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President's Message
- Legislative Preview Issue 2005
ACCA moving forward after Self-Governance
The start of the 2006 regular legislative session in Alabama signals a new legislative page in county government. For the first time in almost 20 years, this Association will not be asking the Alabama Legislature to enact a new law granting voters on the local level some degree of "home rule."
The passage of a complete home rule bill - one that would grant county governments the power to levy taxes and to establish programs of planning and zoning in the unincorporated areas of the state - remains on the ACCA Legislative Program. But the 2005 statute that permits counties to call local referendums on vitally-important health and safety powers, known not as "home rule" but as "self-governance", allows us to focus our attention elsewhere.
Certainly, the absence of a complete "home rule" bill does not mean we are taking the position that county government is no longer interested in addressing land use regulation or the authority to fund government activities with locally-imposed taxes and fees. Such matters will likely resurface sometime in the future.
For now, work on the issue of returning power to the local level must be focused on the local ballot box, not on the Alabama Legislature. Our message of "self-governance" remains the same. The venue of our discussions has just shifted.
The significance of the 2005 "self-governance" law has been outlined in this magazine and elsewhere several times since last May. And its importance will be discussed many times in the coming year as county officials put the issue on the local ballot, allowing citizens to either approve or disapprove the exercise of powers to regulate junkyards, noise, pollution, unsanitary sewage, weeds and other activities that present a health problem in unincorporated areas.
Already several counties have voted to put this issue on the ballot for June of 2006. As we discussed during the Association convention in August, we are eager for the voters to be given detailed information on this issue and to make an informed decision about whether or not to return decision-making to the local level. We are confident that the voters will decide that these important decisions should be made at home.
The absence of home-rule related legislation from this year's legislative effort should not cause anyone to believe that the Association does not have important matters to attend to during the 105 calendar days allotted for this year's regular session. Certainly there are several issues that we hope to have addressed and that we trust will be given some priority by the Legislature.
Elsewhere in this issue you can read details on the legislation that will be introduced at the Associations' request. The subject of these bills gives one a snapshot into how county government has changed in Alabama during the last quarter century.
Our priority legislation focuses on litter issues, election law changes, purchasing regulations, the operation of the local 9-1-1 districts, activities related to local emergency management and response, regulation of subdivision development, collection of motor fuel taxes and juvenile incarceration. And that's just a few of the highpoints.
It's easy to see, however, that our work did not conclude with the passage of the self-governance legislation last year. There are so many areas that need attention, and so little time between now and when the 2006 regular session adjourns in April.
With legislative elections just around the corner, one must assume that our ability to move controversial legislation will be hampered somewhat. It will take the efforts of all county officials if we are to duplicate the successes of recent years.
This edition of our magazine is devoted entirely to legislative subjects. The Association's official Legislative Program, which is reprinted here, was adopted during our Legislative Conference in early December. This program outlines not only our "wish list" of new laws, but also our policies on issues that may be raised by other organizations outside county government.
Work on that program began with our six steering committees, moved to our elected Legislative Committee and then to our Board of Directors and a vote by the full membership. The close scrutiny and review that is given to the content of this program, makes it even more likely that we are able to represent the wishes of county government with one voice.
Our gratitude is expressed to the many county officials and employees who took the time to be a part of the development of this legislative program.
By the time this magazine reaches your desk, the 2006 regular legislative session will already be in full swing. Many of you will have already made at least one trip to Montgomery to speak and work on behalf of the Association and county government.
If this magazine finds you at home wondering what’s going on. Bring this edition with you and come to the Capitol.
We need your help in reaching our goals - even if home rule is on the back burner for a while.
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