In 2020, Alabama voters approved a constitutional amendment directing the state legislature to submit a reorganized state constitution during its upcoming session.

The amendment limits revisions to four areas.

Legislators are authorized to remove all racist language from the current constitution, delete duplicative or repealed provisions, consolidate the economic development provisions into one organized section, and arrange all local constitutional amendments by county of application.

The Joint Legislative Committee on the Recompilation of the Constitution is set to meet on Tuesday, August 24 when it will accept public input on the proposed changes.

The committee was formed to develop a draft of revisions to the document which it will present to the legislature for consideration in 2022. The group plans to meet several times over the next few months to work on the proposed constitutional draft.

Chairing the committee is State Rep. Merika Coleman (D-Birmingham).

She believes public participation is vital to the process.

“Any time you are proposing changes to the Alabama Constitution It is important that the public have an opportunity for input and be fully aware of the process by which those changes are developed,” Coleman said in a statement to Yellowhammer News. “While the scope for this process is fairly narrow, we certainly want to hear any thoughts or comments that could inform the work. This meeting will be dedicated to providing any interested person with an opportunity to be heard.”

Tuesday’s meeting will take place in Room 200 of the State House at 10:00 a.m. Members of the public who wish to participate, or who may have questions, may visit the Legislative Services Agency online.

Once passed by the Alabama Legislature, the reorganized constitution will go back before voters for final approval.

The Alabama Constitution has been amended nearly 1,000 times.