Legislature adjourns w/o education budget

[jowlar]

The Alabama Senate failed to pass the state education budget last night before the regular session ended at midnight. Many school systems will have to start laying off non tenured teachers and support personnel as a result of their failure.

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2008/05/...ut_educat.html
[b]

	Quote:
	<H3>Legislative session adjourns without education budget MONTGOMERY -- The 2008 legislative session ended at midnight, as required by law, without the state Senate approving an education budget. No education budget could mean layoffs for some education employees over the next few weeks. "Pink slips are going to be given out this week, next week, because we don't have a budget so schools can plan," Rep. Richard Lindsey, D-Centre, said. Lindsey is chairman of the House education budget-writing committee. Four-year universities had sought an additional $25 million, but were opposed by the powerful teacher's lobby, the Alabama Education Association. Gov. Bob Riley tried unsuccessfully to mediate between the two sides as the hours ticked down on the session. Members of both chambers vented their frustration. "I'm both disappointed and disgusted," Speaker of the House Seth Hammett said early today. "It's almost to me unbelievable you would be divided on a $6.3 billion budget by $25 million separating the two sides with neither side willing to compromise.' Hammett said early Tuesday that he'll urge Riley not to bring legislators back for a special session until he gets an agreement with state senators on a funding split between K-12 and public universities. Dozens of bills ranging from a statewide smoking ban to the removal of the state sales tax on food died on the final night of the legislative session. "I am terribly disappointed that we don't have the budget. but I'm absolutely hurt about not removing the sales tax on food," Rep. Demetrius Newton, D-Birmingham, said. Riley on Monday night also vetoed a section of the General Fund operating budget that fuels non-education state services such as prisons and Medicaid. Riley said he thought the budget language protecting some agencies from cuts in case of a budget shortfall was unconstitutional. The governor sent his General Fund veto seconds before the House adjourned, so there was no time to override the veto. Hammett said he didn't see a problem with the budget language. He said House staff have advised him the veto won't matter because it didn't strike the appropriation amounts to the agencies. "If what I'm told is accurate, it really doesn't matter," Hammett said. The end of the session brought death to more than 170 other bills that had been passed by the House, including: --Grocery tax: The bill would have let voters decide whether to remove the 4 percent state sales tax from groceries and adjusted state income taxes to cut the burden on many low-income people and raise the burden on many upper-income people. --Smoking ban: The bill would have banned people from smoking in restaurants, stores, convention halls, theaters, sports arenas, work places and many other public indoor places. Stand-alone bars, but not bars in restaurants, would have been exempt from the ban. --Corporate taxes: The bill would have closed corporate income tax loopholes that some big companies headquartered out-of-state, including Wal-Mart, have used to lower their taxable state income. It would have raised about $74 million next year, most of which would be spent in next year's education budget. --PAC-to-PAC transfers: A compromise proposal by Rep. Jeff McLaughlin, D-Guntersville, would have banned transfers of campaign money between political action committees but carved out "one-way street" exemptions for political parties and legislative caucuses and required new quarterly filings to report contributions. --Tax rebates: The bill would have exempted federal stimulus checks from state income taxes. The move would have saved Alabamians collectively about $57 million, but the savings would have been modest -- up to $30 for individuals and up to $90 for a couple with two children. The bill also said the state wouldn't recognize a tax break for businesses contained in the federal stimulus package, which allows them to claim a larger deduction for the cost of new equipment instead of depreciating that cost over many years. --Steel coils: The bill would have stiffened fines for companies and drivers that improperly secure steel coils, and it would have required trucking companies to certify that their drivers know how to properly load

</H3>

[chill]

I guess we are going to have to pay Alabama Tax on the stimulus package.

Legislation Fails to Pass Education Budget
Special Session Needed
Last Edited: Tuesday, 20 May 2008, 5:37 AM CDT
Created: Tuesday, 20 May 2008, 5:37 AM CDT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala (WBRC-TV MyFoxAL.com) -- Alabama lawmakers failed to pass an education budget overnight, forcing a special session.

