(a) The Legislature finds that the 1986 and 1992 Commissions on the Future of the South, under the auspices of the Southern Growth Policies Board, called for youth and community leadership development and support as critical to southern economic development and progress. The Legislature further finds that citizenship and leadership programs are vital to the well-being of our American system of self-government, and to the civic well-being, economic development, and quality of life in Alabama, the South, and the nation.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to work to achieve these southern leadership goals by creating a voluntary compact of public, non-profit, and private sectors to enhance and expand leadership and citizenship education in Alabama.

The membership and fiscal year shall begin on October 1 annually and end on the following September 30. Dues shall be set as provided in Section 16-44A-14.

Advisory committees shall be created to make recommendations regarding strategies to meet the purposes of the compact. Committees shall include compact members, potential users of services, school teachers, educators, K-12 and postsecondary/higher education representatives, community and youth leadership organizations, student organizations, the State Department of Education, state and local governments, economic and community development entities, business, historical and patriotic organizations, and others.

(a) The board of directors shall consider recommendations of advisory committees and may hold hearings, review, revise, and adopt a plan of educational work which furthers the purposes of the compact and the leadership goals of the Commission on the Future of the South and which are designed to complement or augment, but not duplicate, existing programs and services offered in service areas by individual compact members or other non-profit entities.

(b) The plan shall focus on meeting three objectives:

(1) Increasing leadership and citizenship programs for youth.

(2) Extending community and other leadership programs to rural and under-served areas.

(3) Serve as a network and resource to enhance communications and idea and information exchange among community and youth leadership programs and other interested parties.

(c) Pursuant to the plan the compact shall provide programs itself and support for programs offered by others, all of which enhance leadership and citizenship education in Alabama.

(d) Under the plan the compact may: Develop supplementary instructional materials and make them available to schools and non-profit educational entities; serve as a resource, reference, and referral center; provide a demonstration classroom, exhibition, and education facility/program; encourage and enter into voluntary cooperative agreements with and among agencies and institutions to encourage cooperation and collaboration in high quality leadership and citizenship programs and experiences; affiliate with entities engaged in similar purposes in other states which are in the Southern Growth Policies Board region in a voluntary compact, subject to adoption by joint legislative resolution, and to domicile and administer the same; and provide technical, educational, or other support and assistance and make available facilities, where available and practicable, to and where requested by compact entities, for the support of community and youth leadership educational programs.

The compact shall encourage, support, and provide high quality educational programs, learning, and service experiences related to the history and diverse cultures of the United States and the State of Alabama, and especially American citizenship, its origins and development, and the positive role models, attributes, and contributions of leaders in the progress of the nation, the American South, Alabama, and its communities; and the application of knowledge and skills important in leadership and citizenship in a free and self-governing society. Its program shall provide a resource of information to support existing leaders, and better equip a new generation of leaders with broad understanding and appreciation of our American system of government and ways in which to make positive differences in the quality of life in Alabama communities.

In furtherance of the purposes of the compact, the board of directors may do the following:

(1) Accept donations of funds or land, bequests, grants, appropriations, loans, membership fees, or other forms of financial assistance for educational and other purposes in furtherance of this article, from any federal entity, from the state, its agencies and subdivisions, or any local public entity which are hereby authorized to grant any of the foregoing forms of assistance, or from any private person, or other agency, and to comply with rules and regulations concerning grants by the federal government or other grantors, which are not in contravention of the constitution and laws of this state or the United States.

(2) Enjoy and exercise any powers and duties, not inconsistent with this chapter, which are authorized to non-profit organizations under Title 10.

(3) Engage the services, by employment or otherwise, of a full-time or part-time executive director, who shall be the chief administrative officer, and fix the term and make provisions for compensation and any allowances and benefits as the board may provide. The executive director shall perform the duties of secretary as enumerated in Section 16-44A-9 and shall execute all documents of the compact. The director shall employ or contract for any necessary personnel or other assistance and terminate, when necessary, any personnel or other assistance and shall supervise, designate the duties and titles, and fix the terms for assistance, within the overall budget adopted by the board.

