May 22, 2019 - Road Rage and Deer Hunting Bills Take Center Stage in Legislature
Over 20 years ago when I was a legislator the State Trooper assigned to my county asked if he could come visit with me. “Of course,” I said. When he came he had a somber look on his face. I thought maybe he had a serious personal problem or had lost a loved one.
He began, “This may not sound like a major highway problem, but one of the things that causes a good many accidents and incidents on our roads is people driving slow in the left lane and not moving over.” I never pursued legislation to this effect. However, he made me aware of the need to remedy this problem.
Well, finally, a legislator has taken up this legislation. Rep. Phillip Pettus, a Republican from Lauderdale County, who by the way retired as a captain in the Alabama State Troopers after a 25-year career, has passed legislation to remedy this problem. He calls his Bill, “The Anti-Road Rage Act.”
The Bill would prohibit drivers from staying in the left most lane on interstates for more than a mile and a half without passing another vehicle. Pettus explained, “People get ill when they come up behind people driving slow in the left lane and they are wanting to get by. Interstates were set up for the movement of traffic. This will make interstate traffic move better if the said road rage causes more wrecks than accident records would indicate, like when angry drivers cut in front of another vehicle and cause that vehicle to run off the road.” The House has passed the Bill on a 61-24 vote. It awaits action in the Senate.
It has been 20 years since I was in the Legislature, and during the entire time I was there we had a perennial issue that would surface every year; whether or not to let deer hunters hunt deer with dogs. Today the issue has evolved into whether or not to allow hunters to use bait to attract deer. This Bill has become an annual debate in the Legislature. Both sides are ardent and take their deer hunting seriously. Well it looks like the baiters have finally won. Rep. Danny Crawford (R-Limestone) has passed legislation that gives hunters the option of hunting over bait. The bill passed overwhelmingly in both chambers.
The deer hunting issue has been around forever. During the 1950’s and 60’s there was a legendary legislative sage named Rankin Fite of Marion County. Ole Rankin had been in the Legislature a long time. He was actually Speaker of the House well into the 1970’s when the first Ethic Laws were passed. Rankin was one of only six House members to vote against the Ethics Law. After the vote the media asked the former Speaker why he voted against the Ethics Law. He wryly replied, “It wasn’t tough enough.” He further pontificated this advice, “I voted for every tax, voting for taxes won’t beat you.” “I just voted against the Ethics Bill, voting against ethics won’t beat you.” “The issues you need to avoid are voting on daylight savings time or hunting deer with dogs.”
Gov. Kay Ivey has done a good job with her judicial appointments throughout the state. In 2017, she appointed Circuit Judge Brad Mendheim of Dothan to the Supreme Court to fill a vacancy. Mendheim is a very well qualified jurist to sit on the state’s highest judicial tribunal. Mendheim is extremely well liked and respected in his native Houston County.
In the 2018 elections, Mendheim lost a close election to Judge Sarah Stewart of Mobile. Gov. Ivey wisely reappointed Mendheim to the Court in the place of Justice Tom Parker who was elected Chief Justice.
Former Chief Justice Lynn Stuart, who Tom Parker replaced, has taken a seat on the State Ethics Commission. Judge Stuart was a Baldwin County Judge for 12 years prior to being elected to the Supreme Court in 2000. She served 18 years on the Supreme Court. Her term on the Ethics Commission is for four years, through August of 2023.
Gov. Ivey has set the Special Election dates for the seat of Dimitri Polizos in Montgomery. Dimitri, a popular restaurateur in the Capital City, died in March. The first primary is June 11 with a runoff on August 27. It is a Republican seat, which has drawn a crowded field of candidates.
See you next week.
May 15, 2019 - Infrastructure Package Passage will be Hallmark of Success for Governor Kay Ivey and the Legislature
The five day Special Legislative Session that addressed the increase in the gas tax to fund an Infrastructure Rebuilding Program for the state was a remarkable success. I still marvel at the adroitness, efficiency and expediency in which the governor accomplished this monumental initiative. She called for a Special Session on the night of her State of the State address and within one week it was signed, sealed, and delivered.
I have seen some successful special sessions in my lifetime of watching Alabama politics. However, I have never seen anything like this. George Wallace used Special Sessions continuously and regularly during his 20-year reign as King of Alabama politics. He got things accomplished this way. It is the way to go to crystalize the importance of an issue.
Kay Ivey’s success made Wallace’s hardball ploys look minor league. She got her mission accomplished in the minimum five days. It was an amazing success story that will be told in political circles for years.
