Over at the Birmingham Weekly, Kyle Whitmire has begun a series of articles looking at the causes and possible solutions.
Should be interesting reading over the summer and maybe food for thought as we head into next year’s elections.
Your input is solicited on the draft constitution from ACCR’s mock constitutional convention, but time is running out. You have until July 7.
Related Articles:
Video from the Alabama Policy Institute explaining how PAC to PAC transfers work and why this is not a good thing.
Also, in today’s, Al Jareeza, interesting article, The Pervasive Nature of Corruption which argues at certain points, a minimal amount of graft is needed to make things happen in developing countries to eventually fade away as prosperity occurs.
H/T: to anon in today’s digest comments for applying the nudge
Comments continue to be welcome on the draft constitution proposed by ACCR’s Mock Convention. Have you stopped by to offer your input? Many have.
Convention delegates will consider comments received by July 7 before the final proposal is assembled and unveiled on August 27. The 7/7 deadline is chosen to note that the current state constitution is our state’s sixth; the next one would be our seventh.
The Press-Register has taken note of the comment process with an article Saturday and an editorial today (though, oops, in the latter they offered the wrong Parlor url). I put a box in the sidebar linked to the draft constitution hoping to make it easier for readers to find the opportunity to comment between now and the July 7 deadline.
More on the Mock Convention and the draft constitution can be found here.
Related Articles:
The Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform (ACCR) Foundation is in the public comment phase of its Mock Constitutional Convention initiative and asked Doc’s Political Parlor to collect feedback. To give your suggestions on how to improve what the delegates have drafted so far, simply read the draft here, click through to the various articles, and enter your suggestions in the comments below each article. The delegates will take the comments provided by midnight on July 7 and create a final version that will be unveiled on August 27 at the Constitution Village in Huntsville where Alabama wrote its first state constitution.
Mark Berte, the Grassroots Education Director of the Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform (ACCR) Foundation, explains to the Parlor that this project is intended to show that a convention of delegates can create a better document than Alabama’s 1901 Constitution—which is our state’s current and sixth governing document. (That is why they set the deadline for public comments on 7/7—in honor of the state’s seventh constitution.) Delegates throughout the state—one representing each of the state’s 105 house districts—convened two sessions this spring working a total of five days instead of the 90 days a real convention would take to complete its work.
If you have questions or need more information about this education initiative, please contact Mark Berte, ACCR Foundation’s Grassroots Education Director, via email at Mark at constitutionALreform.org or ring him up at (205) 266-3371.
Click to read the draft constitution created by the Mock Constitutional Convention.
WVNN morning host Dale Jackson was responsible for the fake news release that instructed voters in Senate District 7 who supported Democrat Laura Hall to come to the polls on Wednesday instead of today, according to this post from the Huntsville Times on al.com. He had it on his website and read it on the air. According to the story, listeners who believed it and called in to the station were told the story was a joke.
Republicans who have been in touch with the Parlor have been quite unhappy about the fake release, saying that no one connected to Republican Paul Sanford’s campaign or the party had any knowledge of the release’s creation or distribution - and unhappy that anyone might think so. (No one I know that knows Sanford believes he would be capable of participating in anything like this.)
According to the Huntsville Times, “Jackson said Tuesday that if people were dumb enough to fall for his stunt and didn’t turn out to vote today, it was their own fault,” a statement remarkable in its unapologetic self-absolution.
A Huntsville Times article earlier this morning reported that the radio host had written on his blog, “Laura Hall is the pathetic cowardly candidate who is banking on the stupidity of the people in her district to vote for who they are told to, like lemmings.” As harsh as that was towards Hall, I heard Republicans calling Jackson worse today.
Related Articles:
A reader faxed me a grainy copy of a voter suppression flier in SD-7. Click on it to see a larger copy.
Here’s the text:
Office of the Secretary of Electoral Elections
The Honorable Marion S. Barber
secretaryofelectoralelection@alabama.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DUE TO HIGH TURNOUT POLLING PLACES IN DISTRICT 7 TO OPERATE FOR TWO DAYS, ONE FOR EACH CANDIDATE
MONTGOMERY, AL - Alabama Secretary of Electoral Elections Marion S. Barber has decided due to heavy expected turnout in the 7th State Senate District race between State Rep. Laura Hall and Paul Sanford that there will be two days of voting in Madison County.
A coin flip took place at Huntsville City Hall at 5AM on Tuesday and Paul Sanford won the ability to have his voters go to the polls on Tuesday June 9th and Laura Hall’s voters should go to the polls on Wednesday June 10th.
Secretary Barber stated, “This is necessary due to the unexpected turnout in an election where we planned for low turnout.” She added, “We hope this doesn’t cause problems in Madison County but feel this is the best way to accommodate our voters.[”]
Click on the flier below to see an larger copy.
