GUEST EDITORIAL
By Sen. Bill Armistead
(April 22, 2002)
DESPITE CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS AND PRO-LIFE VICTORIES, SESSION WAS A DISAPPOINTMENT BECAUSE OF UNFINISHED BUSINESS AND A BAD BUDGET
Everyone should breathe a sigh of relief now that the 2002 Regular Session has ended. Although several pieces of excellent legislation passed, I am disappointed overall by the number of bad bills passed by the liberals in the Legislature and by the number of good bills they killed.
On a positive note, the passage of a bill requiring criminal background checks for current employees of public and private schools in Alabama is among the best legislation passed in the last decade. Because of the ever-increasing frequency of accusations involving the sexual abuse of children, I believe the Legislature was finally persuaded to act.
Since coming to the Alabama Senate eight years ago, I have championed this cause and am thankful it finally passed. Even though Gov. Siegelman blocked this legislation when he was Lieutenant Governor, I am hopeful he will sign this bill into law. It is the right thing to do to protect our most cherished resource: the children of Alabama.
We also passed the "Woman’s Right to Know" bill that requires abortion clinics inform women with critical information before making the decision to take the life of their child through abortion. Once this law takes effect, all abortion clinics must provide women with basic information such as the age of the unborn baby, the procedure used to end the child’s life, risks that the mother faces and the alternatives to an abortion.
This new law should lead to fewer abortions and save thousands of innocent lives each year. After several years of seeing this legislation die in a Senate committee, we were able to pass this bill after I succeeded in a parliamentary procedure to bring the bill up for a vote.
Once again, Republicans in the Legislature who have fought for years to pass a "voter ID" bill were disappointed as liberal Democrat legislators killed the bill, by insisting it be considered along with their bill giving convicted felons the right to vote. How giving felons the right to vote is a higher priority of the liberals in the legislature than ensuring only properly registered voters cast ballots is beyond me. We will continue to push this issue until we pass a bill ending voter fraud in Alabama’s polling places.
Another disappointment was the passage of a pork-laden General Fund Budget that gives members of the Legislature several hundred thousand dollars to use any way they like. At least $175,000 was set aside so Senators could spend a minimum of $5,000 each on just about anything. With the House getting a similar amount, it’s clear the leaders of the House and Senate are out of touch. Further proof is that over the past four years, the Senate Pro Tem’s budget has soared from $30,000 to over $1 million, with no guidelines as to how this money be spent.
At a time when the state is delaying tax refunds by several months, my colleagues voted to give themselves thousands of dollars more to each play with next year. Instead of funding the critical needs of the state and helping Alabamians, they decided to spend your tax dollars on themselves.
Simply put, this budget represents the priorities of many Montgomery politicians and what is wrong with the Democrat leadership in Montgomery.
A personal disappointment was failure of the House of Representatives to pass my bill allowing our national motto, "In God We Trust" to be posted in our public schools. The Senate passed the bill without a dissenting vote, but the House refused to consider this bill.
I sponsored this bill because I believe it is important our children be reminded that America is a God-fearing nation founded on strong moral principles. In 1956, Congress approved "In God We Trust" as our national motto and we have printed this motto on our money for many years before adopting it as our motto.
If our children can have "In God We Trust" on their lunch money, why can’t we allow the posting of this same motto in the lunchrooms?
Last Wednesday concluded the 2002 Regular Session of the legislature. It will be the last time this legislature meets unless the Governor calls a special session. A new legislature will be elected on November 5th and they will take office at 12:01 AM on November 6th.
It is my prayer that the people of this state elect conservative men and women to Montgomery this November so we can change the culture of state government and restore fiscal discipline, honesty and integrity and enact the common sense legislation that was blocked by the Democrat leadership this session.
Some legislators are retiring, some are seeking higher office and others will be defeated at the polls. But if history is any indication, most will be re-elected. Still, watch out for the surprises. There are always some surprises and this year will be no exception.
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Sen. Bill Armistead is the Republican Leader in the Alabama Senate and represents District 14 including Shelby, Chilton & Bibb Counties. Sen. Armistead’s e-mail address is senator@armistead.org and his web site is www.armistead.org. His weekly editorials are posted on his web site and can also be received via email weekly if requested.