Posted by This Thursday will mark the last day of the legislative Session. For some, it was a Session that seemed would never end. For others, it was one that ended much too quickly. It may be early, yet, to write an obit on this Session, but as we approach the finish line, some perspective may be in order.
Many of us, forty-three to be exact (33 in the House, 10 in the Senate), are new to the legislative process, and most of us in the freshmen class are new to politics entirely. It is no surprise, then, that (for me, at least) this legislative Session was a high-speed tutorial on Alabama politics and governance. It has been a Session for which I have taken great pride in our accomplishments as a body, but it has also been a Session that has raised questions about the future of our politics and (more importantly) our State. As the editorial pages begin to catalogue our efforts in the 2011 Regular Session, they will almost certainly recognize this body for being one of action (perhaps an improvement over past legislatures). I am not convinced, however, that action for action’s sake is a quality best suited for government. We should be judged, not by the number of laws we pass as a body, but by the content of those laws and how they were passed.
Almost every one of us in the legislature ran on creating jobs. As one president so aptly put it, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Our Governor even promised, admirably, not to take a salary until Alabama reaches full employment. I’m afraid that, at this rate, the Governor may never draw a paycheck. Sure, we passed plenty of bills out of both chambers that were self-described “jobs bills.” How many of this bills will actually create jobs in Alabama once signed into law? Many of us also stumped on reforming ethics by increasing transparency and accountability in our government and elections. But what have we done this Session to increase transparency and accountability? Many important pieces of legislation (immigration reform and most of the Special Session’s ethics laws, for example) were written behind closed doors by a conference committee made up of hand-picked legislators. Members of this body were given the option of voting for a bill they had never seen, or voting against an undisputed principle, such as immigration reform or ethics reform. The congressional redistricting plan almost didn’t pass out the House because it was written behind closed doors, but an absent Democrat’s machine was voted in favor of the plan by a Republican colleague, despite his opposition (he, apparently, was not consulted) and it passed 48-47.
The bills that we can all look back on with pride were moved through the body by members of both parties in both chambers. Those bills were less about advancing a partisan platform and more about setting good policy. They may not have made for splashy headlines, but they became good laws. SB477, by Sen. Keahey, is a good example of one such law. It was a bill that Sen. Keahey passed with the help of Sens. Del Marsh and Phil Williams and Reps. Barry Mask, Phil Williams, Alan Harper, and myself, and it is a bill that will actually create jobs in Alabama. Another good example is the Brewpub and Breweries legislation, which I have discussed on this site in detail. Sen. Bill Holtzclaw and I worked together to get that legislation passed. It, now, sits on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature, and once signed, it will create jobs in Alabama. Also worth noting is the campaign finance reform legislation that Sen. Orr and I worked on extensively throughout the Session. Last week, it passed the House, and it awaits the Governor’s signature. Once enacted, it will do more to promote transparency and accountability in our elections than any other ethics legislation we’ve passed since taking office.
I submit that the legislative body is at its best when it functions as it was intended, as a deliberative body that struggles through difficult issues and demands cooperation and compromise. This body was not designed to create laws just because one faction of the membership has the requisite number of votes. It was designed to pass a law only after the members of the body have wrestled through an issue and have, with the necessary give and take of the legislative process, reached a workable solution together. The legislative victories of this Session were a product of the hard work and collaboration from members of both sides of the aisle, who were advancing good policies for their constituents, not good politics for their party. It is my hope that those legislative victories can serve as a road map for the remainder of the quadrennium, and that as a body, the Alabama Legislature can serve the function our founders intended, because in doing so, we will best serve the people who put us in office.
REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER!!!
Those in leadership positions in the House & Senate, who prevented a vote on the repeal of the pay raise should be held accountable. I don’t care who you are, the legislature receiving an ANNUAL PAY RAISE EVERY APRIL is unconscionable! So they “voluntarily” gave back a small percentage? Well bless their heart! Ha, with the annual COLA, their pay will continue to increase regardless. Do a little research of the legislative pay of the surrounding states & ATTEMPT to argue that the repugs are morally right on this issue. The SHEEPLE need to wake up!
MtgyAU, my eyes are wide open. At the heart of the matter is not the decisions of the past, such as raises, benefit plans, or even self-dealing. We have no control, today, over the choices made yesterday, many of which were made by people no longer in office. We do, however, have control over the choices we make today and what priorities we let drive those choices.