The senate ended the session minutes before midnight without a deal. Lawmakers were split over adding 25-million dollars for public colleges and universities.

That is less than one-percent of the overall education fund. The governor says he will not call a special session until an agreement is reached.

Several high profile bills died in the deadlock. Among them, a state ban on smoking in most public places. Also removed was a bill removing state sales tax on groceries.

A bill that would keep the state from taxing your federal economic stimulus checks was killed in the Senate. The bill would have saved an individual taxpayer up to 30-dollars and up to 90-bucks for couples with two children.
http://www.myfoxal.com/myfox/pages/N...Y&pageId=3.1.1

[Bane]

Great job legislators! It's always nice to hear about our hardworking, honest, responsible state politicians stepping up to the plate and doing what's best for the citizens of Alabama.

[chill]

	Quote:	Bane
	Great job legislators! It's always nice to hear about our hardworking, honest, responsible state politicians stepping up to the plate and doing what's best for the citizens of Alabama.

You forgot OVERPAID....

[i'el abshira]

and for the most part, the "People" keep re-electing the same inepts. would we allow the same people to work for us in our businesses? but as long as nascar and football are still on tv and beer is still sold, most people won't bother to get involved

[demopolite]

Good. Maybe everyone getting screwed will put the AEA back in its place. I'm sick of Paul Hubbard running the state, and I have little sympathy for those getting laid off, as their involvement in the AEA makes them complicit in this debaucle.

[jowlar]

	Quote:	demopolite
	Good. Maybe everyone getting screwed will put the AEA back in its place. I'm sick of Paul Hubbard running the state, and I have little sympathy for those getting laid off, as their involvement in the AEA makes them complicit in this debaucle.

I agree with you about Paul Hubbert, but Gubena Bob wrote the budget that cut colleges and universities and from the scandals of late apparently they had plenty of money.

[Kagan]

The governor doesn't have to call a special session. Unless I'm lost in the 1901 Constitution, I believe that he could simply "renew" the existing budget without additional legislative approval because it has already passed the legislature once. Therefore, the existing 2007-2008 budget is the legal budget of the state until it is changed. IIRC

IMHO a special session would be a waste of time and money.

I agree with you demopolite about the union to which I am forced to belong. I am required by state law to have AEA's liability insurance.

[demopolite]

Excellent e-mail I just got from Stuart Carter, president of Free the Hops:

	Quote:
	Last year the Gourmet Beer Bill was given the "Shroud Award" for the "deadest bill of the session". This year members and supporters of Free the Hops rallied around magnificently and carried out a sustained effort of education on the issues, such that every single legislator in the Alabama Legislature heard about Gourmet Beer and knew what the real issues were. We were failed by the Senate. They spent the entire session in petty bickering, being too busy scoring political points to do the job we pay them to do. An entire legislative session squandered in point-scoring instead of dealing with the very grave legislative issues that were before them. The senate didn't deal with the education budget. They didn't deal with removing the 4% grocery tax. They didn't deal with the smoking ban. They didn't deal with a bill to prevent large corporations avoiding paying Alabama taxes. They didn't deal with a bill to exempt the Federal Stimulus Check from Alabama taxation. It is time for you, the people of Alabama, to feel outraged at this. The senators behaved in a way that brings shame on the state, and they need to learn that their actions have consequences on their own political careers. Let me be blunt here: the issue is not that the senators failed to deal with Gourmet Beer. The issue is that they failed you, the people of Alabama - and that failure needs to be punished. Call, email, or write your senator. Tell them how you feel about their dismal failure to achieve anything this year. Tell them how you feel about their poor representation of you on the national political field. Tell them how you feel about them confirming everyone's prejudices about our great state. Tell them you will remember that all they achieved in 2007 was to vote themselves a huge pay rise. Above all, tell them that in 2010 you will remember their failures in 2007 and 2008. And that voluntary failure is not acceptable. Find your senator: http://capwiz.com/state-al/dbq/zs.dbq Stuart Carter President Free the Hops | Alabamians for Specialty Beer