(4) Review and approve personnel policies recommended by the director. No employee shall be deemed an employee within the meaning of the Alabama Merit System or teacher tenure laws, but shall be entitled to public employee health insurance and state teacher retirement benefits on the same basis afforded public school employees. The board may provide for and authorize payment for other benefits. Employees of the compact shall be reimbursed for travel in the same manner provided by law for state employees, provided the travel is approved in advance by the executive director.

(5) Delegate to the executive director any and all powers and duties necessary to aid in the efficient administration of the policies of the board.

(6) File an annual report, including a financial report, with the Governor, Legislature of Alabama, and compact members.

The members of the board shall not be compensated for their services, but shall be entitled to the same expense and per diem as authorized to state employees, for official board business as approved by the chair of the board.

(a) The board shall establish its account(s) and deposit its funds therein with any bank qualified to serve as a state depositary. All funds shall be governed by the applicable laws of Alabama, including the state bid law and the ethics act. Nothing herein shall be deemed to require uncompensated compact delegates, compact members, and board members to file annual statements of economic interests. The board shall adopt an annual budget, provide for its administration, and require bonding of officers and employees as it deems necessary and pay premiums therefor.

(b) There shall be an annual audit performed by a certified public accountant, appointed by the board, and a copy shall be furnished to the board, executive director, and to the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts. Nothing herein shall preclude the department from conducting an examination of the books or finances of the compact.

In the event of dissolution of the compact, which may be accomplished only by legislative act, the residual assets shall be turned over to another public corporation or organization which is exempt from federal income tax as an organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(a) The compact shall be organized as a voluntary public-private partnership and shall be constituted as a not-for-profit public corporation. The members of the Joint Legislative Committee on Southern Leadership Goals created under Act No. 94-55, SJR 12, 1994 Regular Session, shall effectuate the filing of papers for the incorporation of the compact as provided in subsection (b). Upon the filing of the documents with the Secretary of State, and until the election of the officers and board of directors at the annual membership meeting on September 17, 1994, as provided in subsection (b) of Section 16-44A-3 of the compact, the members of the committee shall then be officially constituted as an interim board of directors and specifically shall extend notices and invitations to the initial membership meeting of the compact to as many entities it can identify which are eligible to be member parties to the compact. It shall affirmatively include public, non-profit, and private sector organizations representative of the racial, geographic, demographic, and urban/rural diversity of the state. It shall also expedite the organization of the compact and exercise any of the duties of the board of directors to the end that the compact will be operational following the conclusion of the first annual membership meeting.

(b) As provided in subsection (a), the above listed persons, together with the Governor, Presiding Officer of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, may present to the Secretary of State of Alabama an executed application for incorporation compatible with the purposes of this article. The Secretary of State shall immediately examine the application, and, if he or she finds that it substantially complies with the requirements of this article, he or she shall receive it, file it, and record it in the appropriate books of record, and shall make and issue to the applicants a certificate of incorporation as a not-for-profit public corporation, under the Great Seal of the State, and shall record the certificate with the application. No fees shall be required to be paid to the Secretary of State for any work in connection with the incorporation of the compact.

(a) The compact shall be exempt from all taxes of the State of Alabama and its political subdivisions to the same extent as public schools and colleges. All receipts, from whatever source, are appropriated to the compact until expended and shall not lapse. The compact is authorized to solicit gifts and donations, and all gifts, grants, devises, and bequests shall be deductible from state income taxes in accordance with Section 40-18-15.

(b) All of the acts provided for in the body of the compact agreement are hereby specifically authorized and provided for, it being the intent of this article to incorporate and enact the entirety of the provisions of the compact into this code. The provisions of the compact and this article shall be liberally construed to effectuate the purposes of the article.

