Water Works
Water Works
Plaintiffs,
vs.
Defendants.
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INTRODUCTION
1. This is an action for legal, equitable, and declaratory relief. This suit is brought to
seek a declaration that Senate Bill 330 violates the United States Constitution and the Constitution
of the State of Alabama. This action is also to enjoin, restrain, and otherwise prevent the
Defendants (named and/or fictitious) from signing SB330 into law. This action is to stay the
operation, enforce, execution, and application of SB330. Plaintiffs request a trial by jury of all
triable issues.
Birmingham, and a citizen and ratepayer for water services provided by the Birmingham Water
Works Board.
and ratepayer for water services provided by the Birmingham Water Works Board.
and ratepayer for water services provided by the Birmingham Water Works Board.
citizen and ratepayer for water services provided by the Birmingham Water Works Board.
7. Plaintiff, Darrell O’Quinn, is a Birmingham City Council member and a citizen and
ratepayer for water services provided by the Birmingham Water Works Board.
10. Plaintiff, Carol E. Clarke, is a Birmingham City Council member and a citizen and
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a ratepayer for water services provided by the Birmingham Water Works Board.
11. Plaintiff, LaTonya A. Tate, is a Birmingham City Council member, and a citizen
and ratepayer for water services provided by the Birmingham Water Works Board.
15. Jurisdiction is proper in the United States District Court for the Middle District of
Alabama, pursuant to 28 U.S.C.A. §§ 2201, 1331, 1343(a)(3), (a)(4), supplemental jurisdiction under
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
1. On or about April 17, 2025, the Alabama State Senate introduced Senate Bill 330
(“SB330”).
2. On or about May 1, 2025, SB330 obtained final passage in the Legislature and
3. SB330 would convert the Birmingham Water Works Board into a regional water
works board.
4. SB330 would also restructure the Birmingham Water Works Board and diminish
the oversight and appointing authority of the City of Birmingham ("Birmingham") and elected
officials in Jefferson County, leading to consequential decisions that do not align with the needs
of our residents.
5. The citizens of Jefferson County make up more than 90% of Birmingham Water
Works customers, and the citizens of Birmingham make up more than 40% of the customer base.
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6. Birmingham built the water utility and is more invested than any other community
in its success. Water is a critical component of economic development, and Birmingham is the
economic engine of the state, contributing about 30% of our entire state’s gross domestic product.
by the Board, in that a county with only 592 customers (Blount), will have significantly greater
representation per capita than Jefferson County, with 202,316 customers, or the City of
Birmingham, with 90,411 customers. To further illustrate the point, it should be noted that Walker
County, despite currently having only 73 Birmingham Water Works customers, would have
authority to appoint one member to the Board in the event it is determined that a “Major Reservoir”
management issues that the Legislature apparently believes are somehow due to Birmingham’s
appointees to the Water Works Board, and, despite the fact that the Board currently includes
directors appointed by the Jefferson County Mayors Association and both Shelby and Blount
Counties, SB330 reduces Board appointments only for Birmingham, from six total appointments
to two.
9. The implication that any perceived problems with the Water Works Board’s
management are due to the majority of Board members being appointed by Birmingham is wholly
unsupported, is based strictly on the racial makeup of Birmingham being more than 50% black,
10. There is no legitimate basis for the apparent assumption that management of the
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11. The City Plaintiff hereby incorporates by reference the allegations and averments
contained in paragraphs one (1) through ten (10) as if fully set forth herein.
12. The Equal Protection Clause requires the government to treat similarly situated
persons in a similar manner. Gary v. City of Warner Robins, Ga., 311 F.3d 1334, 1337 (11th
Cir.2002).
13. The United States Supreme Court has recognized, as recently as 2023, that
“'Alabama's extensive history of repugnant racial and voting-related discrimination is undeniable and
well documented.'” Allen v. Milligan, 599 U.S. 1, 22, 143 S. Ct. 1487, 1506, 216 L. Ed. 2d 60 (2023)
(quoting Singleton v. Merrill, 582 F. Supp. 3d 924, 1020 (N.D. Ala. 2022)).
