Can Anyone Interpret Proposed Amend #2 plz? (Montgomery, Madison: 2014, transfer, maintenance)

[writerwife]

I've read it several times and am still at a loss for what it is about. Can anyone interpret it in layman terms without bias?

[FatTails]

I like this site for ballot info: Alabama Capital Improvement Trust Fund, Amendment 2 (2014) - Ballotpedia

I think the essence of the question is whether to divert funds (in the form of a bond) from the AL Trust Fund to pay for the maintenance of AL National Guard armories. Proponents say failure to pass would mean several armories would have to close, threatening response time during emergencies. Opponents say this would cost around $75m over 20 years and the state can't afford it.

[writerwife]

I did find a site that said that basically it's a back door to raising taxes but the wording makes it look like it will hurt armories if it's not passed. I'll delve in a little more.
Thanks!

[FatTails]

I think where it costs taxpayers is the lost interest transferred from the trust fund to the general fund. So you either get a cut in state services or a tax increase to make up the difference. Seems like a silly question to put on the ballot to me. I'm not from Alabama but everything I've heard or read says the state constitution needs an overhaul.

[writerwife]

In some ways it does, the problem lies in Who/how on the overhaul.

[LCTMadison]

It basically raids the Rainy Day trust fund....again. They already raided it to balance the budget thru 2014.

County Commissions have also said this will have a devastating effect on the revenues they receive from the fund.

Alabamians tend to vote for these things because they get stuff without raising taxes.....but all that stuff will have to be paid for eventually. The last time they needed trust fund money, it was going to prevent the shut down of prisons and Medicaid. It puts voters in a "hold your nose and do it" position. Its frustrating.

Alabama's constitution is the longest in the country because it was written to concentrate ALL power in Montgomery.....Madison County's dangerous dog ordinance required a state constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2010. Its crazy to have to literally amend the state constitution over stuff the county commissions should be handling, like a simple dog ordinance. So it just keeps growing, and growing, and growing.....

[writerwife]

Thanks LCT. I have noticed they've been trying to raid that trust fund on a few ballots now.
I do hate the way they do and word these things.... do this or you're a blankety blank that hates kids and kicks puppies.

[dijkstra]

They continually try to raid the trust fund. It will be gone eventually because they will keep on and on until every last penny is spent and then one day we will really need it for something. They intentionally write these amendments to be confusing and hard to understand because voters who don't, simply won't vote on it. That leaves the majority of votes yes by those who wanted it to pass.

When I read these things and they are written to be confusing it sets off a warning bell and I default to a no vote.

Anything that moves money to the general fund from another source.....NO
Anything that raises taxes......NO
Anything that takes the power away from a popular vote by the citizens and moves it to legislative approval......NO
I could go on. lol

[LCTMadison]

....and they write them to portray a "dire" situation to persuade voters to let them do it. Does anyone honestly think they would let Medicaid go to the wayside? No. Let criminals out of prison? Probably not....and how about not make life so cushy for them (that's a WHOLE OTHER RANT OF MINE). For once I'm inclined to say solve this problem without raiding the coffers. Hey, how about cutting spending? I feel fairly certain there is waste in Montgomery. They are getting like the Feds without the ability to continually print money.

And sorry writerswife....I realize my post had some bias but I just couldn't find "unbiased" words to describe what they are doing

[NoleFanHSV]

Originally Posted by LCTMadison

It basically raids the Rainy Day trust fund....again. They already raided it to balance the budget thru 2014.

County Commissions have also said this will have a devastating effect on the revenues they receive from the fund.

Alabamians tend to vote for these things because they get stuff without raising taxes.....but all that stuff will have to be paid for eventually. The last time they needed trust fund money, it was going to prevent the shut down of prisons and Medicaid. It puts voters in a "hold your nose and do it" position. Its frustrating.

Alabama's constitution is the longest in the country because it was written to concentrate ALL power in Montgomery.....Madison County's dangerous dog ordinance required a state constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2010. Its crazy to have to literally amend the state constitution over stuff the county commissions should be handling, like a simple dog ordinance. So it just keeps growing, and growing, and growing.....

Each county should be able to vote only for its county. I've never understood why it takes a state wide vote for county policies. I haven't read the Alabama constitution. What is stated exactly in the constitution that forces county policy to be dictated by a state wide vote?