The following compact, to be known as the Alabama Compact for Leadership and Citizenship Education, is hereby expressly authorized, enacted, and adopted:

(1) The purpose of this compact is to promote realization of the leadership development goals of the 1986 and 1992 Commissions on the Future of the South by cooperative efforts to enhance and expand leadership and citizenship education in Alabama.

(2) It is the intent of this compact that membership, programs, operations, and services of the compact should be inclusive and reflect the racial, geographic, urban/rural, and economic diversity of the state.

(3) Member parties to the compact shall be any organization, agency, or institution of the public, non-profit, or private sector which voluntarily chooses to subscribe to the purposes of the compact.

Ex officio members shall include: the Governor of Alabama, the Presiding Officer of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the members of the Legislature of Alabama, the State Superintendent of Education, the Alabama member representatives to the Southern Growth Policies Board, and the individuals elected as compact officers and members of the board of directors.

(4) Membership in the compact is voluntary, and any member may withdraw from membership at any time. Members may choose to participate or not to participate in any programs of the compact, and membership shall in no way restrict, diminish, impinge upon, create obligations of, or limit the autonomy of the respective compact members.

(a) The compact membership shall meet annually for the purpose of transacting the following business:

(1) Hear reports and make recommendations to the board of directors regarding the compact and its progress in meeting its purposes.

(2) Set annual membership dues, and create additional associate, non-voting membership categories.

(3) Elect officers and a board of directors.

(4) Adopt necessary bylaws consistent with this article.

(5) Adopt modifications to this compact, which shall become effective only by consent of the Legislature by joint resolution.

(b) The first annual compact membership meeting for the transaction of the above business shall be held on Constitution Day, September 17, 1994, and annually thereafter on a date fixed by the compact membership. Special meetings of the compact may be called by the board of directors with notice as provided in the bylaws. A quorum shall consist of a majority of the member parties of the compact.

(a) Under Article 1 of this chapter, the Joint Legislative Committee on Southern Leadership Goals authorized and consented to the formation of a non-profit entity, subsequently organized as The Citizenship Trust and domiciled in Shelby County, Alabama, for the purpose of, among other things, proposing to the Legislature a voluntary compact to promote citizenship education programs.

(b) The Legislature now finds that the voluntary partnership, compact, or trust should be authorized and ratified whereby public and private entities which desire to work together may do so to enhance and expand citizenship education for students. The Legislature further finds that citizenship and character education of young people in the principles of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and other great foundations of the American Republic are essential to the civic, political, economic, security, and social well-being of our society, and to the advancement and progress of the State of Alabama, this region, and our nation.

(a) The State of Alabama hereby establishes and authorizes the Citizenship Trust, herein referred to as the "trust."

(b) The purpose of the trust is to strengthen and renew the foundation of American liberty and self-government through citizenship education. The trust shall provide students with high quality educational programs, learning experiences, and resources inside and outside the classroom which enhance their understanding and appreciation of the principles of American citizenship, and knowledge of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and other essential foundations of the American Republic, and which encourage them to serve and lead their communities, state, and nation as active, responsible, informed, and law-abiding citizens. Programs shall be focused on improving student learning and achievement in the critical academic areas of American history, government, civics, and citizenship.

(c) The trust shall encourage voluntary, cooperative, and nonduplicative efforts to expand high quality citizenship education programs for students. Members may include any public, private, or nonprofit organization, entity, or individual who subscribes to the purpose. Members may choose to participate or not participate in any programs of the trust, and membership shall in no way restrict, diminish, impinge upon, create obligations of, or limit the autonomy of the respective member parties. The elected officials of any governmental unit which is a member and who desire to do so shall serve as ex officio members. There shall be an annual meeting or assembly, at a time and place to be determined by the board of trustees, of the members to hear progress reports, share ideas of successful citizenship education projects, and make recommendations to the board of trustees.