She did her homework. She dug in and made it clear that infrastructure improvement was a must for Alabama. She had a plan, she worked it and she won and the people of Alabama won.
She was not doing it for self-serving reasons nor was she doing it to secure her place in history. However, I am here to tell you as an Alabama political historian, she earned a place in my book. She has earned her spurs and earned the name “Governor.” She showed her leadership and the title Gov. Kay Ivey.
Gov. Ivey was astute to address the issue in a Special Session within the Regular Session for several reasons. In a Special Session, Legislators have to address only the issue the governor calls them in for. By calling for the concentrated Special Session within the Regular Session it did not cost taxpayers any more. It also got them around the 3/5 vote needed to bring a bill up before the budgets which is required in the Regular Session.
Her ability to reach across the aisle and garner Democratic support for passage of the program was noteworthy. She brought in all of the Democratic legislative leaders. She sat down with them and diligently worked to explain how important this agenda was to not only their constituents, but to the entire state.
Her reaching out to them was not only important for passage of this package, but it built the foundation for a successful and harmonious working relationship with all the members of the Legislature which has been missing for over a decade.
The relationships Kay developed with state senators as presiding officer of the Senate for six years paid off with not only the Republican leadership but also with Democratic leaders like Bobby Singleton.
She forged new friendships with both Republican and Democratic legislators in the House. She worked hard and developed a close working relationship with House Democratic leader, Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville), who is a bright young star. This friendship will be good going forward for Ivey and the state.
Rep. Bill Poole (R-Tuscaloosa) was the leader in the House that worked closely with Gov. Kay Ivey to align the stars for passage. Poole drafted the Bill, helped devise the strategy and fought for passage. He is probably the only House sponsor who could pull it off. Senator Clyde Chambliss did a brilliant job in the Senate. Both Poole and Chambliss are young with bright paths ahead in Alabama politics.
Expanding access to broadband internet in rural Alabama has been one of the cornerstone issues for Gov. Ivey and the legislature the last few years. This access to broadband today is as important as getting electricity was 60-75 years ago.
This initiative has moved to the forefront for passage as the session evolves. The magic formula for success is engrossed in House Bill 400. This legislation would logically and effectively allow electric utilities to use their existing infrastructure to run broadband to areas that do not have service today.
Opposition has arisen from big cable companies for obvious self-serving reasons. To allow these large out-of-state companies to thwart the passage of this important piece of legislation would be bad for the state. The need to run new fiber optic lines at great expense would make the initiative almost cost prohibitive.
Regardless, the cable companies and AT&T are working to kill this logical plan to extend broadband internet service to all Alabamians. They are also using some unsavory tactics in their attempt to kill Gov. Ivey’s initiative. Hopefully, their transparent efforts to derail this important legislation will be ignored by legislators who want what is best for Alabama.
See you next week.
May 8, 2019 - Senator Richard Shelby Turns 85 this week. He is an Alabama Treasure with Legendary Prowess at Unlocking the U.S. Treasury for Alabama
Our Senior U.S. Senator, Richard Shelby, turns 85 this week. In March he reached another milestone – he surpassed Senator John Sparkman as the longest serving U.S. Senator in Alabama history. Shelby has been our senator for 32 plus years.
Alabama has a treasure in Richard Shelby. He is not only the longest serving U.S. Senator in Alabama history, he is also the most successful U.S. Senator in Alabama history. During his illustrious tenure, Senator Shelby has chaired the Senate Banking Committee, Intelligence Committee and Rules Committee. However, his current perch as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee is unparalleled.
He has brought home the bacon during his five six-year terms like no one in history. However, in his sixth six-year term it’s Katie bar the door. In addition to chairing the Appropriations Committee, he also retained the Chairmanship of the Subcommittee on Defense Appropriations. It is through this channel that he has pumped immense federal money into the Heart of Dixie in last year’s budget alone. It is staggering. It is almost unimaginable.
However, get this, in the Fort Rucker budget alone Senator Shelby carved out an additional $95 million for future vertical lift research, which will help accelerate development of helicopters flown at Fort Rucker; $10 million to up-grade Navy MH-60 Seahawk helicopters; $1 billion for THAAD missiles: $111 million for long range anti-ship missiles; $306 million for JAG missiles; $484 million for Hellfire missiles, which are made in Troy and used for training at Fort Rucker; $254 million for Javelin missiles for the Army and Marine Corps; and $663 million for Joint Air-Surface Standoff missiles, which recently made their debut in strikes on Syria in response to their use of chemical weapons.
