SB273 By Senator Barfoot RFD Veterans and Military Affairs Rd 1 05-MAR-20

SYNOPSIS: Under current law, the Adjutant General of the Alabama National Guard is appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Under current law, there is a requirement that an individual appointed as the Adjutant General must be an active officer of the National Guard, have previously served in a line position or has exercised general command authority, and be eligible for operational command positions.

Under current law, officers and enlisted personnel of headquarters elements of the National Guard are selected by the Adjutant General from among active or inactive members of the National Guard.

Under current law, general officers of the line are appointed by the Governor from among the active officers of the National Guard.

This bill would revise the method of appointment of the Adjutant General and general officers of the line and the duties and responsibilities of the Adjutant General.

This bill would remove the requirement that a person selected to serve as the Adjutant General have previously served in a line position and be an active officer in the National Guard at the time of appointment.

This bill would require a person appointed Adjutant General be a citizen of the state who has served in the National Guard for a period of not less than 15 years and as a commissioned officer in the active National Guard for a period of not less than five years and is at least 30 years of age and not more than 65 years of age at the time of appointment.

This bill would provide that the Adjutant General be compensated in an amount equal to the compensation due to an officer of the rank indicated on the valid commission held by the Adjutant General.

This bill would further provide that a person appointed as a general officer in the National Guard would serve until the adjournment of the next regular session of the Legislature and if not confirmed by the Senate, the position would once again become vacant.

This bill would allow the Governor to submit an officer for confirmation as a general officer by the Senate at any time, regardless of vacancy. The Governor could then appoint that officer as a general officer at any time prior to the expiration of that confirmation at the conclusion of the final session of the quadrennium during which the confirmation occurred.

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT

Relating to the Military Department; to amend Sections 31-2-55, 31-2-58, and 31-2-72, Code of Alabama 1975, to clarify the method of appointment of the Adjutant General of the National Guard, the appointment of general officers of the line, and the duties and responsibilities of the Adjutant General upon appointment by the Governor; to remove the requirement of service in a line position and service as an active officer in the National Guard at the time of appointment as a prerequisite for appointment as Adjutant General; to require a person appointed to Adjutant General to be a citizen of the state who has served in the National Guard for a period of not less than 15 years and as a commissioned officer in the active National Guard for a period of not less than five years prior to, and be at least 30 years of age and not more than 65 years of age at the time of appointment; to provide for the compensation of the Adjutant General; to provide that a person appointed as a general officer in the National Guard serve until the adjournment of the next regular session of the Legislature and, if not confirmed by the Senate, for the position to become vacant; and to provide that the Governor may submit an officer for confirmation as a general officer by the Senate prior to appointing that officer as a general officer.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:Section 1. Sections 31-2-55, 31-2-58, and 31-2-72, Code of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:

§31-2-55.

"Officers and enlisted men personnel of the headquarters and headquarters detachment of the Alabama Army and Air National Guard shall be selected and appointed from among the active or inactive members of the National Guard by the Adjutant General in the same manner as for other units.

§31-2-58.

"(a) The head director of the Military Department shall be a commissioned officer of have a valid commission in the National Guard of Alabama and shall be designated as the Adjutant General.

"(b) He or she shall be designated and assigned to duty as the Adjutant General by the Governor and shall serve as Adjutant General at the pleasure of the Governor.

He may be commissioned as an officer on the state staff, in the Adjutant General's office, and he may have such rank as is now or may hereafter be provided for an officer of the state staff, Adjutant General's office, under the provisions of the National Defense Act and Department of Defense regulations promulgated thereunder. The officer of the National Guard of Alabama assigned to duty by the Governor as the Adjutant General

"(c) The Adjutant General may be an individual commissioned by the Governor as a and appointed as a general officer in the National Guard of Alabama, with the advice and consent of the Senate.

"(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c), the The Adjutant General shall be appointed from among the active, inactive, reserve, or retired officers of the federally recognized National Guard of Alabama, and he shall meet all of the following requirements:

"(1) Is a citizen of the State of Alabama.

"(2) Have had Has at least six 15 years' of service therein, in the National Guard. two years of which must have been in the line, and he shall have

"(3) Has served as a commissioned officer in the active National Guard for a period of not less than four five years.

"(4) Is at least 30 years of age and not more than 65 years of age at the time of the appointment.

"(e) The Adjutant General of the state shall be in direct charge have command and control of the military department and shall be responsible to the Governor and to the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States for the proper performance of his all duties assigned. All the powers conferred and duties imposed by law upon the Adjutant General shall be exercised or performed by him under the direction and control of the Governor.

"(f) The Adjutant General shall be chief of the state staff, National Guard of Alabama, and shall serve on the personal staff of the Governor, and similar military agencies of the state.

"(g) He The Adjutant General shall supervise the receipt, preservation, repair, distribution, issuance, and collection of all arms, military equipment, and stores of the state and of the United States under his or her control.

"(h) He The Adjutant General shall supervise be responsible for the supervision of all troops personnel, arms and operations for and all branches of the militia, such supervisory powers covering primarily all duties pertaining to including the organization, armament, discipline, training, recruiting, inspecting inspection, instructing, pay, subsistence, and supplies maintenance, and supply of all personnel and units assigned and organized under the Alabama National Guard.

