Alabama Amendment 2, Broadband Internet Infrastructure Funding Amendment (2022)

Alabama Amendment 2
Election date November 8, 2022
Topic Public works
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

Alabama Amendment 2, the Broadband Internet Infrastructure Funding Amendment, was on the ballot in Alabama as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported allowing the state and local governments to grant federal awards funds or other state-designated broadband funds to public or private entities to provide or expand broadband internet infrastructure.

A "no" vote opposed allowing the state and local governments to grant federal awards funds or other state-designated broadband funds to public or private entities to provide or expand broadband internet infrastructure.

Election results

Alabama Amendment 2
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		939,704	78.55%
No		256,541	21.45%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did the amendment do?

See also: Constitutional changes

Amendment 2 allowed the state and local governments to grant federal awards funds or other state-designated broadband funds to public or private entities to provide or expand infrastructure for Broadband internet (high-speed internet with defined upload and download speed capabilities). Funds granted by a local government to a private entity need to be approved at a public meeting in the county or municipality.

Why was this amendment on the ballot?

See also: Broadband expansion funding under the American Rescue Plan Act and Constitutional restriction on local governments awarding funds to private entities

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a federal COVID-19 relief funding Act, was signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021. The Act provided for $130 billion paid to states for distribution to local governments for specified uses, including for investments in broadband infrastructure. During the 2022 legislative session, the Alabama State Legislature passed and the governor signed a bill that provided for the allocation of $276 million received by the state under ARPA to the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) for broadband expansion funding.

This constitutional amendment was passed unanimously in both chambers of the state legislature. The Association of County Commissions of Alabama (ACCA) said the amendment was needed to allow counties to use the designated ARPA funding for broadband expansion because the state constitution prohibited local governments from using funds to provide a thing of value to a private entity. ACCA Executive Director Sonny Brasfield said, "Passing this amendment during the special session is critical as we work to expand internet access statewide by empowering counties to work with broadband providers. Because the current constitution has a specific provision prohibiting local governments from providing a ‘thing of value’ to companies, counties cannot use their federal funds to support broadband projects without this important amendment."

How did Alabama plan to expand access to broadband internet?

See also: Broadband internet in Alabama

In 2021, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) signed a bill directing the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) to develop and execute the Alabama Connectivity Plan "to facilitate the expansion and availability of high-speed broadband networks, services, and technologies throughout the state."

ADECA published the Alabama Connectivity Plan in December 2021, finding that "roughly 13 percent of Alabama’s 1.65 million addresses are unserved by broadband of at least 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload (25/3, the FCC’s current benchmark speed), while about 19 percent of addresses are unserved by 100/20 service—the threshold recommended as the State’s five-year target to align with new federal funding opportunities."

During the 2022 legislative session, the state legislature also passed Senate Bill 123 and Senate Bill 124, which increased the minimum speed thresholds for broadband internet from 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds (25/3) to 100 Mbps download and upload speeds (100/20) and provided for a broadband expansion grant program.

Text of the measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to authorize the state, a county, or a municipality to grant federal award funds or any other source of funding designated for broadband infrastructure by state law to public or private entities for providing or expanding broadband infrastructure. (Proposed by Act 2022-117) Yes ( ) No ( )

”

Ballot summary

The Alabama Fair Ballot Commission wrote the following ballot statement:

“ This amendment will make clear that the state, a county, or a city/town may grant federal funds or other state funding to any public or private organization to expand access to high-speed Internet (broadband). If the majority of the voters vote “yes” on Amendment 2, it will be clear that the state, a county, or a city/town will be allowed to grant federal funds or other state funding to any public or private organization to expand access to high-speed Internet (broadband). If the majority of the voters vote “no” on Amendment 2, the state, a county, or a city/town may not be allowed to grant federal funds or other state funding to any public or private organization to expand access to high-speed Internet (broadband). There are no costs to Amendment 2. The Constitutional authority for passage of Amendment 2 is set forth in accordance with Sections 284, 285 and 287 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901. These sections outline the method a constitutional amendment may be put to the people of the State for a vote. ”

Constitutional changes

See also: Alabama Constitution

The measure amended the Alabama Constitution. The following underlined text was added:

The state, a county, or a municipality is authorized to grant federal award funds or any other source of funding designated for broadband infrastructure by state law to any public or private entity for the purpose of providing or expanding broadband infrastructure. The granting of funds by a county or a municipality to a private entity pursuant to this section must be approved at a public meeting held by the appropriate county or municipality. Upon ratification of this constitutional amendment and contingent upon the ratification of the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, the Code Commissioner shall number and place this amendment as appropriate in the constitution based upon a logical sequence and the particular subject or topic of the amendment. In this amendment, the Code Commissioner may change capitalization, spelling, and punctuation for the purpose of style and uniformity; correct manifest grammatical, clerical, and typographical errors; and correct incorrect cross-references. When publishing the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, the Code Commissioner may omit this instructional paragraph.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2022

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 25, and the FRE is -3. The word count for the ballot title is 47.