Sen. Shelby has bestowed a largess of grants on UAB for medical research over the years. However, he recognizes the possibility of explosive growth in the Huntsville area. The Redstone Arsenal is reaping the rewards of Senator Shelby’s prowess and influence. The amount of money our senior senator is putting into North Alabama is mind boggling: in Army research $11 billion for instruments in transformational technologies to address future Army needs; $10.4 billion for missile defense; $664 million for hypersonic research; $184 million for Directed Energy; $306 million for Cyber Research; and $200 million for Space Launch vehicles.
Of all the things that Sen. Shelby has procured for Alabama, specifically the Huntsville area, his Hallmark legacy may be securing the placement of one of the largest FBI facilities in America. Huntsville will eventually be second only to Washington D.C. for the FBI.
The FBI’s investment in Huntsville could reach $1 billion. Initially 1,350 jobs will be transferred from Washington to North Alabama. The Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville already includes a U.S. Army Base as well as NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Folks these 1,350 to 1,500 Federal FBI jobs all pay more than the average Alabama salary. The Huntsville metro area is poised to grow more size wise and economically than any area of America in the next decade in no small part to Senator Richard Shelby.
He has almost four years left on his 6th term, 44 months to be exact. He is in excellent health, physically and mentally. Most Alabamians hope and pray he runs again in 2022. However, he will be 88.
If Senator Shelby does not run, who might follow him? He might be involved in picking his successor. He is convinced that someone young should be his heir. He realizes the importance of youth and how it predicates future seniority.
First on most lists is State Rep. Bill Poole, who like Shelby hails from Tuscaloosa. He is only 42-years old but has served in the legislature for nine years, most of his time as Chairman of the House Education Budget Committee. He is the most respected member of the House. His adroit handling of the Infrastructure Package had many longtime Statehouse observers labeling him as having future governor or senator written all over him.
Another name to remember is 37-year old Katie Boyd Britt. She is Shelby’s former Chief of Staff and current CEO of the Business Council of Alabama.
See you next week.
May 1, 2019 - Prisons Issue - Front/Center
Folks, taking care of prisoners is not a popular political issue. However, every so often Alabama politicians pragmatically have to acquiesce to the mandates of federal judges and grant our transgressing citizens their rights as determined by the courts.
Federal Courts have determined that our felons deserve the rights to adequate imprisonment. You just cannot log them in, lock them up, and give them a basic bunk and rations three times a day. Courts want them to have sufficient space and access to mental health care.
Some state prison systems have come under a Federal Court order and have been given instructions on how to run their prisons and how to treat prisoners without regard to how much it costs. We in Alabama know that all too well. We went down that road a few years ago with Judge Frank Johnson.
We are headed in the same direction again. Alabama, like many states, has prison overcrowding and violence problems. Just as the Legislature began preparing their budgets for the coming year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) in conjunction with all our U.S. Attorneys in concurrence, has sent Alabama a clear message that the state’s overcrowded and understaffed correctional system is in incredibly poor physical shape.
In a precise outline the Justice Department clearly defines the remedies that the state must take to avoid federal intervention. This detailed report focuses on the most acute problems, which are sexual abuse, drug trade and extortion and the lack of adequate mental health for prisoners which is causing a high suicide rate. The federal investigators clearly said that the prisons are so dangerous that there is reasonable cause to believe that the state is in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
Their outline clarified to the state that the overcrowding problem will and should be addressed by additional prisons. However, the report further said that new facilities will not resolve the contributing factors to the overall unconstitutional conditions.
Judge Myron Thompson has been overseeing the mental health issues in the prisons for several years. The Alabama Legislature has shown Judge Thompson a good faith effort toward remedying our prison shortcomings and Judge Thompson has responded with leniency.
In 2015, the Alabama Legislature passed Criminal Justice reform legislation that greatly reduced the number of inmates in Alabama. Through legislative efforts the state prison population has decreased from nearly 200 percent of capacity to about 160 percent.
First on most wish lists for prisons is increasing our staffing levels and improving the pay scale for correctional officers. Alabama prison guards are the lowest paid in the nation. Rep. Steve Clouse (R-Ozark), who chairs the General Fund Budget Committee dropped an extra $80 million into the budget last year for increased prison personnel spending. Even then, as Clouse told a Dothan Chamber Commerce group in February, “People are not beating down doors to be prison guards.”
