Martha Roby: Transparency, integrity needed in regulations
One of my top priorities in Congress is reining in so-called “backdoor legislating,” which happens when federal agencies issue sweeping rules and regulations beyond their appropriate authority. To be sure, federal regulations are nothing new. Over the years Congress has seen fit to delegate rule-making responsibilities to various agencies to deal with specific issues and allow for a more responsive government. However, I believe some agencies have taken this authority too far, growing into what many call the “fourth branch” of government. While I realize our country is facing many pressing issues at the moment, I believe more attention should be paid to over-regulation because it fundamentally affects our liberty as Americans. Our laws have legitimacy because they are passed by representatives elected by and accountable to the people. While some rules and regulations can have the same force as law, they were never voted on or ratified by the Congress. During my time in the House of Representatives I have supported several different measures to rein in the regulatory system, and this past week we took action on another: The Regulatory Integrity Act of 2016 (H.R. 5226). This bill aims to bring more accountability to the regulatory process in two parts. First, it would require each federal agency to publish information about any pending rules and regulations in an easily understandable and searchable format on www.regulations.gov. This resource is supposed to provide a one-stop-shop for business owners, consumers, journalists or just interested citizens to look up pending regulatory action and gain a more clear understanding of what it is and how it will impact them. But, right now the site is difficult to navigate and oftentimes agencies fail to publish this information in the same way that they are required to publish it in the Federal Register. It has been said that the most powerful antiseptic to waste, fraud, and abuse in government is transparency. I believe having the public more aware of impending rules or regulations will discourage overreach and abuse. Second, the bill prohibits federal agencies from lobbying or campaigning in support of proposed rules and regulations. Some agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, have attempted to game the public comment process by actively campaigning to generate positive comments in an effort to make regulations appear more popular than they are. That kind of behavior is inappropriate, and it reveals how politically-motivated some of these rules actually are. If regulations cannot stand up to public scrutiny on their own without government-led “astro-turf” campaign, they deserve to be scrapped. The Regulatory Integrity Act passed the House in a bipartisan vote of 250-171. It now goes to the Senate, where I hope it will be given swift consideration. We may not be able to reverse decades of bureaucratic growth overnight, but with measures like this we can make federal agencies more transparent and more accountable to the people. ••• Martha Roby represents Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District. She lives in Montgomery, Alabama with her husband, Riley and their two children.
Members of Alabama’s Joint Task Force for Budget Reform announced
Monrovia-Republican and newly elected Speaker of the Alabama House Mac McCutcheon along with Anniston-Republican and Senate President Pro Tempore Del Marsh on Friday announced the members of the Joint Task Force for Budget Reform. Created by HJR62, during the most recent special session, the task force is comprised of lawmakers focused on identifying long-term budget reforms. Leading the task force is Trussville-Republican Rep. Danny Garrett and Prattville-Republican Sen. Clyde Chambliss, who will serve as co-chairs of the committee. Additionally, the following individuals have been appointed to serve n the bipartisan task force: Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Range) Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison (D- Birmingham) Sen. Bill Hightower (R-Mobile) Sen. Bill Holtzclaw (R-Madison) Sen. Bobby Singleton (D-Greensboro) Sen. Phil Williams (R-Rainbow City) Rep. Anthony Daniels (R-Huntsville) Rep. Allen Farley (R –McCalla) Rep. John Knight (D- Montgomery) Rep. Chris Pringle (R-Mobile) Rep. Kyle South (R-Fayette) Rep. Rich Wingo (R-Tuscaloosa) As laid out in HJR62, the 14-member panel will consider several potential areas of reform including: un-earmarking, biennial budgeting, tax credits, deductions and exemptions, and performance reviews or a “zero-based budgeting” approach to assessing state agencies. “Our number one priority is addressing Alabama’s long-term budget challenges, and I believe this task force can bring forth the bold, innovative solutions we need to move forward,” McCutcheon said. “Working together with the Senate, I’m confident we can bring long-overdue reforms to the budgeting process and maximize the return on investment for Alabama’s