The Alabama State House of Representatives is the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the

Alabama Legislature The Alabama Legislature is the legislative branch of the state government of Alabama. It is a bicameral body composed of the House of Representatives and Senate. It is one of the few state legislatures in which members of both chambers se ...

, the

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

of state of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with each constituency containing at least 42,380 citizens. There are no

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

in the House. The House is also one of the five lower houses of state legislatures in the United States that is elected every four years. Other lower houses, including the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, are elected for a two-year term. The House meets at the Alabama State House in Montgomery.

Legal provisions

The Alabama House of Representatives is the lower house of the

, with the

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

being the

Alabama Senate The Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, with each district conta ...

. Both bodies are constitutionally required to convene annually at the Alabama State House. In quadrennial election years (e.g. 2018), they convene on the second Tuesday in January. In the first year after quadrennial election years (e.g. 2019), they convene on the first Tuesday in March. In the second and third years of quadrennium (e.g. 2020 and 2021), the Legislature convenes on the first Tuesday in February. From that date of convention, the House of Representatives must meet for 30 legislative days over the course of 105 calendar days. The legislature is not permitted to call for special sessions, though they may determine the subject of those sessions by a two-thirds vote in the event that they do take place. Special sessions in the Alabama Legislature span 30 calendar days and meet for 12 of them.

Membership requirements

The Alabama House of Representatives consists of 105 members, each representing single-member legislative districts of equal size. State representatives have a term length of four years, uncommonly lengthy among lower legislative chambers in the United States. Members have been elected in what correspond with

United States midterm election Midterm elections in the United States are the Elections in the United States, general elections that are held near the midpoint of a President of the United States, president's four-year term of office, on Election Day (United States), Elec ...

years since 1902. In order to serve in the House, an individual must have attained the age of 21. The person must also be a qualified voter who has resided in the state of Alabama for at least three years and in their legislative district for at least one year. In accordance with Section 46 of the

Constitution of Alabama The Constitution of the State of Alabama is the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Alabama. It was adopted in 2022 and is Alabama's seventh constitution. History Alabama has had seven constitutions to date, all but the current one est ...

, "the terms of office of the senators and representatives shall commence on the day after the general election at which they are elected, and expire on the day after the general election held in the fourth year after their election." As a result, representatives formally assume their positions on the day after

Election Day Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections ...

in early November.

Leadership

The most powerful individual in the chamber is the

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hunger ...

, who is elected by all 105 representatives. Other leadership positions include the Speaker pro tempore (also elected by the entire chamber) and the Majority Leader (elected by the majority party caucus). The minority party is headed by the Minority Leader, who is elected by the minority party caucus.

Compensation

Constitutional Amendment 57 provides the methods for setting legislative compensation. Since 2021, representatives earn $51,734 per year. Representatives are also allotted $85 per day for single overnight stays or $100 per day for multiple overnight stays in order to accommodate lodging needs. The presiding officer of the House of Representatives earns an additional $18,000 per year. No retirement benefits are available to representatives.

Legislative process

House bills are referred to their committees of jurisdiction by the Speaker. Bills can be introduced at any point in the legislative session. The

Governor of Alabama A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

has the authority to use a

line-item veto The line-item veto, also called the partial veto, is a special form of veto power that authorizes a chief executive to reject particular provisions of a bill enacted by a legislature without vetoing the entire bill. Many countries have differen ...

on appropriations bills as long as they are returned to the legislature before its adjournment. In most circumstances, during the legislative session, the Governor has six days to consider vetoing legislation before it automatically becomes law. If session has concluded, the Governor has 10 days to consider legislation. Vetoes can be overturned by a majority vote in both chambers of the

Legislative staffing

State representatives are given year-round personal staff at the Capitol, as well as some staff who are shared between members. Representatives for select counties are entitled to shared district office staff. All committees have paid clerical staff, while only some committees have additional professional staff.

