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Take a deep look at our Legislature
The Anniston Star
April 25, 2010
As the political cliché goes, states are laboratories of democracy. So wrote Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis in 1932, and countless others have since reaffirmed the lofty sentiment.
Embracing its accuracy, we must conclude that Alabama's state government is a laboratory full of mad scientists, equipped with outmoded, rusty tools.
Yes, it's another rant against the 1901 Constitution. It's the gift that keeps on giving, or in our case, taking.
Only in Alabama could the conservative position favor a process that calls for centralizing government power to make decisions for hundreds of localities. "Devolution" of government deeper into the grassroots was all the rage during the Republican revolution of the mid-1990s.
Yet here we are, with conservatives unwilling to cede power from a state Legislature — which meets for only 30 days a year — to local governments that gather every other week. The Proud Alabama Conservatives constantly call for government to act more like business, while clinging to an unwieldy, slow-moving and inefficient Constitution that would be fired by Donald Trump in less than 10 minutes.
Oh, we know they say they prefer to defeat the thing on an amendment-by-amendment basis, sort of like mowing the lawn one blade of grass at a time. We also notice they keep saying this while, at the same time, adding more and more to the 800-plus amendments already on the books.
The 2010 regular session of the Legislature, which ended last Thursday, provides evidence that the state's Constitution is the enemy of democracy, especially the sort that notes that the most effective government often comes from the government closest to the people. In Alabama, too many purely local decisions require the Lege to act as a middleman, an unwelcome lab partner, if you will.
So, what fresh hell has the most recently concluded session wrought? Here is a list of proposed constitutional amendments considered during the session, some of which may make it to a ballot near you.
• HB 552 sought to allow the county commission in Macon County — and only Macon County — to use surplus funds for road and bridge construction.
• HB 606 would allow Fayette County to levy a "drug enforcement fee" on folks moving through the criminal justice system.
• HB 703 proposed offering Winston County senior citizens a discount on property taxes.
• HB 763 would disallow business license taxes "based on a per unit basis" for Calhoun County rental properties.
• HB 766 sought to align the terms of the mayor of Birmingham with members of its city council.
• HB 508 sought to prevent people "from carrying or possessing a stun gun or taser" in Jefferson County schools.
• SB 392 prohibited the creation of an occupational tax in Baldwin County. We found similar proposed amendments for Tuscaloosa, Morgan, Montgomery, Elmore and Autauga counties.
• HB 147 called for the Madison County Commission to set up procedures to protect residents from "dangerous" dogs.
• SB 447 called for transferring assets and liabilities of the Prichard Water and Sewer Board to the board in nearby Mobile.
• SB 581 laid out guidelines for proper sites to dispose of garbage in Baldwin County.
• SB 584 called for Chambers County to continue the special tax for "library purposes."
There's nothing necessarily wrong with any of these proposals. Let's especially pity the poor Madison Countians with nothing between them and a snarling dog but the state Lege.
None of the above is worth a minute's time of the state Legislature. Let Winston County work out its property taxes. Leave it to Birmingham to establish terms of office for council members and the mayor. And, no matter what, don't interfere with where Baldwin County wants to put its trash.
Despite the evidence at hand, we're sure Alabama's 105 representatives and 35 senators have better things to do with their time. Until the state has a constitution that allows local governments to make local decisions, our legislators will be down in the lab for 30 days each year, mucking around with small-time experiments.
Bob Davis is editor of The Anniston Star. Contact him at (256) 235-3540 or bdavis@annistonstar.com. You can follow him on Twitter at: twitter.com/EditorBobDavis