(d) The Citizenship Trust shall be domiciled in Shelby County, Alabama, and shall be constituted as a public not-for-profit educational corporation upon the filing of these articles with the Secretary of State. It is the intent that the Citizenship Trust shall be qualified as a Section 501(c)(3) organization under the Internal Revenue Code and regulations of the United States, and that none of the net proceeds of the trust shall ever inure to the personal, private benefit of an individual.

(e) The Citizenship Trust shall be governed by a board of directors, designated the board of trustees (herein called the "board"), and elected in accordance with bylaws of the Trust. There shall be a chair, vice chair, secretary, and other officers as determined by the bylaws. The board membership shall be diverse and broadly representative, and at least one fourth of its members shall be Black.

(f) The board shall adopt and revise its bylaws consistent with the laws of Alabama. A copy shall be filed with the Secretary of State.

(g) The trust shall develop, share, conduct, and encourage citizenship educational programs and experiences through instructional materials, resources, a demonstration classroom, exhibition, and educational resource facility programs, and through programs and experiences extended and available for use in classrooms, schools, and other citizenship organizations by television, technology, teacher services, educational resource materials, and other means.

(h) The trust shall encourage close cooperation and exchange of ideas and successful programs. Participation in its programs and services shall be voluntary. The trust shall focus its efforts on citizenship education and shall not provide community leadership organization programs. The trust shall encourage its members to work together to create a new generation of citizens mindful of the rich blessings of their American citizenship, who are knowledgeable not only of its privileges but of its responsibilities as well, and who are committed to serving their communities, state, and nation as law-abiding, informed, active, and responsible citizens.

(i) The board may designate the trust by another name, but the name shall include the words "Citizenship Trust," and the designation shall in no way affect any of the rights, privileges, or responsibilities of the trust. In the event of dissolution of the trust, which may be accomplished only by legislative act, the residual assets shall be distributed to another public corporation or organization which is exempt from federal income tax as an organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

In furtherance of the purposes of the trust, the board of trustees shall have the following powers and duties:

(1) Accept gifts, contributions, donations of funds or land, bequests, grants, appropriations, membership fees, or other forms of financial assistance for educational and other purposes in furtherance of this article, from any federal entity, from the state, its agencies and various political subdivisions, or any public or other entity, any and all of which are hereby authorized to grant any of the foregoing forms of assistance, or from any private person, foundation, corporation or other agency, and to comply with any rules and regulations concerning grants by the federal government or other grantors, which are not in contravention of the Constitution and laws of this state or the United States. In fulfillment of its statewide civic educational mission, the trust may enter into cooperative agreements with local, state, regional, national, and federal agencies, departments, foundations, and institutions to provide educational programs and classroom support in the critical academic areas of history, civics, government, citizenship, and related subjects, and it shall be deemed eligible as a local educational agency within the meaning of 20 U.S.C. 8801(18) for the sole purpose of applying for and receiving such federal and private support. Such funds and support are expressly appropriated to the trust and shall be used for the purposes provided by the grantor.

(2) Enjoy and exercise any powers and duties, not inconsistent with this article, which are authorized to nonprofit corporations under Title 10.

(3) Enter into any agreements as it deems necessary to finance or refinance or refund indebtedness which has been used to finance any property, equipment, or facility used for its educational mission, including entering contracts with a local or municipal public educational building authority as a qualified "educational institution" within the meaning of Chapter 18 of this title. For the purpose of repayment of the obligations, any and all of the sources of funds available to it as provided in subdivision (1) above and elsewhere in Act 2001-970, and proceeds of the local Shelby County revenues levied and appropriated to the trust by Act 98-659, or as may otherwise be made available to it above are hereby irrevocably pledged to that purpose and appropriated therefor in sums as necessary by this article. The indebtedness or obligations shall not be deemed or constitute in any way obligations of the State of Alabama.

