Governor Riley wants to rewrite the Alabama Constitution to "make it easier to use." Lawyers will have a heyday on this one. Notice how government bureaucrats are suddenly concerned the Constitutional Rewrite is all about raising taxes? Primarily two special interest groups are advocating a constitutional rewrite - lawyers and educators. Lawyers want complete control of the legal system and educators want a pay raise!!!
Riley constitution panel to meet in city March 7 02/25/03 DAVID WHITE News staff writer MONTGOMERY A 34-member commission formed by Gov. Bob Riley to suggest ways to fix parts of the Alabama Constitution plans to hold a public hearing March 7 in Birmingham. The 10 a.m. hearing will be in the auditorium of the Birmingham library's Linn-Henley research building, at 2100 Park Place downtown. Commission members held their first public hearing Friday at the Capitol, listening to 14 people. Friday's meeting will be the group's second and final public hearing, said commission Chairman Jim Bennett. He said the commission plans March 28 to give Riley its written report and drafts of amendments to change parts of the constitution. Riley could submit the proposals or versions of them to state lawmakers, who could pass, change or kill them. Any proposed amendments passed by lawmakers would have to be approved by state voters in a referendum to take effect. Riley asked the commission to propose amendments in five areas: earmarking, or reserving taxes for specific uses; giving county commissions more power; giving the governor the power to veto specific budget items; making it harder for lawmakers to raise taxes; and rewriting the constitution to make it easier to use. Now, a simple majority of members voting on a bill in the House of Representatives and Senate can approve a tax increase. But 16 states require bigger majorities to pass a tax increase 60 percent, two-thirds and even 75 percent. Commission member Tom Young, former chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said he and other members focusing on the issue generally support a 60-percent requirement for Alabama. "My subcommittee believes it's important to have something in the constitution that makes it more difficult, but not impossible, to raise taxes," said Young, a vice president at Intergraph Solutions Group in Madison. Last week, retired assistant attorney general Philip C. Davis of Montgomery told commissioners, "The people deserve to be protected from runaway taxation." But Apreill Curtis, who works for the advocacy group Voices for Alabama's Children, opposed the 60-percent requirement. "This will hamper the ability to raise funds for needed programs," she said. Copyright 2003 al.com. All Rights Reserved. [ Home ]---[Search]---[Email]---[Next]---[Support CRCR]