We can choose whether to raise the excise tax on cigarettes a nominal amount to plug a hole in our medicaid budget, or whether we want to raise retirement and healthcare costs to our state employees. Reducing the paycheck of the middle class will do more to reverse the economic recovery in this State than any tax shelters for out-of-state tobacco companies. That is a choice this body made, and it is a choice I take issue with.
So, we can expect to see lots of co-sponsors on next session’s bills to boost cigarette taxes?
Walt, what is the current sin tax on cigarettes? is it over 50%?
Why stop at cigarettes Rep Hubbard? Let’s set up a special tax district in Montgomery and tax hookers, booze, and legislators that leave their spouses at home instead of taking them out during the session. ;) nudge nudge. They know who they are…This is why the world gave us I-Phones. Just ask Anthony Weiner.
If we want to see simple and true basic transparency from the state legislature, why not make all voting records easily available on the legislative website in a “timely” manner. Members of the general public should be able to query individual bill numbers in order to identify the voting records of their legislators. This could be done rather inexpensively and would greatly enhance accountability and transparency. Voting, other than in committee, is generally done on machines in the House and Senate which should make it relatively easy to post it on the website in a timely manner.
I do understand that there would be efforts by some legislators to increase voice voting on controversial issues. House and Senate rules could reduce this possibility.
Joe:
FYI – my comment wasn’t directed at you. Should have been clearer I was “talking” to the posters.
MtgyAU — Ah, the general “everybody’s hurting right now” speech. Taken from the archives of some old Newt Gingrich speeches I guess. First, unless you are talking about the millions and millions in State business Bob Riley sent to his son’s law firm or the no-bid computer consulting firm, the raises and additional appropriations have been miniscule in the last 10 years. (Except for the legislature’s mammoth raise and COLA raise that are both still in effect). Secondly, the “over-generous benefits” that used to compensate for the lower salaries being received by all of the low income state employees and teachers is a relic of the past. Co-payments have raised the last two years, a 2 1/2% reduction in pay for the same retirement benefits, consecutive years of additional family insurance coverage premiums with more coming this year. General ignorance from you and others who are so anti- teacher/ State employee you shoot off your mouth with generalities and blurbs that have no basis in fact. I bet you probably bemoaned the State employee/teacher 7% raise in 2007 while making over 100 grand per year yourself or with family money like the rest of those with little or no concern about others. I am sure if your boss cut every benefit you had, lowered your pay and left you with little or no help from co-employees who are now laid off — you might not be spouting the party line so loudly. Well, maybe the next time you are at the courthouse and you are waiting longer or you get ripped off at the gas pump or the grocery store due to no State employee regulation or your child sits in a classroom with 10 more students per teacher ratio you will think twice about your cut all teacher/ State employee mentality.
Note to Joe: the benefits were outrageous then and still are now. Public employees shouldn’t have better salaries or benefits than the private sector employees paying their salaries. The state government isn’t an employment agency.
That’s crazy. Why shouldn’t we pay teachers better than private employees? Don’t we want to try to attract the best possible people to the job of teaching our children? I assume that you free-market folks believe that if we pay teachers better, better people will apply for the better-paying jobs. It is selfish and short-sighted to cut teachers’ benefits and pay.
I believe people should be paid on merit alone. We have the 49th best education system in the US. Don’t even get me started in an international comparison.
Carolyn, since you agree that people should be paid on merit alone, I suppose you agree that the repubs should have held a vote on the pay issue? Or are you like the other red cool-aid drinkers and believe that the once evil democrat pay raise, is now the well earned repub paycheck?
Carolyn, Generalities and blanket statements… sounds like somebody in the party of “no” with maybe a superior overseas education. I am with you — take the crazy Confederate holidays that State employees get and the other luxurious “benefits” that you and other uninformed people lord over teachers and state employees any chance you get. Replace those “benefits” with a salary equal to the private sector for those of us with a college degree or post-graduate degree (yes some teacher and state employees are educated)and let me buy private insurance like everyone else. But if you will do just a little research most of those crazy luxuries State employees have were a trade off for lack of raises year after year because the tax base in this state is so bad. PS I understand the current legislature inherited this mess but that doesn’t mean that all government cuts should be aimed at its employees and teachers.
Whoa, Joe. “Private insurance,” meaning individual policies? That’s the most expensive kind. Group insurance is the most economical, and the larger the group, the more economical.
And it seems that there are only two categories of insurance in Alabama: individual and family. Our children are grown, so there’s just the two of us now. However, we have to pay the same premium as a family with six children. When we lived in Maryland we were on a two-person insurance plan, which could cover, for example, a widow with one child.
