ALLIANCE FOR CITIZENS RIGHTS

The following table displays the text of the 1901 Constitution that would have been eliminated
if HB47 of the 2002 Legislative session had been enacted.   This legislation was submitted
to the legislature three consecutive years, each year passing the House chamber unanimously. 

Gregory Clifton Spies, President Elect of the Alabama Society of Professional Land Surveyors, understood the detrimental aspects of this bill.  Prior to the 2002 legislative session, he contacted the Representatives who were attempting to enact this bill and explained to the sponsor (Rep. Venable) of the bill, that by removing the boundary definition from the Constitution, the State would be left without any legally-declared borders.   This, he said, would, at the very least open a legal can of worms.  Corresponding with the sponsor during the summer of 2001 he asked � what is the motive or reasoning to remove the boundary definition from the Constitution?  Representative Venable replied that the current definition was under litigation.  Any litigation, responded Mr. Spies, regarding the boundary would be a serious concern for his association and asked, in which court is the matter being adjudicated?  Rep. Venable relinquished his position and responded that there was no dispute regarding the boundaries.  The action of Mr. Spies and others prior to and during the 2002 legislative session altered the 2001 legislation, HB64, which called for the removal of the boundary without providing, within the same legislative package, a statutory definition of the borders.  The revised legislation for the 2002 legislative session HB47 would provide a statutory definition.

Examining the statutory definition proposed in HB47, Mr. Spies discovered that the coordinates in the proposed legislation was incorrect and the error would result in the exclusion of a multitude of square miles of land which under the uncontested definition in the Constitution was part of Alabama.  This error was brought to the attention of the legislature.  The bill (HB47) died in the Senate and has not been reintroduced.

 

This account demonstrates that the diligence of a few citizens prevented a disaster from coming to fruition.


As you read the text proposed for elimination of the 1901 Constitution consider the following questions:
 

The elimination of Alabama's borders. What effect could it have?

Political boundaries establish a geo-political region which retains certain rights as
a sovereign community. If these boundaries are abolished the sovereign
rights of its citizens may be legally challenged.

County governments’ charters are dependent on a state government authority
which includes definable boundaries.

A dissolution of the State boundary would in turn affect the county boundary
thus calling into question the legality of your property lines.

State Representatives and Senators are elected on jurisdictional boundaries which are politically drawn. 
Would their authority to speak on behalf of the people be nullified?


Governments are the creation of society. 
The people of America created State Governments defining their borders in their Constitutions. 
Next the State Governments created a Federal Government within limited jurisdictional boundaries. 
What happens to the legal structure of government if the State legally dissolves itself?


The ramification of these actions to dissolve state boundaries will probably not be understood until
some legal question is brought before a court of competent jurisdictional authority - United Nations World Court?



ALABAMA CONSTITUTION 1901



The Alabama Constitution after passage and enactment of the proposed HB47

Article II Section 37

STATE BOUNDARIES DEFINED

The boundaries of this state are established and declared to be as follows, that is to say: Beginning at the point where the thirty-first degree of north latitude crosses the Perdido river; thence east, to the western boundary line of the State of Georgia; thence along said line to the southern boundary line of the State of Tennessee; thence west, along the southern boundary line of the State of Tennessee, crossing the Tennessee river, and on to the second intersection of said river by said line; thence up said river to the mouth of Big Bear creek; thence by a direct line to the northwest corner of Washington county, in this state, as originally formed; thence southwardly, along the line of the State of Mississippi, to the Gulf of Mexico; thence eastwardly, including all islands within six leagues of the shore, to the Perdido river; thence up the said river to the beginning; provided, that the limits and jurisdiction of this state shall extend to and include any other land and territory hereafter acquired, by contract or agreement with other states or otherwise, although such land and territory are not included within the boundaries hereinbefore designated.

  

 

Article II Section 37
Repealed

Amendment 132
Altering Boundaries, Reducing Area or Abolishing Macon County.

The legislature may, with or without the notice prescribed by section 106 of this Constitution, by a majority vote of each house, enact general or local laws altering or re-arranging the existing boundaries, or reducing the area of, or abolishing, Macon county, and transferring its territory, or any part thereof, its jurisdiction and functions, to contiguous counties. Toward this end, there shall be a committee composed of the senators and representatives who now represent the counties of Bullock, Elmore, Lee, Macon, Montgomery, and Tallapoosa in the legislature, to study and determine the feasibility of abolishing Macon county or reducing its area, and to formulate the legislation deemed necessary for such purpose. The committee shall select a chairman and a vice-chairman from among their number, shall meet on the call of the chairman, and shall report its findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the legislative council on or before the first Friday in October, 1958; and the legislative council shall submit such report and any legislation proposed by the committee to the legislature at the 1959 regular session thereof. The committee shall be discharged upon the filing of its report with the legislative council. Committee members shall be entitled to receive an amount equal to their regular legislative per diem and allowances for each day they serve, not to exceed fifty days altogether. The committee may employ such engineering, technical, clerical, and Stenographic personnel as may be necessary for the conduct of its work, and may fix their compensation. The compensation and expenses of the committee and its employees, and the other necessary expenses incurred by the committee, shall be paid from any money in the state treasury not otherwise appropriated, on requisitions certified by the committee chairman; provided, that the aggregate amount to be expended by the committee shall not exceed the sum of fifty thousand dollars.

 

  

 

 Amendment 132
 Repealed

Repealing this Amendment and the related Amendment 406 relinquishes the right of the State Legislature to set the boundaries of county governments. 

After the repeal of these sections of the Constitution  which governmental body, from the United Nations down, would have the "right" to alter or abolish county boundaries is unknown, but history teaches that there is a strong movement towards "Globalization".

 

 


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