Bill > HB561

This bill proposes a comprehensive constitutional amendment that would establish a direct democracy initiative process in Alabama, allowing citizens to propose and potentially enact general laws and constitutional amendments through a public petition process. Under this proposed amendment, citizens would first file a preliminary petition with the Secretary of State, signed by at least 1,000 qualified Alabama voters and accompanied by a $1,000 filing fee (which would be refundable if the initiative is successful). A registered agent would be responsible for the petition and must comply with election reporting requirements. For general laws, the final petition must gather signatures from at least 7% of voters who cast ballots in the last gubernatorial election, with at least 1% of signatures coming from each congressional district. For constitutional amendments, the signature requirement increases to 10% of gubernatorial voters, with 1.3% from each district. If the Legislature does not enact the proposed initiative within 30 legislative days, the proposal automatically goes to a ballot vote. The Legislature can offer an alternative proposal, and in such cases, both the original and alternative proposals would be placed on the ballot. The bill also stipulates that no identical initiative can be resubmitted within two years if it fails, and no more than two initiative proposals can be enacted in a single legislative session. This amendment aims to provide Alabama voters with a more direct role in creating laws and amending the state constitution.

Government Affairs

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