Alabama Constitution Amendments

Vote No to Constitutional Amendments on November 4
Tim James says vote No on Amendment 1, see below.

Alabama Constitutional Amendments - Recommendations from conservative columnist John Killian:

This Tuesday, Alabama voters will decide on six constitutional amendments. Also, a local amendment for Jefferson County will be on the ballot. Musings from Maytown recommends the following on the amendments:

Amendment One: Musings from Maytown recommends a NO vote. During the first administration of Gov. Fob James, a huge quantity of oil was discovered off the coast of South Alabama, reaping a great windfall for Alabama government. Gov. James wisely urged that the monies be placed in trust so that the interest would benefit Alabama interests for generations to come. When Gov. Wallace was in office, additional oil windfalls were also placed in trust.

Now, Montgomery is asking us to free up principal to spend on current needs. Tim James is leading the opposition to this amendment (click link for information). Musings from Maytown believes that the temptation to spend the principal is unwise and makes it easy for Montgomery politicians to spend at the expense of future generations. Vote NO on Amendment One.

Amendment Two: Vote Yes to create a Judicial Commission for Shelby County as already operates in Jefferson and Madison Counties. This commission would present a slate of three candidates to the Governor for appointment. However, the appointee would serve only until the next election, and must stand for election to a full term. This keeps a future liberal Governor from making a purely political appointment in a heavily Republican county.

Amendment Three: Vote No on raising taxes for schools in the Madison section of Limestone County. With government too big and taxes taking an excessive amount of our economy, Musings from Maytown uniformly opposes new taxes at any level. Amendment Four: Vote YES to require Blount County voter approval before a city outside Blount County to annex a portion of Blount County. This amendment is a reaction to Birmingham's past effort to annex areas in Blount County, without voter approval. This amendment does allow for an annexation of Woodhaven Lakes, on the county line, into Pinson--a plan already in the works.

Amendment Five: Vote Yes to allow Russell County to ask for local legislation to set court costs.

Amendment Six: Vote Yes to allow Tuskegee to make the office of Utilities Board an elective post.

Jefferson County Amendment: Vote YES to require that tenants are liable for sewer bills. Jefferson County has had a rash of unpaid sewer bills and has been seeking payment from owners, rather than the ones who caused the sewer bill. In the past, the county has excused the tenant and sought payment from the owner of the property.

To recap, Musings from Maytown recommends the following:
Amendment One NO
Amendment Two YES
Amendment Three NO
Amendment Four YES
Amendment Five YES
Amendment Six YES
Jefferson County Amendment YES
http://www.johnkillian.blogspot.com

Tim James Recommends No on Amendment 1:

This week’s bad financial news serves as a strong reminder to us that we must turn to leaders who will be good stewards of our tax dollars and not over-commit us to levels of government spending that we can’t afford. We’ve witnessed in recent years some of the most creative public financing in the history of America. Government bail-outs of Wall Street banks and mega-mortgage funds like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are prime examples of what I’m talking about.

Here in Alabama, we have on the November 4th ballot two constitutional amendments that will enable state legislators to raid the Alabama Trust Fund in order to cover their over-spending of our tax dollars. I oppose this move to squander our future and our children’s future for short-term gains. Below is an editorial I wrote that speaks to this issue. I hope you will give me your input as to how we best lead Alabama to a more prosperous future without sacrificing precious assets like the $3.2 billion Alabama Trust Fund.

Thank you.

TIM JAMES

Constitutional amendments threaten to drain the Alabama Trust Fund By Tim James

Millions of American families these days are feeling the pinch of the rough patch in our economy. As costs go up and income doesn’t, it’s time to rein in spending. The same goes for government. Alabama’s constitution requires that we must have a balanced budget. Our legislature cannot pass a state budget that’s out of balance. Deficit spending isn’t an option.

