2008 Bailey Thomson Awards Luncheon

Don't miss the Second Annual Bailey Thomson Awards Luncheon on August 28. This event honors the people and institutions who continue the effort to write a better Alabama Constitution.

Please take a moment to buy your tickets for this year's celebration which will take place in Mobile and in Birmingham. You can also post fliers to promote the event which has Jack Edwards providing the keynote address. Click here for more information.

SO WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?

The 2008 Legislative Session took our movement further than ever been before. HB 308, that would have allowed the people to vote on holding a constitutional convention, came to the floor of the House under the very capable leadership of Speaker Pro Tem, Demetrius Newton. Because the budgets for the State had not been passed in both houses, a budget isolation resolution (BIR) was required before the bill could be debated. Although a majority of those voting that day, voted IN FAVOR of the BIR for the bill, it fell a few votes short of the super majority required for a BIR to pass.

We applaud the following Representatives for voting in favor of allowing the bill to be debated and the potential of allowing the people’s voices to be heard. Click here to see names of legislators who voted for the BIR and those who voted against it.

HERE'S WHAT THE MEDIA IS SAYING...

Dog Days of Summer
The Birmingham News
Monday, August 04, 2008

THE ISSUE: Eventually, Alabama's constitution reform movement will overcome the Legislature's lethargy, inactivity, indolence

Random House Webster's College Dictionary tells us "dog days" are the "sultry part of summer when Sirius, the Dog Star, rises at the same time as the sun." A second definition: "a period marked by lethargy, inactivity or indolence."

There is no doubt, by either definition (or by walking outside), that we're in the midst of the dog days of summer. It is fitting, then, that a grass-roots group this past week, in the midst of dog days, announced awards honoring those who have distinguished themselves in the effort to reform the state's fundamental charter. Fitting, because of the thousands of dog days of legislative "lethargy, inactive or indolence" over rewriting Alabama's 1901 Constitution.
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Close, but no cigar
The Anniston Star
In our opinion
07-16-2008

Alabama did not win the Volkswagen plant. The state gave it a good try, and right up to the last moment rumors flew heavy that Alabama's offer had prevailed and the German company had picked a site near Huntsville. But that didn't happen; Tennessee won, and Europe's biggest automaker will build its plant near Chattanooga. Gov. Bob Riley expressed disappointment at the announcement, but he went on to say that he was pleased that the site chosen was close to Alabama. This page feels the same way. The governor's economic development team now needs to assess the Tennessee offer, compare it to what our state was willing — and able — to provide, and learn how to do better next time, if Alabama indeed can do better. In this case, it may be that Tennessee simply had more to offer. Alabama also needs to consider how the state's constitutional limits played into the bidding war. Had Alabama been picked, the governor would have had to call a special session for the Legislature to approve many of the incentives the state had offered. In addition, lawmakers would have needed to pass a proposed constitutional amendment so the state could use money from trusts funded by natural gas royalties. Then that amendment would have gone to the voters in November. The Legislature likely would have approved the incentives and the amendment — and it's almost certain that voters would have fallen into line. But the possibility that the Legislature, or the voters, might not have approved the plan always existed. That may have bothered the Volkswagen leadership,
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The need for a new Constitution
The Randolph Leader
Thursday, June 5, 2008 - Roanoke, Alabama

By passing the education budget in a five-day special session last week, the Legislature, specifically the state Senate, did what it couldn't, or wouldn't, accomplish during the regular session that lasted from Feb. 5 until May 19. This cost us an unnecessary $110,000, but it could have been worse had the special session lasted longer.
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Try Again
Times Daily
Published: May 13, 2008

THE ISSUE

The Legislature killed a bill that would have allowed voters to decide whether to hold a constitutional convention to replace Alabama's heavily amended governing document.

Once again, voters have been denied the opportunity to decide whether to hold a constitutional convention to replace Alabama's much-amendment constitution.
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Our view: Scare tactics don't justify constitution vote
The Daily Home - Covering Talledega, Pell City and Sylacauga
05-04-2008

Boo! No, it’s not Halloween. It’s the time when the Alabama Legislature is in session, and it annually blocks the effort to have the people of this state decide whether they want to call a convention to write a new constitution.

