Newsletter funded by the generous contributions of Arise members and
friends.
Vol. 16, No. 2
October 17, 2002
Vote FOR Amendment One, AGAINST
Amendment Two
Arise recommends a Yes vote on
Amendment One and a No vote on Amendment Two, the proposed constitutional amendments on
the November ballot.
Amendment One would require
that any new proposed state constitution be submitted to voters for
ratification
before it could replace the 1901 Constitution. The current constitution does
not specify a process for ratifying a new constitution. Alabama put in place
several previous constitutions without a vote of her people. It is in keeping
with democratic principles that citizens approve or disapprove any new
framework for the state’s government.
Amendment Two, which creates
a rainy day fund for the General Fund from oil and gas royalty payments in the Alabama
Trust Fund, is a badly flawed proposal, similar to the education rainy day fund
approved by voters in the June primary. In 2003, should proration threaten,
this amendment would permit up to about $70 million (6% of the budget) to be
withdrawn from the oil and gas trust fund. To prevent General Fund proration in
subsequent years, the amount that could be withdrawn would be the average
shortfall certified by the Finance Director and the Legislative Fiscal Office.
The money must be repaid within five years, but where it might come from is not
specified.
One
of the major problems, beyond the repayment issue, is that a major source of
income to the General Fund is interest from the same Trust that the rainy day
money would come from. If this amendment passes and if revenues fall short –
requiring us to tap both rainy day funds – 15% of the Alabama Trust Fund could
be spent in one year. Passing this amend.ment would not encourage prudent
budgeting by the Legislature.
Alabama is pursuing a
short-term budget fix by trying to spend payments from non-renewable resources that may be
entirely gone by 2020. The $2.1 billion Alabama Trust Fund was intended to
benefit our grandchildren as well as to provide interest to fund the state’s
current expenditures. It may not last long.
(For more information, see “Rainy Day Fund:
At What Cost?” with your May ACPP Report and at www.arisecitizens.org
.)
On the ballot there will be
one more amendment that applies to the state at large: one permitting Alabama’s sheep and
goat industries to assess themselves for purposes of promoting those two
industries. One could not find a better example of our need to write a new
constitution.
– by Mary Weidler
Gubernatorial hopefuls respond –
Candidate positions on our issues
Alabama Arise does not
endorse candidates, but we do make an effort to raise poverty issues in the election
campaign. For this newsletter we asked incumbent Gov. Don Siegelman and his
challenger, Rep. Bob Riley, to answer six questions.
Do you support tax relief for low- & middle-income
families?
Will you support the Knight Plan to make Alabama’s income
tax fairer?
Riley: I believe we should in
engage in a comprehensive overhaul of our state’s tax system, and I have
repeatedly said that beginning the tax reform process will be a first-year goal
of my administration. I want to bring together representatives from every group
affected by tax reform and work with them in putting together a system that is
fair and equitable to all. I believe it is absolutely immoral that we charge an
income tax on someone who makes $4,600 a year. No one can defend that shameful
practice. A planned outcome of the comprehensive tax reform plan I want to pass
is raising this immoral practice. I will not commit to the Knight Plan because
I want to put my own comprehensive tax reform package together.
Siegelman: Alabama’s tax structure is
terribly unfair. There are inequities up and down the system that need to be
addressed. Alabama’s constitution enshrines a system where those who make the least
pay the most and the giant corporations that make the most, pay nothing at all.
That’s wrong, and I want to change it.
Right
now, we have hundreds of giant, out-of-state corporations making millions in
Alabama but paying absolutely no corporate income taxes – zero, zilch. It
doesn’t get any more unfair than that. I think that’s the most glaring inequity in our entire tax
structure, and I plan to make it right, starting to the day I’m reelected. In
fact, I’m planning to call a special session before the first planned regular
session of 2003 to address this issue. These big corporations have been
cheating our school kids long enough.
My opponent, of course, disagrees. He thinks
corporations shouldn’t have to pay anything at all to support our schools. In
fact, he voted in Congress to allow corporations to pay no taxes at the federal
level.
And there’s more. Bob Riley actually believes that
we should eliminate all income taxes for corporations and replace that lost
revenue with a 17 percent sales tax. I have a different view. I think a
constitutional convention is necessary to address many of these other tax
fairness issues, but I am not going to raise taxes one penny on the working
families of this state.
Will you let voters decide to have a constitutional
convention?
