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SB39 • 2026

Legislative Committee on Reapportionment; appointment of members to committee revised

Legislative Committee on Reapportionment; appointment of members to committee revised

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Givhan
Last action
2026-02-12
Official status
Read Second Time in Second House
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details about the roles or numbers of House members, nor does it explicitly state that both Senate and House members will be appointed by their respective leaders during reapportionment processes.

Changing How Members Are Chosen for the Reapportionment Committee

This bill changes how members of the Senate are appointed to the Permanent Legislative Committee on Reapportionment.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes who appoints Senate members to the committee from the Lieutenant Governor to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Members of the Alabama Legislature, especially those in leadership positions like President Pro Tempore of the Senate and Speaker of the House.

Terms To Know

Reapportionment
The process of adjusting the boundaries of electoral districts to reflect changes in population.
President Pro Tempore
A temporary president or chairperson who presides over a legislative body when the regular leader is absent.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how House members are appointed, only that Senate appointments will now be made by the President Pro Tempore.
  • It's unclear what specific changes this might bring to committee operations or decisions.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-12 House

    Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar

  2. 2026-02-11 House

    Reported Out of Committee Second House

  3. 2026-02-05 Senate

    Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 280 (Yeas 34, Nays 0)

  4. 2026-02-05 Senate

    Third Reading in House of Origin (Yeas 34, Nays 0)

  5. 2026-02-05 House

    Pending Committee Action in Second House

  6. 2026-02-05 House

    Read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on State Government

  7. 2026-01-21 Senate

    Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar

  8. 2026-01-21 Senate

    Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

  9. 2026-01-13 Senate

    Pending Committee Action in House of Origin

  10. 2026-01-13 Senate

    Read for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on State Governmental Affairs

Official Summary Text

Legislative Committee on Reapportionment; appointment of members to committee revised

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SB39 INTRODUCED
Page 0
SB39
84Q4M22-1
By Senator Givhan
RFD: State Governmental Affairs
First Read: 13-Jan-26
PFD: 07-Jan-26
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84Q4M22-1 10/30/2025 PMG (L)PMG 2025-2884
Page 1
PFD: 07-Jan-26
SYNOPSIS:
Under existing law, the Permanent Legislative
Committee on Reapportionment consists of members of the
Senate and members of the House of Representatives of
the Alabama Legislature appointed by the Lieutenant
Governor and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, respectively.
This bill would provide for the President Pro
Tempore of the Senate to appoint the Senate members to
the committee.
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to the Permanent Legislative Committee on
Reapportionment; to amend Section 29-2-51, Code of Alabama
1975, to revise the appointment of Senate members to the
committee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Section 29-2-51, Code of Alabama 1975, is
amended to read as follows:
"§29-2-51
(a) There is hereby created a permanent legislative
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SB39 INTRODUCED
Page 2
(a) There is hereby created a permanent legislative
committee to be known as the Permanent Legislative Committee
on Reapportionment, hereinafter referred to as the
"committee."
(b)(1) Except during the quadrennium in which the
United States census is released and the Legislature is
actually involved with the reapportionment process, the
committee shall be composed of six members appointed during
the organizational session of each quadrennium to serve each
quadrennium as follows: Three members of the Senate to be
appointed by the Lieutenant Governor President Pro Tempore of
the Senate and three members of the House to be appointed by
the Speaker of the House.
(2) The committee members shall select from among its
numbers a Senator and a member of the House of Representatives
to serve as co-chairpersons for the quadrennium to preside
over meetings of the committee. Whenever the Legislature is
not in regular or special session, each member of the
committee shall be entitled to his or her usual legislative
pay, travel expenses , and per diem for each day he the member
spends in attending any such meeting or conducting business of
the committee within or without the state.
(c) In those quadrenniums in which the United States
official decennial census is released and while the
Legislature is actually involved in the reapportionment
process, the committee shall be composed of 22 members as
follows: One member of the House of Representatives from each
congressional district, four members of the House of
Representatives at-large to be appointed by the Speaker of the
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SB39 INTRODUCED
Page 3
Representatives at-large to be appointed by the Speaker of the
House and one member of the Senate from each congressional
district, four members of the Senate at-large, to be appointed
by the Lieutenant Governor the President Pro Tempore of the
Senate . Upon the completion of the reapportionment process,
the committee composition shall revert to the six member
committee provided in subsection (b) hereof ."
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2026.
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