The Alabama Department of Corrections is asking for a sizeable increase this year to hire additional correctional officers, which will probably be granted.
Gov. Ivey quickly responded to the report by saying she is committed to working with the DOJ to address the problems. The Governor said she is proceeding with her plan to build new prisons, which is expected to cost a billion dollars. This is validation that her initial plan to build new prisons is the right path. The problem in the Legislature is, “How do you pay for them and where do you put them?”
Under any new plan to build or lease new prisons, it must be coupled with prison sentencing reform which is being implemented in a good many states. This reform must include a revised sentencing structure and some inclusion of alternative sentencing options to the state penitentiary system for offenders who pose no threat of violence to society.
A good example is that currently under Alabama Law, the second time a person is caught in possession of marijuana they are charged with a felony, and then under the “three strikes” law you could send someone to prison for life after three felony violations for smoking marijuana. Marijuana use should probably not result in a felony conviction unless it is for trafficking.
State Sen. Cam Ward (R-Alabaster) has done a yeoman’s job leading Alabama’s Criminal Justice Reform efforts. He will be at the forefront of the prisons working with Governor Ivey.
See you next week.
April 24, 2019 - Who will take Doug Jones out next year?
It is a foregone conclusion that a Republican will take out our anomaly liberal democratic senator, Doug Jones, next year. The question is which Republican will be the nominee and capture the seat.
The early favorite is U.S. Congressman Bradley Byrne. There is an old adage that often holds true, the early bird gets the worm.
Byrne made the commitment to run over a year ago and he has been dedicated to the race and is running full speed ahead. He is raising good money and crisscrossing the state in a very organized manner. Byrne ran a good race for governor in 2010, so he knows what he is doing. He has served coastal Alabama in the State Senate and now six years in Congress. If he is the only major candidate from the Mobile/Baldwin area in the Primary, he will get a good “Friends and Neighbors” vote in his 1st Congressional District. Republican primaries begin and end in vote rich Baldwin County now.
The toughest challenge that Byrne could get may very well be fellow congressman, Mo Brooks from Huntsville. Brooks is from the ultra-right wing of the GOP. National conservative group like and trust Brooks. He is a true believer. These folks are not excited about Byrne who they perceive as a silk stocking, country club Republican. Brooks also has a more recent statewide race under his belt than Byrne. Being a congressman gives him access to Washington and national donors and also like Byrne, Huntsville is a good place to be from in a Republican primary.
If Brooks opts not to run, the right wing groups in Washington, D.C. may pursue Birmingham Congressman Gary Palmer. Brooks and Palmer are cut from the same cloth. They are ultra true blue conservatives. Brooks is the better candidate of the two. He is more charismatic and flamboyant.
The person to watch may be Secretary of State John Merrill. If he enters, he will be a player. He is the hardest working person in Alabama politics. He is not only the best retail politician currently on the Alabama political stage, he may be one of the best in Alabama political history. His organization is like something put together in a bygone era. He will outwork everybody in the GOP Primary, as well as Jones, put together. The aforementioned probable candidates need to not underestimate the hardest working man in Alabama political show business, John Merrill.
The legendary Roy Moore may make the race. His name identification and base allows him the luxury of not having much money. He should not be underestimated or dismissed as a “has been”. However, I do think his base has diminished to about 15 percent of the primary vote, which is not enough to make the run-off unless there is a crowded field.
In fact, a large crowd of GOP candidates could be attracted to the GOP race. They may come from strange corners. Former Auburn football coach, Tommy Tuberville, who was the Tigers football coach from 1999-2008 and who has more recently been the head football coach at Ole Miss, Texas Tech and Cincinnati has officially announced that he is a candidate for the GOP nomination. He is originally from Arkansas.
This scenarios reminds me of a story our ole Senator, the late Howell Heflin, use to tell while he was our U.S. Senator for 18 years. Heflin was a true World War II military hero. He won the Bronze star as a Marine officer. Heflin hailed from Colbert County, Tuscumbia.
After undergraduate school at Birmingham Southern and Law School at the University of Alabama, he went back home to Tuscumbia and became one of the most prominent lawyer in Colbert County. At 50 he ran for and was elected Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. After six-years there he went to the U.S. Senate for three year six-year terms.
Heflin was the son of a Methodist minister. The Methodists at that time moved ministers around. It just so happened that at the time of Howell’s birth his daddy was doing a stint at a church in Georgia. Heflin being a true Alabamian and an Alabama political leader was a little embarrassed about the place of his birth. He would often say, “Yea, well my daddy was over in Georgia doing missionary work among the heathen.”
