By Amy Sieckmann
April 23, 2003
MONTGOMERY — Democratic senators have spent much of this legislative
session disagreeing with the governor, but several key Democratic
leaders now apparently are in a race with Republicans to curry his
favor — by giving counties the powers to tax and zone.
Four key Democratic senators announced Tuesday that they
will introduce two bills based on the recent findings of the governor’s
constitution reform commission.
One of the bills would let county commissions opt for
greater authority to approve bond issues, taxes and zoning restrictions
— powers also known as home rule. The other proposes to recompile
the state constitution, streamlining it and deleting defunct race-based
laws and language.
Their announcement came the same day Sen. Del Marsh,
R-Anniston, had planned to introduce an apparently similar home-rule
bill in the Senate on the governor’s behalf — seemingly
pitting the Republicans against the Democrats in a race to introduce
the legislation.
"(The Democrats) know full well that the governor
called his (constitution reform) commission to come up with these
ideas," Marsh said. "In my opinion, the Democratic Party
is trying to steal the show from the governor."
Regardless of the reason, the fact that Republicans and
Democrats are backing similar measures indicates those bills could
turn into law. The Democrats have vowed the proposed legislation will
make it through the
Statehouse this year.
None of the bills from either side was introduced Tuesday.
They won’t be introduced until the Senate finishes action on
a series of bills to authorize various state boards to continue operating,
also known as sunset provisions. That will take several days.
Marsh and the Democrats described their home-rule proposals
as optional and limited.
If the measures were enacted by the Legislature and approved
by the state’s voters in a statewide referendum, voters in each
county would then be able to decide whether let their county commissions
should take advantage of the law.
Under the Democratic proposal, counties would then chose
among four degrees of home rule. They could choose option one, option
one and two, all three options, or no home rule.
Option one as described in the bill would allow a county
commission to issue bonds and enact public health and safety measures
for economic development.
Option two would give a commission the power to increase
local taxes, including sales, income and property taxes, after approval
by a majority vote of the local electorate.
Option three would give a commission zoning and land-use
authority.
"This puts the people at the local level in charge
of making decisions, and it frees up the Legislature from addressing
local bills," said bill sponsor Sen. Gary Tanner, D-Mobile.
An advance copy obtained by The Star of the Republican
home-rule bill Marsh intended to introduce Tuesday is apparently very
similar to the Democratic proposal. It differs in that a county could
choose among the same home-rule options not only through a local election,
but also if 20 percent of county voters who cast a vote in the last
gubernatorial election signed a petition requesting one or more of
the home rule powers.
Marsh’s bill also would allow a county to select
any one of the three options for increased local authority independently
of the other options.
Both proposals would grant county commissions powers
that can only be used in the county.
The bills are the first step the governor and the Legislature
have taken to address the recommendations made last month by the governor’s
constitution reform commission. The commission recommended five changes
to the state constitution, including limited home rule, recompilation
of the constitution, un-eamarking some state funds, gubernatorial
line-item veto and requirement of a supermajority vote in the Legislature
to pass new taxes.
Bills already have been introduced in the House as part
of the recompilation effort, but so far no bills in either chamber
have addressed the other issues.
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