The Insurance Department continues to work closely with the Secretary of State's office on the issues raised in the Memo issued by the Secretary of State on October 10, 2001. In response to a joint request from the Insurance Commissioner and the Secretary of State, the Alabama Attorney General issued an opinion dated December 20, 2001, which concluded as follows:
The Alabama Department of Insurance acts as the agent for the Secretary of State for the purpose of performing the ministerial duties required of the Secretary of State under Amendment No. 473 and the Alabama Business Corporations Act.
The Insurance Department and Office of the Secretary of State expect now to formalize an agreement which would put in writing the procedures which have been in place for several years between the two offices. Those procedures are expected to include a delegation of certain ministerial and discretionary functions of the Secretary of State which are duplicative of the ones already required to be performed by the Alabama Department of Insurance, as is permitted in the opinion of the Attorney General.