Writers of constitution gave power to only a few

   By careful design and with malicious intent, the writers of Alabama's 1901 constitution made certain that little can happen in this state without first getting the Legislature's approval. That leaves the bulk of governing to a relatively small group of people in Montgomery, making it much easier for special interests to control which bills lawmakers pass and which never even make it out of committee.

   The special interests and their 550 registered lobbyists - nearly four for every lawmaker - know it, too. There are so many lobbyists, they overwhelm and overrun lawmakers.

   To get from his office on the seventh floor of the State House to the Senate chambers down the hall, state Sen. Bill Armistead, R-Columbiana, has to push his way through a crowd. Lobbyists, dozens of them and more, fill the narrow corridor, reaching out, tapping on shoulders, pulling lawmakers aside to make pitches or to beg votes.

   "Physically, it's a problem," Armistead says. "You have trouble getting out of your office and onto the floor of the Senate."

   State Rep. Jack Venable, D-Tallassee, faces a similar challenge on the fifth floor, home to the House's chambers. "Sometimes you can't walk down the hall," he says.

   With government power centered in Montgomery, instead of shared throughout Alabama's 67 counties and hundreds of towns and cities, special interests focus resources on one place, on just a few people. There's really no need even to worry about most of the 140 lawmakers.

   "If you've got eight votes on the (House) Rules Committee, you can shut the session down," says one longtime lobbyist. "You don't have to lobby 105 House members and 35 senators. The numbers are much smaller than that."

   Most lawmakers relish the powerful roles the constitution grants them, and they aren't easily going to give up that clout.

   That's why, for example, bills that would allow ordinary citizens to propose and pass laws themselves, through initiative and referendum, have never made it through the Legislature.That's also why lawmakers won't allow voters the chance to amend the constitution to give counties the ability to govern themselves through "home rule." Without constitutional reform, there's no chance at the efficiently run government Gov. Don Siegelman seeks.

   Indeed, lawmakers are constantly looking for ways to maintain their constitutionally granted muscle. That's why over the years they've crafted laws governing lobbyists, campaign finance and ethics in ways that strengthen the power of the honorables and the special interests that pay for their campaigns. The result is a system of, by and for special interests, where the Alabama Education Associations, the Alfas, the trial lawyers, the Business Councils of Alabama and other "Big Mules" control legislators and legislation.

   Alabama's constitution is rife with sections and amendments designed especially for (and often by) special interests. A perfect example is Alfa's "current-use" amendment. It guarantees that large landowners pay the nation's lowest property taxes, just pennies per acre, because that's what Alfa wants.

   This constitutionally blessed special-interest power manifests itself every legislative session. Look at last year's teacher pay raise bill. Every education group save one spoke against locking in a teacher pay hike that eats up 62 percent of growth in school dollars for years. The one group demanding it - AEA, the teachers' union - got what it wanted.

   Special interests such as Alfa and AEA, through lobbying and campaign contributions, are intent on protecting those constitutional provisions, crafting new ones for their benefit, and making sure the Legislature does their bidding by passing bills they want and killing those they don't.

   It's a system that benefits the few instead of the many, that idles innovations that would upset the power brokers, that ensures inefficiency in government.

   The constitution contributes to the skewed priorities of the Legislature in several ways:

   Because the constitution severely restricts the power of counties in favor of the Legislature, lawmakers spend about half their time dealing with parochial, local issues. Meanwhile, many of the big issues lawmakers should be addressing fall to the wayside.

   Because lawmakers have such control over local issues, they tend to meddle in areas in which they don't belong. A recent example: the Jefferson County legislative delegation's shameful attempts to peel away county occupational tax dollars to fund their own pet projects.

   Because the constitution locks in much of the state's revenues for specific programs, lawmakers can't easily adjust their spending to meet shifting, critical needs. The result: Many important programs go wanting, while questionable programs continue to receive funding.

   Meanwhile, campaign dollars and lobbyist largess lubricate this self serving system, ensuring that the desires of special interests take precedence over public concerns.

   In fact, records show lawmakers overwhelmingly rely on contributions from special-interest political action committees to fund their campaigns. That's because under state law, there's no limit on individual or PAC contributions. The small giver simply has no influence when it comes to campaign donations.

   Lobbyists also have virtual free rein to wine and dine lawmakers. Under state law, lobbyists can spend as much as $250 a day entertaining lawmakers without having to report it.

   The Legislature could tighten the campaign finance and lobbyist rules without changing a word in the constitution, but it hasn't been inclined to do so. It could allow people to vote on initiative and referendum or on giving counties home rule, but it hasn't been inclined to do so. It could even, after 100 years of looking the other way, call for a new constitution.

   But lawmakers aren't about to upset the powerful special interests that like things just as they are. They're not about to change the rules of a game ordinary citizens can't win. They're not about to undermine the careful design and malicious intent of Alabama's decrepit constitution.

Next: State's Straitjacket

Reprinted with Permission from The Birmingham News.