Joe Turnham: Education, General Fund budgets highlight session

The 2009 regular session of the Alabama Legislature was one of the more productive sessions of the past several years. The greatest success by far was the passage of the Educational and General Fund budgets, on time and without incurring deep cuts in government services and without layoffs of classroom teachers.

In our worst economic crisis in a generation, President Obama’s stimulus and rescue package for state governments and education staved off disaster for our children in Alabama public schools and our health care system for children and seniors. The budgets passed with bipartisan support.

Ethics legislation was passed that requires state government to post expenditures online for taxpayers to view. A PAC-to-PAC transfer ban passed the House for the seventh-consecutive time only to bog down in the Senate. Other major ethics legislation moved through committee in both houses and increased its chance of passage next session.

Republican opposition on four occasions prevented the removal of the sales tax on our groceries and prevented the state from regulating, limiting and taxing gaming. Gov. Bob Riley and Republican leaders also thwarted attempts to accept additional funds from the Congress for unemployment benefits for laid-off workers being battered by the economy.

Even in the face of partisan spin-doctoring and editorial cynicism, the Alabama Legislature passed a flurry of positive bills. According to Jeff Woodard, chief of staff to the House Speaker, here is a sample of successful legislative actions of 2009 under Democratic leadership:

* Creation of a mortgage financing program to assist people adversely affected by the recession.

* Providing incentives for the expansion of “white collar” industries.

* Enhanced workforce development for construction trades.

* Creation of a mechanism for development of a rapid rail transit program.

* Providing for the redevelopment of Gulf State Park.

* Promotion of energy efficiency in state operations, as well as the development of alternative fuels.

* Increasing the school dropout age from 16 to 17.

* Crack down on sex offenders.

* Establish a missing senior citizen alert program.

* Prohibit the confiscation of citizens’ firearms during times of emergencies.

* Creation of regional autism centers and an autism coordinating council.

* Imposing new controls over the sale of tobacco products.

* Providing home insurance discounts for weather-resistant improvements.

* Providing for individual development accounts.

Several local bills for Lee County and surrounding counties were passed as well.

Democrats, including our own state Sen. Ted Little, sponsored legislation to reform Alabama’s Constitution by calling for a Constitutional Convention. It moved through committee, but ultimately failed because of scant Republican support and opposition from mule-interest lobbyists.

There were good days when everybody worked together, and bad days, when a few filibustered the day away. The legislature is a diverse and sensitive body with ever-present whiffs of partisanship and the looming elections of 2010 just ahead. There were solid displays of principled, hard work by members of both parties, and all-in-all, some good things happened.

People of good will in both parties should keep trying to create solid public policy while engaging every citizen in the process. Voters will ultimately sort out for themselves the wheat from the chaff.

Joe Turnham is the Alabama Democratic Party Chairman.