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Editorial February 3, 2002 There's no such thing as a perfect plan for a citizens' convention to rewrite Alabama's grievously flawed constitution. But the plan crafted by the Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform sure has a lot to recommend. That shouldn't be a surprise, with authors such as former Gov. Albert Brewer, who pushed for constitution reform during his term from 1968 to 1971, and Samford University law professor Howard Walthall, an expert on state constitutions. The plan, unveiled Wednesday, would have the Legislature schedule a statewide referendum in November to allow voters to decide whether they want a constitutional convention. If voters were to approve a convention, they would return to the polls in June 2003 to elect delegates from each of the 105 House districts. The group would convene that August and have up to 120 days to write a new constitution, and give people a chance to vote either on a whole document, or in separate proposals. If voters were faced with choosing separate proposals, only those they approved would take effect, while the old constitution would remain in effect for the proposals that failed. Lt. Gov. Steve Windom has advocated giving voters a choice of individual proposals so that voters can't kill the whole new constitution if they don't like one part of it. The governor would schedule a statewide vote at least 90 days after the convention finished, meaning Alabama citizens could have a new fundamental charter by Jan. 1, 2005, under ACCR's proposal. ACCR's plan also would prevent any elected state official from being elected a delegate, and would seek to reduce the influence of special interests on the elections by placing a $100 limit on contributions from any source. The convention would include the 12 lawmakers on the Legislative Council six senators and six representatives. ACCR's proposal also includes a reform commission chaired by Secretary of State Jim Bennett, who can't run for re-election and isn't seeking a new office. The commission would lay the groundwork for a citizens' convention. For example, it would look at best practices among all the states for models of home rule, for government efficiency or for cutting waste and duplication. Already, Gov. Don Siegelman has abandoned his proposal for a convention and thrown his support behind ACCR's plan, even though there were significant differences in the two proposals. "It's far more important for the people to have an opportunity to vote on this," he told newspaper publishers and editors at the state Capitol. Lawmakers who are pushing a citizens' convention ought to unite behind ACCR's plan. Doing so would make it that much harder for the Legislature to ignore the growing effort to allow voters in November their say on a citizens' convention. Lawmakers can choose what they believe to be the best proposal and allow Alabamians a chance for a grand experiment in democracy. Or they can choose to protect the moneyed special interests who control the Capitol, empowered by our outdated, racist, straitjacketing constitution. If they choose the latter, voters who want a citizens' convention to draft a new constitution should look to choose new lawmakers. Return to: Editorial Index |
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| Alabama Citizens for
Constitutional Reform Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 34 Montgomery, Alabama 36101-0034 E-mail: accr@constitutionalreform.org |
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