Support

Supporters

Officials

• State Sen. Clay Scofield (R)
• State Rep. Mary Moore (D)
• State Rep. Randall Shedd (R)

Organizations

• Association of County Commissions of Alabama

Arguments

• Association of Alabama County Commissions Executive Director Sonny Brasfield: "Passing this amendment during the special session is critical as we work to expand internet access statewide by empowering counties to work with broadband providers. Because the current constitution has a specific provision prohibiting local governments from providing a ‘thing of value’ to companies, counties cannot use their federal funds to support broadband projects without this important amendment."
• State Sen. Clay Scofield (R): "The proposed allocation of this one-time ARPA funding has the potential to largely impact the future of our state. It will not only provide aid and support for pandemic recovery but also allow us to invest in projects that will enhance the quality of life for Alabamians for generations to come. Specifically looking at the money that will be invested in the broadband expansion process, there will be a tremendous opportunity to utilize innovative technology and resources to develop this vital digital infrastructure, ultimately strengthening our economy, producing more jobs and allowing Alabama to lead in a modern, 21st century economy. Passing this amendment is imperative to the success of the work that has occurred for many years and for the decades of work that lies ahead. Our goal is to deliver high-speed internet services to all four corners of the state — urban and rural. This amendment would greatly help us to achieve that goal by urging counties and cities to highlight funding for projects in those areas."
• State Rep. Mary Moore (D): "We won’t succeed real well in the 21st century if we don’t have [broadband access]."
• Gov. Kay Ivey (R): "Broadband is vital infrastructure that helps bring more jobs, improves educational and health care opportunities and bolsters our economy. These funds represent an opportunity to fill this need for broadband service in more areas of our state, particularly rural communities. I am pleased to complete this step in the funding process, and I have full confidence that ADECA will manage these funds wisely."
• Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) Director Kenneth Boswell: "ADECA is honored to have the support of the governor, the Legislature and others as we all work toward the common goal of expanding broadband access to more areas of our state. With the completion of the Alabama Broadband Map and Connectivity Plan and this funding boost, we have the pieces in place for effective grant programs to incentivize providers to expand their coverage areas."

Opposition

Ballotpedia did not identify committees, organizations, or individuals opposing the ballot initiative. If you are aware of any opponents or opposing arguments, please send an email with a link to [email protected].

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Alabama ballot measures

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	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

Ballotpedia has not identified political action committees registered to support or oppose this measure. If you are aware of one, please email [email protected].

Background

Broadband internet

The United States Congress provided in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that broadband internet is defined as "advanced telecommunications capability that enable[s] users to originate and receive high-quality voice, data, graphics, and video telecommunications using any technology.” On January 29, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to define broadband internet as internet speeds of 25 Mbps (megabits per second) for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads. From 2010-2015, the FCC defined broadband speeds as 4 Mbps for downloads and 1 Mbps for uploads. From 1996 to 2010, the defined speeds were 200 Kbps (kilobytes per second) for downloads and uploads.

Broadband internet in Alabama

The Alabama State Legislature passed and Governor Kay Ivey (R) signed the Connect Alabama Act (Senate Bill 215 of 2021) into law on July 8, 2021. The Act directed the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) to develop and execute the Alabama Connectivity Plan "to facilitate the expansion and availability of high-speed broadband networks, services, and technologies throughout the state," and submit the plan to the Alabama Digital Expansion Authority on or before July 1, 2022.

ADECA published the Alabama Connectivity Plan in December 2021, and found that "roughly 13 percent of Alabama’s 1.65 million addresses are unserved by broadband of at least 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload (25/3, the FCC’s current benchmark speed), while about 19 percent of addresses are unserved by 100/20 service—the threshold recommended as the State’s five-year target to align with new federal funding opportunities."

During the 2022 legislative session, the state legislature also passed Senate Bill 123 and Senate Bill 124, which increased the minimum speed thresholds for broadband internet from 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds (25/3) to 100 Mbps download and upload speeds (100/20) and provided for a broadband expansion grant program.

The ADECA Digital Expansion Division published maps displaying access to broadband internet in Alabama within each census block. The maps are available here.