Very good point Jay Croft. It seems that the elephant in the room that no one wants to acknowledge is BC/BS. Since the state has over 1000 less teachers this year, I wonder how they will justify raising co-pays or the cost to the state? Why does the state have to use BC/BS? Because they have a virtual monopoly in the state regarding healthcare insurance, that’s why. Why can’t you buy health insurance across state lines? You would think that the free traders/repubs in Washington would be in favor of more competition, not less. As for demos, they should be in favor since it would be an effective way to lower rates & help those who don’t have insurance. I wonder how much campaign cash the BC/BS spreads around? Probably more than those on trial in Montgomery.
Jug: I have said repeatedly that the Republicans should repeal the pay raise. Even on this same thread.
Jay Croft: Educated by the public school system in AL & I’ve been a public employee and a private sector employee during my career. I fully understand the restrictions and benefits of both.
Government cuts are aimed at employees b/c that is where the money is being spent. It’s not a anti-employee thing. Even when private sector companies are cutting back and laying people off, public sector employees have not participated in the economic recession. There is no reason why people who are making less in the private sector should pay more taxes for people in the public sector to be protected. It’s asinine. Public sector employees work for the people. Not the other way around.
Carolyn, I said nothing about your education. It was another poster who goes by the name of “Joe.” I don’t think it is Joe Hubbard.
Government functions, by their very nature, are labor-intensive. A vocational rehabilitation counselor, for example, has to meet with clients regularly, monitor their progress, authorize expenditures and even do a bit of hand-holding. The payoff is a client who is employed and paying taxes, not receiving food stamps, AFDC, etc.
But the VR counselor, of course, has to be paid. Before that, the counselor has to be trained; all VR counselors must have a Masters degree. All this costs money, but much more is returned into the system than was spent.
I’m glad that there are police patrolling regularly. I’m glad there’s a fire station a few blocks from my home. I’m glad we have city parks. I’m glad that we have a state Department of Mental Health, even though its resources are severely strained. I’m even glad that there’s Animal Control, which I’ve called a few times.
Carolyn, try looking through the other end of the binoculars.
Joe (not Hubbard):
I was laid off as part of a corporate down-sizing 2 1/2 years ago. How well do you think the job search in this economy went? How’s the job security for public sector employees? And yes, I bemoaned the 7% raise because it was paid for with money we KNEW wouldn’t be there the next year, not because teachers didn’t deserve it. Health insurance costs are still cheaper for state employees than the overwhelming majority of the private sector (where costs and copays go up every year, too). Having to pay in more to a defined benefit plan means you still have a defined benefit plan. What percentage of private sector employees have a defined benefit plan? Any ideas why that number may be low?
Barry, “I was the first Aubie” Mask is about to go down in flames with his racist insensitive comment of referring to Greene County as “3rd World”….wow on top of Beason, Brooks, and Dixon making racists jokes it appears the Republicans need to check into rehab….but that won’t happen because the chairman of the Republican Party, Bill Armistead has defended the statements…..
How is calling Greene County “3rd World” racist? It’s about economics, not race. The median household income is the 29th lowest in the country. Again – do you honestly believe it would be difficult to record similar statements made by Democrats in this state?
“The median income for a household in the county was $19,819, and the median income for a family was $24,604. Males had a median income of $25,707 versus $19,051 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,686. About 29.90% of families and 34.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 44.10% of those under age 18 and 31.60% of those age 65 or over.”
You ever been to Greene county, Tiny Kingdom? It IS third world. How about Macon county? It is a total dump and it’s crime rate has skyrocketed since Quincy’s 777 opened (rate in all surrounding counties went down). That’s the reward gaming and the continued election of utterly inept and corrupt (and wanna guess what party) leadership has brought to those communities.
I won’t defend Beason’s comment, it was wrong and he should reap consequences but Mask was dead-on accurate and owes absolutely no apology.
Inside and AU I have been to Greene Count numerous times and know a lot of people who live there or grew up there, so stop the insanity of defending the undefenseable. Face the facts Barry “I was the first Aubie” Mask and Scott “I can’t take a pay cut because I’m unemployed” Beason are reflective of the mindset of the Republican Party.
You both should also stop the nonsense how much better off are the counties represented by Barry “I was the first Aubie” Mask? Everyone including you two knons what he meant by the comment. Barry is a double dipper drawing two state salaries one funneled through economic development money and the other his state legislative pay.
Why’s hasn’t there been any article posted on the trial of Senator Smith?
Seems like a relevant Alabama political story.
