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I. THE LEGISLATURE
A. Established in 1819
B. Consists of Senate and House of Representatives .
C. Meets annually in Montgomery for regular sessions.
II. THE LEGISLATORS
A. Alabama has 35 Senators and 105 Representatives.
B. Qualifications for Senator:
1. Citizen and resident of Alabama for three years.
2. Twenty-five years of age.
3. Resident of the Legislative District for one year .
C. Qualification for Representative
1. Citizen and resident of Alabama for three years.
2. Twenty-one years of age.
3. Resident of the Legislative District for one year.
III. TERM OF OFFICE
A. Representatives and Senators are elected for four year terms.
B. Elections are held in even numbered years.
1. Primary election held on first Tuesday of June to select
candidates
from major political parties.
2. General election held first Tuesday after the first Monday
in November
to elect the legislators.
IV. THE LEGISLATORS FROM YOUR DISTRICT
A. A list of members of the Legislature is available in the Secretary of
State's office.
B. Legislators have offices in State House and an appointment can be
made to see them.
C. It is the legislator's duty to represent the people of their district.
1. Let them know what you like or dislike.
2. Your advice is instrumental in their decision-making.
V. WHEN THE LEGISLATURE CONVENES AND ADJOURNS
A. Regular session begins on the first Tuesday of March on the first
year after each election and the
first Tuesday of February on the second
and third year and the second Tuesday
in January on the fourth year.
B. Special sessions may be called by the Governor.
C. Regular sessions last for 30 legislative days and 105 calendar days.
D. Special sessions are limited to 12 legislative days and 30 calendar
days.
VI. THE SESSION BEGINS
A. Organizational sessions convene on the second Tuesday in January
following the election of the
legislators and are limited to ten con-
secutive calendar days.
B. The various officers, leaders, and employees for each body would
include:
1. President of the Senate
2. Speaker of the House
3. President Pro-tem and Speaker Pro-tem
4. Secretary of the Senate
5. Clerk of the House
6. Assistant SEcretary and Assistant Clerk
7. Reading Clerks
8. Committee Clerks and SEcretaries
9. Enrolling-Engrossing Clerks
10. Doorkeepers and Sergeant at arms
11. Security Officers
12. Pages
VII. VIEWING THE LEGISLATURE IN ACTION
A. The general daily order of business shall be:
Senate
1. Prayer
2. Pledge of Allegiance
3. Call to Order
4. Roll Call
5. Reading of the Journal
6. Signing of Bills
7. Introduction of Bills
8. House Messages
9. Reports from Standing Committees
10. Reports from Select Committees
11. Motions and Resolutions
12. Uncontested Local Bills
13. Bills on Third Reading
14. Unfinished Business
15. Other Business
House
1. Call to Order
2. Prayer
3. Pledge of Allegiance
4. Roll Call
5. Approval of the Journal
6. Leave of Absence
7. Report of Standing Committee of Bills
8. Introduction of Bills and Resolutions
9. Report of Committee on Rules
10. Uncontested Local Bills
11. Bills on Consent Calendar
12. Unfinished Business
13. Bills on Calendar
14. Executive or Senate Messages (at any time)
VIII. VOTING
A. A quorum of members (18 Senators, 53 Representatives) must
be present to transact business.
B. Voting on the passage of motions or measures is done electronically
in the House and by voice in the
Senate; it becomes a part of the
permanent public record (the
"Journal").
1. No member may vote unless that member is on the floor of
the House
(or Senate); if on the floor, the
member may abstain from voting.
2. Voting in the House is usually by electronic vote.
a. To vote, the member flips a switch
and the vote is recorded as a
green "aye"
or a red "nay."
b. Votes are displayed on the
electronic board.
C. A majority vote is required for the passage of measures and ordinary
business.
IX. COMMITTEES
A. Each House has approximately 23 Standing Committees, ranging
from 5 to 15 members each.
