Information on amendment, local referendum
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In My Humble Opinion
Jodi McDade
We are now eleven days away from our primary election. Are you ready to vote? Have you done your research – looking up information on the candidates on the internet, talking to other people you trust, reading candidate brochures/handouts, determining if the candidates are qualified for the job? If so, good for you! If not, what are you waiting for?
In addition to candidates on the ballot, we also have a State Constitutional Amendment 1 and a Local Resolution to vote on. The Amendment 1 is a procedure change that will allow local legislation to be considered before the budget is passed.
Under the Alabama Constitution, as per an Amendment 1 that was approved by the voters in 1984 with over 78% support from the citizens, the governor was required to submit a proposed budget to the legislature by the second day of the yearly legislative session. It also required that the legislature pass and present to the governor a bill making the appropriations for the basic needs of both the state and education system PRIOR to enacting any other legislation.
The amendment also included a way for the legislators to get around this requirement. A Budget Isolation Resolution (BIR) was created that allowed for bills to be considered and passed BEFORE the budget is completed IF 60% of the legislature agreed. I know that for at least the last 13 years the budgets have been the LAST thing considered while using BIRs approved so that other legislation could be approved first.
Keep in mind that the purpose of the budget is to determine the financial situation of the state for the upcoming fiscal year so that decisions on expenditures can be made based on the anticipated revenues. But the way that our legislature has been operating approves funding bills without an approved budget. In other words, they have been operating outside the constitutional requirement that was approved by the citizens in 1984. Generally speaking, a majority of the bills passed are done so BEFORE it is determined what next year’s budget will be. But the local legislation that our counties request approval for is ALSO put off until the end of the session and many times is not considered because the time has run out and the emphasis must be on the budget.
Local legislation can be used as bargaining chips for one legislator to make deals with another legislator to each get their local bills passed. I am completely against the use of BIRs and putting the budget and local legislation off until the very end of the sessions.
What this year’s Amendment 1 does is make it legally possible for the legislature to consider local bills before the budget is finalized. While I would much prefer following the rule of passing the budget first, I am reluctantly supportive of allowing local legislation to be approved earlier in the session. I don’t know if this amendment will actually help pass local legislation earlier in the session or if it will continue to be put off until late in the session, but it’s at least worth a try. At least some legislators can fall back on this to push their local bills.
The local legislation that we have on our ballots in Coosa County is for the operation of our Coosa County Ambulance Service. In order to continue the operation of this service that started last July, we need to approve a way to fund it going into the future. What we are being asked to vote on is a $15 per vehicle tag tax that will help generate the majority of the funding that is needed. The remaining funds will come from insurance payments.
As most all of us realize, it is very difficult to get from one side of Coosa County to the other, and it takes time to do it. This county service will help provide TIMELY ambulance service 24/7 every day for a cost of approximately $0.04 per day. What cost do you put on your life or the life of a loved one? Certainly $0.04 is not too much to pay for the security of knowing you can call for help at anytime and someone will respond.
Hollie Osbourn, our EMS director over the ambulance service, gave a wonderful breakdown at the Weogufka Neighborhood Watch last week. If you buy one soft drink every day you will be spending more than $800 per year. What about if you buy one pack of cigarettes a day? That will be well over $1,000 a year! So now, how does $15 per vehicle sound to save a life?
Please make plans to cast your votes IN PERSON unless you have already planned for absentee voting before today. Next week I’ll talk more about the candidates who will be on the ballots.
Remember – voting is one of our most important rights and responsibilities as American citizens. If you don’t vote to make your voice heard you can be sure there is someone else voting who you might not agree with!