House committee approves bill restructuring Department of Archives’ governing board

An Alabama House committee approved a bill Wednesday that would restructure the board of trustees of the Alabama Department of Archives & History.

SB 5, sponsored by Sen. Chris Elliot, R-Josephine, would remove the board’s appointing authority and increase its membership from 16 to 17 members, by making Gov. Kay Ivey the 17th voting member. 

“Previously she was not a voting member, and now she’ll be a voting member,” Elliot said.

The governor would be the appointing authority for most seats, including members from each congressional district, with eight at-large appointments coming from the speaker, president pro tempore, and the minority leaders of the House and Senate.

“Basically, it takes the board from being a self-appointing board to being one that has appointing authorities,” Elliot said.

The House State Government committee approved the legislation with some audible no’s from Democrats. The Senate passed the bill last week 26-5. The new structure will take effect as current board members’ terms expire. 

Rep. Prince Chestnut, D-Selma, opposed the legislation because he did not like part of the bill that says each board member will “serve at the pleasure of his or her appointing authority.”

“This makes it an extremely hyper-political board,” Chestnut said.

Currently, the Alabama Department of Archives and History has two trustees from each congressional district and two additional at-large members, plus the governor or their designees.

Elliot was one of several Republicans who attacked the Archives Department for hosting a presentation on LGBTQ+ history in Alabama in June 2023, claiming the board is not accountable to elected officials, calling it a “unicorn.”

Elliott then introduced a bill in the redistricting special session in mid-2023 to strip Archives of $5 million, which did not pass.

He also introduced a similar bill for the 2024 legislative session that would have given state officials and legislative leaders the power to appoint board members, while keeping the board size the same. The bill passed the Senate and a House committee but did not reach the House floor.

The bill will move to the full House.