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By Robert Palmer Staff Writer October 23, 2002 FLORENCE - The count stands at 713, and on Nov. 6, there could be another 34 amendments attached to Alabama's constitution. The problem with that, says Shoals Chamber of Commerce President Steve Holt, is that most of those amendments are strictly local issues that affect specific towns or counties, or specific interest groups. Those are decisions, he says, that should be decided at the local level by the people affected, and not by voters statewide. With the big yellow Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform bus in the background at the Florence Conference Center, Holt and others said the time is long past for the adoption of a new constitution that returns political power to the people. "Most amendments are local issues, but they become legislative documents," he said, holding a copy of the nation's most-amended state constitution in his hand. "There should be another way to do it." The ACCR is touring the state in its yellow school bus to drum up support for Amendment 1 on the Nov. 5 general election ballot. The amendment would require any changes or rewrites of the constitution, whether done by the Legislature or a constitutional convention, to be approved by voters. One of the objectives of the ACCR is to make changes in the constitution that allow local governments, especially county commissions, to cut the Legislature out of the decision-making process. As it now stands, substantive changes in how local governments operate, especially in the field of economic development, must be approved by the Legislature. Holt said making those changes can take almost three years, beginning with convincing the local legislative delegation of the need for a change, getting it approved by the full Legislature, and sometimes, subjecting it to a vote in a statewide election. "The Legislature should not spend two-thirds of its time on local issues," he said. "They should be working on the big issues." Roy Long of Florence, a retired FBI agent and a lawyer, said the Legislature won't reform itself, which means a groundswell of support for change will be needed. "It won't happen overnight, but truth and reason are on our side," he said. Long praised legislators like Rep. Marcel Black of Tuscumbia, who have embraced the need for constitutional reform to make state and local governments more responsive. David Perry, field director for ACCR, said a recent poll of 600 Alabamians showed that 60 percent support some form of constitutional reform, while 78 percent of those favoring change say it should be done in a constitutional convention. "People are coming to grips with the fact that we are not going to have substantive education reform or tax fairness without constitution reform," Perry said. The bus tour will make stops around the state, concluding Nov. 4 in Montgomery for a rally of supporters of constitution reform. The bus bears the signatures of supporters and high school students from around Alabama who want changes in the 101-year-old document. For more details about ACCR, go to www.constitutionalreform.org. Robert Palmer can be reached at 740-5734 or robert.palmer@timesdaily.com. Return to: Constitutional Reform ~ In the News Return to: Editorial Index |
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Citizens for Constitutional Reform Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 34 Montgomery, Alabama 36101-0034 E-mail: accr@constitutionalreform.org |
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