taxpayers.” Marsh emphasized his eagerness to begin the process of looking at long-term budget solutions. “Alabama earmarks approximately 90% of every dollar that comes into the state. This earmarking cripples the Legislature’s ability to allocate money in the budget where it is most needed,” Marsh said. “I look forward to working with the members of this task force as we continue to reform and streamline state government to make it more efficient and accountable to the taxpayers.” Garrett, who regularly works with issues involving complex and strategic financial matters in his private sector employment, said he wants state government to adopt a more business-minded approach to the way it budgets. “As a CFO, I want this group to approach our work much like we would an analysis of any company or corporation, with a thorough look into each and every dollar so that we can identify any waste or mismanagement that exists and eliminate it,” Garrett said. “We have important work ahead of us, and I look forward to working alongside my colleagues to put forth commonsense solutions.” Chambliss emphasized the timeliness of the group’s work. “We are approaching fiscal problems in the next few years that will be tougher than those we have faced in the recent past. I want to stop reacting to issues on a yearly basis and be proactive about our financial future,” Chambliss said. “We need to make a plan that will work for years to come. These changes sometimes take several years to yield results so we must study, research, and act – soon.” In accordance with HJR62, the task force must meet before Sept. 30, 2016 and is required to hold monthly meetings thereafter. The group will report its findings, conclusions and recommendations to the full Alabama Legislature by the fifth day of the 2017 regular session.
Personnel note: Former Jeff Sessions spox Jack Bonnikson moves to Mississippi Power
Jack Bonnikson, former media relations strategist for Southern Company, is taking a new role as a communication manager for Mississippi Power, a subsidiary of the Atlanta-based energy provider. Bonnikson previously served as press secretary for Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions from 2013-2014. Based in Gulfport, Mississippi Power services cities, towns and municipalities in 23 counties of southeastern Mississippi. Founded in 1738 as the Mississippi Power Company, the utility was acquired by Southern Company in 1949 and shortened its name to Mississippi Power in 1976. Southern Company — with subsidiaries Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, and Mississippi Power — services 120,000 square miles and nearly 9 million customers in nine states, making it one of the largest energy providers in the United States. Bonnikson has also worked with Washington, D.C.-based Public Opinion Strategies as a project director, as well as with The Wickers Group in San Francisco. He is a graduate of Xavier University, and has earned an MBA from the University of Georgia, Terry College of Business.
Alabama unemployment rate drops to 5.4 percent in August 2016
Alabama’s total unemployment rate continued to fall in August, dropping to 5.4 percent from the July rate of 5.7 percent, according to data released Friday by Governor Robert Bentley‘s office. “Lowering the unemployment rate and putting Alabamians back to work have been the major goals of my administration, and I’m proud to say that this month our unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been since I took office,” said Bentley. “These last two months have been great for Alabama! Our unemployment rate has dropped six tenths of a percent since June.” “We’ve had a good jobs week in Alabama,” Bentley continued. “There was a huge job fair in the Wiregrass region of the state, with record attendance. We also announced more than 100 jobs in Houston County. And in addition to marking the lowest unemployment rate of my administration, we can also say that we have the least number of unemployed Alabamians in more than eight years.” Major cities with the lowest unemployment rates are: Vestavia Hills: 3.7% Homewood: 3.9% Hoover: 4.0% Major cities with the highest unemployment rates are: Selma: 10.2% Prichard: 9.5%, Bessemer: 8.9%. “Not only did we see the unemployment rate drop, but we also saw the number of jobs our economy supports increase,” said Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington. “Our total wage and salary employment is reaching levels that we haven’t seen in nearly eight years. Manufacturing employment is at its second highest level since 2009. These numbers show us that employers have jobs and are hiring Alabamians.” August’s rate represents 116,361 unemployed persons. The last time the number of unemployed persons was at or below 116,361 was May 2008, when the number measured 113,343. “The continued improvement reaches to the county level as well,” continued Washington. “Over the year, 66 of 67 counties experienced a drop in their unemployment rates, some counties by more than two percentage points.”
