Alabama Const. art. 5, § 138 — Alabama Constitution / Article 5 / Section 138
Election and term of office of sheriffs; sheriff eligible to succeed self; impeachment of sheriff; effect of impeachment of sheriff. A sheriff shall be elected in each county by the qualified electors
Status: in_force

Sec. 138. Election and term of office of sheriffs; sheriff eligible to succeed self; impeachment of sheriff; effect of impeachment of sheriff. A sheriff shall be elected in each county by the qualified electors thereof who shall hold office for a term of four years unless sooner removed, and he shall be eligible to such office as his own successor. Whenever any prisoner is taken from jail, or from the custody of any sheriff or his deputy, and put to death, or suffers grevious [grievous] bodily harm, owing to the neglect, connivance, cowardice, or other grave fault of the sheriff, such sheriff may be impeached, under section 174 of this Constitution. If the sheriff be impeached, and thereupon convicted, he shall not be eligible to hold any office in this state during the time for which he had been elected or appointed to serve as sheriff.

Sec. 138.01. Appointments and promotions in civil service. A. Appointments and promotions in the civil service of this state shall be made according to merit, fitness and efficiency, to be determined, so far as practicable, by examination, which, so far as practicable, shall be competitive under such laws as the legislature may enact. B. It shall be the duty of the legislature to maintain laws necessary to implement, and to provide adequate financial support for, a positive program of personnel management in the state service. C. All state personnel laws now in effect that are not in conflict with this article shall continue in effect until they are amended or repealed as provided

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by law. Civil service status acquired by employees under existing statutes shall not be affected by the provisions of this article.

Sec. 138.02. Conveyance of Alabama State Docks Department property.

(a) The state of Alabama, through the Alabama state docks department, is authorized to convey, without consideration, title to its real property, equipment and facilities located in Lauderdale county, Alabama, and known as the Alabama State Docks to the Florence–Lauderdale County Port Authority, a public corporation, but subject to existing leases and other contractual agreements now in effect. Any laws or parts of laws or any provisions of the Constitution of 1901, as amended, which are in conflict with this amendment are hereby revised, superseded and repealed to the extent they are in conflict with this amendment. (b) The state of Alabama, through the Alabama state docks department, is authorized to convey, without consideration, title to its real property, equipment and facilities located in Morgan county, Alabama, and known as the Alabama State Docks to the Decatur–Morgan County Port Authority, a public corporation, and in Walker county, Alabama, known as the State Docks in Cordova in Walker county to the Walker county commission, but subject to existing leases and other contractual agreements now in effect. Any laws or parts of laws or any provisions of the Constitution of 1901, as amended, which are in conflict with this amendment are hereby revised, superseded and repealed to the extent they are in conflict with this amendment. The provisions herein shall be self-executing. (c) The State of Alabama, through the Alabama State Docks Department, may convey, without consideration, title to its real property, equipment, and facilities located in Madison County, Alabama, and known as the Alabama State Docks, to the Huntsville–Madison County Marina and Port Authority, a public corporation. The conveyance shall be subject to existing leases and other contractual agreements now in effect. Any laws or parts of laws, or any provisions of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, are revised, superseded, and repealed to the extent they are in conflict with this amendment.

Sec. 138.03. Use of Assets of State Retirement Systems. All of the assets, proceeds or income of the teachers’, employees’, state police, public and judicial retirement systems of Alabama, or any successor systems thereto, and all contributions and payments made to such systems to provide

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for retirement and related benefits thereunder, shall be held, invested as authorized by law, or disbursed as in trust for the exclusive purpose of providing for such benefits, refunds and administrative expenses under the management of the boards of control of the aforementioned retirement systems; and, none of such assets, proceeds, income, contributions or payments shall be used, loaned, encumbered or diverted to or for any other purpose whatsoever.

Sec. 138.04. Health care benefits for retired state and education employees. All of the assets, proceeds, and income of the Alabama Retired State Employees’ Health Care Trust and the Alabama Retired Education Employees’ Health Care Trust, or any successor or assignee of the trust, and all contributions and payments made to the trustees of the trusts, shall be held, invested as authorized by law, and disbursed for the exclusive purposes of providing for administrative expenses of the respective trust and health care benefits under the management of the trustees of the respective trust in accordance with the terms of its trust agreement. None of the assets, proceeds, income, contributions, or payments shall be used, loaned, encumbered, or diverted to or for any other purpose whatsoever, except, that (a) a trust may be terminated, if the State has no obligation to provide post- employment health care benefits for which the trust was established to such persons, and, in that event, the remaining assets of the trust shall revert to the State Treasury to and for the credit of the State Employees’ Insurance Board, the Public Education Employees’ Health Insurance Board, or its successor or assign, as the case may be, related to the terminated trust or (b) if in response to a petition of the trustees of a trust requesting that the respective trust agreement be amended, a court of competent jurisdiction determines that the amendment proposed by the trustees is necessary or otherwise advisable to accomplish one or more purposes of the act authorizing and directing the creation of the trusts.