If you or someone you know got one of these fliers, I’d be interested to know how it was received. Are these being passed along from friend to friend? Left under car windshields? It’s hard to imagine that the Secretary of State would get involved if this was simply a joke on a small scale.
Related Articles:
Boy, this represents some real sleaze… from a press release today from Secretary of State Beth Chapman.
MONTGOMERY - Secretary of State Beth Chapman has received notification indicating false information is being circulated regarding today’s District 7 State Senate race between Democrat Laura Hall and Republican Paul Sanford.
She wants to inform all voters in this election they are to cast their ballots today.
Emails and fliers have been circulating that state that due to “heavy expected turnout” there will be two elections this week: Tuesday for Republican voters and Wednesday for Democratic voters.
“This information is totally false,” says Secretary of State Chapman, who is Alabama’s chief elections official. “The election is being conducted today and today only. There is no election being conducted on Wednesday.”
Blood has been shed to protect our right to vote, and a few miscreants want to deny it to some with whom they differ by spreading a lie.
Can anyone get me a copy of said flier and/or email?
Related Articles:
The Alabama Policy Institute is trying to build popular support for banning PAC-to-PAC transfers with a new video that illustrates the issue.
Most readers probably understand the issue, but for those you know who don’t, this explains it pretty well.
According to state Rep. Barry Mask (R - Wetumpka), Gov. Bob Riley assured a “group of Republicans,” including Mask, that he will call a special session to deal with the financial shortfall in Alabama’s prepaid college tuition program. From the May 18 edition of “Behind the Mask,” the Representative’s newsletter to constituents:
Last week a group of Republicans (I was there) met with the Governor on the PACT problem. He assured us he would call us into special session to deal with this. Right now Dr. Bronner has his actuarial analysts looking at it to determine what needs to be done. Its imperative we get this fixed and soon. The fund is solvent enough to pay out obligations for the next few years.
Good news for anxious parents. Maybe also good news for Kay Ivey’s gubernatorial ambitions.
On the PACT topic, the PACT Board met today.
The program’s actuary told the board the fund has enough money to pay tuition this fall and next spring. The PACT Board voted unanimously to assure parents that it will keep paying tuition this fall and next spring.
The Legislature adopted a resolution on its final day Friday, asking The Retirement Systems of Alabama to conduct an actuarial study of the fund.
The report to Gov. Bob Riley and the Legislature is expected within 30 to 45 days.
Related Articles:
The State House has been evacuated because of flooding. Elevators are shut down. ABC 33/40 has reported on the air that the power has been shut off and that basement walls “may be compromised”
This was a particularly important day for passing bills with enough time for them to pass in the other chamber before the end of the session.
Some pictures:
Rep. Spencer Collier (R - Irvington) released a statement about his vote for the BIR on HB 116 to remove the state portion of sales tax on groceries.
PRESS RELEASE
May 5, 2009
For Immediate Release & Distribution
CONTACT: Rep. Spencer Collier
Statement by Rep. Spencer Collier Regarding Food Tax Bill Vote
(MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA)—Representative Spencer Collier issued this statement Tuesday afternoon:
“It is a rare occasion that I find myself split between the ideals of my Party and the ideals of my District, but in every case it is my duty to side with the voters and citizens of my District. For the fourth time this Session, the Democrats brought House Bill 116, also known as the Food Tax Bill, for a vote.
“Up until this point I have been opposed to any measure that would remove the federal income tax credit in exchange for the removal of the state sales tax on groceries. I voted no on the previous attempts this Session in order to force further compromise between the opposing sides. In response, Rep. John Knight (D-Montgomery), the sponsor of the bill, offered an amendment to phase out the federal income tax deduction over four years.
“Regardless, I am faced with the reality that over 95% of the residents of my District would benefit from the removal of the state’s portion of sales tax on food. Therefore, I felt that my vote today for HB 116 was the right thing to do for the people I represent. It was a difficult decision, but, in the end, I was elected by the people of House District 105 and that is where my loyalty lies.”
–30–
Paid for by Committee to Elect Spencer Collier / PO Box 850 / Irvington, AL 36544
Related Articles:
Here’s a look at who pays Alabama’s state taxes broken down by income groups (from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy). The less money you make, the more you pay in state and local taxes.
(Scott Stantis of the Birmingham News used this info in a nicely done cartoon from last year.)
Taxing low incomes at rates much higher than high incomes are taxed has led our own Gov. Bob Riley to say, “Alabama has the most regressive tax system in the United States,” and indeed Alabama is one of the most regressive states in the nation (.pdf) in tax policy. Alabama is one of two states (.pdf) that fully taxes sales on groceries without relief. (The other is Mississippi.)
