By John Peck
Times Montgomery Correspondent
July
4 , 2001
Huntsville is where Alabama's first state constitution
was written.
It may also be where a re-tooled revision movement gets
its wings.
A new citizens commission will hold its first session
here July 15 to lay the groundwork for a new state constitution. The
Alabama Citizens Commission on Constitution Reform will extend the
grassroots push of a similar constitutional rewrite organization,
putting more emphasis on research and citizens' input.
''It's most appropriate we kick off this effort in the
city that gave us our first constitution,'' said Secretary of State
Jim Bennett, ACCCR chairman. Organizers say the commission concept
was announced last January and is not a new approach. A bill that
would have allowed a citizens' constitutional convention fizzled in
the 2002 legislative session.
Bennett said the 22-member citizens commission will listen
to views on reform, hear from leading experts on constitutional matters
then make recommendations to the governor and Legislature on how to
best approach constitutional reform issues.
The panel includes an Alabama Supreme Court justice,
educators, pastors, lawyers, business owners, civic leaders and retired
military personnel.
Huntsville-area representatives are Hartwell Lutz of
Gurley, a retired Madison County judge; Karen Stanley of Huntsville,
civic leader and vice president of a family-owned business; and Alex
Sierra, a restaurant owner in Arab.
Bennett said the nonpartisan panel will not attempt to
draft a rewrite of the state's 1901 constitution. Rather, it will
compile how other states tackled reform and try to put Alabama's governmental
framework in perspective.
''It's a detailed look at where we are and how we got
there and what logically can be done to fix things,'' Bennett said.
Local governmental control and tax issues are just two
areas that will be closely scrutinized, Bennett said. The group will
not endorse a specific method of revision - it's possible in three
ways: a commission rewrite; the legislative article-by-article approach,
or rewrite by a convention of elected citizen delegates. Any of the
three would require eventual voter approval.
The July 15 meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. at Constitution
Village, where a convention drafted the state's first charter of fundamental
laws in 1819. It has been revised five times since, the last in 1901
at a citizens convention in Montgomery.
A similar meeting will be in Birming ham in September,
Mobile in October and the Auburn-Opelika area in December.
Bennett said the goal is to have its reports and recommendations
ready by January when the next governor and Legislature take office.
Reform proponents say Alabama's 1901 constitution is
cumbersome, outdated and hamstrings local government. Reform opponents
say a rewrite could lift gambling and tax restrictions and remove
references to God.
There have been 713 constitutional amendments, including
five in last month's primaries.
Voters will decide 34 more in the November general election,
including a statewide measure that would empower Alabama's goat industry
to organize and promote goat farming.
''It's odd for sure,'' Bennett said. ''We had a similar
amendment before to promote emus.''
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