And instead of goblins and ghouls, lawmakers employ the scariest of tactics around these parts – the mere mention of taxes and gambling – to ensure that the bill never quite comes to a vote.
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New hope for reform
The Huntsville Times
Saturday, May 03, 2008

House backers actually got more votes than their opponents

What happened to constitutional reform this week in the state House of Representatives could not, by any stretch, be called a victory. But even in a lopsided loss, reform advocates saw a glimmer of possibility.
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A Broken Legislature
The Huntsville Times
Thursday, May 01, 2008

The 2008 session points out the need for constitutional reform.
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Constitution and budget woes
The Anniston Star
In our opinion
04-21-2008

A budget crisis has revealed just how our state Constitution makes it difficult, if not impossible, to respond to state needs in an effective and efficient manner. Even more evidence of why a new Constitution is an urgent matter.
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State House leader confident in constitutional convention bill
The Anniston Star
By Markeshia Ricks
Capitol Correspondent
04-20-2008

MONTGOMERY — The question of calling a convention to overhaul Alabama's 107-year-old constitution soon will be before state lawmakers.

But getting it passed will be the ultimate test of political muscle and of a grassroots constitutional reform movement's ability to change the minds of legislators.
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Is this evidence?
The Anniston Star
In our opinion
04-07-2008

Opponents of constitutional reform argue that there is no clear evidence that the people of Alabama want it.

"Evidence" is in the eye of the beholder. However, it is safe to say that until now opponents have felt they could safely ignore cries for constitutional reform because there was little, if any, evidence of statewide support.

That may have changed.

A recent poll conducted by the Capital Survey Research Center found that a majority of Alabama citizens want the Legislature to pass pending legislation that would allow the people to vote on whether or not to hold a constitutional convention.
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Alabamians clearly want to vote
click here to read the poll
Editorial
Montgomery Advertiser
April 2, 2008

Maybe most Alabamians want to see a constitutional convention held to draft a new constitution to replace the 1901 document that still forms the organic body of law for our state. Maybe they don't.

What they plainly do want, however, is the chance to decide whether to hold a convention. A new statewide survey indicates widespread support for holding an election on the convention question. The survey shows levels of support throughout a broad demographic range of Alabamians that, if cited as election results, would be seen as landslides.
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The people of Alabama want to vote on whether a citizens convention should draft a new constitution, but will the Legislature let them?
The Birmingham News
Thursday, April 03, 2008

If there's a popular groundswell rising, many Alabama lawmakers will knock each other out of the way to be the first to catch the wave.

So here are some poll results that ought to make lawmakers break out the surfboards: Almost two-thirds of Alabamians surveyed say they want their lawmakers to vote for a bill that would let voters decide whether they want a constitutional convention to draft a new state constitution.
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Return power to state voters
Tuscaloosa News
Published Friday, March 7, 2008

There are arguments to be made for and against a convention to draft a new Alabama constitution. The only certainty is that the current document, enacted in 1901, needs to be replaced.

Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform wraps up all the major arguments: The 1901 Constitution restricts local democracy; it locks in an unfair tax system; it hinders economic development; it limits budget flexibility; it is the longest known constitution in the world; and it has undemocratic origins.

At long last, Alabamians may have a chance to vote on whether to call a convention to draft a new state constitution. The Constitution and Elections Committee of the state House of Representatives voted 9-4 this week for a bill for a statewide referendum concurrent with the 2010 primary elections.

The bill has a long way to go. It faces a vote in the full House, approval by the Senate and endorsement by the governor.
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Our view: House should let people vote
Daily Home
03-07-2008

It’s easy to agree with state Rep. Demetrius Newton, D-Birmingham, when he talks about the call for a rewrite of Alabama’s constitution.

As a House committee on Wednesday considered letting voters decide whether they want a convention to rewrite the state’s constitution, Newton asked members a question.

“Whether you agree we need a new constitution or vehemently disagree, it boils down to one simple thing – do you trust the same people who elected you to the Legislature to make the decision?,” Newton asked the House Constitution and Elections Committee.

On a 9-4 vote, the answer was in the affirmative.
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© 2007
Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform
P.O.Box 10746, Birmingham, AL 35202-0746
205-540-7501
accr@constitutionalreform.org