Alabama among top business-friendly states in America
Alabama is once again ranked among the most business-friendly states in the country. The state placed sixth on this year’s Top States for Doing Business from Area Development Magazine, down one spot from it’s 2015 fifth place ranking. The results come from surveys of professionals in the site consulting industry. The magazine, which covers site selection and facility planning, surveyed consultants, which have an insider’s view and an unbiased perspective, and asked them to provide their top state picks in 10 categories that impact companies’ location and facility plans. The responses were weighted with their No. 1 choice in each category receiving three points, No. 2 choice receiving two points, and runners-up in each category receiving one point. States were ranked based on the total of weighted scores in three overall categories and 18 subcategories, Business Environment, Labor Climate, and Infrastructure and Global Access. The consultants ranked Alabama high in several of the categories including: No. 6: overall cost of doing business No. 6: corporate tax environment No. 6: business incentive programs No. 5: competitive labor costs No. 5: leading workforce development programs, No. 6: favorable regulatory environment No. 3: speed of permitting No. 6: most improved economic policies
Alabama business roundup: Headlines from across state – 9/16/16 edition
Which Alabama company is on a space mission to Mars? What happened to the lawsuit against Gov. Robert Bentley and the beachfront hotel plans? Who’s been elected to develop economic groups? Answers to all of these questions and more in today’s business roundup: Alabama NewsCenter: Alabama-made Atlas V rockets to lift NASA to asteroid, Mars Alabama-made Atlas V rockets will launch a NASA spacecraft on a dramatic mission to rendezvous with an asteroid and later send Mars 2020, the space agency’s next-generation robotic rover, to the Red Planet. First up is the lift-off of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, scheduled for Sept. 8 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The United Launch Alliance Atlas V, assembled in Decatur, will boost the explorer on its way to the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. The spacecraft will travel to the asteroid, survey it to produce 3-D maps and bring back a sample of surface material for study. NASA says the mission – the first involving a round-trip to an asteroid — will help scientists investigate how planets formed and life began. “This mission exemplifies our nation’s quest to boldly go and study our solar system and beyond to better understand the universe and our place in it,” said Geoff Yoder, a NASA administrator in Washington, D.C. The spacecraft should reach Bennu in 2018 and return the sample via a detachable capsule in 2023. This week, the OSIRIS-REx was bolted onto the Alabama-made Atlas V on Pad 41 at Cape Canaveral in preparation for lift-off. NASA said the launch should not be affected by Thursday’s SpaceX rocket explosion on a nearby pad. Mission to Mars On Aug. 25, NASA’s Launch Services Program announced that ULA’s Atlas V will launch Mars 2020 on its mission to the Red Planet. Lift-off is planned for July 2020 from Cape Canaveral, and the spacecraft should reach Mars in 2021. The Mars 2020 rover will conduct geological assessments of its landing site and determine the habitability of the environment. It will also search for signs of ancient Martian life, and assess natural resources and hazards for future human explorers. ULA’s Alabama assembly facility is the sole production site for Atlas V and Delta IV rockets, which launch payloads for NASA and other government agencies. The 1.6 million-square-foot Decatur factory employs around 1,000 people.“Our launch vehicles have a rich heritage with Mars, supporting 17 successful missions over more than 50 years,” said Laura Maginnis, ULA’s vice president of Custom Services. “ULA and our heritage rockets have launched every U.S. spacecraft to the Red Planet, including Mars Science Lab, as well as the Spirit and Opportunity rovers.” Versions of the Atlas V can stand 205 feet tall, rising to almost 19 stories. An Alabama-made Atlas V will launch NASA’s next Mars lander, called inSight, in 2018. The surface explorer aims to provide understanding of the processes that shaped the planets of the inner solar system, including Earth. There’s another Alabama connection to two of these missions. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program, which is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. InSight is part of NASA’s Discovery program, also managed by Marshall. Birmingham Business Journal: Judge tosses lawsuit against Alabama’s beachfront hotel plans Montgomery Circuit Judge Greg Griffin on Thursday moved to dismiss a lawsuit filed in opposition to the state’s plans to bring a new hotel and conference center to Gulf State Park using funds from the BP oil spill settlement. The suit, filed by State Auditor Jim Zeigler and state Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow, claimed the state couldn’t spend the money from the settlement without legislative approval. On Thursday, Griffin dismissed the case, arguing Zeigler had no authority to file the suit in his official capacity and that since the state wasn’t spending taxpayer dollars, no legislative approval was necessary. “Today’s decision reiterates that the Gulf State Park project is proceeding within legal means,” Bentley said in a statement. “The redevelopment of the Gulf State Park will benefit Alabama as well as all state parks throughout the state.” Alabama NewsCenter: Alabama firms seek foothold with Latin America trade mission Latin America is the latest target for Alabama trade leaders seeking growth markets for state businesses. Representatives of a dozen companies are participating in a trade mission this week that started Sunday in Mexico and continues Wednesday in Chile. It’s being held in conjunction with the U.S. Commercial Service’s Trade Winds program, which includes regional and industry-specific conferences, as well as prearranged consultations with senior diplomats. For Gadsden’s Back Forty Beer Co., the trade mission is an opportunity to expand a new focus on international sales. Back Forty, widely regarded as one of the pioneers of craft beer in Alabama, exports several of its beer varieties — including Naked Pig, Truck Stop Honey and Freckle Belly – to China and Canada. The international sales started last year, and the company has been ramping up the endeavor since January. “In the U.S., craft beer has been around for a while, and it’s fairly well understood,” said Vince Schaeffer, Back Forty’s director of international sales. “But in countries like China and Mexico, we’re really on the leading edge, so we want to establish our brand there and become partners with important people.” Mexico is the most immediate growth target, he continued, but Chile, along with Australia, is on the list for next year. The company is expanding its global effort in a deliberate fashion, so it fully understands customers in each market before moving on to the next one, Schaeffer added. “Exporting just makes so much sense to us. It creates U.S. jobs and profits for U.S. companies, and we just see it as a natural way to grow,” he said. Click here to read the rest. Birmginham Business Journal: BBA leaders elected to economic development groups Two leaders at the Birmingham Business Alliance have been appointed to serve with groups to improve economic development statewide. Victor Brown, vice president of business development at the BBA, was appointed by Gov. Robert Bentley to the Renewal of Alabama
ITT Technical Institute to cease operations Friday, what’s next for Alabama students
The for-profit college ITT Technical Institute announced its plans to stop operating Friday, Sept. 16. ITT has branches in Madison, Bessemer, and Mobile, reportedly serving approximately 1,600 students across Alabama. Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange is offering information about resources available to assist Alabama students of ITT, which suddenly announced its closure in the face of regulatory actions by the U.S. Department of Education. According to the U.S. Department of Education, students have two general options: to apply for closed school loan forgiveness, or to seek to transfer credits to another educational institution. Students may apply for discharge of their federal loans if the school closed while they were enrolled, or if they had been enrolled within 120 days prior to closing. They are urged not to pay for loan consolidation or forgiveness that the Department of Education provides for free. If a student subsequently completes a comparable program at another school through benefit from one’s training at ITT, the loan may be repayable. Details of eligibility and the process for application are available online from the U.S. Department of Education. In some instances, students may be able to transfer credits to a new institution, but that depends upon whether the new school decides to accept ITT coursework. The U.S. Department of Education is working with postsecondary programs across the country to process records so that future eligibility for financial aid may be determined, and to facilitate information for students about other available programs for their consideration. In Alabama, students should contact the Alabama Commission on Higher Education at 334-242-1998, toll-free at 1-800-960-7773, or through its website at ache.state.al.us. For those with further questions and concerns, a series of webinars with detailed information is being offered by the U.S. Department of Education throughout September. Registration is available at the department website.