B. These committees will cover the areas of:
1. Agriculture & Forestry
2. Appropriations & Taxation
3. Banking & Insurance
4. Boards & Commissions
5. Business & Labor Relations
6. Children
7. Commerce & Transportation
8. Constitution & Elections
9. County & Municipal Government
10. Economic & Industrial Development
11. Education
12. Energy & Environment
13. Governmental Operations
14. Health
15. Internal Affairs
16. Judiciary
17. Local Government
18. Local Delegations
19. Military Affairs
20. Public Safety
21. Rules
22. Small Business
23. Tourism & Marketing
C. Each House's rules provide how the chairperson and vice-chair-
person of each committee are
selected.
D. The committee system divides up the work of the legislature.
1. Bills are assigned after first reading, by the presiding
officer to a
specific committee; in the Senate the
assignment is with the con-
currence of the President Pro-Tem;
committees take one of the
following actions upon a bill.
a. Receives and takes no action
b. Reports bill out of committee to
floor of Senate or House as follows:
1.) Favorable
2.) Favorable
with amendment
3.)
Substitute
E. Major revision of bills is done in committee.
1. Here the public has the opportunity to testify in favor or
opposition
of a bill.
2. Amendments may be made by motion in the committee, by com-
mittee reports, or substitute bills.
All charges in a bill must relate to the
subject matter of the bill; unrelated
amendments may not be tacked on.
X. KINDS OF LEGISLATIVE MEASURES
A. A bill is proposed law. All statutes must be enacted through a bill
B. Resolutions, unlike bills, do not result in new law. They can be used
by the drafter as a vehicle to
accomplish several functions.
1. To express policy
2. To amend Alabama's Constitution. An amendment to the
Constitution
may be proposed by joint resolution
passed by a three-fifth's vote in
both the House and Senate in order to
be put on the next general elect-
ion ballot. No action of the Governor
is necessary.
3. To amend legislative rules.
4. To take action on federal constitutional issues.
5. To create interim study committees.
6. To provide for administrative details of each house, such
as when to
adjourn and when to meet again.
7. To express congratulations, commendation, or sympathy.
8. To repeal agency rules.
C. There are two types of resolutions: simple and joint.
1. Simple resolutions are resolutions of a single house, to
express that
house's opinion on the particular
matter.
2. Joint resolutions are passed by both houses and submitted
to the
Governor for his approval, except for
constitutional amendments
which do not require the Governor's
approval.
XI. PARTS OF A BILL
There are 7 parts to a bill. They are:
1. Designation. The designation identifies the bill number,
the house
of origination, and the sponsor of
the bill.
2. Synopsis. The synopsis briefly explains what the bill is
about.
3. Formal Title. While he formal title need not be an index
to the bill,
it is required to contain a general
description of the subject matter
of the bill, expressed as briefly as
possible.
4. Subject Title. Following the formal title is the subject
of the bill,
citing the sections of Alabama
statutes affected.
5. Enacting Clause. The enacting clause must read "BE IT
ENACTED BY
THE LEGISLAUTE OF ALABAMA."
6. Body. In the body of the bill, the purpose or proposal is
actually set
out. "New" matter is underscored, and
matter to be deleted is stricken
through.
7. Effective Date Clause. If there is no effective date
provided in the
bill, it takes effect when signed by
the Governor.
XII. STEPS ENACTING A BILL
A. A legislator prepares a bill or has it prepared in typewritten form on
8½ x 11 inches, line numbered pages.
B. The bill is then dropped in the "hopper" by delivery to Secretary of
Senate, or Clerk of the House.
C. The bill then is read for the first time by title only.
D. The bill then is assigned to the appropriate committee.
E. A standing committee then studies the bill and holds a hearing, as
previously set forth.
F. If the bill is reported out of committee the chairman signs the report
and the report is delivered to
Secretary of the Senate or Clerk of the
House.
G. The report of the committee returned to the body constitutes a
second reading.
H. The bill is read for the third time and must be read at length unless
reading is waived.
I. If the bill receives a majority vote it is declared passed and sent to
the other body.
J. The other house then goes through the same process as outlined
above, including first and second
readings, assignment to the
committee, hearing, etc.
K. If the bill receives majority vote of the second house it then goes
to house of origination for
enrollment:
1. If the bill is amended in the second house it is then
necessary to send
it to first house for concurrence on
amendment.
