Current Issues

ACPP members have chosen the following issues as policy priorities for 2008.
(The first two are permanent priorities, and the remaining five reflect this year’s member concerns.)

Adequate state budgets
Fairer state policies toward low-income Alabamians usually depend on adequate state funding. By the same token, budget cuts to health care, child care, education and other human services can have a disproportionate impact on “the least of these.”

ACPP will work to move beyond merely “protecting” under-funded human services from harmful cuts to securing funding that is adequate to cover basic needs.

Tax reform
Despite our 2006 win – an increase in the income tax threshold from $4,600 to $12,600 – Alabama continues to tax low-income people deeper into poverty.

ACPP will support Rep. John Knight’s proposal to raise the threshold to $19,200,
eliminate the state portion of the sales tax on groceries, and end the unfair deduction for federal income taxes paid.
ACPP believes the lasting solution to our recurrent health care funding shortfalls is new revenue for the General Fund.

Death penalty moratorium
Studies have shown that Alabama’s death penalty system discriminates on the basis of race, income, age and disability. A three-year moratorium on executions would allow the state to review the fairness of our capital justice system and make necessary changes.

We support Sen. Hank Sanders’ death penalty bills (the moratorium bill, along with bills to bring Alabama law into compliance with recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings against executing minors and individuals with mental retardation).

Katrina relief
Two years after the storm and one year after tests revealed dangerous levels of formaldehyde in FEMA campers, some 2,000 longtime coastal residents, including families, seniors and people with disabilities, remained in the temporary housing.

ACPP supports a comprehensive assessment of unmet needs in storm-damaged south Mobile County.
We support equitable, timely distribution of sufficient recovery funds.

Constitutional reform
Alabama’s 1901 constitution was designed to suppress the power of local governments – and ordinary citizens – by giving the Legislature control over numerous aspects of local policymaking, taxation and spending.

ACPP supports the call for a convention to write a new state constitution.

Environmental justice
Low-income and minority communities bear an unfair burden of Alabama’s environmental hazards.

ACPP will support efforts to extend the environmental justice responsibilities of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

Asset-building

When it takes most or all of a family’s income just to get by, there’s little hope of saving for the future.

ACPP supports state investment in the new Individual Development Account (IDA) program. With this IDA, a low-income worker saving toward education or training, a down payment on a home, or starting a business can turn $2,000 into $6,000
with a 2-to-1 match in federal and state or private funds.

Endorsements
ACPP endorses two additional policy goals:

State funding for public transportation.
Measures to ensure transparency in political campaigning and state budgeting.

Other legislative action
ACPP will monitor all proposed legislation to evaluate its potential impact on low-income Alabamians. (For example, we could support a state minimum wage or protections against predatory lending. We also could oppose bills that would erode existing protections.)
The Legislative Committee of the Board may approve membership action on issues that may arise.

These goals are steps toward our 15-year goals:

A fair, adequate, transparent and simple state tax system

A restorative criminal justice system rather than a punitive one

A new state constitution that reflects Arise’s core values

A state budget that provides equitable and adequate services for low-income people

Wages, benefits and policies that provide economic security for all working people in the state

Safe, affordable, accessible and adequate housing for all Alabamians

Past and Present Publications On Issues Below