Alabama voters casting ballots in the May 19 primary will vote on two proposed amendments to the Alabama Constitution on statewide ballots. Voters can also request an amendment-only ballot if they do not want to vote in either party’s primary.
The Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama published an analysis of what each measure would do if approved.
Amendment 1 comes from SB118, proposed by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, during the previous session and would expand judges’ authority to deny bail in certain criminal cases, building on what voters approved in 2022 under Aniah’s Law.
Current law allows judges, after a detention hearing, to deny bail to defendants charged with a list of serious violent offenses like murder, kidnapping and rape. Amendment One would add additional crimes to that list, including solicitation, attempt or conspiracy to commit murder, as well as shooting or discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling or vehicle.
If approved, the amendment would give judges discretion to deny bail in those additional cases following a hearing in which prosecutors present evidence and defendants may respond.
The amendment would not eliminate hearings or procedural safeguards, but, instead, it would widen the category of offenses eligible for bail denial. The analysis notes that the mayors of Alabama’s ten largest cities have voiced support for this amendment.
The second amendment would “bring regulations associated with elected district attorneys’ salaries more in line with those regulating elected judges’ salaries,” and prohibit reducing a district attorney’s compensation during their term.
Alabama’s constitution provides similar protections for many elected officials, including judges, whose pay cannot be increased or decreased midterm. District attorneys were not included in earlier reforms.
Judges were formally brought under that framework in 2021, when lawmakers passed Act 2021-441 to restructure judicial pay and authorize cost-of-living adjustments and step increases for those serving multiple terms. During the previous legislative session, Rep. Jim Hill, R-Odenville, sponsored HB354 to place Amendment 2 before the voters.
As PARCA explains, Amendment 2 is intended to close that gap. A “yes” vote would extend that constitutional protection to elected district attorneys, aligning them with other constitutional officers. A “no” vote would leave the current framework in place, under which district attorneys’ compensation could not be protected from salary reduction during their term.
The amendment applies only to elected district attorneys and does not affect assistant prosecutors or staff.
If the amendment passes, district attorneys would gain a constitutional safeguard against salary reductions during their terms, bringing them in line with judges and other elected officials.
The primary is on May 19.
