SHOW YOUR STRENGTH IN NUMBERS!

On April 16th, the ACCR Foundation launched our Strength in Numbers Campaign which was created to bring new people into the Movement and to raise money for our education efforts!

We officially crossed the halfway point for our Goal! Can you help us reach it? Please take a moment today to contribute at least $7 for Alabama’s 7th Constitution. Click here for more information.

SO WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?

Breaking News!!!!
Two bills are now in the Legislature calling for a constitutional convention for Alabama.
One is HB 308 sponsored by Speaker Pro Tem Demetrius Newton and 18 of his colleagues from both sides of the aisle. The other is SB 243 sponsored by Senator Ted Little and 15 of his colleagues from both sides of the aisle. This is historic because it is the largest number of co-sponsors this movement has ever seen and it is a real non-partisan effort at reform.
If the legislators pass these bills this Legislative Session, voters will vote to approve or reject the bill in June of 2010, the same time as the Alabama Gubernatorial Primary Election. Then if the voters pass the bill, the delegates will be elected the following November at the Gubernatorial Election.
This means there will be more than two years to get the message out to the public that a constitutional convention is in their best interest.
Our job right now is to contact our representatives and senators and ask them to vote in favor of SB 243 and HB 308.   learn more »

HERE'S WHAT THE MEDIA IS SAYING...

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