John Knight’s bill to remove the state portion of sales tax on groceries is coming up again today in the House, and a two-thirds majority of Alabamians polled favor removing the state sales on groceries even if it means that taxes will go up on some Alabamians to make up the lost revenue. (This bill would require a vote of the people to be enacted if it passes the legislature.)
J. D. Crowe of the Press-Register illustrated the burden and the Republican opposition to removing it in this cartoon from April 1. (Reprinted here with permission.)
Do we want a tax structure where low-income Alabamians and middle-income Alabamians pay a larger share of their income in state and local taxes than high-income Alabamians do? Is the status quo a good thing?
If Republicans believe they stand with the majority of Alabamians in their opposition to the proposal to remove the sales tax from groceries, then why not allow the voters to put an exclamation point on the GOP stance at the ballot box when the referendum comes up? For example, when Gov. Riley’s 2003 Amendment One proposal was soundly defeated by voters, Riley took his lumps and moved on.
On the other hand, if the Republicans do not believe they stand with the majority of Alabamians, then what is the justification for blocking a public vote on the issue?
Related Articles:
Terri Sewell is fund raising, politicking in Selma in her bid to win election to the AL-07 house seat according to the Selma Times-Journal. Are any of the other candidates making the rounds?
Courtesy of the Gadsden Times, (may need a “free” login) we get a reminder that Alabama’s road builders are seeking a share of the stimulus package. Expect to hear much over the next few weeks over the advantages of concrete roads over asphalt as a cover for squabbling over who gets the money. Last year, the roader builders association supported a billion dollar bond issue for road work and this session the diversion of $100 million per year from the Alabama Trust Fund.
As most are aware by now, A St. Clair county judge has ruled electronic bingo is legal in St. Clair County. Reaction from Ashville’s mayor is available.
As of yet, don’t have a copy of his order and will leave any legal speculation and divination to those who enjoy such things.
Turning to White Hall, Judge Kennedy has ordered the return of seized property to the White Hall casino, appeal, is planned, amid editorializing of selective prosecution.
Of course, if the Sweet Home Alabama bill passes, Ashville may taste ashes.
Over at the Post, there is an interview with Cherokee County Superintendent Brian Johnson which can serve as a proxy for school superintendents statewide.
There is still much uncertainty over how many teaching jobs will be saved by the economic stimulus package and the need for more cuts in spending.
A good quote from Superintendent Johnson:
“I think a misconception is that this stimulus money is going to take care of all of our needs, and that is not the case,” he said.
Across the state, some systems have made cuts and entered the perilous waters of school consolidation.
Would not be surprising to see school consolidation come up in the legislature as public resistance to closing their school takes root. Might also see a few superintendents either making rock soup or deciding on a career change.
From news accounts, county governments have received some funds for road work. While some local governments are taking matters gracefully, others are not. Seems reasonable this will come up during the Legislature’s session and phones will be ringing.
Schools are in a holding pattern until at least April to learn what funds they will receive.
All of which makes the Times Journal editorial, We Cannot Continue To Count On ‘Found’ Money, even more timely.
We will be making hard decisions after the stimulus money runs out, right?
According to articles in both the Alexander City Outlook and The News-Courier, we can expect to see a clash between the Alabama Sheriff’s Association and the Association of County Commissioners over who will be responsible for feeding county jail inmates (and answering any civil suits arising therefrom).
Does seem to effort to dodge the bullet by everybody. But, somebody has to do i. Lets hope it gets resolved
Using the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI inflation calculator, the rate of $1.75 set in 1939 the state pays to feed inmates has the same buying now as about $26.71 today.
Dothan Eagle - Senate delays action on bingo bill - Apparentily put on hold by its sponsor for a week to rework it.
The Sand Mountain Reporter - Marshall county sheriff and DA set deadline for removal of games
Southeastern Sun - Gilley, McGregor united on bingo bill. Useful for seeing the talking points (taxation, regulation, indians)
The Governor sent this email (below) with an alabama.gov email address. As one reader put it, “Apparently the Governor is pulling out all the stops.”
The link takes you to a video at http://thetruthaboutgambling.com/video.html. (This below is an image of the email; the links don’t work here as they would in the email.)
I wonder what squawks if any there will be about using taxpayer-funded resources for this.
The Anniston Star has placed in their no login required section, the first of a four part series about this Civil Rights era murder.
You don’t know where you’re going unless you know where you’ve been.
The real reason for Agricultural Commissioner Ron Sparks’ delay in announcing his 2010 candidacy? The word in Montgomery is that he’s waiting to see how much fallout from the PACT troubles is going to fall on Lt. Governor Jim Folsom.
Folsom sits on the PACT Board, and that’s his name on the “Wallace-Folsom Prepaid College Tuition Trust Fund” that is the full name of the program. Folsom was notably absent from the hearing last Thursday because he was in New York with his law firm business, and at the outset did not appear to be tuned in to the strong dismay that participants in the program have felt.
