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Editorial, Mobile Register, Oct. 20, 2000 |
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 Alabama's
legislators keep patching the state's 1901 constitution with amendments.
But a stench betrays a rotting monstrosity unfit for this new century.
The election on Nov. 7 will feature 50 proposed new amendments. Think about it: If voters go along with the Legislature's changes, Alabama will have amended its constitution 714 times. Many of these silly amendments do not belong even in our statewide laws, much less in our fundamental charter. Already, that document has about 315,000 words -- making it by far the longest constitution in America and perhaps in the world. The U.S. Constitution will fit into your shirt pocket, having been amended just 27 times. Alabama's constitution, 40 times longer, would make a great doorstop. This densely worded document is a straitjacket on government because the barons who wrote it distrusted democracy. Counties must jump through hoop after hoop because the 1901 constitution does not give them authority to pass their own laws. For example: The constitution prevents communities from attracting good jobs. Local governments can't enter into partnerships with industrial prospects or lend them money. The Legislature has responded with more than four dozen amendments that allow certain cities and counties to get around this prohibition. In fact, four more counties are seeking relief on Nov. 7. The constitution prohibits local public officials from participating in public retirement plans. In response, local governments often let their longtime public servants retire through a ruse called "supernumerary" pay. They pretend these retired officials are still working and on call. A much cheaper and fairer way is to have officials contribute to retirement plans, just as regular public employees do. But to do this, a county first must seek a constitutional amendment. That's why 19 such amendments are on the ballot this time in different parts of the state. Forget about government that is closest to the people -- at least in Alabama. In this state, power and influence rest in a relatively small number of leaders and special interests centered in Montgomery. This arrangement has produced some curious amendments, as counties seek relief from the constitution's archaic restrictions. For example, Amendment 520 allows Madison County to exhume human remains. Amendment 546 authorizes Limestone County to tax pool halls and bowling alleys. Amendment 351 permits a tax that lets Mobile County spray for mosquitoes and kill rats. This welter of details demonstrates that Alabama is entering the 21st century under a constitution outdated even in 1901. The mess of amendments on Nov. 7 -- some requiring local ratification, others going before voters statewide -- underscores the point. Why, for instance, should the good people of Jefferson County need a constitutional amendment to prohibit prostitution outside the urban limits? Aren't their elected leaders capable of writing local ordinances? Why must the state's voters approve whether Fayette County can raise its taxes to hire more firefighters and rescue squads? Let the local people decide for themselves. And surely folks in tiny White Hall in Lowndes County don't need voters all over Alabama telling them whether they can play bingo. The Legislature, which insists on running these and other counties' affairs, can't seem to keep up with all the amendments it writes. In four instances on the Nov. 7 ballot, duplicate amendments address the very same issue because of the Legislature's sloppiness in passing them. In fact, legislators spend half their time on local issues, including writing constitutional amendments, according to a study that Gov. Don Siegelman requested. It is no wonder Governing magazine gave our state an "F" on managing for results. Our legislators don't seem to have time for important statewide concerns. It is not uncommon for amendments to correct mistakes or clarify existing laws. Anniston this time seeks constitutional approval to operate a water and sewer authority. The Legislature earlier created the authority, but a question has arisen about its legality. So to be safe, supporters want to give it constitutional protection. With all these changes, who knows what laws apply to Alabama? Unfortunately, some bond lawyers and other specialists relish this verbal thicket and thrive on the constitution's confusion. But the rest of us have to ask why the state clutters its constitution -- its highest, most sacred charter -- with trivia. Our situation is like asking Moses to tack a few hundred amendments onto the Ten Commandments, including one to legalize camel racing for the tribe of Judah. Local matters just don't belong in fundamental law. Ideally, a constitution should spell out citizens' rights and define the limitations on their government. It should establish principles rather than deal in minutia. It should be reasonably short and clearly written. The 1901 constitution fails every test and then some. As Gov. Emmet O'Neal observed in 1915, many of the constitution's provisions pose "insuperable barriers" to good government. Unfortunately, Alabama is stuck in 1901 because legislators keep trying to correct all the mistakes and misdeeds of the rich planters and industrialists who framed our state's constitution. One of the amendments this time, for example, proposes to remove a section that prevents interracial marriage. Of course, the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1967 Virginia case struck down such laws, turning Alabama's ban into an anachronism. That this document reeks of racism is hardly remarkable. Its framers brazenly elevated white supremacy to constitutional status, and their political heirs maintained this injustice for more than half a century until Congress and the federal courts intervened to protect blacks' rights. What's absurd is that Alabamians must continue to live under all the remaining antiquated language and provisions of this constitution, which -- unlike the ban on miscegenation -- cannot be corrected with federal action. Imagine our good fortune were Alabama to abandon this house of horrors. Our state would be open to progress in a way that we can only dream about today while we struggle under an inefficient Legislature and hog-tied local governments. Simply revising or removing offensive but impotent language does not atone for past sins or cast out a malignant spirit. The crazy quilt of new amendments belies any pretense that this document can be made moral or modern. Enough of the absurdity. Let us convene as citizens to bury this stinking monstrosity at last and create for our children and ourselves a new constitution for the 21st century. Return to: Century of Shame, Introduction Part 7: Let us Convene
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| Alabama
Citizens for Constitutional Reform Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 34 Montgomery, Alabama 36101-0034 E-mail: accr@constitutionalreform.org |
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