Our leaders in Montgomery must exercise fiscal discipline to meet all our obligations while keeping an eye on projected income. One constant and reliable source of state revenue since 1981 has been income from the Alabama Trust Fund. Alabamians have benefited

handsomely from this fund, thanks to Governor Fob James Jr. In fact, the original $460 million invested in the Alabama Trust, then called the Heritage Trust Fund, came from a one-time payment from petroleum companies for the right to drill for oil and gas in Mobile Bay. At the time, politicians in Montgomery had big plans for spending the entire amount. My father had other ideas.

He said it was better to put this money in trust and invest it so the proceeds could build new schools, highways and even rebuild the Alabama State Docks.

When George Wallace was reelected to his fourth term in 1982, he followed my father’s lead and put money the state received from offshore leases into a trust fund that merged my father’s trust fund and the Wallace trust into the Alabama Trust Fund.

This perpetual trust, now grown to $3.25 billion, has yielded billions for worthwhile projects for Alabamians. It will continue to do so, unless voters approve two troubling constitutional amendments on November's ballot.

You see, in the waning hours of the Alabama Legislature’s special session in May, legislation was brought to a vote that would give the green light to raid the trust fund. The bills, SB-14 and HB63, passed overwhelmingly in the House and Senate. Perhaps legislators were caught flat-footed and didn’t know what they were voting on, too tired after passing the state budget to examine these bills to find the devil in the details.

Here’s what Montgomery Independent columnist Bob Gambacurta recently wrote on this subject:

As they did this year, lawmakers tend to appropriate more money than realistic revenue projections will cover. As a result, they end up tapping into a rainy day account funded from the Alabama Trust Fund. Remember, that fund was originally established as a perpetual savings account, with only the interest earned available to lawmakers. Rainy day accounts, funded in this manner create an avenue for lawmakers to pilfer the Alabama Trust Fund.

The raid on the Alabama Trust Fund is already underway or soon will be. If these amendments are ratified by voters in November, it will give lawmakers a bigger slice of the trust fund to raid. In effect, the constitutional rainy day accounts are funded with borrowed money. Common sense tells us rainy day accounts should be funded from savings, not by borrowing.

The Montgomery Independent, June 12, 2008 Another questionable outcome of these amendments, if voters approve, will be expanding the size of state government at a rate of 10% annually. That means, regardless of need or other factors, state government will expand rapidly such that it will double in size within a decade. Some people may find this approach to be to their liking, because they love Big Government.

However, once the politicians in Montgomery gain access to the Alabama Trust Fund, you can bet that the $3.2 billion corpus won’t last long. Their appetites for spending, whetted by draining the trust fund, could easily lead to higher taxes to pay for the new programs and overhead they will create.

One footnote I would like to add: My keen desire to protect the Alabama Trust Fund comes not from my father’s involvement, though I am deeply proud of him for it. Rather, it’s born of being a staunch advocate for the taxpayers of Alabama who deserve fiscal responsibility from the men and women they elect to represent them in Montgomery. Let’s not point fingers at who pushed this highly questionable legislation. That’s immaterial. The issue before us is simple: Are we going to hand over the Alabama Trust Fund so that it can be drained, or are we going to do the right thing and just say “No” to these amendments?

Let’s hope the people of Alabama make the right call this November, for the future of our children and grandchildren in this great state.

In fiscal year 2007, over $100 million from the trust fund went to the state general fund plus another $32 million to other trust accounts for Alabama counties, cities and state wildlife conservation. It's the largest non-tax source of state revenue, providing a cushion to help stave off unwarranted tax hikes.

Alabamians I've talked to want to keep the trust fund intact and out of the reach of the politicians. Once the politicians break open the trust, they tell me, it's only a matter of time when they take the rest of the $3.35 billion. And, when that happens, we'll be even more vulnerable to tax hikes.

Those who favor Amendment One are saying that the law requires the state to pay back the "loans" from the trust fund within five years. What they don't tell you is that every time the state raids the trust fund, under this new law, an additional 25% of the amount withdrawn is deposited into the County and Municipal Government Capital Improvement Trust Fund. And they don't have to pay any of it back.

The devil truly is in the details with Amendment One.

