During the 2006 election Alabama Democrats made bold promises about what they would accomplish if they were elected.  They issued a list of promises that they called the “Covenant with Alabama.”  Alabamians responded by keeping the Democrats in control of both houses of the legislature.  The regular session is now over and it is time to see what the Democrats have done to follow through with their promises.

The entire “Covenant with Alabama” is listed below.  Commentary on the progress (or lack thereof) on each item is provided.  Overall the Democrats have done a deplorable job following through on their promises.  Even a yellow dog Democrat couldn’t honestly be proud.  No substantive action has been taken on two of the biggest issues of the recent election (PAC to PAC transfers and property tax reappraisal schedule).

ETHICS & ELECTION REFORM

1. Stop all PAC to PAC transfers

Their failure to pass the very first item on their agenda was one of the biggest stories of this session.  As usual, the House passed Rep. Jeff McLaughlin’s PAC to PAC ban, but the Senate Democrats added so many loopholes to the bill that even McLaughlin said he could no longer support it.  The tension over getting this bill passed was a contributing factor in the shameful violence that took place on the floor of the Senate on the last day of the regular session.  In the end, the Senate did not pass any bill restricting PAC to PAC transfers.  The money laundering gravy train will continue to roll.

It bears mentioning that a recent PARCA survey showed that 83% of Alabamians want to ban PAC to PAC transfers.

2. Require registered lobbyists to report to the Alabama Ethics Commission all expenditures related to appointed or elected public officials.

There were at least three bills that aimed to accomplish this goal: HB130, HB154, and HB159.  All three died in committee - committees controlled by Democrats.

The same PARCA survey showed 90% support for this reform that the Democrats killed.

3. Pass legislation to strengthen the law against nepotism in state hiring

The legislature’s failure (refusal?) to clean up the hiring practices of the state’s two year college system were enough to earn Brett Blackledge a Pulitzer for uncovering numerous scandals.  Gov. Bob Riley proposed a ban on legislators and their families working in the two year system.  That proposal was killed in the Senate.  Rep. Mike Ball offered a much more modest transparency bill that would force legislators to disclose all their financial ties to the state.  That bill died in the House.  The double dipping will continue unabated.

4. Eliminate all “pork” projects from state budgets

There were numerous pork projects listed in this year’s budget.  The most notable one was $1 million for road construction in Tuscaloosa County.  It has been speculated that the $1 million pork project was part of a deal with Senator Phil Poole to lure him away from the minority coalition (that would have been a majority coalition) in the Senate.  Riley issued a line item veto on this project.  So not only did the Democrats not eliminate all pork projects, but they effectively used one as a pseudo-bribe to keep one of their members in line.

TAX REFORM

1. Stop annual property tax increases by returning property reappraisals to a four year cycle

Nope.  There were no fewer than seven bills that would have moved reappraisals back to every four years: SB300, SB172, HB2, SB2, HB131, SB173, and HB18.  None passed.

2. Oppose any increase in taxes without a vote of the people

Well, our taxes didn’t go up.  They get a check in this box.

3. Eliminate the sales tax on food

This didn’t happen either.  Under Rep. John Knight’s proposal (HB555) the sales tax on food items would be eliminated.  Unfortunately, it would eliminate the deduction of federal income taxes from income taxes owed to the state.  That would be a tax increase and it would have violated the previous promise unless it was put to a vote.  Knight’s proposal didn’t make it out of the House.

4. Further reduce the state income tax on all working families and individuals earning less than the Federal Poverty Level

Nope.  They did pass a tax break for hazardous waste going to an Alabama landfill!

5. Create the Alabama Energy Independence Act with tax incentives for Alabama farmers and refineries, providing Alabama jobs, and making Alabama less dependent on foreign oil

There are at least three bills that appear to fulfill this promise: SB511, HB773, and SB494.  All three died in committees controlled by Democrats.

EDUCATION

1. Pass a constitutional amendment to prohibit the use of Alabama Education Trust Fund money for non-education purposes

Two statewide amendments were approved by the legislature and then by the voters.  One increased the state’s borrowing limit so that we could subsidize a steel company.  The other established a trust fund to preserve retiree benefits.  A search of all bills and resolutions from both the special and regular sessions did not return a single one that would have amended our constitution to preserve education trust fund money.

2. Pass budgets that increase funding for the following education priorities:

- Classroom discipline

- Emphasis on “back-to-basics” education

- Technology in the classroom

- Support students and the work of teachers and other education personnel, instead of bureaucrats and “pork” projects

This one is hard to measure since the promises cannot easily be tied to specific legislation.  They did give teachers a 7% raise.  They also killed off state Finance Director Jim Main’s “Pork Palace.”

HB 582 would have required each local board of education to permit corporal punishment, which seems to tie in nicely with their classroom discipline priority.  That bill died in committee.

FAITH & VALUES

1. Pass a constitutional amendment confirming that all life is a gift from God and should be protected; and that life begins at conception

Nope.

2. Require public schools to offer Bible Literacy as part of their curriculum

Two bills, HB127 and HB862, would have done so.  Both died in Democratic controlled committees.

3. Defeat any efforts to redefine marriage or provide the benefits of marriage to a same-sex union

As far as I know there were no “efforts to redefine marriage” that the Democrats had to even try to fend off.

SECURITY

1. Pass the Alabama Border Protection Act requiring immigrants to register for a work permit before working in Alabama and making it a felony for employers to repeatedly hire illegal immigrants

There were myriad bills aimed at curbing illegal immigration.  None passed that I am aware of.

2. Provide funding to train Alabama law enforcement personnel to allow full enforcement of immigration laws including deportation of illegal immigrants

I’m not aware of any specifically designated money for this purpose.

3. Pass tough new laws to help apprehend and punish internet predators of children and fund enforcement of new child protection laws.

There were at least two bills with this goal in mind: HB224 and SB463.  The Senate bill died in committee (again, a Democratic controlled committee) and the House bill was read twice.

4. Pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting the sale of or transfer of authority of the Alabama State Docks in Mobile or inland river ports to any foreign entity

I don’t recall seeing such an amendment on the most recent ballot.

HEALTH

1. Establish the Permanent Joint Health Care Committee of the Legislature to guarantee

- Access to affordable, quality health care for every citizen

- Cost containment and access to affordable prescription medications

No such committee exists.

2. Create the Alabama Legislative Health Care Access Trust to provide scholarships for medical students who will serve in underserved areas

Nope.

3. Guarantee funding to keep the state’s Medicaid program viable

Check.  I believe we allocated the bare minimum amount of money to keep the federal money rolling in.

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This entry was posted by Brian on Saturday, June 9th, 2007 at 8:10 am and is filed under Alabama, Politics. 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.