By Mary Sell
The Decatur Daily
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Lawmakers return to Montgomery on Tuesday after a spring break and now have 12 legislative days remaining to deal with some major bills.
Meanwhile, across the street in the Capitol, Gov. Robert Bentley is trying to conduct business as usual, despite calls for his resignation.
Here are some of the larger issues remaining for the session.
Education Budget
While the 2017 $6.3 billion education budget already has cleared the House, senators haven’t yet had their say. Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, chairman of the Senate education budget committee, has begun working on some changes to the budget bill.
He said it won’t be in committee this week. There are some “substantial” decisions that have come into play since the House passed its version and he’s talking with fellow senators.
The House-approved version gives a 4 percent raise to teachers who earn less than $75,000 a year. Others would get a 2 percent pay increase. It also provides money to hire 475 more middle and high school teachers and has an additional $14 million for the state’s voluntary pre-kindergarten program. The budget also includes allocations for community colleges and four-year universities.
General Fund
Lawmakers likely will get another chance to vote on the $1.8 billion General Fund budget soon. Bentley said he’ll veto the budget approved last month. Lawmakers are expected to override his veto, an action that requires a simple majority vote in each chamber.
Bentley is considering a special session in which he could call lawmakers back to Montgomery to again craft a budget, but many said they don’t see a different outcome possible.
The sticking point on the General Fund budget is Medicaid funding. Though $15 million more than the current budget year, it’s $85 million short of what Medicaid said it needs to continue current services and move forward with the long-planned transition to regional care organizations. Those organizations would manage patients’ health care in an effort to keep them healthier and less of a cost to the state.
Bentley Controversy and His Prison Bill
The governor has gone about promoting his priority legislation in the past two weeks. But questions about his relationship with a former staffer, Rebekah Mason, and the possible inappropriate use of state funds or resources, continue to dog him.
Bentley in the past week has denied a physical affair with Mason, his top adviser, who resigned last week, but he admitted to saying inappropriate things to her over a period of time two years ago. Bentley has denied any other wrongdoing and said he did nothing illegal.
But calls for him to resign aren’t fading. Rep. Ed Henry, R-Hartselle, said he is initiating the legislative process that could lead to Bentley’s impeachment.
An Alabama Ethics Commission investigation has begun into an alleged affair and whether state resources were used. State Auditor Jim Zeigler also asked that Mason’s pay be investigated. She wasn’t on the state payroll but was paid through Bentley’s campaign fund and a nonprofit set up to support Bentley’s policies. Where the nonprofit’s funds come from is not known.
Separately, Attorney General Luther Strange last month said his office takes seriously all accusations of wrongdoing but wouldn’t comment on pending or possible investigations.
Bentley spokeswoman Jennifer Ardis said last week the governor continues to work with members of the Legislature on his prison bond bill.
“He remains focused on that,” Ardis said.
Neither legislative chamber has voted on the plan to borrow $800 million to build four large prisons around the state, replacing most of the 16 crowded facilities now in operation.
Fifteen existing men’s state prisons, including the one in Limestone County, will be evaluated to decide which two will remain open after three men’s and one women’s facilities are built.
A process for deciding which existing prisons would remain open has not been determined.
Some questioned the state’s proposal to include design and construction in the same project bid. Others questioned whether the state’s plan to use savings from the consolidation, estimated at about $50 million a year, will pay off the bond issue.
Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said the bill is a priority. Asked if the Bentley scandal will impact the prison bill, Marsh said he doesn’t want it to.
“You can’t say (the Bentley controversy) doesn’t hang out there, but I hope it wouldn’t affect something as important as (the prison bill),” he said.
Gas Tax Could Stall
Rep. Mac McCutcheon, R- Huntsville, said his bill to increase the state gas tax in order to fund road and bridge projects won’t be up for a House vote this week. He’s trying to build support among House and Senate members, some of whom oppose any tax increases.
“I want to talk with them and find out exactly where their problems are and see if we can work together,” McCutcheon said.
About those who are against any tax increase, McCutcheon said his response is, “Then give me a solution.”
“Because the problem is here and it’s growing,” he said about road infrastructure. “We’re heading toward a crisis.”
House Bill 394 would raise the gasoline tax by 6 cents per gallon. It’d be the first state gas tax increase in 25 years. The tax would then be adjusted every four years to equal the average tax in Alabama’s four border states.
Asked Friday if the bill has enough time to pass both chambers, McCutcheon said he didn’t know.
“I know I’m doing the right thing. It’s just not very popular,” he said.
Teacher Tenure
Another bill yet to clear the Senate or House is Marsh’s proposal to change how public school teachers and administrators are evaluated and to make their tenure subject to performance reviews.
The bill is called the Preparing and Rewarding Educational Professionals Act. It would create a teacher and administrator evaluation process where student achievement growth counts for 25 percent of the year-end evaluation.
The bill also increased from three to five the number of years required to attain tenured status. Any teacher with tenure who receives two consecutive ratings of “below expectations” or “significantly below expectations” would be subject to personnel action.
Students’ surveys of teachers also would be a factor in the evaluations. The bill also includes money for high-performing schools and teacher-recruitment money for rural or low-performing schools.
Marsh last week said he’s still discussing the bill with his colleagues and wants the bill passed in its entirety.
“I don’t want to cannibalize it and not accomplish the accountability part,” Marsh said. “We’ll just have to see where we are (when we return to Montgomery).”
Other Bills
Marsh mentioned as a priority Orr’s payday lending reform legislation.
Senate Bill 91 extends payday loan repayment periods from the current two to four weeks to six months. It also caps a finance charge at 45 percent, though additional fees could push the maximum allowable interest rates to about 180 percent.
Advocates for reform said Orr’s bill is a compromise. Currently, interest on loans can be more than 400 percent. Efforts to change the fees on payday lending have been in the Statehouse for years with little success.
“I think it’s important that we have a vote on it,” Orr said.
Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, said the House plans to work on recommendations of the legislative Alcohol Beverage Study Commission and the Joint Committee on Public Pensions during the session’s remaining days.
Bills of Local Interest
A bill by Rep. Lynn Greer, R-Rogersville, to let the University of North Alabama create a 401(k) plan for new employees as an alternative to joining the Retirement Systems of Alabama is on the House calendar Tuesday for a vote, though far down the list.
House Bill 232 would allow UNA to contribute to an employee’s 401(k) rather than the pension system.
RSA officials oppose the bill.
Another bill awaiting action in the House would let Decatur and other municipalities reduce, but not eliminate, their police jurisdictions.
Senate Bill 218 by Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, states when a city increases its borders, city leadership can vote to expand its police jurisdictions by an additional 3 miles.
Orr had an amendment added on the Senate floor that says a municipality can by local ordinance also reduce its current police jurisdiction from 3 miles to 1½ miles.
Copyright 2016 The Decatur Daily