Sparks by all accounts heard here was prepared to announce his candidacy for Lt. Governor on Tuesday. But if Folsom gets dinged enough that he decides to run for Lt. Governor again instead of Governor, he would be tough to beat in a re-election bid, especially in a Democratic primary. So last Thursday, Folsom missed the emotional Board meeting, and Friday Sparks calls off the announcement events.
Since then, Folsom has confronted the issue a little more directly and has released a statement. An excerpt:
At this point, I want to make it abundantly clear that from its inception the program represented a sacred trust between those investing in the program and the State of Alabama. I hold firm to the vision that created this program and reiterate that – regardless of changes in the statutory language – I believe that investments in the program entitle PACT holders to the agreed-upon return of full payment of college tuition.
This is not the time for panic, for a rush to find a band-aid solution or for commentary that might cause a ‘run on the bank’. Such action will only exacerbate the current difficulties and short-circuit the long-term goals made for our children’s future. As the economy rebounds, as it inevitably will, we have every reason to be optimistic that Alabama’s PACT investments will again begin to grow.
Whatever hit Folsom may take on this, State Treasurer Kay Ivey is sure to take a larger one, at least in the short run, as it is her office that administers the fund. Participants in the Winter Symposium for the Blackburn Institute just two ago on March 1 have told me that Kay Ivey was talking up the PACT progam then even though the letters had already been mailed to participants warning of problems with the fund. Her best-case scenario is that she and Folsom can work out a plan to provide full college tuition for those who participated. Or that Robert Bentley, Randy Brinson, and Joe Turnham can. Or Artur Davis.
Are other states having problems with prepaid college tuition plans? Mississippi’s is solid, one of the top five in the country. Florida’s guaranteed program has lawmakers looking to borrow from it to meet other needs now. Illinois reports theirs is ok. It’s not rosy everywhere besides Alabama though. Maryland and Texas are two states reporting deficits in their prepaid college tuition funds. Both of those states’ plans carry guarantees for participants.
Related Articles:
Nothing illustrates the rift between Gov. Bob Riley and his Attorney General Troy King better than the raid on gambling machines in White Hall yesterday directed not by the AG’s office but by the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling. For that matter, the creation of the task force itself without King was a prime example of their wide divide.
Related Articles:
The Media General papers using data provided by Taxpayers for Common Sense have put together a web page that lets you search by either requested amount or requesting Congressman/Senator, what has been earmarked for Alabama. Everything from $30 million for a “interdisciplinary science and engineering teaching and research corridor” to $47,500 for airport fencing.
The link and happy hunting
Same place but via The Eufaula Tribune. If first link don’t work.
Since, everybody is talking about the two, his thoughts on the matter are at the Clarion Caller blog of the Opelika-Auburn News. In brief, he’s for it but its a “state issue”.
Former Congressman Glen Browder did point a way forward on the issue. Has there been any follow through?
Some interesting data from the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama at Samford. This seems to be only publicly available survey I’ve see on the issue of public funding priorities this year. Maybe useful to compare the results to AEA’s 2008 Legislative Issues survey.
The survey (pdf) was done in January where among the questions and answers are:
In the aftermath of last weekend’s Mock Constitution Convention, Brian at Flashpointblog and Jennifer Foster in the Opelika-Auburn News weigh in with good articles considering a state constitutional convention.
If you are interested in this issue at all, pro or con, I urge you to read at least Brian’s article. Besides Jennifer Foster’s piece, others are weighing in, e.g. David Prather at the Huntsville Times.
For what it’s worth, we saw the dysfunction of our state Constitution again last week when Senate conflict over one local bill led Sen. Phil Poole (D - Moundville) to shut down the entire Senate.
Related Articles:
Courtesy of the Clarion Caller blog, an interesting column in the Florida papers. Be sure to visit the Caller for more background. She also connects some dots that may be something, may be nothing.
The text of State Sen. Zeb Little’s response on behalf of the Senate Democratic caucus to Gov. Riley’s State of the State speech is available at the Montgomery Advertiser and (no doubt other AP news papers). Curiously, not available (as of 12:08 CST) at the Alabama Democratic Party website
After reading both speeches, my reaction is the same as my son during a seminarian’s long pre dinner prayer, “talk, talk, when do we eat”.
Hat tip to mooncat at Left in Alabama for the steer.
For those interested, Stimulus Watch, has taken the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ list of shovel ready projects suitable for funding as part of the economic stimulus package, broken them down by state and invites discussion and rank ordering of them. Alabama’s list of city projects is available. Everything from starting a cold case squad to sewer pumps and road projects.
Has anyone seen a list of county and state level projects? There is one for state highways.
Powered by WordPress
