Alabama. Pension Commission (1919-1959).

Authority: Code 1940, 60:1-49.

The Legislature in 1867 provided for the relief of maimed officers and soldiers who belonged to military organizations of the state or of the Confederate States. The Governor was authorized to contract for artificial limbs. Veterans submitted an application to the county Judge of Probate, who kept the original and sent a copy with a certificate to the Comptroller of Public Accounts. The Comptroller registered a synopsis, issued an order upon the contractor, and forwarded the order to the Judge. Upon receipt of the limb, the applicant signed the order on back, and it was returned to the Comptroller, who examined and sent it to the Treasurer for payment to the contractor. Persons so maimed as to receive no benefit from the Act received payment ($100) in lieu, under conditions. (Acts 1866-1867, No. 643, pp. 695-698)

When funds from the Act of 1867 were exhausted, an act in 1876 appropriated $5,000. The application copy and certificate were sent to the Auditor, instead of Comptroller (Acts 1876, No. 149, pp. 263-266). Additional acts from 1877-1889 included appropriations for funding. An act approved in 1891 began the levying of a tax for funds.

In 1899 the Alabama State Board of Examiners of Pensions was established to aid disabled and needy Confederate soldiers, sailors, and their widows. The Governor appointed two members, a practicing physician and a Confederate veteran, for each county to constitute a County Board of Examiners of Pensions. The State Board was composed of three members, a practicing physician and two Confederate veterans, who were appointed by the Governor.

Duties of the Board were to receive from the Auditor applications and evidences forwarded from the County Boards in order to examine them to determine if applications should be granted and in what class the pensioner should be placed. The Auditor was directed to keep a permanent bound record of pensions and to furnish an abstract to the county judge of probate for public record. The Auditor would also draw warrants for each pensioner from the Treasurer out of the Pension Fund. (Acts 1898-1899, No. 421, pp. 226-235)

The Board of Confederate Pension Commissioners was established in 1915 to provide pensions for soldiers and sailors in the service of the state and to their widows, and to soldiers and sailors of the Confederate States and their widows, and for regulation of payments.

The Commission consisted of the Director of the Department of Archives and History, the Attorney General, and the Chief Examiner of Public Accounts, and it had full control and authority. The Auditor was required to appoint a Pension Clerk who would act as Secretary to the Board and draw all warrants. Probate judges were constituted County Confederate Pension Commissioners, who would furnish, receive, and forward applications to the Board, along with inventories of property and other evidence. The Auditor prepared records to be used as a permanent state records of pensions. The Commission would keep a permanent record of rejected applications, with the reasons, and the original application and other papers were returned to the probate judge to be pernamently preserved for future reference. The Auditor furnished each probate judge an abstract of all pensioners in his county, to be recorded in a bound volume and kept for public record. The Grand Jury of each county would investigate a list of pensioners supplied by the probate judge at least twice a year. The County Tax Assessor also would certifiy that the actual value of the applicant's property did not exceed the set limitation. (Acts 1915, No. 779, pp. 886-896)

In 1919 the name was changed to the Alabama Pension Commission. The act omitted that the Auditor would furnish each Probate Judge an abstract of all pensioners in his county (Acts 1919, No. 409, pp. 535-544). The Commission was required to prepare a permanent pension roll in 1920.

In 1939, the Director of the Department of Finance was appointed in place of the Examiner of Public Accounts and a Secretary was appointed by the Commission. the Commission was requested to print a quadrennial report from 1939. The Director of Finance would maintain permanent state records of pensions. The County Department of Public Welfare of each county became the county pension commissioner instead of the probate judge. The Director of Finance would obtain all necessary information to make the permanent pension roll complete and authentic (by writing the War Department or consulting records on file in the state or elsewhere) and the Secretary entered names. The Director of Finance would also supervise the payment of warrants and their rightful delivery and direct examiners to investigate county rolls. The Secretary would prepare and send a list of outstanding unpaid warrants monthly to be filed with the State Department of Public Welfare. The Commission (formerly the Auditor) would furnish Public Welfare a certified list of pensioners monthly. (Acts 1939, No. 483, pp. 684-687; Acts 1936-1937, No. 172, p. 204)

In 1959 the duties of the Pension Commission and the Director of Finance were transferred to the State Department of Pensions and Security. The purpose of the act was to provide for payment to the widows of Confederate veterans and others. (Acts 1959, No. 402, p. 1034)

From the description of Agency history record. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 145407723