Hartselle voted in favor of transferring money from the State Trust Fund to the General Fund by a narrow margin in Tuesday’s Constitutional election.

Voters approving the amendment totaled 1,128 while those voting against the measure totaled 1,054, a difference of 74 votes.

Of the 840 voters who cast ballots at the American Legion Home, only 11 votes separated those who voted “yes” and those who voted “no.” The difference was 56 votes at Sparkman Civic Center with 699 voting “yes” and 643 voting “no.”

The vote was also close countywide with 51 percent of the voting favoring the amendment and 49 percent voting against it.

The measure was approved statewide 65 to 35 percent with 88 percent of the votes counted.

Voter approval of the amendment authorizes the state to transfer $145.8 million from the natural oil and gas Trust Fund in fiscal 2013 to meet a budget shortfall for General Fund operations such as Medicaid and prisons. Similar withdrawals will also occur in fiscal 2014 and 2015.