Governor Bentley Calls Special Session
By: Stephen Crews
Updated: May 17, 2012
Governor
Robert Bentley on Thursday signed the proclamation required to call a
special session of the Alabama Legislature starting May 17.
The
call includes budget-supporting legislation, redistricting measures,
and efforts to further simply and clarify Alabama's immigration law.
Topics included in the call are as follows:
1.) Redistricting Legislation:
This
is a required process based on updated U.S. Census data. Lawmakers
will re-draw, as necessary, district lines for representation of the
public in the Alabama House of Representatives and the Alabama Senate.
2.) Legislation Addressing
Constitutional Amendments: This is a
technical amendment that corrects the double counting of bonds against
the state's debt limit. The state will be able to save 30 million
taxpayer dollars immediately upon passage. Further,
this measure will authorize the availability of more than 100 million
dollars in economic development money to assist in putting Alabamians
back to work.
3.) Disposition of Funds:
This
legislation will put the state in a better financial position in the
long-term. It will do so by providing a source of "growth revenue" for
the state's General Fund budget. This revenue stream will grow as the
economy grows. That means a more robust
flow of revenue will help in funding essential state services as
Alabama's economic recovery continues. This will support budgets
approved by the Legislature.
4.) Immigration Law Revisions:
Leaders
in the state have worked together on a series of reforms aimed at
simplifying Alabama's immigration law and making it more effective.
Governor Bentley believes progress was made in the regular legislative
session, and we have an opportunity to further
clarify the law.
A
portion of the existing immigration law calls for school children to be
interrogated about immigration status. This section is currently
enjoined by a federal court. Governor Bentley believes that revising
this section to prevent children from being interrogated would allow the
injunction to be lifted, making the law more effective.
The
Governor is supportive of studies that calculate the cost of illegal
immigration on the state's public education system. His proposed
revision seeks to ensure that any data collected is done so in a
constitutional manner. The result is a bill that is further clarified
and more applicable.
Also,
a recently proposed addition to the existing law would require the
Department of Homeland Security to publish the names of illegal
immigrants who have had various matters before the courts. Such a list
could be counterproductive and take away from the focus of the original
law. The purpose of this particular section of the law is to gather
data and statistics, not names.
"The
essence of the law must remain the same, and that is if you live or
work in Alabama, you must do so legally," Governor Bentley said.
"We must make sure that final revisions to the immigration law make the
law more effective, help promote economic growth, ensure fairness, and
provide greater clarity on the application of the law. I believe these
additional revisions will help us as we accomplish
those goals. A more effective, enforceable bill is a stronger bill."
5.) Appropriation of Tobacco
Settlement Funds: This legislation would
allow the state to appropriate funds from a previous settlement with
cigarette manufacturers. These appropriations are made each year.
The special session is necessary to build upon the legislation approved during the regular session of the Alabama Legislature.