See you next week.
April 17, 2019 - Host of Young and Female Lobbyists Have Taken Over the Statehouse
As I observe the legislature, it occurs to me that I am getting older. A lot of the legislators and lobbyists I have known over the years have moved on.
Montgomery is no longer an “Old Boys Club.” A cursory look at a typical day at the Alabama Statehouse would surprise you. An increasing number of professional women are a major part of the lawmaking process. There are a host of brilliant women under 40 who are at the forefront and yield a great deal of influence over the process of policy making in Alabama.
First on most lists is of course Katie Boyd Britt, who has recently been selected as head of the Business Council of Alabama. She is not only the first female to lead the organization, but by far the youngest at 37. Katie is dynamic, fierce and talented. She will be an outstanding advocate for the business community in the state. She is the former student body president of the University of Alabama as well as a graduate of the University of Alabama Law School.
Mary Margaret Carroll was the first female to join the state’s oldest governmental relations firm, Fine, Geddie and Associates. She is a brilliant superstar. Mary Margaret is from a prominent Ozark family and possesses a temperament professional demeanor that depicts class, character and intelligence. She has a proven combination of analytical, problem solving, legal and communications skills. She is known for her quiet confidence and conscientious discernment. Mary Margaret manages a broad array of interests in tech, insurance, natural resources, energy and education.
Mary Margaret Carroll and Katie Boyd Britt have amazingly similar backgrounds. Both are daughters of the Wiregrass. Mary Margaret is from Ozark and Katie Britt is from Enterprise. Both were student government presidents and were Chi Omegas at the University of Alabama.
Alison Hosp, who represents the Alabama Retail Association, has proven to be one of the most effective and professional governmental relations spokespersons for several years.
Maci Martin Walker is an outstanding contract lobbyist with the Christie Group. She has worked on dozens of policy measures over the years for major corporate clients.
Katherine Green Robertson is the Chief Legislative Liaison for the Attorney General’s office. She is a native of Selma and a graduate of Auburn University and the University of Alabama School of Law. Katherine previously worked for Senator Jeff Sessions as counselor during his tenure on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Robertson was one of the few former staffers called back to Washington to advise Sessions during his confirmation process as U.S. Attorney General.
First on many lists is Neah Mitchell Scott, who represents the revered Retirement Systems of Alabama. Neah is a brilliant attorney who posses excellent interpersonal skills that holds her in good stead representing the 800-pound gorilla that is the RSA before the state legislature. Neah is a native of Montgomery and a graduate of Auburn and the University of Alabama Law School.
Holly Caraway very aptly represents the Department of Mental Health. Holly is a native of Trussville and earned a BA, JD, and MBA from the University of Alabama. She is admired because she is a passionate advocate for causes in which she believes.
Ashley McLain is an extremely talented and confident lobbyist for the Alabama Education Association.
Brittany Bryan represents the State Personnel Board. She is one of the most experienced agency liaisons on this impressive group of female policy makers.
Molly Cagle, who represented Manufacture Alabama, is a star on the rise. She was stolen away by Katie Britt at the BCA. Molly is a former Auburn University Homecoming Queen.
Christian Becraft, who represents Auburn University, is another superstar.
Sally Corley, who represents the State Employees is one of the most well-liked young professionals in Montgomery.
All of the outstanding young governmental affairs folks in Montgomery are not all female. There are some bright and brilliant young male lobbyists, also. Two of the brightest are married to females just mentioned. Niko Corley, who represents the Medical Association of Alabama, is married to Sally. R.B. Walker, who represents Alabama Power, is married to Maci Walker.
David Cole, who has been an energetic stalwart advocate for ALFA, has gone to the BCA to work with Katie Britt. He was a key player in the recent passage of the infrastructure passage.
The University of Alabama has brought on young Charlie Taylor. He is smart and has a strong family history in Alabama politics.
Young William Filmore, the son of a prominent Wiregrass judge, is outstanding as the Governor’s legislative liaison.
See you next week.
April 10, 2019 - Legislative Issues Other Than Infrastructure/Gas Tax
There is no question that Governor Kay Ivey’s Infrastructure/Gas Tax Program was the cornerstone issue of this legislative session. This monumental legislation will be a tremendous enhancement for Alabama’s economic development for decades to come. Gov. Ivey and the legislative leadership deserve accolades for addressing this important project. They were indeed thinking of the next generation rather than the next election. Gov. Ivey deserves most of the credit. She reached across the aisle and garnered almost unanimous support from the democratic legislators. Indeed, the legislation passed the House on an 84-20 vote and passed 28-6 in the Senate.