Committees

Committee members and committee chairpersons are both assigned by the Speaker. There are currently 33 standing committees in the House. They are as follows: * Agriculture and Forestry * Baldwin County Legislation * Boards, Agencies and Commissions * Children and Senior Advocacy * Commerce and Small Business * Constitution, Campaigns and Elections * County and Municipal Government * Economic Development and Tourism * Education Policy * Ethics and Campaign Finance * Financial Services * Fiscal Responsibility * Health * Insurance * Jefferson County Legislation * Judiciary * Lee County Legislation * Limestone County Legislation * Local Legislation * Madison County Legislation * Military and Veterans Affairs * Mobile County Legislation * Montgomery County Legislation * Public Safety and Homeland Security * Rules * Shelby County Legislation * State Government * Technology and Research * Transportation, Utilities and Infrastructure * Tuscaloosa County Legislation

Composition

House leadership

Majority Leadership

Minority Leadership

House roster

Past composition of the House

Throughout most of the state's history, the Democratic Party has held the majority in the Alabama House of Representatives except for a few brief exceptions. The Whig Party controlled the lower house in 1819 and again in 1821-23, and for the last time in 1837–1838. After the Civil War and emancipation, granting of citizenship and the franchise to

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom ...

, most joined the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

. Politics became competitive for several years. Republicans, made up of both races, held the majority of seats during the Reconstruction period from 1868 to 1870, and again from 1872 to 1874. Among the House's historical firsts was the election of its first African-American members in 1868, when 27 black Republicans were elected. Among those African Americans elected to the lower house in 1872 was Rev. Mentor Dotson, a teacher. His granddaughter

Helen Elsie Austin Helen Elsie Austin (May 10, 1908– Oct 26, 2004), known as H. Elsie Austin as an adult, was an American attorney, civil rights leader, and diplomat from the Midwest. From 1960 to 1970, she served for 10 years with the United States Information A ...

in 1930 was the first African-American woman to graduate from

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

Law School, and in 1937 the first black and first woman to be appointed as state assistant attorney general of Ohio. She had a career as counsel to several federal agencies, was active in civil rights, and served a decade as a US

Foreign Service Officer A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U ...

in Africa. Beginning in 1876, white Democrats regained control of the state house, through a combination of fraud, intimidation, and armed attacks on Republicans. At the turn of the 20th century, they passed laws that essentially disenfranchised both blacks and poor whites, causing a dramatic drop in voter rolls. Alabama white Democrats helped form the

Solid South The Solid South or Southern bloc was the electoral voting bloc of the states of the Southern United States for issues that were regarded as particularly important to the interests of Democrats in those states. The Southern bloc existed especial ...

in Congress. For decades a failure to redistrict according to census returns resulted in the state legislature being dominated by rural counties and conservative Democrats. In 1922 the first female member was elected to the State House: Hattie Hooker Wilkins of Dallas County, who served a single four-year term.Dance, Gabby. ''Alabama Political Reporter'', July 24, 2019 There was a realignment of party affiliations during the later 20th century. In the 1970s the ruling of ''

one man, one vote "One man, one vote", or "one person, one vote", expresses the principle that individuals should have equal representation in voting. This slogan is used by advocates of political equality to refer to such electoral reforms as universal suffrage, ...

'' by the US Supreme Court enabled urban jurisdictions to acquire political power in the State House that expressed the size of their populations. Through the late 20th century, after the civil rights movement, white conservatives began to realign, supporting Republican presidential candidates. Most blacks in the state supported the national Democratic Party, which had supported constitutional rights. At the local and state level, numerous Democrats were elected. Some 136 years of Democratic control of the State House ended in November 2010. Beginning with the 2010 General Election Republicans swept to a large majority in the state house. They increased this margin in the elections in 2014 and 2018.

References

External links

Alabama House of Representatives Official Site
{{Authority control

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

State lower houses in the United States Politics of Alabama