TKD:
I’m not defending Beason’s comment. Not sure how it could be spun as not racist. Mask’s comment, on the other hand, is easily defended. Greene County is one of the poorest in the ENTIRE COUNTRY. The “Reps are racist” charge is old, tired, and total BS.
Could some “open threads” be posted? Or maybe even some new stories? It’s inconvenient to have to talk about the immigration law, or Beason’s comments, or issues on the thread for a legislator’s retrospective look at the last session.
AU the comments by Mask are racist but the best is yet to come……the prosecution does not want anymore of the tapes played because the comments only get worst……and yes they have relevance because they involve the citizens getting the right to vote for a bill that affects the county Mask, Beason and other Republicans discussed on tape…..
Inside Knowledge stop fooling yourself
Tiny, how do you know “the best is yet to come?” Seems that’s a bit of a conflict if you’re out there boasting of what’s to come in an ongoing trial…wow, hope you’re not bound to any legal standards
Ole tiny kingdom got called out and scurried back in to the hole…mr big shot tiny knows all about the trial! Such a big deal tiny is..inside knowledge and all…
Does anyone know what is going on with this site? No new items have been posted in a long time. It seems to only be these occasional puff pieces by legislators. Has the site shut down? Does anyone have any recommendations for other sites that are similar to what this one use to be?
We’re all recovering from the train wreck, otherwise known as the 2011 Legislative session.
TKD:
Sorry – had no idea it could get “worst.” Your prediction went up in flames today, btw.
AU the judge did not allow the testimony……FYI it did get worst….Mask paid between $50,000-$250,000 by Porch Creek Indians lobbyist Steve Windom…..so why is Barry Mask not on trial….
Wrong – Espy said they weren’t going to introduce it. Judge didn’t have to rule on it. If the Indians were the only clients of Windom and/or Mask did any work related to them, you might have a point. As it stands, however… not so much.
Did you just say a kickback that may approach a quarter of a million dollars from Steve Windom was no big deal? Really? Seriously?
Now holy crap, you know it’s only a kickback or abomination when a demo gets it. When a repub takes a pay raise(or a portion that they see fit) or a “consulting fee” it’s well earned. The hypocrisy of kool-aid drinkers amazes me!
Mask referred a large client to Windom and got an annual referral fee based on the amount of business that company did with Windom’s firm. Calling it a kickback doesn’t make it nefarious, nor does it have anything to do with the Poarch Creek Indians. It may be $250,000, but it may also be $50,000. Not surprising that y’all assume the top number. Regardless of the number, people get referral fees all the time, and the only work done is the initial referral. That’s why it’s a called a REFERRAL FEE.
Mtgyau do you really think people are that stupid? Don’t urinate on the state’s collective leg and tell us it’s a sudden summer downpour.
No state rep should be getting $10K a year (the minimum possible figure for Mask) from a lobbyist doing business at the capitol. Not ever. This stinks. There is no excuse.
It’s very possible that “something stinks” regarding Mask & Windom’s deal, but you can’t tell that from what little we know. Was the fee a percentage of contracts awarded? If so, was that % higher than a typical referral fee for similar deals? Did Mask have any sway over the contracts the company was awarded once he was elected? Do any of you know the answers to those questions? Because if you don’t, you’re assuming guilt until proven innocent.
I’ll say it again. It just plain stinks that a legislator takes at least $10K per year from a lobbyist with business in front of the legislature. Period. No wiggle room. No excuses.
AU Mask admitted on the witness stand that he did NOTHING for the money paid him by Steve Windom, lobbyist for the PCI, who wanted to stop others from engaging in the bingo business.
Hey Tiny Kingdom Demo — Evidently you have never listened to Alvin the Holmes Democrat rail at the pike about how the only legitimate minority is the black and that Mexicans and Indians don’t count.. A white man makes a bad statement and it makes front page healdlines and every tc show in the state. If Beason or Mask would have stated what some of the blacks have said in a public forum (ie Statehouse) they would have been crucified. it’s a double standard and one that white Democrats use to their advantage.
Yeah, it is a double standard that lets those whose ancestors were slaves and who were victims of Jim Crow laws and other State-sponsored discrimination complain, but not the white folks whose ancestors were the slaveowners and who got all the undeserved advantages of being the majority race. History is a bitch sometimes.
I think someone should call the sheriff’s office and file missing persons reports on the various administrators of this site.
I’m beginning to think the parlor is receiving “campaign contributions” from the same pacs HAS in exchange for not covering the BINGO trial.
quite obvious, eh kluger…on a brighter note, i see greentrack is getting their machines back….and its looking like the bingo defendants will walk….shoot.. i may change my name to milton rules… : )