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Alabama not alone in quest for reform
Press-Register
Tuesday, April 28, 2009

ALABAMA ISN'T the only state with a constitution that doesn't work. Turns out, other states are struggling with their constitutions, too.

One of them is California. Its constitution, like Alabama's, makes effective governance challenging, to say the least. "Look anywhere in California," a businessman told The Associated Press, "and you'll find a crisis" largely because of the state's constitution.

While Alabama isn't facing financial troubles on the order of California's, our state also hobbled into the 21st century with a tax system embedded in its constitution that makes it hard to consistently raise the revenues necessary for state services.

California leaders are encountering passionate opposition to the idea of reform from people who fear that a constitutional convention would bring higher taxes and more influence from special interests.

As in Alabama, those are not irrational fears. Indeed, Alabamians know the harm that can come from giving too much power to special interests. And while we have the lowest tax burden in the nation, care must be taken that a new constitution doesn't open the door to careless spending and overtaxation.

A statewide public opinion poll this year found 61 percent support among Alabama residents for calling a constitutional convention. Only 23 percent said they opposed a convention.

In addition, the advocacy group Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform is holding well-received mock conventions to educate the public about how the process would work and what kind of document to expect from the deliberations.

The Associated Press says support is growing in California, too, with Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger saying he'll back constitutional reform in California so state government will function more smoothly.

The governance issue is different here, of course. In Alabama, a constitutional rewrite is needed not so much to fix state government as to free local governments from the burdensome thumb of Montgomery. Giving home rule to counties would put power in the hands of local officials.

But reform has to be approached with caution. In California, reformers are proposing limiting what the constitutional convention can undertake.

In Alabama, the constitutional convention can be structured to limit special interests' involvement. As for the fear of unreasonably high taxes, the elected delegates will make wise choices or risk seeing their document voted down at the polls.

Indeed, the proposal contained in resolutions now before both chambers of the Alabama Legislature would provide protections. The resolutions would have voters decide whether to call a constitutional convention, who would be delegates to the convention, and whether the resulting new document should be approved.

All in all, legislators in both states should trust voters to decide what's best. Alabama legislators, for their part, have an opportunity to put constitutional reform before voters by approving the resolutions before them. Here's hoping they will do so.

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