Senate delays vote on controversial plan to unify state budget
After a lengthy debate on the Senate floor late Thursday, lawmakers voted to carry over a bill to unify the Alabama general fund and education budgets. Sen. Gerald Dial filed Senate Bill 502 to allow voters to decide whether to establish a single state budget and remove any recommendations or limits on how funds within that budget should be spent. On Thursday, Dial again urged lawmakers to allow the issue to go before the voters of Alabama: “I’m trying to offer another alternative to some of the problems we’re in.” Dial repeated the reasoning he used during the finance and taxation committee meeting this week, when he said that without the practice of earmarking, or placing limits on how money is spent within the budget, Alabama lawmakers might have a different set of funding decisions to make this session. Sen. Rodger Smitherman, a Democrat, spent more than an hour attempting to block the legislation over concerns that the proposal would erase funding for Alabama’s public schools. “I’m standing here for every child in Jefferson County because they can’t vote,” Smitherman said. “I’ve heard the facts, we are 49th in this country [for education], we can’t fully fund textbooks, the last time the teachers had a raise was 2008 […] now we’re saying that there’s enough money left in the Education Trust Fund to fund all these other things. Not on the backs of our young people.” The decision to carry over the legislation was made by voice vote.
Alabama legislative agenda preview: May 26-28
Tuesday will be the 25th Legislative Day for Alabama lawmakers, leaving just five more days for the legislature to pass a general fund budget. Sen. Gerald Dial has filed a constitutional amendment to unify the education and general fund budgets for future years in an effort to solve the long-term imbalance in funding between the two funding pools. While an earlier proposal filed in the Senate would allow the two funds to share growth revenue, Senate Bill 502 would create a single budget without any earmarks for specific programs or budget items. The Senate finance and taxation panel is expected to vote on the proposal on Tuesday at 1:00 pm. We may see more news from the Senate on Tuesday as Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh confirmed plans to bring his lottery and gaming proposal to the floor for a vote. House members are scheduled to vote Tuesday on House Bill 664, a plan from Sen. Jabo Waggoner to allow members of the Alabama Public Charter School Commission to be appointed by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives rather than the state board of education. According to the House special order calendar, members are also scheduled to vote Tuesday on bills to allow age-appropriate sexual abuse awareness programs in public schools, establish greater protection for victims of domestic violence, and a measure to block abortion clinics from operating near public schools. Here are a few of the items on committee agendas this week: … The House Judiciary committee will consider two bills this week to strengthen civil rights protections in the LGBT community. On Tuesday, the panel will hear public comment on House Bill 657, companion legislation to a proposal filed last week by Sen. Del Marsh to ban employment discrimination on the basis of gender expression, gender identity and sexual orientation. The next day, lawmakers will hold a public hearing on House Bill 615, Rep. Chris England’s proposal to establish civil rights protections against any discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or familiar status. … The House committee on public safety is scheduled to vote on House Bill 261, the companion bill to Senate Bill 468, also known as the Alabama Dog Tethering and Outdoor Shelter Act. Rep. Steve McMillan brought the bill to make it illegal for dog owners to tie their pets to stationary objects and says that any pet kept outside must have adequate food, water, and shelter.
Senate approves education budget
The Alabama Senate has approved a nearly $6 billion education budget that includes more money for prekindergarten and additional middle school teachers. Senators unanimously approved the budget Tuesday. It now moves to the House of Representatives. The budget does not include raises for teachers. Budget Chairman Sen. Trip Pittman of Montrose says lawmakers are trying to build up reserves so benefits and other programs can be sustained. An additional $13.5 million for prekindergarten is expected to bring 2,600 more children into the state’s voluntary K-4 program. The education spending plan also does not include a fiscal lifeline that some wanted to throw to the state’s other budget, the perpetually ailing General Fund. Without the influx of money, cuts to General Fund agencies could rise from 11 percent to 15 percent. Republished with permission from The Associated Press.