If the Governor calls proration, under Amendment One, up to $248 million can be taken from the Alabama Trust Fund's Educational Trust Fund Rainy Day Account. Add another $50 million for counties and cities, and we have reached a point where there's more money being taken out of the trust fund than going into it. You can see the scenario, and it's not one that bodes well for our future.

What people tell me is that it's time for the politicians to live within their means. Fiscal discipline is the order of the day, especially as we face uncertain economic times ahead. The days of a flush state treasury may well be behind us and not return for some time. State officials tell us tax revenues are declining and we may well be facing proration in 2009, setting up a massive raid on the trust fund, IF voters approve Amendment One this November.

Please write your local newspapers and tell them your stand on this issue that affects everyone in Alabama.

Thanks for your time and let me hear from you.

TIM JAMES

BY TIM JAMES 2010, Inc. - 8138 Seaton Place - Montgomery, Alabama 36116 - 334-213-2332 - Fax 334-213-2524

National Taxpayers Union - Suggestions on Alabama Constitutional Amendments

( - ) Statewide Amendment Number Three would allow the City of Madison to levy an ad valorem tax for public schools in Limestone County equal to those currently levied in Madison County. This could have a modest impact on the property tax bills of Limestone County residents.

(+) Baldwin County residents can vote on Local Amendment Number One, which would allow for the appointment of additional members to a board that hears objections to property tax assessments. This could allow for more timely hearings for taxpayers pursuing lower valuations.

( -) Chilton County residents can vote on a measure to levy a special tax on properties outside corporate limits for emergency services.

(+) DeKalb County residents can vote on Local Amendment Number One, which would prohibit an occupational tax.

(+) Jackson County residents can vote on an amendment to prohibit an occupational tax.

( - ) Tallapoosa County residents can vote on a measure to authorize a special fire district, to be funded by a new property tax.

http://www.ntu.org/pdf/20081006_NationalBallotGuide.pdf Alabama Ballot Measure / Referendum Statewide Amendment Number Two

Description: Relating to Shelby County, proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, establishing the Shelby County Judicial Commission and providing for the filling of vacancies in the offices of circuit and district judge of the 18th Judicial Circuit. (Proposed by Act 2007-225)

Vote Yes Amendment 4 on Blount CountyThe purpose of the amendment is to keep Birmingham from coming into Blount County.

The Alabama Blount County Annexation Amendment 4 is a proposed constitutional amendment to the Alabama Constitution that will appear on the November 4, 2008 ballot in Alabama. The proposition was legislatively-referred to the ballot by the Alabama State Legislature.

If the measure passes, it will:

* Prohibit any muncipality that is not located wholly or in part within the boundaries of Blount County on the effective date of this amendment from annexing any territory within Blount County without the approval of the electorate of Blount County expressed in a vote on the issue of the annexation.

The Alabama Russell County Court Costs Amendment 5 is a proposed constitutional amendment to the Alabama Constitution that will appear on the November 4, 2008 ballot in Alabama. The proposition was legislatively-referred to the ballot by the Alabama State Legislature.

If the measure passes, it will: * Authorize the state legislature, by local or general act, to fix, regulate and alter the costs and charges of court and to ratify and confirm any local law authorizing any additional court costs enacted prior to the adoption of this amendment.

The Alabama Utilities in Tuskegee Amendment 6 is a proposed constitutional amendment to the Alabama Constitution that will appear on the November 4, 2008 ballot in Alabama. The proposition was legislatively-referred to the ballot by the Alabama State Legislature.

If the measure passes, it will: * Provide for the election of two persons to the utilities board and the term of office of, procedure for filling of vacancies in, and compensation of, the positions. * Provide for who may vote in the election.

Information about Alabama's newest Republican Congressman - Issue information about the candidates for Congress 5th District -
Congressman Parker Griffith

Background info and more data: Senator Parker Griffith

Parker Griffith and the Huntsville Hospital. A Parker Griffith

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Alabama Constitutional brings you these weekly Bible verses:

Habakkuk 2:2
[ The LORD's Answer ] Then the LORD replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.

Habakkuk 2:3
For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.

Luke 2:32
a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."

Romans 16:25
Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past,