However, other major issues will be on the table. The Alabama Department of Corrections is seeking a $42 million increase in their budget in order to hire much needed additional correctional officers. A federal judge has ordered the state to increase guards and mental health professionals.
State Sen. Jim McClendon of St. Clair County is listening to his constituents. Other legislators would be wise and well-served to be as diligent and in touch as McClendon. If they were they would join McClendon in offering to let their people vote on a state lottery.
There is a hue and cry from all corners of the state asking, “Why don’t we have a lottery. Why are we letting our money go to Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee?” Conservative estimates suggest a state lottery would generate between 66-to-90 million dollars in new revenues for Alabama.
Alabama is one of only five states without a state lottery. Senator McClendon will offer a proposal that would split the proceeds from a proposed lottery between the Education Trust Fund and General Fund Budgets. Believe you me, if it gets to the public for a vote it will pass. In every civic club I speak to around the state, the first question I am asked is, “Why in the world can’t we vote on and have a lottery.”
Senator McClendon is also continuing his crusade to stop motorists from having wrecks from distracted driving. He has a proposal that would forbid drivers from holding a cell phone and other devices while driving. Someone could use a handsfree system to text by voice and make and answer calls if they only touch one button. McClendon said his Bill is patterned after Georgia’s Law.
The state education coffers are overflowing; therefore, lawmakers may be able to give teachers a pay raise. Senator Arthur Orr and Representative Bill Poole, the chairmen of the Senate and House education budget committees, said they expect a pay raise for educators is a probability.
Even the General Fund has better revenue projections. State Representative, Steve Clouse, who chairs the House Budget Committee, has said that he is cautiously optimistic that there could be a small raise for state employees.
It would be unusual for a super majority Republican legislature to not pay homage to or adhere to some placating of gun owners in the Heart of Dixie. This year’s deference would allow people to carry a handgun without getting a concealed carry permit. Another bill would allow church members to carry their guns to church.
In bygone days, county sheriffs had a lot of political power. Long ago the legislature passed laws that allowed sheriffs to pocket money left over from jail food funds. It was a loophole that should have been closed years ago. Recently some sheriffs have been caught in this endeavor in a bold, brazen and very lucrative way. Sen. Arthur Orr has offered legislation to stop this archaic practice. His bill would require jail funds to go into a separate account that could only be used for feeding prisoners. Leftover funds could not be used for salaries.
State Sen. Rodger Smitherman (D-Birmingham), has again offered legislation that would require law enforcement officers to collect data on race and traffic stops. His bill cleared the Senate unanimously last year, but failed to come up in the House.
There has always been criticism aimed at PayDay loan companies in recent years. Their usurious practices have even caught the ire of Republican legislators. A legislative proposal would extend the time that people have to repay a PayDay loan from two weeks to a minimum of 30 days.
See you next week.
April 3, 2019 - State Budgets: Priority Number One
After their successful special five-day Special Session, the Legislature has been in their Regular Session for a few weeks now. The Session will end in June so it is about one-fourth over. Almost one-third of the members are new, freshmen if you will. Even though they are, for the most part a bright and talented group, they are still wet behind the ears when it comes to legislative ways.
Most are still striving to find their way to the bathrooms. Most major issues, especially revenue enhancement measures, are addressed in the first year of a four-year quadrennium. Bless their hearts, right off the bat they were hit with a major vote to increase the gas tax to support an infrastructure plan. That will make the rest of their first year a downhill slide.
There are indeed other issues that need addressing in the good old Heart of Dixie. Most Alabamians want the right to vote for a lottery, which they would vote for in a New York minute. Most folks think it is ludicrous that we simply give our money to our sister states. It is not a popular subject, but our prison overcrowding problem has to be addressed. Democratic members are vitally interested in expanding Medicaid to improve and meet the state healthcare needs. Rural hospitals need help. There is also a lot of interest in reforming our criminal justice system.
Even though these above mentioned problems and priorities need to be addressed, there is one Constitutional certainty that the two state budgets must be crafted and put to bed. Our state constitution also mandates that they must be balanced.
The Education Trust Fund budget is in good shape. Tax revenues that support education grew tremendously last year. Lawmakers will have more money to appropriate for schools. In fact, this will more than likely be the largest education budget in state history.
