SB451 Summary

• Proposes a constitutional amendment to modernize Article XII provisions governing private corporations, railroads, and canals in the Alabama Constitution of 1901.

• Amends Section 229 to authorize the Legislature to pass general laws (rather than special acts) under which corporations and other entities may be organized, dissolved, and regulated, with the Legislature providing for a tax on the privilege of doing business or being organized under Alabama law.

• Amends Section 240 to add language specifying that stockholders cannot be individually liable for more than the unpaid stock they own, moving this provision from the repealed Section 236.

• Repeals 11 constitutional sections (230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 236, 237, 243, 244, 245, 246) containing outdated provisions relating to corporate charter cancellation, foreign corporations, stock issuance restrictions, railroad regulation, and prohibitions on free passes and rebates.

• Requires approval by majority vote of qualified electors and provides for ballot language describing the amendment as continuing legislative authority over corporations while repealing various obsolete corporate provisions.