Alabama Constitution of 1901 Local Amendments Mobile County § 7

Mobile county is hereby authorized to issue its bonds not exceeding $1,737,000 in aggregate principal amount for the purpose of acquiring, providing, constructing and equipping capital improvements in said county, including the acquisition of sites therefor, of which bonds $500,000 in principal amount shall be issued to pay costs of acquiring, providing, constructing and equipping public school buildings in said county, and $500,000 in principal amount shall be issued to pay all or a part of the costs of acquiring, providing, constructing and equipping a building or buildings for use for educational purposes on the college level in said county, $606,000 in principal amount shall be issued to pay a portion of the costs of acquiring, providing, constructing and equipping one or more public hospital buildings in said county whether such buildings shall be owned by said county or by any public corporation therein, and $131,000 in principal amount shall be issued to pay all or part of the costs of acquiring, providing, constructing and equipping one or more buildings in the county for the Alabama State College;  provided, that the aggregate principal amount of any series of bonds at any time issued hereunder, when added to the aggregate principal amount of all bonds then outstanding that are payable from or secured by the special annual ad valorem tax authorized in Amendment XVIII of the Constitution of Alabama [Mobile County § 5], as amended, shall not exceed six and one-half per centum (6  1/2  %) of the assessed valuation of the taxable property situated in said county, as assessed for state taxation for the state tax year next preceding the issuance of such bonds hereunder;  provided, further, that no bonds may be issued under the authority of this constitutional amendment until after the question of the issuance of such bonds shall have been submitted to the qualified electors of Mobile county at an election called for that purpose by the governing body of said county and a majority of said qualified electors voting at said election shall have voted in favor of the issuance of such bonds, any such election to be called, held, conducted, and canvassed, and notice thereof to be given, in the manner provided by the then existing general laws of Alabama pertaining to elections on the issuance of bonds by counties;  provided, however, that if a majority of the qualified electors of Mobile county participating in the election on the adoption of this constitutional amendment shall vote for adoption of this amendment, then the approval of this amendment expressed by the said vote in favor of its adoption shall of itself authorize the issuance of the bonds provided for herein and in that event no additional election by the electors of Mobile county, shall be required to authorize the issuance of said bonds. If the majority of the qualified electors of Mobile county participating in the election on the adoption of this amendment should not vote in favor of the adoption of this amendment, or if the majority of the qualified electors of Mobile county voting at any election held under the provisions of this amendment should not vote in favor of the issuance of the bonds proposed at such election, the governing body of Mobile county may from time to time call other elections hereunder on the issuance of such bonds, but not more than one such election shall be held during any period of twelve months.

The bonds issued hereunder shall be general obligations of Mobile county for the payment of the principal of and interest on which the full faith and credit of said county shall be irrevocably pledged, and in addition thereto there shall be irrevocably pledged for payment of said principal and interest, at the respective maturities thereof, so much as may be necessary for said purpose of the said special tax, each such pledge to be on a parity with all valid pledges of said special tax at any time made, to such extent as shall not impair the obligation of then existing valid pledges. The principal of each series of bonds issued under the provisions of this amendment shall mature in annual installments, the first of which installments shall mature not later than three (3) years after the date of the bonds of said series and the last of which shall mature not later than thirty (30) years after the date of the bonds of said series;  provided, that the maturities of each series of bonds issued hereunder shall be so arranged at the time of the issuance of such series of bonds that (a) no annual installment of principal of the bonds of such series maturing during any fiscal year of said county shall be more than four times as great as the smallest installment of principal of the same series maturing during any prior fiscal year, and (b) the aggregate amount of principal and interest that will mature in any one fiscal year with respect to that series of bonds, and all other bonds then outstanding that are payable out of or secured by a pledge of the aforesaid special tax, shall not exceed the amount of the proceeds collected from the said tax during the then next preceding tax year. Except as herein otherwise provided, all bonds issued hereunder shall be issued in accordance with, and shall be subject to, the provisions of the general laws of Alabama existing at the time of the issuance of such bonds respecting the sale, execution, issuance, and redemption of bonds by counties. The indebtedness evidenced by the bonds issued hereunder or under any other amendment to the constitution which are payable out of or secured by a pledge of said special tax shall be in addition to and shall not be charged against the limitation on the indebtedness of said county provided for in Section 224 of the constitution.

For payment of the principal of and interest on all bonds that may be issued hereunder, and so long as any of said principal and interest remains unpaid, the governing body of Mobile county is hereby authorized to continue the levy of the said special annual ad valorem tax provided for in said Amendment XVIII [Mobile County § 5] at such rate as may be sufficient to pay such principal and interest at their respective maturities;  provided, that the total rate of said special tax that may be levied and collected for payment of said bonds and all other bonds payable out of or secured by a pledge of said tax shall not exceed one-half of one per centum ( 1/2 of 1%) of the assessed valuation of taxable property in said county.

The provisions of this amendment shall be self-executing, and authorization from or other action by the legislature shall not be a prerequisite to the issuance of bonds hereunder or the levy of said special tax for payment thereof.