(4) Create membership categories and establish dues. The trust shall be open to members from anywhere in the United States, it being the intent to network and share ideas on how to enhance citizenship education for young people.

(5) Establish and administer its financial accounts, and deposit its funds in any bank qualified to serve as a local or state public depositary. It shall engage an annual audit by a certified public accountant and furnish a copy of the audit to the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts.

(6) Engage the services, by employment or otherwise, of a part-time or full-time executive director, who shall be the chief administrative officer, and fix the term and make provisions for compensation and any allowances or benefits as it may provide. The officer shall serve as secretary of the trust and execute all documents for the trust, and shall employ or contract for any necessary personnel or assistance and terminate, whenever necessary, any personnel or other assistance, and fix the terms for assistance, within the overall budget approved by the board. The personnel shall be reimbursed for travel in the same manner provided for public employees, provided the travel is approved in advance by the executive director.

(7) Adopt a resolution and authorize execution of agreements on terms and conditions as required by the Board of Control of the Employees' Retirement System of Alabama, for the employees of the trust to participate in the Employees' Retirement System of Alabama, which may include provisions related to prior creditable service of employees of the trust and the American Village Public Education Building Authority. The trust is hereby deemed a public or quasi-public organization of the state within the meaning of Section 36-27-6, et seq. Provided the employer costs shall not devolve on the State of Alabama but shall be the sole responsibility of the Citizenship Trust.

(8) Engage in cooperative agreements or contracts with public and private entities for purposes compatible with the trust agreement and this article.

(9) Delegate to the executive director any and all powers and duties necessary to aid in the efficient administration of the policies of the board. The board may authorize the executive director to administer a private nonprofit foundation in support of the trust.

(10) File an annual report with the Governor, Legislature of Alabama, and members.

(11) Board members shall not be compensated for their services, but shall be entitled to the same expense and per diem authorized to state employees, for official board business as approved by the chair of the board.

To effectuate the purposes of this article, the Board of Directors of The Citizenship Trust, an unincorporated non-profit association domiciled in Shelby County, Alabama, may present to the Secretary of State an executed application for incorporation compatible with the purposes of this article, and setting forth the compact or trust agreement herein ratified. The application shall provide for a name of the corporation, which shall include the words "Citizenship Trust." The Secretary of State shall immediately examine the application, and, if he or she finds that it substantially complies with the requirements of this article, the secretary shall receive it, file it, and record it in the appropriate books of record, and shall make and issue to the applicants a certificate of incorporation as a not-for-profit public educational corporation, under the Great Seal of the State, and shall record the certificate with the application. No fees shall be required to be paid to the Secretary of State for any work in connection with the incorporation of the trust.

(a) The trust shall be exempt from all taxes of the State of Alabama and its political subdivisions. Provided that the trust's "unrelated business taxable income" as determined in accordance with 26 U.S.C. §512, as in effect from time to time, shall be subject to the tax levied by Section 40-18-31, as amended. All receipts, from whatever source, are appropriated to the trust until expended and shall not lapse. The trust is authorized to solicit gifts and donations, and all gifts, grants, devises, and bequests shall be deductible from state income taxes in accordance with Section 40-18-15.

(b) All of the acts provided for in the body of the compact or trust agreement are hereby specifically authorized and provided for, it being the intent of this article to incorporate the entirety of the provisions of the compact into the Code of Alabama. This compact and this article shall be liberally construed to effectuate the purposes of the article, and shall be severable.

(a) The Legislature of Alabama finds and declares all of the following:

(1) That pursuant to Section 16-44A-31, a statewide extended classroom for education in critical academic areas of citizenship, civics, American history, and government is now operational as "the American Village" under the auspices of the Citizenship Trust, a public education corporation.

(2) The nationally pioneering educational program serves students statewide and also school groups from other states. The United States Congress has provided support of the American Village as a national model and as an innovative civic education initiative that provides students with a better understanding of the United States Constitution and the historical and civic foundation of American self-government.

