Speaker Hubbard and House Republican Caucus Announce "We Dare Defend Our Rights" 2013 Legislative Agenda
By: Blake Deshazo
Updated: January 18, 2013
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REPUBLICAN CAUCUS
"WE DARE DEFEND OUR RIGHTS"
2013 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
Republicans
in the House of Representatives understand that the rights of
Alabamians
are under constant threat from an ever-expanding and encroaching federal
government, committed liberal activists, and entrenched special
interests fighting to preserve the dysfunctional status quo. For that
reason, House Republicans propose this "We
Dare Defend Our Rights" agenda for the 2013 legislative session, and will prioritize their work to ensure that each of these items become law.
Based
upon the official state motto, adopted in 1923 at the suggestion of
State
Archives Director Marie Bankhead Owen, this agenda is designed to
preserve the rights and liberties that Alabama citizens hold dear while
also creating jobs, improving the economy and cutting needless spending
and government waste. The items in the agenda
include:
The Women's Health and Safety Act
- Questionable Supreme Court rulings have eliminated the state's ability
to prohibit abortions altogether. However, states may enact meaningful
abortion-related reforms, and the Women's Health and Safety Act is such
a measure. With this bill, House Republicans
make clear that should a woman choose to have an abortion, it should be
performed in the safest pre-and-post operative environment available.
Specifically, this legislation would require direct physician
involvement and set mandatory standards for nursing
care and post-operative follow-up visits at abortion clinics as well as
establishing severe penalties for non-compliance.
Alabama Firearms Protection Amendment
- House Republicans understand that many Alabamians cherish their right
to own and use a firearm. Recent 5-to-4 opinions of the Supreme Court
have threatened the sanctity of the 2nd
Amendment, but have ultimately upheld the right of American citizens to
keep and bear arms. If President Obama has the chance to fill any Court
vacancies during his second term, these opinions could be overturned.
Consequently, our state constitution should,
as strongly as possible, protect the right of every Alabamian to keep
and bear arms. With this amendment, Alabama's 1901 Constitution will
contain the strongest gun protection provisions in the country. If
ratified, this amendment would require future courts
to use strict judicial scrutiny in evaluating state laws that infringe
on the right to keep and bear arms.
The Local Control School Flexibility Act -
Often,
the rules and regulations passed down by the State Department of
Education come in a one-size-fits-all, cookie cutter form. Yet, since
school officials in the urban
centers, suburbs, and Black Belt region of Alabama face different
issues, schools should have the freedom to address them in a manner that
makes sense for their unique situation. Through No Child Left Behind,
we learned that the federal government's intervention
in local education policy is plagued with issues. That's why decisions
directly affecting public education on the local level should be made at
the local level. With this bill, House Republicans will provide local
school systems the ability to request more
flexibility from certain state statutes, policies and regulations in
order to make decisions that improve education within their districts.
The People's Trust Act
- When Alabamians overwhelmingly approved the transfer of $437 million
from the Alabama Trust Fund to the General Fund budget, they did so, in
part, because legislators from across the state promised that repaying
this loan would be their first priority for
the 2013 session. Before any other bill comes to the floor of the
House, we will pass legislation mandating that every borrowed penny be
repaid. Unlike past politicians and legislative leaders, we intend to
keep our promise. The payback structure will give
the governor flexibility in making the Alabama Trust Fund whole, while
containing benchmarks that ensure repayment by the end of FY 2026.
Government Reduction and Taxpayer Savings Plan
- With the recent 'fiscal cliff' that raised $43 in taxes for every $1
in spending cuts, President Obama and Congress have demonstrated that
they do not have Alabama's best interests in mind, and they will not get
our fiscal house in order anytime soon. Republicans
in the Alabama Legislature are committed to streamlining government, as
demonstrated by merging two state agencies, the Departments of Labor and
Industrial Relations, into one during the 2012 session. But more can,
and will, be done. The Government Reduction
and Taxpayer Savings Plan will focus on streamlining initiatives in the
areas of law enforcement, information technology, and legislative
services. Together, these bills will prove to Alabama taxpayers that
House Republicans are serious about cutting wasteful
spending, saving taxpayer dollars, and living within our means.
