Creating Jobs

Job creation was a major priority this session as Alabama residents suffered an 11 percent unemployment rate. That is why I sponsored Senate Bill 121. This $1 billion highway and jobs bill passed the House and the Senate during the 2010 session. It will be voted on by the entire state as a constitutional amendment in the general election in November.

By investing $100 million per year for the next 10 years, this constitutional amendment will use the Alabama Trust Fund create 30,000 new jobs and improve roads and bridges in every county in Alabama. It will also do this without raising taxes by a single cent.

This may be one of the most important constitutional amendments our state has ever considered. If enacted, it will improve infrastructure and create jobs throughout Alabama for the next 10 years and beyond.

Let’s hope Alabamians will vote yes to this job-creating constitutional amendment in November. Our state and her people will be better for it.

Education

Education is always one of my top priorities. A good education system starts with our teachers. We can’t afford to lose a single one. Fortunately we were able to avoid teacher layoffs this year by passing an Education Budget that fully funds every state-paid teaching position in Alabama. We also made certain that our Education Budget funded critical programs like the Alabama Reading Initiative, the Math and Science Initiative, Distance Learning and our nationally-recognized Pre-K program.

Another top priority for me this session was finding a way to fully fund the Prepaid Alabama College Tuition (PACT) program. More than 48,000 Alabama parents and grandparents put their faith in this state, investing their hard-earned dollars to ensure that their children and grandchildren receive a college education. Alabama made a promise to those parents and grandparents, and I was determined that we would not hang them out to dry.

That is why I sponsored a bill to save the PACT program. We were able to find the $236 million requested by the PACT board and promised to the parents and grandparents of of this state, and we did it without taking a single dollar from other areas of education. The plan will fund the program with $544 million over the next 17 years. We solved the problem because it was the right thing to do, and in the process we probably avoided losing hundreds of millions of dollars in potential lawsuits. But we didn’t just throw money at the problem. We created a new board of financial experts that will oversee the program in the future and make sure this kind of mismanagement doesn’t happen again.

Accountability

One important legislation that passed the Senate, but unfortunately not the House of Representatives, was a ban on no-bid contracts.  In the last seven years the state of Alabama has entered into more than $2.6 billion in no-bid contracts. I sponsored a bill that would have eliminated all no-bid contracts more than $7,500 -- except for during emergency situations.  I also voted to add an amendment to the bill, making the legislation retroactively apply to current no-bid contracts worth more than $250,000 that have not reached 50 percent completion. This is one of the worst ethical problems in Alabama. I will continue my fight against this abuse in the next legislative session until we pass a bill that puts a stop to no-bid contracts.

Taxes

The people of Alabama pay the lowest taxes in the nation. That is something I am very proud of, and the Alabama Senate will continue work to make sure that remains the same. Our state and nation are going through some very difficult times financially, the worst most of us have seen in our lifetimes. That's why we did not raise a single tax during the 2010 Legislative session.

Seniors

I believe it is society's responsibility to care for our senior citizens. As we faced the budget challenges of the 2010 session, we worked hard to secure the critical programs that protect our senior citizens. Despite the difficult economic times, our 2010 General budget fully funds Medicaid, Meals on Wheels and our highly successful Senior RX program.

Honoring Our Veterans

Taking care of our veterans is very important to me. It is because of their selfless bravery and sacrifice that we are able to enjoy living in the greatest nation in the world. Sadly, many of our veterans come home wounded and traumatized. Some do not come home at all, making the ultimate sacrifice to defend our nation. I will always work in the Alabama Senate to take care of and protect these great Americans.  

We passed legislation this session that allows the Alabama Superintendent of Education to issue a high school diploma to a veteran who has been honorably discharged and whose service in the military interrupted his ability to complete high school.

We passed a bill that will help create a POW/MIA distinctive license tag for purchase, with proceeds going to the Veteran’s Assistance Fund.

We also passed legislation that establishes license tags for members and former members of the U.S. Armed Forces. 

Fighting Crystal Meth

I have passed many bills that have helped in the battle against crystal meth. Experts and law enforcement say this is the most addictive, dangerous drug in the world. Because it is so cheap and easy to make, crystal meth remains an enormous problem in North Alabama. It destroys lives and tears apart families.

I continued the fight against meth this session, sponsoring legislation that establishes an online electronic verification system operated to monitor the sell of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine -- key ingredients used in making meth.

We authorized each presiding judge in a judicial circuit to establish a drug court that provides screening of drug offenders, treatment, support services and referrals to treatment programs certified by the Department of Mental Health.

We also increased the penalties selling stolen copper (Sadly it has become very common for meth users to steal copper wire and pipe to buy and manufacture meth).

Assisting Police, Fire and Rescue

There are hundreds brave men and women in North Alabama who work as police officers, firefighters and emergency management personnel who go out every single day and risk their lives to save another.

These individuals are heroes and I always try to make sure that we protect them from bad legislation. I do everything I can to push through legislation that will help them perform their jobs as safely and efficiently as possible. We passed several pieces of legislation this session that do just that, protect and take care of those who protect and take care of us.

For instance, we passed a bill that requires a per diem to be paid to volunteer firefighters and volunteer emergency personnel who are subpoenaed to appear as a witness in a deposition or trial. We passed legislation that will ensure that volunteer fire departments are issued license plates at the same cost as other governmental agencies. We passed legislation that provides a distinctive license tag for retired professional firefighters. We passed similar legislation that will provide a free distinctive automobile license tag for widows and widowers of firefighters or policemen who have fallen in the line of duty.

We established the Alabama Firefighters Annuity and Benefit Fund and passed legislation that will allow military leave of absence for emergency medical personnel who are members of the National Disaster Medical System.

Public Safety

We passed a bill that establishes the Protection From Abuse Act to ensure that victims of domestic violence receive the protection, help and resources they need to remain safe after a crime has taken place.

We protected the privacy of victims and their family with a bill that prohibits the release of audio 9-1-1 calls unless court-ordered under special. 

Fighting the war on drugs, we enacted legislation that prohibits the use of salvia divinorum, a dangerous new drug that has become more and more widely sold in the past couple of years.

We took a stand against human trafficking, a problem that has become more and more of an issue in Alabama over the years. 

We passed a bill requiring probate judges to redact, remove or make illegible social security numbers and other personal information on marriage licenses and other public documents to keep you safe from identity theft.

We passed legislation requiring immediate termination and loss of future pay and benefits to any Alabama educator or education employee convicted of Class A felonies or any sex offense.

Caring for Our Children

It was a top priority this session to pass a General Fund Budget that fully funds Medicaid and ALL Kids, so that all children in our state can see a doctor when they are sick or hurt. We also passed a number of bills this session that will make our children safer.

We made it a crime for a school employee to have a physical relationship with a student under the age of 19. We also passed legislation that immediately revokes the teaching certificate and terminates pay of any teacher convicted of a Class A felony or sex offense. We also enacted a law that prohibits sex offenders from operating school buses or charter buses.

The state's graduated license law for teens was strengthened. The bill restricts the times that a teen can drive, limits the number of passengers a newly-licensed teen can carry (other than parents or guardians) and prohibits the use of cell phones and texting while driving.

We passed a laws that requires all new school construction to include an approved safe space or hallway, and allow schools in unincorporated areas to establish reduced school speed zones on roads and highways to protect our students from traffic.

The Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act establishes procedures for the purpose of preventing child abduction and to provide for the cooperation and communications among the various stakeholders and uniformity between states.

We changed guardianship laws to allow family members to become legal guardians of children who can no longer be cared for by their birth parents.

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