"(i) The Adjutant General shall be the direct channel of military communications and correspondence with the Governor for the Alabama National Guard.

"(j) He The Adjutant General shall maintain a roster of all the officers and men enlisted personnel of the National Guard and Naval Militia Army and Air militias of the state and keep on file in his office copies records of all orders, reports, and communications received and issued by the Military Department in its several branches and sections.

"(k) He The Adjutant General shall, from time to time, cause the laws and all shall require that state regulations affecting the National Guard or its personnel that may be written thereunder to be printed, bound, and distributed at the expense of the state.

"(l) The Adjutant General shall, from time to time, shall draft, prepare, and publish, by order of the Governor, such orders, and rules, and regulations, consistent with the state and federal laws. , as are necessary to bring the organization, armament, equipment, training, and discipline of the various classes of the Militia of Alabama to a state of efficiency as near as possible to that of the United States Army and Navy. He shall prepare such reports and returns as the Secretary of Defense of the United States may prescribe and require. He shall perform such other duties as may be required of him by the Commander in Chief.

"(m) The Comptroller of Alabama shall draw warrants on the Treasury for all expenses incurred under this section on bills regularly presented to, and approved by, the Governor.

"(n) It shall be the duty of the Adjutant General, if ordered by the Governor, to visit and inspect each company, troop, or battery inspect each company, troop, or battery The Adjutant General shall ensure the inspection of all units assigned, at least once a per year, and to report to the Commander in Chief Governor the condition of armories and other military buildings and properties, and as well as of the arms, equipment, and personnel of the companies, troops, or batteries units, and make such recommendations as required or that he or she thinks proper. in regard thereto; provided that, the Adjutant General may designate members of the state staff or field officers of the National Guard as inspecting officers for the purposes in question. The Adjutant General shall assist all persons residing in Alabama or other states having claims against the state or the United States for compensation, pension, retired pay, bounty, or back pay or service medals and decorations awarded by the United States or the State of Alabama, where such claims and requests have arisen out of, or by reason of, service in any of the wars or insurrections concerning the United States or the State of Alabama. He shall furnish to claimants or their accredited representatives, or assist them in procuring, all necessary certificates and certified abstracts from the records and documents in the State Military Department and other departments of the state or the United States; provided that any or all of these services shall be rendered without charge to the claimant. The Adjutant General shall have a seal of office, to be approved by the Commander in Chief, and all copies of papers in his office duly certified and authenticated under the seal shall be evidence in all cases in like manner as if the original were produced.

"(o) The Adjutant General shall make an annual report to the Governor as required, setting forth the transaction of the Office of the Adjutant General, the strength and condition of the organized militia, including results of the most recent federal inspections, and other matters as the Adjutant General may deem important or as may be requested by the Governor.

"(p) The Adjutant General shall have an appropriate seal of office and affix it to all official correspondence and certificates of record issued from the Office of the Adjutant General.

"(q) The Adjutant General shall perform all other military duties, not otherwise assigned, as may be ordered by the Governor.

"(r) The Adjutant General shall be compensated monthly in an amount equal to the pay due to an officer of the rank indicated on the Adjutant General's valid commission. This compensation shall include all pay, subsistence allowances, and housing allowances due to an officer of that rank, and shall be paid out of any appropriations made for the expenses of the State Military Department.

§31-2-72.

"(a) General officers of the line shall be appointed selected under the rules and regulations of the Department of Defense. Such officers and shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate from among active officers of the National Guard of Alabama, who have not less than six years' of active service in the National Guard of Alabama, with the advice and consent of the Senate.

"(b) General officer Vacancies vacancies in the offices caused by that occur as the result of death, resignation, or removal while the Senate is not in session shall be filled by through recess appointments appointment by the Governor. ; provided, that should the vacancies in the grade of general officer of the line be in an organization in which the State of Alabama has joint interest with another state or states, the Governor is authorized to enter into a conference through the Military Department of the state with the other states concerned for the purpose of determining which state shall, with the concurrence of the other states, nominate the general officer to fill such vacancy in conformity with laws, rules, and regulations of the state and the United States written under the provisions of the National Defense Act; provided further, that staff officers allotted to this state, who are members of organizations jointly organized with other states, and who are on the staff of general or other officers who are commissioned in another state that has joint interest in a unit of the National Guard of this state, and whose appointment was approved by Alabama, shall be appointed by the Governor under the rules and regulations written under the provisions of the National Defense Act.

"(c) The officer appointed shall serve immediately upon appointment and qualification until the adjournment of the next regular session of the Legislature. If not confirmed prior to the adjournment of that session, the position shall again become vacant and subject to appointment in the same manner. The Military Department shall not seek federal recognition of the appointment until after the officer is confirmed by the Senate.

"(d) The Governor may submit an officer for confirmation as a general officer by the Senate at any time, regardless of vacancy. If the Governor does not appoint that officer as a general officer prior to the conclusion of the final session of the quadrennium during which the confirmation occurred, the confirmation expires."

Section 2. This act shall become effective immediately following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.

Military Affairs

Military

National Guard

Compensation

Appointments

Code Amended