Legislators expect deep budget cuts

It was Reconstruction the last time Alabama had a Republican-controlled Legislature.

Now, state Republicans say they plan to reconstruct the way business has been done in Montgomery since then.

A Republican will pound her gavel to start the Alabama legislative session on Tuesday. Republicans will control the House and Senate and a Republican governor will watch it all unfold from the Capitol.

Freshman Republican Rep. Barry Moore of Enterprise, who unseated longtime Democrat Terry Spicer, said Republican control of the Legislature cuts both ways.

“In a lot of ways, this is a good thing but it is also unfortunate for us because we are going to have to make some tough decisions that might not be politically popular,” Moore said. “We weren’t sent there for business as usual.”

Deep spending cuts are predicted in order to balance the state’s general fund budget, which could fall between 10 and 15 percent short of previous projections. Moore said it would be difficult to achieve the necessary cuts without reducing the number of state employees.

“Unemployment in the private sector has been rising, but it hasn’t been that way with state employees,” Moore said. “It’s the people in the private sector that have been bearing the brunt of this.”

Legislators across the political spectrum know spending cuts will have to be enacted. However, not all agree on the source of the cuts.

“My priority is to protect the elderly and the children and always will be,” said Sen. Harri Anne Smith of Slocomb, who will be serving her first term as an independent after three terms as a Republican.

Smith recently asked for feedback on her Facebook page and received comments from many who fear cuts to programs targeted toward the mentally and physically challenged.

Another freshman legislator, Republican Rep. Donnie Chesteen of Geneva, said no programs are beyond consideration.

“It’s like everybody wants you to cut spending, just not on the programs that affect them,” Chesteen said. “But I think people realize we are going to have to try to do more with less.”

Some legislators attended budget hearings last month and were informed that another round of education proration was almost certain. Now, legislators are hopeful proration can be avoided. Gov. Robert Bentley is awaiting revenue numbers from February before making an announcement.

“It looks like there may be a whole lot less pressure over there on the education side,” freshman Democrat Rep. Dexter Grimsley of Abbeville said. “You know we always have to stick by our schools.”

Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, said the Legislature will try to pass a new budgeting process for the education budget. Most Republicans favor a “rolling reserve” budget, in which the next year’s budget estimate is based on an average of revenue in the past year or several consecutive prior years. Advocates say the new process would make proration an extremely rare occurrence and would keep school administrators from being forced to make drastic budget changes late in the school year.

“It’s kind of like we have been kicking the can on down the road for a while now,” Clouse said. “This is the time the can finally comes to a stop.”

Sen. Billy Beasley, D-Clayton, said he supports the idea of a rolling reserve education budget, but not if it sacrifices successful programs.

“We’ve had so many increases and achievement in education in Alabama over the past 10 years, I wouldn’t want to do anything to hinder those programs,” Beasley said.

While budget issues are expected to be the focus of the legislative session, scores of bills have already been prefiled and many others are expected to be filed.

Some bills of interest include:

» A bill that would place a fee on pre-paid cell phones to fund E-911. Advocates say an exodus from land-line phones have affected the revenue gained from fees collected. Currently, no E-911 fee is attached to pre-paid cell phone sales.

» A bill that would change the percentage of votes needed to override a gubernatorial veto from a simple majority to 2/3.

» A bill that would require voters to present a valid ID at the polls in order to vote.

» A bill providing a tax credit to employers who provide health insurance to employees

» The Dothan City Commission may consider asking local legislators to sponsor a bill that would place a 15-mill property tax referendum on the ballot for city voters.