Riley: I support reforming our 1901 Alabama Constitution, but I
plan to do it with a revision commission rather than a convention. One obvious
flaw in the 1901 Constitution is the lack of limited home rule. This
constitutional anachronism prevents county governments from having the
authority needed to provide adequate services to the citizens they serve. The
Alabama Citizens’ Constitution Commission will study the best methods by which
to provide limited home rule to county governments that wish to have it and
then recommend constitutional revisions to achieve that end.
When our
1901 Constitution was written over 100 years ago, the specter of Reconstruction
was still fresh in the minds of convention delegates who made a concerted
effort to centralize power in Montgomery and away from county governments. In
doing so, they made the process of providing basic services and making local
decisions at the county level almost impossible. And with a few limited
exceptions, the process remains unchanged today.
As it
stands presently, county governments must go to Montgomery and get a local bill
passed through the legislature in order to provide even the most routine
services. If a county wants to set up a water and sewer authority, they have to
go to Montgomery and get a bill passed. If a county wants to create a fire
district, they must go to Montgomery and, you guessed it, get a bill passed.
It’s almost laughable. We should give counties the option to either obtain
limited home rule through a referendum election or, for those counties that
choose, continue to use the legislative process as it exists today. The
important point is that each individual county should have the choice.
Providing
limited home rule will ensure that county government is more effective and
responsive to the rapidly changing needs of its citizens, and it will allow
county officials to address such matters as zoning, economic development, fire
and police protection, etc. These basic services are better handled on the
local level by local officials. Forcing the Legislature to debate issues of
strictly local interest to a particular county is a poor use of the
Legislature’s time – time that could be better spent addressing the general
welfare of this state. Today, the legislature spends an inordinate amount of
its time dealing with purely local issues. Similarly, approximately seventy
percent of the Constitution’s 700 plus amendments pertain to individual cities
or counties.
In
extending limited home rule, however, we must ensure that counties cannot raise
any taxes without a direct vote of the people. On all matters relating to
taxation at the local, county, and state levels, the taxpayers should have the
last word. This right is fundamental to a fair government.
Thomas
Jefferson said it best when he said the government closest to the people
governs best. Unfortunately in Alabama, the government closest to the people
cannot govern effectively at present because of a lack of limited home rule.
But change is coming, and under the Riley Administration, the power will return
to the people from whom it is derived.
Siegelman: Yes. I have been in favor of a constitutional
convention since 1977, and I pushed the Legislature to let the people call a
convention to rewrite our out-dated constitution. I will push the Legislature
again in my second term, and I believe we’ll get it done.
Our
constitution is too long, and it’s outdated, but the real problem is that it
enshrines an unfair tax structure that keeps school funding too low. We have to
change that. That’s why we need a constitutional convention that puts the
people in charge.
Do you support a landlord-tenant bill that defines the
rights and responsibilities of both landlords and tenants?
Riley: We need to bridge the gap
between these two groups and address the inadequacies for both sides. There
should be standards of habitability in rental property to ensure safe and
sanitary living conditions for tenants throughout Alabama. Accordingly, we
should make realistic standards with which landlords can comply rather than
subject them to the constant threat of litigation. I will work as governor to
bring these two sides together and look out for the rights of all parties
involved, particularly those whose voices are generally not heard.
Siegelman: Yes. I support consumer
oriented legislation that would ensure that the rights and responsibilities of
landlords and tenants are clearly defined. I have supported previous efforts to
pass such legislation and will continue to do so in the future. While most
landlords are honest, hardworking people who seek to provide safe, quality
housing, we must do all that we can to protect consumers from the few
unscrupulous individuals who take advantage of renters and literally place
their lives in jeopardy.
How will you address the impending funding crises for CHIP
(Children’s Health Insurance Program) and Medicaid?
Riley: Having been a party to the
numerous discussions between our state and federal government on this issue, I
can tell you there are no easy fixes. Currently, about one-tenth of our state’s
Medicaid budget is being funded by the state. Yet, that amount makes up about
20 percent of the state’s budget. Even if we could double the state portion of
our Medicaid budget, we still would not come close to funding the budget, and
it would mean a significant increase in our state’s general fund, which as we
all know, is not growing.
First, I believe we must preserve the integrity of the
Medicaid program. We have a lot of Alabamians who depend on the program.