14. True to history, the Alabama State Legislature enacted SB330, which is a bill that
strips the City of Birmingham, a majority African American city, of its power to appoint a majority
15. The apparent basis for this deprivation, as listed in the legislative “findings”, is
described as follows: “Water works boards described in Section 11-50-300, Code of Alabama,
1975, where the power to appoint a controlling number of the members of a board of directors is
vested in a municipality whose voting residents comprise a fraction of the individuals served by
16. Although masquerading in facially neutral terms, the “findings” relate exclusively
to the City of Birmingham and the Birmingham Water Works Boards as the Birmingham Water
Works Board is the only current state-wide water utility entity that fits the criteria stated in the
legislative “findings.”
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Directors. Two directors are appointed by the Mayor of Birmingham, four directors are appointed
by the Birmingham City Council, one director is appointed by the Jefferson County Mayors
Association, one director is appointed by the Shelby County Commission and one director is
appointed by the Blount County Commission. The Birmingham Water Works Board also provides
compared to approximately 2.0% of Blount County residents, 6.3% of Walker County residents,
20. Thus, while 67% of the population of the City of Birmingham is African American,
the populations of each of the surrounding areas which stand to gain disproportionate control of
21. The selection scheme mandated by SB3330 deprives the City Plaintiff of the
effective and meaningful participation in the affairs of the Birmingham Water Works Board by
22. SB330 clearly discriminates against the City Plaintiffs, impermissibly treating them
23. SB330 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution.
24. The City Plaintiff hereby incorporates by reference the allegations and averments
contained in paragraphs one (1) through twenty-three (23) as if fully set forth herein.
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25. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act was designed to “eradicat[e] voting practices
that ‘minimize or cancel out the voting strength and political effectiveness of minority groups’ ”
and prohibits “all States and their political subdivisions from maintaining any voting ‘standard,
practice, or procedure’ that ‘results in a denial or abridgement of the right ... to vote on account of
race or color.’ ” Reno v. Bossier Par. Sch. Bd., 520 U.S. 471, 479, 117 S.Ct. 1491, 137 L.Ed.2d
730(1997).
26. The selection scheme mandated by SB330 minimizes and cancels out the voting
strength and political effectiveness of the City Plaintiffs by substantially and immediately
27. Moreover, despite the fact that the Birmingham Water Works Board currently
includes directors appointed by the Jefferson County Mayors Association and both Shelby and
Blount Counties, SB330’s reduction in appointment authority only applies to the City Plaintiffs --
reducing their authorities in their official capacities and their rights to fair and proportional
jurisdictional limits.
29. Thus, while appearing facially neutral, SB330 instead works to highjack control of
the Birmingham Water Works Board from the majority black City of Birmingham with flagrant
30. The City Plaintiff hereby incorporates by reference the allegations and averments
contained in paragraphs one (1) through twenty-nine (29) as if fully set forth herein.
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31. Under Article VI of the United States Constitution, the “Constitution, and the laws
of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof,…shall be the supreme Law of the
Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or Laws
32. The selection scheme mandated by SB330 violates the United States Constitution
33. The City Plaintiff hereby incorporates by reference the allegations and averments
contained in paragraphs one (1) through thirty-two (32) as if fully set forth herein.
34. Public corporations like Birmingham Water Works are “persons” for the 14th
Amendment. Montgomery v. Greene, 180 Ala. 322, 333, 60 So. 900, 903 (1913). Under the
Fourteenth Amendment, SB330, which has no rational classifications that apply to any entity other
than the Birmingham Water Works Boad, violate due process and equal protection.
