Something for voters to decide: Have a say on Constitution
Editorials from the Anniston Star
In our opinion
04-25-2009

Alabama's founding fathers, the ones who wrote the state's antiquated Constitution, were all for letting the people's voice be heard — so long as the Legislature gave its approval.

That's why issues important (such as removing the sales tax on groceries) and less so (increasing the size of the Tuskegee utility board) must clear House and Senate hurdles before the people can make their wishes known.

(Let's not even get into why anybody outside Tuskegee should care.)

Thus, any effort to write a new, more efficient state Constitution has to overcome the roadblocks placed there by the old.

It is a conflict between en-trenched interests protected by the current document and other interests that feel the state would be better off with a new one.

Bringing this to a head are House Joint Resolution 91 and Senate Joint Resolution 20, which if passed will allow Alabamians to vote on whether or not they would want a convention called to write a new constitution.

This is the plan.

If these resolutions pass, voters during the 2010 gubernatorial primary will also be asked if they want to call a constitutional convention. If voters vote no, then that is that. However, if voters vote yes, then during the general election in November 2010, voters will get to pick the delegates who will do the writing.

Once the document is done, voters during the 2012 presidential election will have an opportunity to accept or reject what the convention produced.

Note that to avoid extra costs, these votes will be timed to coincide with other elections — a wise move, both tactically and financially.

But as is happening with ethics legislation, the PAC-to-PAC ban bill, removing the grocery sales tax and other critical issues, time is running out on these resolutions. Although the proposals have an impressive list of sponsors and co-sponsors (including Reps. Barbara Boyd of Anniston and Lea Fite of Jacksonville, along with Sens. Larry Means of Attalla and Del Marsh of Anniston), they remain in their respective committees.

We urge those who support constitutional reform to double their efforts to get these important measures to the floor, debated and passed in the final days of this session.

Of all the things voters should be voting on, none are more important than these.

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Birmingham, AL 35202-0746