This isn’t exactly breaking news, but Riley has called a special session to seek a higher debt cap.

Gov. Bob Riley on Friday called a special session of the Legislature to start Feb. 26, saying any delay would risk losing thousands of new jobs to other states.

Democratic leaders had said the issues the governor wants addressed could wait until the regular session that begins just eight days later on March 6.

Riley will ask the Legislature to allow a state commission headed by the governor to raise its borrowing limit from $350 million to $750 million. The additional money would be used to recruit 10 new industries that are considering locating in the state.

Increasing the borrowing limit on the state Capital Improvement Trust Fund to $750 million will require amending the state constitution.

Riley’s plan will have to be passed by the Legislature and then approved by voters in a statewide referendum. If the bond amendment is approved by March 2, it could go before voters in early June. If it were taken up in the regular session, however, it would not go on the ballot until mid-September or later.

I’m generally in favor of promoting commerce through incentives such as reduced/eliminated taxes.  I’m curious why Riley needs to borrow so much money to lure companies.  How is the money going to be spent?  If he is talking about infrastructure improvements then I’m all for it.  I think it is a wise fiscal decision to avoid needlessly building or enhancing infrastructure without demand.  However, when the demand exists it should be done in an expeditious manner.

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This entry was posted by Brian on Sunday, February 18th, 2007 at 11:08 am and is filed under Alabama. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Please note the copyright policy.