The Education coffers will also be enhanced by the Supreme Court ruling that allows the state to collect online sales taxes. In Alabama state and local sales taxes are the cornerstone of support for basic services.
The state’s growth taxes, income and sales, are earmarked for education. This lack of growth in the dollars that support the General Fund has caused headaches for the legislative leaders who write these budgets. However, these budget leaders have done a good job. In this current year’s General Fund budget, they were able to increase funding for state prisons. They also added extra dollars for mental health and law enforcement, as well as the state court system. In addition, the State Budget gave state employees their first cost-of-living raise in decades.
The $2.04 billion General Fund budget passed easily in the 2018 election year session. It was a different scenario in 2015 and 2016 when lawmakers took multiple special sessions to pass the budgets and reject an array of tax increases and lottery bills to close a large funding gap.
A bill passed in 2016 during a Special Session created a salvation for the General Fund – a plan to allocate most of the one-million BP oil spill settlement monies. It allowed legislators to carry over $93 million from the 2018 budget to this year.
In actuality, the state legislative leadership has very little discretion in budgeting. The vast majority of our state dollars directed to our state General Fund needs are earmarked. The General Fund Budget accounts for only 13 percent of Alabama’s total spending of $15.6 billion. For example our states gasoline tax is earmarked for roads and bridges and goes into the Road and Bridge Fund, which currently totals $492 million in this year’s budget. Of course that will be increased beginning in September.
Most folks are not really cognizant of the fact that most legislators do not really have a lot of input into the state budgets. The chairmen of the Budget Committees of each body, Ways and Means in the House and Finance and Taxation in the Senate, do the work and hold the power.
The chairmen of these prestigious and powerful committees are Rep. Bill Poole (R-Tuscaloosa), who chairs the House Education Budget Committee, and Rep. Steve Clouse (R-Ozark), who heads the General Fund. Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Escambia), chairs the Senate General Fund committee and veteran Senator Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) heads the Education Finance Committee
As legislators grapple with all of the issues on their plate, one thing remains the same, the State Budgets are Priority number one!
See you next week.
March 27, 2019 - Infrastructure: Alabama Needs a Road Program. Wallace and Big Jim Knew This.
One of the obvious political changes in Alabama government over the last decades with the Republican takeover of the Legislature has been the reluctance to raise new revenue to fund state government. Many of the current Republican legislators came to Montgomery in 2010 with a no new tax pledge. Voting for any kind of tax or fee increase was considered blasphemous.
In bygone days, powerful governors like Big Jim Folsom and George Wallace would raise taxes at the drop of a hat. Especially when it came to a gasoline tax to build roads. It was perfunctory and almost mandatory for a governor to have a Road Program. That was their legacy and how they and their legislative allies made friends. It was expected that a governor would build roads. Raising the gas tax was the only way to create a Road Program. Folks didn’t seem to mind. Looks like this current Legislature may have realized they need a Road Program.
During the Wallace era, one day, Governor Wallace was having a benign news conference to talk politics and garner publicity. A young reporter out of the blue asked him a pointed question. “Governor, why do you give all the road building contracts and permits to your cronies, contributors and legislative allies?” Wallace looked at him quizzically and replied, “Who do you think I ought to give them to, my enemies?”
In 1983 I was a young freshman legislator and Wallace was in his last term as governor, and as usual, he was going to have a Road Program. Well he wasn’t just interested in raising the gas tax, he was taxing just about everything that wasn’t nailed down. He had already asked us to pass eight or nine “revenue enhancement measures,” before he came with the whopper the gas tax for roads, highways, and bridges.
I was actually Wallace’s representative since I represented his home county of Barbour. Therefore, I was dutifully voting with the governor because, believe me, our area was going to get more than our fair share with Wallace as Governor.
To get his gas tax passed, he went to the wall and resorted to a tactic he had used in past administrations in his earlier years as governor. He would bring us down to his office, 10-15 at a time and hot box you and prod a commitment out of you. Well, I was in a group with a particularly bad boy named W.F. “Noopie” Cosby from Selma. Noopie had voted against all of Wallace’s Revenue Enhancement Measures. Noopie had acquired his nickname early in life and I’m not sure anyone in Selma or anywhere else knew his given name.
