Bill would let voters decide on rewriting Alabama constitution

[Thom Little]

Two veteran lawmakers said Wednesday they would try again to set up a convention to rewrite Alabama's 1901 constitution, which they called archaic, unjust and too long.

Sen. Ted Little, D-Auburn, and House Speaker Pro Tem Demetrius Newton, D-Birmingham, said they have pre-filed a proposed constitutional amendment to let voters decide in November if they want to hold a convention to write a new constitution. If approved, voters would return to the polls in April 2007 to elect 210 delegates - 105 men and 105 women - from the state's 105 state House districts.

Lawmakers have held several heated debates in recent years on rewriting the 1901 constitution, and similar efforts to call a constitutional convention have failed. Supporters of a new constitution have argued that the old document is outdated, has had to be amended more than 700 times, mostly on local matters, and includes racist language. Opponents have argued that the effort to rewrite the constitution is an attempt to raise taxes, legalize gambling and to give counties more power.

"Lets let the people decide if they want a new constitution that would protect the interests of all the people of Alabama," Newton said at a Statehouse news conference Wednesday.



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