American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), 2021

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a federal COVID-19 relief funding Act, was signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021. The Act provided for $130 billion paid to states for distribution to local governments for specified uses, including:

• covering costs incurred by the local government;
• responding to COVID-19 and offer economic aid to households, small businesses, nonprofits, or other affected industries;
• providing premium pay to essential workers;
• provide government services; and
• to make investments in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure.

Broadband expansion funding under ARPA

The Alabama Legislature passed and the governor signed House Bill 1 on January 27, 2022, which provided for the allocation of $772 million received by the state under ARPA. Alabama HB 1 provided for $276 million of the funds to be used toward broadband expansion funding. The funds were dedicated from the ARPA Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund ($191,887,857); Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund ($51,000,000); and the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Revenue Replacement Fund ($34,000,000). The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) was set to disburse funds through grant programs under its Alabama Digital Expansion Division.

Constitutional restrictions on local governments awarding funds to private entities

Section 94

See also: Section 94 of the Alabama Constitution

This constitutional amendment was supported by the Association of County Commissions of Alabama, which said that a constitutional amendment was needed to allow counties to use the designated ARPA funding for broadband expansion because the state constitution prohibits local governments from using funds to provide a thing of value to a private entity. Section 94 of the Alabama Constitution states "The legislature shall not have power to authorize any county, city, town, or other subdivision of this state to lend its credit, or to grant public money or thing of value in aid of, or to any individual, association, or corporation whatsoever, or to become a stockholder in any such corporation, association, or company, by issuing bonds or otherwise."

Attorney General opinion on Section 94 and ARPA funding

On October 22, 2021, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) issued an opinion considering the question, "Do limitations placed on local governmental entities by the Alabama Constitution, such as sections 94, 68, and 68.01, apply to the funds received by such entities under the American Rescue Plan Act ('ARPA')?"

Marshall found that "the plain terms of section 94 preclude the legislature from authorizing a municipality or county to grant funds directly to a private entity," although a 1994 Alabama Supreme Court ruling held that the section is not violated when a government entity appropriates the funds for a public purpose, meaning it "confers a direct public benefit of a reasonably general character, [i.e] to a significant part of the public, as distinguished from a remote and theoretical benefit."

Amendment 772, Alabama Constitution

Also known as Section 94.01 of the Alabama Constitution, Amendment 772 was adopted through voter approval of Amendment 3 on the 2004 ballot in a vote of 55.47% to 44.53%. The legislature passed the amendment as a way to codify the Supreme Court's ruling in Slawson relating to economic and industrial development. Amendment 772 gave counties and municipalities the authority to "to lend its credit to or grant public funds and things of value in aid of or to any individual, firm, corporation, or other business entity, public or private, for the purpose of promoting the economic and industrial development of the county or the municipality."

Under Amendment 772, the county or municipality must adopt a resolution determining that the funds would serve a public purpose and must publish a notice of the proposed action in the largest circulating newspaper in the county or municipality for at least seven days.

2022 ballot measure concerning Amendment 772

See also: Alabama County and Municipality Economic and Industrial Development Financing Amendment (2022)

An amendment also certified to appear on the 2022 ballot in Alabama was designed to clarify counties' and municipalities' existing authority to provide for financing economic and industrial development through lending credit, granting public funds, issuing bonds, leasing property, or lending bonds to a private entity. The measure was designed to remove the requirement that the newspaper publication be in the largest circulating newspaper, and instead allow the publication to be made in any newspaper in the jurisdiction. The amendment was also designed to ratify all actions and agreements by counties and municipalities made under Amendment 772 unless they are subject to pending lawsuits.

Constitutional amendments in Alabama, 2000-2020

From 2000 to 2020, 81 constitutional amendments appeared on the statewide ballot in Alabama. Voters approved 64 (79.0%) and rejected 17 (21.0%). The number of amendments on statewide ballots during the even-numbered years between 2000 and 2020 ranged from 4 to 15, and the average number of amendments during this period was 7.8.

Alabama constitutional amendments, 2000-2020
Total number	Approved	Approved (%)	Defeated	Defeated (%)	Even-year average	Even-year median	Even-year minimum	Even-year maximum
81	64	79.01%	17	20.99%	7.8	6.0	4	15

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Alabama Constitution

To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a 60 percent vote vote is required in both the Alabama State Senate and the Alabama House of Representatives.

The amendment was introduced as House Bill 255. It was passed in the House by a vote of 101-0 with two members absent on February 15, 2022. It was passed in the Senate on March 10, by a vote of 27-0 with eight members absent.