The Truth in Balloting Act
- Citizens have no higher duty in a democracy than making decisions at
the ballot box. When taxpayers are called to answer a ballot question,
they deserve to know the exact ramifications of a yes or no vote. What
they most certainly do not deserve is ballot
language that is either filled with undecipherable legalese or
embellishment designed to scare them into voting one way or the other.
Too many times in the past, politicians have said one thing and done the
opposite - this bill will eliminate that manipulation
at the ballot box. Every time a statewide ballot initiative is
proposed, a panel of five citizens, five attorneys, and five lawmakers
will draft a ballot statement that plainly outlines the consequences of
approving or disapproving a ballot question. The
ballot statement will also be made available on the Legislature's
website at least thirty days prior to the vote.
The 21st
Century Workforce Act -
Taxpayers deserve the strongest economy possible, yet President Obama
continues to enact policies that are burdensome to business.
Nevertheless,
Alabama's economy is improving each year because companies choose to
utilize the talent of our state's workforce. Instead of resting on our
laurels, House Republicans want to strengthen the state's investment in
career technical education by making sure high
school students across the state have access to updated technology and
equipment. This will help prepare tomorrow's workforce with the skills
needed for a successful career in whatever field they choose, ensuring
that Alabama businesses have the tools, and
employees, they need to succeed in the 21st century.
The Red Tape Reduction Act - It's
no
secret that too many state and federal regulations hurt small
businesses and inhibit their ability to create jobs. Businesses spend
money, time and other resources complying
with regulations, too often at the expense of productivity and
employment opportunities. Before implementing a new regulation, agencies
should ALWAYS consider the impact on jobs. The Red Tape Reduction Act
would require each state agency to prepare an economic
impact analysis prior to the adoption of any proposed regulation that
could have an adverse impact on small businesses. This gives the
Legislature an additional mechanism to protect our state's economy from
needless and damaging bureaucratic initiatives.
The Religious Liberty Act
- The Obama Administration and many federal agencies use mandates in an
attempt to take over the religious freedoms guaranteed to employers by
the U.S. and Alabama Constitutions. But House Republicans will not stand
idly by and watch this President trample
on provisions that our founding fathers viewed as sacred. The Religious
Liberty Act would allow certain employers to opt out of specific
overreaching ObamaCare mandates requiring employers to provide insurance
coverage for contraceptives and abortion-inducing
agents.
The Medicaid Block Grant Compact
- Expenses for Alabama's Medicaid program choke up almost 35% of our
State General Fund. Even though the Legislature appropriates money to
the program, the state has little influence in who qualifies for
Medicaid or what benefits they are provided. What's
worse, ObamaCare regulations stand to make Medicaid even more
unaffordable for our state. With Congressional consent, the Health Care
Compact would place the authority and responsibility for healthcare
regulation to the member states, and would provide the
funds to the states to fulfill that responsibility. By becoming the
fifth state to join this interstate compact, Alabama would send a strong
message to Washington that demonstrates states can do a better job of
efficiently running their Medicaid programs if
the federal government would stay out of the way.
The Medicaid Fraud Reduction Act -
No greater abuse can be committed against taxpayers than cheating a
program designed to give a helping hand to our country's most vulnerable
citizens. Medicaid is just such a program. But as with many
entitlement programs, federal regulations and liberal
activists have forged pathways for Medicaid to be abused and misused.
With the Medicaid Fraud Reduction Act, Republicans are committed to
increasing the efficiency of our state Medicaid program by improving the
ability of the Attorney General's Office and
the Alabama Medicaid Agency to pinpoint, investigate, and prosecute
instances of Medicaid fraud and abuse.