35. The Alabama Code requires consent of the Birmingham City Council by resolution
Because SB330 contains no amendatory provisions and is an unlawful attempt to dilute the voting
power of the City Council and amend the Certificate of Incorporation approved by the City
Council, which provides that any changes regarding the operations of the Birmingham Water
Works Board, the election of the board of directors, the number of board members, terms of the
board members, and amount of compensation for board members must be recommended by the
Birmingham Water Work Board of Directors and approved by the City Council. (Emphasis added).
36. A government using the excuse of police power to take away property and contract
rights of a public corporation is an appropriation without compensation and the violation of the
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right to contract as the District Court stated in L.A. Gas & Elec. Co. v. Los Angeles, 241 F. 912,
37. Accordingly, the Legislature's takeover of the Birmingham Water Works Board is
38. The members of the Birmingham Water Works Board are appointed by the City of
Birmingham, and have management rights, which are property rights, which have clearly been
39. SB330 preserves eight separate classifications that exempt all other waterworks or
other corporations in the State of Alabama from the operation of the Act in violation of the Due
Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment and similarly construed
40. The rights of the citizens who incorporated the Birmingham Water Works Board
to make a contract with the City of Birmingham, as contained in its Articles of Incorporation, for
the acquisition of, and to own and manage, the water utility assets entrusted to Birmingham Water
Works Board, under the terms of its Articles of Incorporation, is just as sacred and protected and
the right of any other corporation or individual to contract for the acquisition of property. The
City Plaintiffs should be free from governmental taking or impairment or arbitrary or unequal
application of law. See generally, Cotting v. Godard, 183 U.S. 79, 107-113 (1901).
41. The City Plaintiff hereby incorporates by reference the allegations and averments
contained in paragraphs one (1) through forty (40) as if fully set forth herein.
42. SB330 violates the contracts clause of the United States Constitution.
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43. SB330 substantially impairs the City Plaintiff’s contractual agreements with the
Birmingham Water Works Board in that the legislation completely eviscerates the City Plaintiffs’
right to approve amendments to the Board’s articles of incorporation. §11-50-232(b), Ala. Code
1975.
44. SB330 also works to ameliorate the City Plaintiffs’ reversionary property right as
between the City of Birmingham and the Birmingham Water Works, as well as any franchises
47. The City of Birmingham has granted certain franchise agreements to the
Birmingham Water Works Board to operate in the public rights of way of the City. These
agreements include payment to the City for those rights. A franchise is not “goods or services”, it
48. §11-50-300.06 (c)(1) and (2) infringe on the City’s right to control the operation of
public utilities and private enterprises in its rights of way under Ala. Const. Art. XII, section 220,
which states:
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49. In City of Mobile v. Farrell, 158 So. 539, 540–41 (Ala. 1934), the Alabama
“The right to use the public streets for hire does not exist in public or
private enterprises. The privilege is a grant by sovereign authority, and is
what is generally termed a franchise. … In the United States, the state
Legislature has succeeded to sovereign authority in this respect, subject to
constitutional limitations. … The effect of a legislative franchise is limited
by constitutional restrictions, such as contained in sections 22, 220, and
228, Constitution of 1901. Section 220 was not intended to divest the
state of its sovereign power and invest it in cities. But it means that the
right of the Legislature to grant a franchise for the use of streets in a
city or town for a public utility or private enterprise is subject to the
consent of such city or town.” (Emphasis added; internal citations
omitted.)
50. Further, as utility franchises are granted through agreements that include payment
for the privilege to use the public rights of way, §11-50-300.06 (c)(1) and (2)’s limiting payments
from the regional board to a municipality only to goods and services impair those existing franchise
Section 22 states:
“That no ex post facto law, nor any law, impairing the obligations of
contracts, or making any irrevocable or exclusive grants of special
privileges or immunities, shall be passed by the legislature; and every grant
or franchise, privilege, or immunity shall forever remain subject to
revocation, alteration, or amendment.”
between the City of Birmingham and the Birmingham Water Works, as well as any franchises
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Birmingham Water Works Board does not serve a reasonable and necessary important public
purpose.