2. If first house does not concur on amendments, a conference
committee
is then chosen from each house.
3. If both houses accept conference committee report, the
bill is deemed
passed and then enrolled.
L. The bill is then signed by:
1. Secretary of the Senate, if originating in Senate; or by
clerk of the
House, if originating in House.
2. Speaker of the House.
3. Presiding Officer of the Senate.
M. The signed bill is then enrolled and sent to the Governor.
N. The enrolled bill becomes law if:
1. Governor signs.
2. Governor does not sign or veto, in 10 days.
3. Both houses pass it over the Governor's veto (by majority
vote of
the total membership of each house).
O. The enrolled bill is filed with Secretary of State and receives an Act
Number, as example, Act 07-117.
P. Those provisions of the Enrolled Act that are general, public, and
permanent in nature are compiled in
the Alabama Code.
Q. The Constitution may be amended -- in two different ways:
1. Amendments may be proposed by bill or resolution in one
house,
read on three separate days, and
passed by a three-fifths vote in that
house. Next the measure goes through
the same procedure in the other
house. If the measure is successful
in both houses, it is submitted to the
people and must receive a majority
vote to become part of the Constitution.
2. An amendment may be passed if a majority of the
Legislature passes
a bill or resolution calling for a
constitutional convention, setting out
the number of delegates to the
convention, and providing for an elect-
ion to decide whether the convention
will be held. No constitutional
convention has been held in Alabama
since the present Constitution
was adopted in 1901.
XIII. WHEN BILLS BECOME EFFECTIVE
A. Generally, bills become effective upon passage by the Legislature
and when signed by the Governor
unless another date is specified.
B. General appropriation bills become effective on October 1 following
the date of their passage.
C Crime bills without a specified effective day take effect 60 days after
their approval.
XIV. WHO PREPARES AND INTRODUCES BILLS
A. Anyone may draft a bill; however, because even a simple bill re-
quires careful preparation, attorneys
in Legislative Reference
Service will do the majority of
drafting and must review each bill
prior to introduction.
B. The Alabama Law Institute, a group of lawyers specializing in code
revision, is responsible for many of
the major law revisions.
C. Only legislators may introduce bills.
D. The Governor and other citizens must obtain a legislator to sponsor a
bill.
XV. FISCAL NOTES
A. The Legislative Fiscal Office prepares a written cost estimate
(fiscal note) for each bill that will
have any direct financial impact
on the state.
B. The fiscal note is designed to show the cost to the state.
XVI. WHEN BILLS MAY BE INTRODUCED
A. Bills may be prefiled for introduction on the first day of the
session.
B. Bills may be introduced at any time during the session before the
26th legislative day.
C. Local bills must be advertised in the paper for 4 weeks before
introduction.
D. More than 1,500 bills are now introduced each session. Of these less
than 25 percent are passed and become
part of Alabama law.
.
XVII. BUDGET ISOLATION
A. A Constitutional amendment requires the Legislature to give
priority to the passage of a budget.
Any other bills may be passed
prior to the passage of a budget with
the approval of a resolution
of not less than three-fifths of a
quorum present.
B. Each house develops its own procedure for routinely handling bills
during budget isolation.
XVIII. RECORD OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY
A. A journal is kept in both the House and Senate.
1. The journal is a summary of various items of business
transacted
on the floor of the House such as:
a) Time of convening
b) Record of those present, absent and excused
c) Report of committees
d) Reading of bills and resolutions
e) How every member voted on a bill, etc.
B A "Calendar," or listing of bills, is prepared in each House and is
provided daily to each legislator.
XIX. LOBBYING AND LOBBYISTS
A. Lobbyists serve as information agents for both the legislators and
the group they represent:
1. They may represent civic groups, interested citizens,
business
associations, etc.
2. They provide expert witnesses, develop background material
and
give assistance to law makers.
3. Lobbyists are considered an integral part of the
law-making process.
B. Lobbyists are required to register with the Alabama Ethics Commission
and must wear badges provided by the
Secretary of the Senate or Clerk
of the House.
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