Currently, about half of the mothers who deliver their babies in Alabama are
covered by Medicaid. As recently as 10 years ago, our state’s infant mortality
rate was extremely high, and our newborns were not healthy. Today, thanks to
the prenatal care and safe deliveries funded by the Medicaid program, our
babies are much healthier and stand a much better chance of a safe
delivery. Medicaid also provides nursing
home care to more than two-thirds of the nursing home patients in the state.
With an aging population, this number will certainly be increasing in the next
decade.
This is an issue that requires leadership and a
great deal of study. When I’m elected governor, it will be a top priority with
my administration, and I will use the relationships I’ve developed in
Washington to help us solve the problem. We will look at both the state
funding, the rules of the federal government, our network of providers, as well
as the benefits being provided. I believe that we must look at all sides of
this issue and come to some permanent conclusion. Alabama’s program could be
compared to a bad tire that has been patched over and over. I believe it may be
time for a new tire.
Siegelman: I will do whatever is
necessary to make sure that CHIP is fully funded in Alabama. When I was
Lieutenant Governor, I made certain that Alabama was one of the first states in
the country to participate in the CHIP program. I believed then, as I do today,
that we must provide health care to our children, because a child who is sick,
or suffers from poor health care or poor nutrition cannot succeed. When I
became Governor, I created the Medicaid Trust Fund, to provide a reserve to
ensure that services would not be cut for our seniors and poor children.
Unfortunately, for several years now, bureaucrats in Washington have been
trying to cut the funding that Alabama receives for Medicaid. Since I took
office as Governor, I have fought this effort, and I will continue to do so.
Before I allow one dollar of the money Alabama receives for our neediest
citizens to be taken I will sue the federal government.
Do you support state funding of public transportation?
Riley: Alabama should also examine
the use of mass transit as we move into the 21st century. Similar to federal
highway programs, the federal government awards transit dollars on a matching
basis, providing a majority of the funds (usually 80% for a program, if the
state provides a corresponding match, typically 20%).
Mass transit, in the form of buses and light rail,
can reduce air pollution, give more members of society access to
transportation, and take traffic off the roads. Furthermore, mass transit can
be a cost-efficient way to connect our citizens who travel to and from our
major cities on a regular basis. The Federal Rail Administration (FRA) has
proposed two high-speed corridors in Alabama: (1) the Gulf Coast Corridor from
New Orleans to Mobile, and (2) the Southeast Corridor, from New Orleans through
Tuscaloosa and Birmingham to Atlanta. These new forms of transportation could
further improve our transportation options for the people of Alabama.
Siegelman: I’ve been working hard to
use our limited transportation funds to build the best roads and best transportation
system in America. I’ll do the same in my next term.
Do you believe that payday lenders should be governed by the
36% APR in the Small Loan Act?
Riley:I believe that payday
lenders are subject to the Small Loan Act, as has been the position of Attorneys
General and the State Banking Department for many years.
Siegelman: I absolutely believe that
payday lenders are and should be governed by the 36% APR in the Small Loan Act,
and I instructed my Banking Department to take that position in litigation over
this issue. I further instructed the Department to appeal what I believe to be
a wrong decision by the Montgomery County Circuit Court that the Small Loan Act
rates did not apply. While I believe we will succeed in this case, if we do
not, I will support legislation to limit the APR on these sorts of transactions
to 36%, as well as other legislation that will protect consumers from all forms
of predatory lending practices.
|
A few words from Kimble – |
Alabama Arise gained support
this year from two unexpected sources. One came in May from the Fund for Tax Fairness of
the Funding Exchange, which gave us a $10,000 grant for tax fairness organizing
work. We understand that this fund was created by wealthy individuals who
disagreed with the Bush tax cuts they received, so they contributed their tax
reductions to a fund to promote tax fairness.
We also got a Consumer
Federation of America grant: $9,000 from the Ann K. Lower State and Local Grant
Program. The grant supports organizing to build our membership base and to
build activity on unfair lending practices such as payday loans. The funding is
made possible by a grant to the Consumer Federation of America Foundation by
the Colston E. Warne Fund of Consumers Union, as well as contributions from CFA
and Center for Services.
The Presbyterian Hunger
Program has supported Alabama Arise for years – including $10,000 this year – but
otherwise grants have always gone to Arise Citizens’ Policy Project, which does
not engage in lobbying.
With peace,
Kimble
Forrister
Thanks to our contributors!