Wallace, besides being almost completely deaf, had also gotten prematurely senile because of the tremendous amount of pain killers he had to take every day to even survive because of the devastating gunshot wounds to his body 10-years earlier. He was very hazy this day and he called Noopie “Nudy.” He must have called him Nudy 20 times. I could hardly contain my laughter. Several of us in the room laughed so hard we started crying. It was the most humorous dialogue I ever recall. Wallace said, “Nudy, you need you a road program.” “When I was a legislator I had a road program for Barbour County.” “Nudy you need a road program for Dallas County and Nudy we need these taxes for our road programs, so Nudy, here’s the way it works here.” “Nudy, if you vote for my taxes your road program will be part of my road program, but, Nudy if you don’t vote for my taxes I’m afraid you won’t have a road program and your road program will go to Barbour County.”
Big Jim Folsom had a Road Program. He built farm to market roads in every corner of the state so that Alabama small farmers who lived on dirt roads could get their crops to market. He made his legacy with this Farm to Market Road Program.
When I make a speech, in the state from Scottsboro to Dothan, many times I will share Big Jim stories with my audiences. Invariably, afterwards, some old timer will come up to me and say, “Flowers, if Big Jim was running for governor today, I’d vote for him. He paved my daddy’s road.
See you next week.
March 20, 2019 - Rural Roads need Fixing
Last week we talked about the importance that roads are to the economic development of our state. We spoke about urban growth and expansion, especially the needs for highways in Huntsville and the improvement of the Port in Mobile.
Well, I overlooked the needs and importance of our rural roads. Make no doubt about it, our rural roads need fixing too. A good many of the rural bridges in the state have been condemned and are hazardous for heavy trucks and school buses to travel. Many folks figure it would be cheaper to pay more for gasoline than it is to pay for having their frontends aligned and tires balanced every few weeks from hitting potholes in the road.
Some of our farm to market roads have not been fixed since Big Jim Folsom built them in the 1950’s. Big Jim left an indelible legacy as governor with his legendary and necessary Farm to Market program.
There are a good many stories and memories of Ole Big Jim surrounding his legend as a Farm to market Road and bridges builder. One of those stories comes out of Scottsboro and Jackson County in the northeast corner of Alabama. It is one of the prettiest parts of Alabama, especially in the Fall.
One of Big Jim’s favorite political friends was Representative John Snodgrass of Scottsboro. Big Jim loved John Snodgrass. The feeling was mutual. Big Jim decided to build a bridge and name it after his buddy. He didn’t just build a little bridge, he built a big bridge over the Tennessee River. The problem was they built the bridge where there was no road. Folk’s in Scottsboro marveled at the fact that the bridge they longed for was built without a road leading up to it.
Big Jim and Snodgrass never worried about it for a minute. They told the good folks in the Tennessee Valley, “Don’t you know that if you build a bridge, they’ve got to build a road to it?”
Sure enough, the road was built and is now the main thoroughfare through Sand Mountain – Highway 17 that runs through Jackson and Dekalb Counties. Ole Big Jim and Snodgrass were right, if you built a bridge a road will follow.
Big Jim built the bridge for his friend with the intention of calling it the John Snodgrass bridge. There got to be a lot of opposition to naming it after John Snodgrass because some of the folks didn’t believe that you should name something after somebody who was living.
Well, Snodgrass was heir to a great family name in Jackson County. His granddaddy and daddy had both been prominent judges in the county.
One day Big Jim pulled his friend Snodgrass aside and said, “John what was yore daddy’s name?” Snodgrass said, “John, just like me.” “What about your granddaddy?” John said, “John just like me.” Big Jim said, “Hell, they are both dead and they are named John Snodgrass. We will just name it after them and it will be really named after you.”
Shortly after naming the Snodgrass bridge, Big Jim was going to name another bridge in North Alabama that he had gotten built. The good folks in this county had worked on this bridge project for over a decade and Big Jim had gotten it done. The probate judge of the county had spearheaded the project and waited diligently on it and the bridge was going to be named after him, rightfully so.
Well the day of the bridge opening ceremony was set and Big Jim was headed out of Montgomery in the Governor’s limousine. As he passed the old Exchange Hotel he spotted his best drinking buddy. He got his driver to stop the car and grabbed his friend to join him on his journey to dedicate the bridge. To say that Big Jim and his friend had a couple of nips on the way would be an understatement. When Big Jim got to the dedication ceremony, he stumbled out of the car, barefooted, hair disheveled, tie loosened and drug his friend along with him. He stumbled to the stage and to the dismay of the crowd and especially the Probate Judge, pronounced the name of the bridge after his drinking buddy. He and his buddy, the proud honoree of a bridge, got back in the Governor’s car and drove back to Montgomery.
See you next week.