Dialog, UA Faculty and Staff News

Advisory

Vote! Vote! Vote! -- Numbers Count
Siegelman Speaks at LAC Breakfast
Endorsements

The more people involved in the political process in support of higher ed, the more influence they can wield and the louder their voices will be heard in Montgomery. The University of Alabama encourages all eligible faculty, staff and students to vote in the Nov. 5 General Election for Alabama's political leadership. A second way for supporters to make their voices heard is to join the Higher Education Partnership and the UAS PAC. Membership is open to all faculty, staff and students who want to be involved in supporting efforts to secure consistent and dependable funding.

UA government relations officials reiterate that the monthly fees are not a donation or gift, but an investment in the University's and the state's futures. Fees may be contributed by payroll deduction. For information about the Nov. 5 election, go to www.sos.state.al.us/election/2002/index.cfm.

Siegelman Speaks at LAC Breakfast

In campaigning for the upcoming election, Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman attended a recent Legislative Agenda Committee breakfast meeting to outline his stand on issues affecting education, including higher ed. (See Dialog, Sept. 30, for a report on Candidate Bob Riley's Sept. 16 address to the LAC.) Siegelman calls funding education in Alabama "clearly the most important issue this state has before it."

"We don't have plenty of money," he said. "Can we have more efficiencies? Sure," he said, calling what could be found "just a drop in the bucket."

Constitution and Tax Reform

"As a second term governor, I will be in a unique position to tackle constitution reform and tax reform," he told the students, faculty, staff and executive staff attendees. He added that there are powerful forces against those changes, and it will take all like-minded people to affect change. "Those who have benefited, including big business and big landowners, want to keep things as they are. The real fight starts after Nov. 5," he said. He advocates reforming the constitution by convention.

Siegelman said he supports home rule, noting that local governments ought to be able to make their own decisions on raising revenue to support education. He called for tax reform, saying he plans to call a special legislative session as quickly as he "can get the votes together and get to work."

Siegelman is opposed to un-earmarking education funds. He stands firm on the need for a state lottery to support education, quoting a Georgia study that reports Alabamians provide up to 40 percent of Georgia's lottery sales.

"The real moral question is whether we adults will live up to our responsibility to educate our kids," he said. "If we don't invest in education, it will be our undoing."

Investing in Education

In listing the state's newer research programs and high quality jobs created in the auto industry, Siegelman also insisted that the state must invest in adult education as well as in K-higher ed. "We must have funding for job training for the quality jobs to build the next generation, or it will all come to a screeching halt."

He summed up his position by repeating that the only way to invest in Alabama's future and education for the long haul is Constitution and tax reform.

Short of Reform

In the June primaries, voters overwhelmingly passed the Siegelman-backed Amendment One, which established the Education Trust Fund Rainy Day Account, designed to help stave off proration. Detractors warned that taking this $250 million from the Alabama Trust Fund, created from oil and gas revenues to provide stability in state financing, would lead to dire financial consequences because there was no plan included for repayment of the borrowed money. Amendment One does require, however, that the fund be repaid in five years from sales taxes on Internet purchases -- which Congress has banned until late in 2003.

The Nov. 5 ballot will ask voters whether to create a second "rainy day fund," this one for the General Fund budget.

Riley's plan for the state's budgets would be based on the prior year's tax collections, not on estimated tax collections as is currently practiced. Supporters say that this plan would eliminate proration, since the money would have already been collected. Detractors point out that if this plan goes into effect, the fiscal 2004 budget (the one Legislators will deal with in March 2003) would be based on revenues the state collected in fiscal 2002 (the most recently collected taxes). Under this plan, the 2004 education budget would be about $31 million smaller than this year's budget.

Detractors also point out that this plan, like Amendment One, does not provide any new revenue for education.

For more information about governmental affairs or to receive the UAS Legislative Affairs newsletter, contact the UA office of government relations at 348-4771 or 334/242-2262 or visit the Web site at www.governmentrelations.ua.edu.

Endorsements

Voters can watch the news media for any candidate endorsements by business, the local news outlets, and other groups. The Higher Education Leadership PAC, a group of statewide supporters of higher ed, evaluates candidates across the state. Their endorsements may be found at www.higheredpartners.org/HELP/candidateendorsements2002.html.