Donald Trump campaign finally admits Barack Obama born in U.S. Will he?
Donald Trump‘s campaign says the Republican presidential candidate now believes President Barack Obama was born in the United States, but the Republican nominee has yet to personally repudiate his past promotion of the false premise that Obama was not. Meanwhile, as Trump’s campaign sought to put that false conspiracy theory to rest, it stoked another: saying the “ugly incident” known as the birther movement was started by Hillary Clinton. There is no evidence that is true. “She is the one that started it, and she was unable or incapable of finishing it. That’s the way it worked out,” Trump said in a phone interview with Fox Business Network early Friday. He said he was planning to “make a big announcement” later in the day at his new Washington hotel. Clinton herself said Friday that Trump owes Obama and the American people an apology for his role in the birther movement that questioned the president’s citizenship. Clinton said at an event with black women that Trump’s campaign was “founded on this outrageous lie” and “there is no erasing it.” She said Trump is feeding into the “worst impulses, the bigotry and bias” of some people. For years, Trump was the most prominent proponent of the “birther” idea that Obama was born outside the U.S. It provided Trump with his entry into Republican politics and for years has defined his status as an “outsider” who is willing to challenge convention. As late as Wednesday, Trump would not acknowledge that Obama was born in Hawaii, declining to address the matter in a Washington Post interview published late Thursday night. “I’ll answer that question at the right time,” Trump said. “I just don’t want to answer it yet.” Asked by the paper whether his campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, was accurate when she said in a recent television interview that her boss now believes the president was born in the U.S., Trump was equally evasive. “It’s OK. She’s allowed to speak what she thinks. I want to focus on jobs. I want to focus on other things,” he said. Clinton seized on Trump’s refusal during a speech Thursday night before the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. “He was asked one more time where was President Obama born and he still wouldn’t say Hawaii. He still wouldn’t say America,” Clinton said. “This man wants to be our next president? When will he stop this ugliness, this bigotry?” Hours later, campaign spokesman Jason Miller issued a statement that suggested the question had been settled five years ago – by Trump. “In 2011, Mr. Trump was finally able to bring this ugly incident to its conclusion by successfully compelling President Obama to release his birth certificate,” Miller said. “Mr. Trump did a great service to the president and the country by bringing closure to the issue that Hillary Clinton and her team first raised,” he added. “Inarguably, Donald J. Trump is a closer. Having successfully obtained President Obama’s birth certificate when others could not, Mr. Trump believes that President Obama was born in the United States.” The facts of Trump’s actions do not match Miller’s description. Trump repeatedly questioned Obama’s birth in the years after Obama released his birth certificate. In August 2012, for example, he was pushing the issue on Twitter. “An ‘extremely credible source’ has called my office and told me that @BarackObama’s birth certificate is a fraud,” he wrote. Trump has repeatedly said during his White House campaign that he no longer talks about the “birther” issue, but has also refused to retract his previous comments. “I don’t talk about it because if I talk about that, your whole thing will be about that,” he told reporters aboard his plane last week. “So I don’t talk about it.” One of Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr., said Thursday that Miller’s statement “should be the definitive end” of questions about his father’s position. Yet in an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Trump Jr. said that while the campaign statement is one “coming from him” -meaning his father – he doesn’t know if his father will say the words himself. Trump Jr. said his father views this as a distraction from more substantive issues in the campaign. Trump’s comments speculating on Obama’s birthplace have been seen by many as an attempt to delegitimize the nation’s first black president, and have turned off many of the African-American voters he is now courting in his bid for the White House. On the day he released the document, Obama jabbed at Trump, saying “We’re not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers.” Miller’s claim that Clinton launched the birther movement during her unsuccessful primary run against Obama in 2008 is unsubstantiated and long denied by Clinton. The theory was pushed by some bloggers who backed Clinton’s primary campaign eight years ago, but Clinton has said Trump “promoted the racist lie” that sought to “delegitimize America’s first black president.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