Vote in the Alabama House of Representatives February 15, 2022
Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 63  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	101	0	2
Total percent	98.05%	0.00%	1.94%
Democrat	27	0	1
Republican	74	0	1

Vote in the Alabama State Senate March 10, 2022
Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 21  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	27	0	8
Total percent	77.1%	0.00%	22.9%
Democrat	5	0	3
Republican	22	0	5

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Alabama

Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in Alabama.

How to cast a vote in Alabama

Poll times In Alabama, polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. According to state law, "All polling places in areas operating on eastern time shall open and close under this section pursuant to eastern time except the county commissions in Chambers County and Lee County may by resolution provide for any polling place to be excluded from this sentence and to be open according to central time." An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Registration requirements Check your voter registration status here. Alabama requires that an applicant be a citizen of the United States who resides in Alabama. A voter must be at least 18 years old on or before Election Day. A citizen cannot have been barred from registering due to a felony conviction and cannot have been declared mentally incompetent by a court. Voters cannot register during the 14-day period preceding an election. According to the Alabama Secretary of State's website: “ You may download the State of Alabama Postcard Voter Registration Application from this site. The form can be printed on your printer, filled out, and then mailed into your local voter registration officials. Click here for more information. You may also request a postcard voter registration from this office by e-mail. Click here to request a voter registration form. Voter registration is also available from your local County Board of Registrars. Click here to get the address and phone number for the board of registrars office in your county. You may also obtain voter registration services at the following state and local government offices and agencies: Driver's licensing office County and select municipal public libraries Department of Human Resources WIC Program, Department of Public Health Medicaid Agency Department of Rehabilitation Services The postcard voter registration form is also available at: Public 4-year universities Select private 4-year universities Driver's licensing office County and select municipal public libraries Department of Human Resources WIC Program, Department of Public Health Medicaid Agency Department of Rehabilitation Services ” Automatic registration Alabama does not practice automatic voter registration. Online registration See also: Online voter registration Alabama has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website. Same-day registration Alabama does not allow same-day voter registration. Residency requirements To register to vote in Alabama, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible. Verification of citizenship See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States An Alabama state law, passed in 2011, calls for people to provide proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. However, as of August 2024, the law had not been implemented. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot require proof of citizenship with federal registration forms. That meant states would need to create a separate registration system for state elections in order to require proof of citizenship. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill (R) said the following: "That’s an election administration nightmare ... You’d have to have two sets of poll books, one for federal elections and one for state elections, and that just doesn’t make any sense to me." An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury. All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. As of January 2025, six states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, and New Hampshire — had passed laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration. However, only two of those states' laws were in effect, in Arizona and New Hampshire. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allowed noncitizens to vote in some local elections as of November 2024. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters. Verifying your registration The Alabama Secretary of State's Voter View website allows residents to check their voter registration status online. Voter ID requirements Alabama requires voters to present photo identification at the polls. The following list of accepted forms of identification was current as of September 2024. Click here for the most current information, sourced directly from the Office of the Alabama Secretary of State. “ Valid Alabama Driver’s License (not expired or has been expired less than 60 days) Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Digital Driver’s License Valid Alabama Nondriver ID (not expired or has been expired less than 60 days) Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Digital Nondriver ID Valid Alabama Photo Voter ID Card Valid State-Issued ID (Alabama or any other state) Examples Valid AL Department of Corrections Release - Temporary ID (Photo Required) Valid AL Movement/Booking Sheet from Prison/Jail System (Photo Required) Valid Pistol Permit (Photo Required) Valid Federal-Issued ID Valid US passport Valid Employee ID from Federal Government, State of Alabama, County, Municipality, Board, or other entity of this state Valid student or employee ID from a public or private college or university in the State of Alabama (including postgraduate technical or professional schools) Digital student ID from a public or private college or university in the State of Alabama (including postgraduate technical or professional schools) Valid student or employee ID issued by a state institution of higher learning in any other state Digital student ID issued by a state institution of higher learning in any other state Valid Military ID Valid Tribal ID ” A voter can obtain a free identification card from the Alabama Secretary of State, a county registrar's office, or a mobile location. The mobile location schedule can be accessed here. Voters must also provide a copy of valid photo identification when applying for an absentee ballot, with the exception of 1) voters for whom polling locations are inaccessible due to age or disability, and 2) overseas military members.

See also

2022 measures

• 2022 ballot measures
• Public works on the ballot

Alabama

• Alabama ballot measures
• Alabama ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• House Bill 255 full text