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Kim Chandler and David White News staff writers January 9, 2002 MONTGOMERY — Gov. Don Siegelman called for a convention Tuesday night to rewrite the Alabama Constitution, saying it was time to yank authority from the “powerful forces” of Montgomery. “It’s time we end the special interest domination that has ruled our state and held us back for over a hundred years. It’s time we throw them out and give the power back to the people,” Siegelman said in his fourth State of the State address. It was given on the opening day of the regular legislative session. Siegelman asked lawmakers to put both the question of a constitutional convention and a home rule initiative on the November ballot. But afterward, he refused to give details on his proposals, including the structure of the convention and what powers he would give communities under home rule. Details will be released in about a week, his press secretary said. “Looking at it as a citizen I’m suspicious of the vagueness, but as a stump speech, it was superb,” said Carl Grafton, a political scientist at Auburn University Montgomery. “This is the re-election campaign. Regardless of what the Alabama Legislature does, it will give him ample ammunition in his campaign.” However, Thomas E. Corts, president of the Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform, applauded Siegelman for pushing the long-neglected issue into the forefront during an election year. Siegelman is far from the only candidate talking about constitutional reform. Republican gubernatorial candidates Lt. Gov. Steve Windom and U.S. Rep. Bob Riley, R-Ashland, also have promised constitutional reform if they are elected. Windom held a press conference Tuesday announcing limited constitutional reform as the bulk of his 2002 legislative agenda. He said he’s backing legislation to give counties limited home rule, excluding tax matters and zoning laws. Another constitutional amendment he proposes would stop counties from having to get permission from the Legislature to hold tax referendums to fund public schools. “That is wrong and has been a major stumbling block in solving education funding in Montgomery,” Windom said. To rewrite the constitution, two things would have to happen. At least 18 of the 35 state senators and 53 of the 105 members of the House of Representatives would have to vote for a law or resolution that authorized a convention. Then state voters would have to approve holding the convention. Some lawmakers predicted Siegelman will ask them to rewrite the constitution so the Legislature doesn’t have to approve local property taxes for schools before they go to city or county residents for a vote. Some lawmakers hailed Siegelman’s call to let voters decide whether to hold a constitutional convention. Some called it election-year politics. Some said Siegelman’s call was too vague to judge. “He didn’t outline anything. I’d have to hear more about what he’s got to say,” said Rep. Jack Venable, D-Tallassee, who has worked for decades to rewrite the constitution. Rep. Demetrius Newton, D-Birmingham, embraced Siegelman’s call. “I think it’s a great idea,” Newton said. “It’s tough to do in an election year, but I’m willing to bite the bullet, and I think with a proper push from the governor, it could happen.” Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, said he thinks Siegelman kicked off his re-election campaign Tuesday night by blasting the Big Mules, Alabama’s corporate giants. “All of a sudden, he wants to start doing what he should have been doing four years ago,” Rogers said. “It sounds to me like electioneering at its best. He’s getting ready to campaign against the Big Mules. I heard that same speech when George Wallace gave it.” Things could actually get worse under a new constitution, a Republican lawmaker cautioned, if big-money special interests invested the lobbying resources to control the convention. “You’re just going to have special interests dominating, and that’s the very thing he says he’s against,” said Sen. Bill Armistead, R-Columbiana. Siegelman also said he wanted legislation that would subsidize prescription drug costs for seniors, allow the death penalty for sex offenders whose victims were children, and regulate the payday loan industry. Alabama House Democrats said rewriting as many as six articles of the constitution would be their top legislative goal in 2002. They’re also pushing a hodge-podge of bills, including boosting legal help for indigent defendants and requiring the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools. Rep. Jack Page, D-Gadsden, is introducing a bill that would require students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of each school day, after the completion of a Legislature-mandated “moment of quiet reflection.” Rep. Gerald Willis, D-Piedmont, is introducing a bill to post the national motto “In God we trust” in every public classroom. Private groups would pay for the posters, he said. Newton is proposing legislation to pay lawyers up to $2,000 to handle the legal appeals of indigent defendants. 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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