Trusting lawmakers may not always come easy for Alabamians.
Past experiences of “pet projects” and “pass through pork” feed suspicions of betrayal and hidden agendas, especially when a tax increase is on the table.
Currently “there is a low trust level among the general population (about Gov. Bob Riley’s proposed tax and accountability package),” said Mike McLemore, past president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention (ABSC). “We are being asked to send more money to the Legislature,” he said, noting many citizens feel the Legislature has mismanaged the money it has.
“There has to be accountability … and the governor has created line items in the package for that,” said McLemore, pastor of Lakeside Baptist Church, Birmingham. “We (a group of eight ABSC past presidents who endorsed the plan) are strong proponents of that accountability being put in place.
“That has a lot to do with me supporting it,” McLemore said. “If the accountability weren’t there, I wouldn’t be supporting it either.”
But the governor “has assured us that the accountability will be fully in place,” McLemore said.
Measures in place
Drayton Nabers Jr., finance director for the State of Alabama, said accountability factors deal with education and “pass through pork.”
Under the education aspect, the procedure in dismissing a teacher “has been greatly streamlined,” Nabers explained. “What is being offered in the package is a binding arbitration procedure which can be done in 90 to 100 days at much less expense.
“Currently the procedure is very cumbersome involving the possibility of four appeals and is quite expensive as well,” he said.
Also, each school system will be required to have qualified financial officers who file monthly reports with the state board of education, Nabers added. “Thus the problems we have had in the Birmingham and Jefferson County systems with millions of dollars being squandered can be avoided.”
“Pass through pork” means legislators appropriate monies to their districts for their pet projects by hiding them in state agency budgets.
This procedure “has been criminalized,” Nabers said. “That means the head of any government department or agency that participates in the passage of ‘pass through pork’ through a legislator’s district is subject to criminal penalties.”
Oversight committee
Nabers also explained that an oversight committee appointed by the governor will monitor any additional revenue that flows from the tax package. “[The committee members] will represent a broad cross section of Alabama’s public and will have no vested interest in doing anything other than telling the truth,” Nabers said, noting the committee would report to the governor and public at large four times a year.
Harrell Cushing, ABSC past president from Montgomery, said, “All of us need to hold all elected officials accountable to this.
“We are promoting this on the basis of trust, and we are going to be watching,” Cushing said, noting Alabamians need to let their legislators know they are monitoring them. “Accountability must be addressed.”
Dan Ireland, past president of the ABSC and executive director of Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP), agreed. “Accountability is the one thing the governor is shooting for.
“I think there is credible accountability in the package, and I think … there will be more and more demand by the people that this thing work as it is designed to work,” he added.
“This is the first time since 1901 people have been given opportunity to vote on anything like this,” Ireland said. “People are going to be more involved and will demand (legislators and other elected officials) follow the law. There will be more participation on the part of the people and the legislators will pay attention.”
Ireland said Alabamians should count this opportunity a privilege because they will play a part in developing a tax plan, which will hold lawmakers accountable.
If the plan is voted down, the state does not have a budget for next year, he explained. Because the law says a general fund and education budget must be in place by Oct. 1 or the state shuts down, a special session will be called to pass those budgets.
“And the only thing they will be able to do is cut programs and funding,” Ireland said. Then when the Legislature meets in 2004 it can pass taxes without a vote of the people and without accountability measures, he added.
“This is the first time in our lifetime that people have been asked to vote for tax reform,” Ireland said. “If we turn it down, the Legislature will then come back and tell you what taxes you are going to pay.”
“There’s going to be a tax increase regardless,” McLemore added.
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