COUNT VI—SB330 VIOLATES ARTICLE VII, SECTIONS 173 AND 175 OF THE
ALABAMA CONSTITUTION
53. The City Plaintiff hereby incorporates by reference the allegations and averments
contained in paragraphs one (1) through fifty-two (52) as if fully set forth herein.
authorities, violates the Alabama Constitution under the Alabama Supreme Court’s reasoning in
55. In Roberts, the Supreme Court found that the state code provision allowing a mayor,
the appointing authority for a housing board, to remove a member of the housing board for cause
was repugnant to the Constitution. As a public officer, the Court noted, the housing board member
could only be removed pursuant to Ala. Const. Article VII, Sec. 173 and Sec. 175. Roberts v.
56. Similarly, as the directors of the Birmingham Water Works Board are public
officers (see McCullough v. State ex rel. Burrell, 352 So. 2d 1121, 1123 (Ala. 1977) (finding that
members of a water and sewer board that is organized by law to perform municipal functions are
public officers), they could only be removed from their positions by the manner and mechanism
provided in Sections 173 and 175 of the Alabama Constitution. Removal by individual appointing
57. It is also important to note that SB 330 does not include severability provisions.
Thus, as § 11-50-300.03(i) clearly violates the Alabama Constitution, the entire bill is invalid.
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58. The City Plaintiff hereby incorporates by reference the allegations and averment
contained in paragraph one (1) through fifty-seven (57) as if fully set forth herein.
receive compensation of two thousand dollars ($2,000) per month…as well as reimbursement
for necessary expenses actually incurred by him or her in connection with the performance of
61. By permitting public officials to hold two offices of profit at the same time, SB330
is violative of Article XVII, § 280 of the Alabama Constitution (stating that “[n]o person holding
an office of profit under the United States, except postmasters, whose annual salaries do not
exceed two hundred dollars, shall, during his continuance in such office, hold any office of profit
under this state; nor, unless otherwise provided in this Constitution, shall any person hold two
offices of profit at one and the same time under this state, except justices of the peace, constables,
62. Again, SB330 does not include severability provisions. Thus, as § 11-50-300.03
63. The City Plaintiff hereby incorporates by reference the allegations and averment
contained in paragraph one (1) through sixty-two (62) as if fully set forth herein.
64. The City of Birmingham has granted certain franchise agreements to the
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Birmingham Water Works Board to operate in the public rights of way of the City. These
agreements include payment to the City for those rights. A franchise is not “goods or services”, it
65. §11-50-300.06 (c)(1) and (2) infringe on the City’s right to control the operation of
public utilities and private enterprises in its rights of way under Ala. Const. Art. XII, section 220.
66. Further, as utility franchises are granted through agreements that include payment
for the privilege to use the public rights of way, §11-50-300.06 (c)(1) and (2)’s limiting payments
from the regional board to a municipality only to goods and services impair those existing franchise
between the City of Birmingham and the Birmingham Water Works, as well as any franchises
granted by other municipalities to the Birmingham Water Works. This substantial impairment of
the contractual relationship with the Birmingham Water Works Board does not serve a reasonable
1. That this Honorable Court would declare that SB330 violates both the United States
2. That this Honorable Court sets an emergency hearing for consideration of the City
Plaintiffs’ motion to enjoin, restrain, and otherwise prevent the Defendants (named and/or
3. That this Honorable Court sets an emergency hearing for consideration of the City
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Petitioners’ motion to enjoin, restrain, and otherwise prevent of the Respondents (named and/or
4. That this Honorable Court would stay the operation, enforce, execution, and
application of SB330.
5. That, alternatively, this Honorable Court would order the Governor to send SB330
back to the Legislature for revisions that are not violative of either the United States Constitution
6. That, this Honorable Court enters an award of attorney’s fees for the prosecution of
this action.
7. That, this Honorable Court awards any other relief it deems appropriate.
Respectfully Submitted,
/s/Nicole E. King
Nicole E. King
City Attorney
STATE OF ALABAMA
JEFFERSON COUNTY
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