(3) Recent studies indicate that many students have only a superficial knowledge and lack deeper understanding of the foundations and principles of American self-government, that American history, civics, government, and related courses are critical academic areas for the preservation of individual liberty and for our constitutional system of self-government, and that increased academic attention needs to be directed to a better understanding of these vital foundations.

(4) It is our desire for this state to provide leadership to the nation during the observance of the 225th anniversary of American independence, and that properly educating and inspiring new generations of young people in these critical academic areas shall constitute a Veterans Living Legacy that honors veterans and other patriots in all generations in the cause of liberty and self-government that they have served.

(b) In commemoration of the 225th anniversary of American independence, the American Village is officially designated and dedicated as a Veterans Living Legacy in honor of veterans and patriots in all generations who have served the American cause of liberty and self-government. The American Village shall be expressly committed to the perpetuation of that legacy through civic education of young people.

The trust shall continue to be designated as the entity to coordinate the voluntary Alabama student mock election in cooperation with the office of Secretary of State, the State Superintendent of Education, and local educational entities, and to coordinate a voluntary program involving legislators visiting school classrooms, both of which shall be subject to oversight of the Joint Legislative Committee on Civic Education pursuant to Article 10 of Chapter 2 of Title 29.

Each member party shall be entitled to one vote. The chief executive officer of the member party, by whatever title or in whatever manner defined by the institutional member, shall be the official voting delegate. If the delegate is unable to represent the member at any membership meeting, the delegate may designate in writing an alternate voting delegate. Each ex officio member shall have one vote.

This voluntary educational compact shall be deemed and constitute a non-profit public corporation in Alabama, and none of the net proceeds of funds shall inure to the benefit of any individual.

The board of directors shall be elected at the annual membership meeting, and shall take office immediately upon its adjournment. The board of directors shall consist of 21 citizens, elected by the compact membership as follows: three classes of seven members each, initially elected for terms of one, two, and three years respectively, and thereafter elected for terms of three years each. Vacancies shall be filled by written, mail ballot of the membership. At least five of the members elected shall be black. No member shall be eligible to serve more than two three-year terms consecutively.

(a) Board members shall be chosen to represent each of the following segments or areas:

(1) Executive and Legislative Branches of state government, in the fields of education, finance, taxation, and ways and means, local government, or economic development.

(2) K-12 education, in some of the following fields: teaching, administration or supervision, curriculum, or governance.

(3) Higher education.

(4) Community leadership education.

(5) Youth leadership and citizenship education.

(6) Economic development.

(7) Local government.

(8) Community, civic, philanthropic, and other non-profit organizations.

(9) Historical, patriotic, veterans, and cultural organizations.

(10) The law, which may include the Judicial Branch.

(11) Business.

(12) Professional, labor, and trade.

(13) Any other areas of interest which are deemed to complement and augment the work of the compact.

(b) The board shall meet annually immediately following the annual compact membership meeting. It shall adopt bylaws providing for its quorum, organization, and other regular or special meetings.

(a) The Governor of Alabama shall be the ex officio president of the compact, and preside at the annual and special compact membership meetings.

(b) The compact shall annually elect board members as chair and vice-chair of the board, for terms of one year respectively. No person shall serve more than three years consecutively in the same office. The chair of the board shall preside at meetings of the board of directors, and shall also serve as president pro tempore of the compact, and shall preside at compact membership meetings in the absence of the Governor. The compact may provide for any other officers by its bylaws.

(a) The executive director shall be the ex officio, non-voting secretary of the compact and of the board, and shall keep all records and minutes, and shall have authority and responsibility for the administrative functions and duties of the compact and of the board.

(b) The board of directors shall serve as a nominating committee to nominate individuals for the officers and members of the board of directors. Additional nominations may be made from the floor at the annual compact membership meeting.