These
generous members gave since our Alabama Arise newsletter in March. Gifts to
Alabama Arise are not tax-deductible, since they support the lobbying effort –
our legislative coordinator, our legislative reception, ...even a newsletter
with a candidates’ questionnaire, which is hard for a 501(c)(3) organization to
do.
AAUW of Alabama
AIDS Alabama
AIDS Service
Organizations Network
Alabama Kidney
Foundation
Alabama Rivers
Alliance
Alabama-West Florida
Conference, United Methodist Church
Aletheia House,
Birmingham
All Saints Episcopal
Church, Mobile
Baptist Church of the
Covenant, Birmingham
Beloved Community
Church, Birmingham
Birmingham
Independent Living Center
Catholic Archdiocese
of Mobile
Catholic Social
Services, Montgomery
Christian Church in
AL/NW Florida
Church of the
Epiphany, Guntersville
Church Women United,
Huntsville
Consolata Missionary
Sisters, Birmingham
Cooperative Downtown
Ministries, Birmingham
Episcopal Diocese of
Alabama
Federation of Child
Care Centers of AL (FOCAL)
First United
Methodist Church, Prattville
Grace United
Methodist Church, Auburn
Greater Birmingham
Ministries
Gulf Coast Child
Development Association, Mobile
Holy Spirit Catholic Church,
Huntsville
Homeless Coalition of
the Gulf Coast, Mobile
Immanuel Presbyterian
Church, Montgomery
Interfaith
Ministries, Inc., Calhoun County
Jefferson County
Committee for Economic Opportunity (JCCEO)
Jubilee Community
Center, Montgomery
Lutheran Ministries
of Alabama, Inc.
Mary's House Catholic
Worker, Birmingham
Metro Area Justice
Interfaith Committee, Birmingham
Montgomery
Transportation Coalition
National Association
of Social Workers, Alabama Chapter
National Multiple
Sclerosis Society, Alabama Chapter
Pilgrim
Congregational United Church of Christ, Birmingham
Presbytery of
Sheppards & Lapsley
Project Hope to
Abolish the Death Penalty, Atmore
Resurrection Catholic
Church, Montgomery
Revelation Baptist
Community Involvement, Mobile
Sisters of Mercy of
Alabama, Mobile
Society of St.
Vincent de Paul Council, Mobile
St. Aloysius Catholic
Church, Bessemer
St. Bartholomew's
Episcopal Church, Florence
St. Dominic Parish,
Theodore
St. Joseph's Catholic
Church, Prattville
St. Peter's Catholic Church,
Birmingham
St. Thomas the
Apostle Catholic Church, Montevallo
The Centro Cultural
Latino, Birmingham
The Quest for Social
Justice, Mobile
The Unitarian Church
of Birmingham
The Unitarian
Universalist Congregation of Tuscaloosa
Unitarian-Universalist
Church of Huntsville
Unitarian-Universalist
Fellowship, Montgomery
United Methodist
Inner City Mission, Mobile
University of Alabama
Debate Team
University
Presbyterian Church, Tuscaloosa
Upper Sand Mountain
Parish, Sylvania
Urban Ministry, Inc.,
Birmingham
Valley Christian
Church, Birmingham
Vestavia Hills United
Methodist Church, Birmingham
Carol Binder,
Birmingham
Peter Lusche and
Catherine Boyer, Auburn
Eileen Knott and Joey
Brackner, Montgomery
Nancy Chambless,
Montgomery
Mr. and Mrs. James E.
Cobb, Alcoa, TN
William Z. Cullen,
Birmingham
Judy Cumbee, Lanett
Billy Dykes, Lillian
Richard Grooms,
Birmingham
Jerry and Brandy
Hinnen, Auburn
John Keith,
Montgomery
Paul and Jarcia
Kosinski, Huntsville
Elizabeth Lambertson,
Birmingham
Ron Manning, Brierfield
Marjorie Masterson,
Huntsville
Debra Moehle
McCallum, Birmingham
Bob Parker,
Birmingham
Paul M. Rilling,
Anniston
Ted and Becky Romano,
Alabaster
Barbara Seiler,
Saluda, NC
Lucille Stand, Auburn
Mary Stanfill,
Huntsville
Carolyn Tamblyn,
Auburn
Debbie Elliott-Taylor
and Stephen Taylor, Orange Beach
George H. Wade,
Huntsville
Luverna M. Waid,
Gadsden
Carol Walker,
Birmingham
Martha Wolverton,
Birmingham
Eldon Zimmerman,
Birmingham