The Alabama Legislature adjourned its 2008 regular session May 19. The basic task of lawmakers is to complete the state budget, without which the government can’t operate.
On that task, they rate a score of 50 percent, finishing the General Fund budget but failing to agree on an education budget and forcing the governor to call them back for a special session.
But the Legislature should be held to a much higher standard than this.
Legislators are elected to be our government’s board of directors, write the laws by which state government operates and set the standards for local government as well.
The volumes of the Code of Alabama occupy 6 feet of shelf space; these laws should be reviewed periodically so that they promote rather than hinder good government.
This year, for example, the Legislature adopted a 245-page Alabama Juvenile Justice Act that reorganized and revised the laws in that field.
Each year, the Legislature passes many laws, and by looking at them, we can see where lawmakers are focusing their efforts. The status report on legislation as of May 20 showed 463 laws enacted in the regular session of 2008.
Of the 463 acts, 262 (or 57 percent) were honorary resolutions. Through them, legislators expressed congratulations or condolences to individuals or groups and created honorary designations for particular dates or public facilities.
Another 105 acts (or 23 percent) were local bills applying only to a single county or municipality.
While the Legislature should set general standards for local government, these individualized local acts can be used to micromanage local elected officials and reduce openness and accountability.
This year, local acts for three counties increased fees to the sheriff, which he or she can keep in a bank account rather than the county treasury, and two of the bills required a state audit, but it is sent to the sheriff rather than the county commission.
Local acts are not placed in the code; they become invisible over time but sometimes resurface as a surprise.
Recently a Jefferson County official was disqualified for an election because of an old local law.
Neighboring states have eliminated or severely restricted local acts for such reasons. The remaining 96 acts (21 percent) were statewide in nature, the type of legislation that lawmakers are elected to focus on.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Jim Williams is executive director for the nonprofit, nonpartisan Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama.
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