CONSTITUTION OF ALABAMA OF 1901,
AMENDMENT 509

English as Official Language of State (1990)

English is the official language of the state of Alabama. The legislature shall enforce this amendment by appropriate legislation. The legislature and officials of the state of Alabama shall take all steps necessary to insure that the role of English as the common language of the state of Alabama is preserved and enhanced. The legislature shall make no law which diminishes or ignores the role of English as the common language of the state of Alabama.

Any person who is a resident of or doing business in the state of Alabama shall have standing to sue the state of Alabama to enforce this amendment, and the courts of record of the state of Alabama shall have jurisdiction to hear cases brought to enforce this provision. The legislature may provide reasonable and appropriate limitations on the time and manner of suits brought under this amendment.


Source: Charles V. Dale and Mark Gurevitz, Legal Analysis of Proposals to Make English the Official Language of the United States, Oct. 17, 1995, Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service.