§15-22-20. Board of Pardons and Paroles - Creation; composition; compensation.

(a) There shall be a Board of Pardons and Paroles which shall consist of three members.

(b) Any vacancy occurring on the board, whether for an expired or unexpired term, shall be filled by appointment by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, from a list of five qualified persons nominated by a board consisting of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as chairman, the presiding judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. The nominating board shall as soon as practicable after a vacancy occurs, whether for an expired or unexpired term, meet and select by majority vote the names of five persons to be submitted to the Governor. It shall immediately thereafter submit its nominations to the Governor, who shall make his appointment from such list within 10 days thereafter. Appointees shall begin serving immediately upon appointment, until confirmed or rejected by the Senate. Appointments made at times when the Senate is not in session shall be effective ad interim. Any appointment made by the Governor while the Senate is in session must be submitted by him to the Senate not later than the third legislative day following the date of the appointment; any appointment made while the Senate is not in session shall be submitted not later than the third legislative day following the reconvening of the Legislature. In the event the Senate fails or refuses to act on the appointment within five legislative days after its submission, the appointment shall be void, and the person whose name was thus submitted shall not thereafter be reappointed. In the event an appointee is not confirmed by the Senate, the nominating board shall make five nominations; one of them shall be appointed, and his appointment shall be submitted to the Senate as provided in this section. The nominating and appointing procedure required in this section shall be continued and followed until an appointment is made and completed.

(c) Members of the board shall be appointed for terms of six years commencing on July 1 in the years 1953, 1955, and 1957, and shall serve until their successors shall have been appointed and shall have qualified. Any person appointed to fill the vacancy for an unexpired term shall vacate the office upon the expiration of that unexpired term.

(d) The Governor shall designate one of the members as chairman, and such chairman shall preside at sessions of the board.

(e) Each member shall take the constitutional oath of office and shall be subject to impeachment for any of the causes specified in Section 173 of the Constitution; and the procedure in cases of impeachment shall be in the manner provided by Section 175 of the Constitution; provided, however, that in the event the Governor shall determine that any member of the board shall have become incapacitated by reason of physical or mental disability or illness to the extent that he cannot efficiently perform the duties of his office, he shall direct the Attorney General to proceed to the determination of that issue in an inquisition proceeding instituted by him in the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Alabama. In the event the issue is determined in such court against the board member, the court shall declare the office vacant, and the same shall be vacated and a successor appointed, as provided in this section.

(f) Two members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of the official business of the board.

(g) The members of the board shall devote their full time to their official duties and shall hold no other office of profit during their incumbency.

(h) The annual compensation of the chairman and each associate member of the Board of Pardons and Paroles shall be such amount as is provided by law. Such salaries shall be paid in equal installments from the State Treasury in the same manner that salaries of other state officers are paid.

(i) The Governor is hereby authorized to appoint four persons to serve as special members of the board. The four special members shall be appointed to reflect the racial, gender, and geographic diversity of this state. The special members shall serve a single term beginning October 1, 2003 and ending September 30, 2006. The provisions on appointment in subsection (b), oath and incapacity in subsection (e), devotion to duties in subsection (g), and compensation in subsection (h) shall apply to special members to the same extent they apply to members of the board. The special members shall be appointed and serve for the limited purpose of conducting hearings and making determinations concerning pardons, paroles, restorations of political and civil rights, remission of fines and forfeitures, and revocations.

(j) During the term of the special members of the board, the board shall sit in two panels of three for the purpose of conducting hearings and making determinations concerning pardons, paroles, restorations of political and civil rights, remission of fines and forfeitures, and revocations. Membership on each panel shall be designated by the chairman of the board from among the remaining regular and special members of the board as the chairman determines from time to time shall be necessary to hear all pending matters in an expeditious manner. The chairman of the board shall serve as an alternate with members of either panel and shall re-designate panel membership as necessary to carry out the hearing duties of the board. Two members of each panel shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of official business.

(k) When the board sits in panels of three members as herein authorized, each panel shall act in the same manner and under the same authority as the full board. All authority, duties, powers, and responsibilities of the board on any matter brought before the panel for hearing shall be exercised by the panel as though heard and decided by the full board. Decisions of each panel shall constitute a decision of the board. All procedures of the board relating to the conduct of hearings shall apply to hearings before either panel of the board.

(l) This section does not affect in any way the authority of the original board members to carry out all administrative, supervisory, and personnel duties existing on September 25, 2003.

(Acts 1939, No. 275, p. 426; Code 1940, T. 42, §§1, 1(3); Acts 1951, No. 599, p. 1030; Acts 1953, No. 822, p. 1105; Acts 1957, No. 195, p. 254; Acts 1967, No. 51, p. 378, §1; Acts 1971, No. 71, p. 333, §1; Act 2003-415, p. 1205, §1.)