the sixth constitution that the state has had....
disfranchised blacks and destroyed Republican influence, leading to the creation and enforcement of Jim Crow laws
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
. It was also in the 1901 Constitution that the General Assembly changed its name to the Alabama Legislature.
Civil Rights era
The American Civil Rights MovementAfrican-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)
The African-American Civil Rights Movement refers to the movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring voting rights to them. This article covers the phase of the movement between 1955 and 1968, particularly in the South...
began only miles away from the Alabama Legislature's chambers with Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....
' refusal to change seats on a Montgomery bus in December 1955. The subsequent Montgomery Bus Boycott
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political and social protest campaign that started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, intended to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. Many important figures in the civil rights movement were involved in the boycott,...
and the rise of both Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
to national and international prominence began a decade and a half of tumultuous political and social changes.
Throughout the late 1950s and into the 1960s, the Alabama Legislature and a series of succeeding segregationist governors massively resisted
Massive resistance
Massive resistance was a policy declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr. on February 24, 1956, to unite other white politicians and leaders in Virginia in a campaign of new state laws and policies to prevent public school desegregation after the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision...
Civil Rights protesters. During this period, the Legislature created the Alabama State Sovereignty Commission. Mirroring Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
's own similarly named authority
Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission
The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission was a state agency directed by the governor of Mississippi that existed from 1956 to 1977, also known as the Sov-Com...
, the commission acted as a state intelligence agency to spy on Alabama citizens suspected of sympathizing with the Civil Rights movement.
However by the 1970s, with federal legislation enforcing bans on poll tax
Poll tax
A poll tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corvée is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a poll tax...
es, literacy tests and other blatant bureaucratic tools of discrimination, African-Americans entered the Legislature for the first time since Reconstruction.
In May 2007, the Alabama Legislature officially apologized for slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
, making it the fourth Deep South
Deep South
The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
state to do so.
Constitutions
Alabama has had a total of six different state constitutions, coming in 1819, 1861, 1865, 1868, 1875, and 1901. The current constitutionAlabama Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Alabama is the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Alabama. It was adopted in 1901 and is the sixth constitution that the state has had....
is also the longest written constitution in both the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the entire world.
Legislative organization and process
The Alabama Legislature convenes in regular annual sessions on the first Tuesday in February, except during the first year of the four-year term, when the session begins on the first Tuesday in March. In the last year of a four-year term, the legislative session begins on the second Tuesday in January. The length of the regular session is limited to 30 meeting days within a period of 105 calendar days. There are usually two meeting or "legislative" days per week, with other days devoted to committee meetings.The Governor of Alabama can call, by proclamation, special sessions of the Alabama Legislature. The Governor must list the subjects on which legislation will be debated upon. These sessions are limited to 12 legislative days within a 30 calendar day span. In a regular session, bills may be enacted on any subject. In a special session, legislation must be enacted only on those subjects which the Governor announces on their proclamation or "call." Anything not in the "call" requires a two-thirds vote of each house to be enacted.
Unlike other state legislatures, where gubernatorial veto
Veto
A veto, Latin for "I forbid", is the power of an officer of the state to unilaterally stop an official action, especially enactment of a piece of legislation...
s require a three-fifths or even a two-thirds majority vote to be overridden, the Alabama Legislature has the power to override a veto with a simple majority vote in both houses. The Legislature also has the constitutional power to override line item vetos by a simple majority. This has led to contention in recent years between the Governor's Office and the Legislature.
Notable Members
- Spencer BachusSpencer BachusSpencer Thomas Bachus III is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. He is a member of the Republican Party and the senior member of the Alabama U. S. House delegation...
, U. S. Representative (1993-Present), Member of Alabama Senate (1983-84), Member of Alabama House (1984-87) - Robert J. Bentley, Governor of Alabama (2011-Present), Member of Alabama House (2002-2011)
- Albert BrewerAlbert BrewerAlbert Preston Brewer is an American politician who was the 47th Governor of Alabama from May 7, 1968 until January 18, 1971.-Life and political career:...
, Governor of Alabama (1968-71), Member of Alabama House (1954-1966) and its Speaker (1963-1966) - Mo BrooksMo BrooksMorris Jackson "Mo" Brooks, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life:Brooks was born in 1954 in Charleston, South Carolina,and moved to Huntsville, Alabama, in 1963...
, U. S. Representative (2011-Present), Member of Alabama House (1984-1992) - Sonny CallahanSonny CallahanHerbert Leon "Sonny" Callahan is a politician from Alabama.Callahan was born in Mobile, Alabama he had eight brothers and sisters and he attended classes at a branch of the University of Alabama that was located in Mobile. He did not graduate. Callahan served in the United States Navy from 1952 to...
, U. S. Representative (1985-2003), Member of Alabama House (1970-78), Member of Alabama Senate (1978-82) - U. W. ClemonU. W. ClemonU. W. Clemon is a retired federal judge.Clemon was born in Fairfield, Alabama. At age 13, he decided to become a lawyer. While a student at Miles College in 1962, he confronted the infamous Bull Connor over Birmingham's segregation laws. He marched with Dr. Martin Luther King during the...
, Federal District Judge (1980-2009), Member of Alabama Senate (1974-1980) - Ben ErdreichBen ErdreichBenjamin Erdreich is a former United States congressman from Alabama.-Early life:Erdreich was born in Birmingham, Alabama to an upper-middle class family. He attended Yale University, graduating in 1960. He served as editor of the Alabama Law Review while attending the University of Alabama law...
, U. S. Representative (1983-93), Member of Alabama House (1970-1974) - Euclid Rains, Member of Alabama House (1978-1991), Blind legislator
- Mike RogersMike D. RogersMichael Dennis "Mike" Rogers , is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life and education:...
, U. S. Representative (2003-Present), Member of Alabama House (1994-2003) - Richard ShelbyRichard ShelbyRichard Craig Shelby is the senior U.S. Senator from Alabama. First elected to the Senate in 1986, he is the ranking member of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and was its chairman from 2003 to 2007....
, U. S. Senator (1987-Present), Member of Alabama Senate (1970-78) - George WallaceGeorge WallaceGeorge Corley Wallace, Jr. was the 45th Governor of Alabama, serving four terms: 1963–1967, 1971–1979 and 1983–1987. "The most influential loser" in 20th-century U.S. politics, according to biographers Dan T. Carter and Stephan Lesher, he ran for U.S...
, Governor of Alabama (1963-1967, 1971-1979, 1983-87), Member of Alabama House (1946-53)