AMENDMENT 1:
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, relating to the Forever Wild Land Trust, to reauthorize the trust for a 20-year period.
Vote YES in order to extend the funding for this program. The Forever Wild Land Trust was established in 1992 and uses 10% of the interest earned by the Alabama Trust Fund to acquire land for public use (available for hunting and other recreational uses). My dad wrote an op-ed piece for the Opelika/Auburn News that explains this in more detail, which many of you will find helpful.
AMENDMENT 2:
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, to allow issuance by the State from time to time of general obligation bonds under the authority of Section 219.04 and Section 219.041 to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, as long as the aggregate principal amount of all such general obligation bonds at any time outstanding is not in excess of $750 million. This amendment would replace the maximum aggregate principal limitations currently contained in said Sections 219.04 and 219.041. The proposed amendment would also allow issuance by the State of general obligation refunding bonds under the authority of Sections 219.04 and 219.041 to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, subject to certain minimum savings thresholds and limitations of maximum average maturity.
Vote YES to allow the state to refinance loans at a lower rate and sell more bonds in order to support industries building or expanding in Alabama. This will help Alabama remain competitive when recruiting industries to invest in our state, while also helping existing industries expand. This will help create more private sector jobs in a struggling economy.
AMENDMENT 3:
Relating to Baldwin County, proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to define the Stockton Landmark District within the county and to prohibit the annexation by local law of any property within the district into any municipality.
Vote YES to designate Stockton as a Landmark District (it's currently an unincorporated community in Baldwin County). This gives the residents protection from annexation from any neighboring towns without a vote.
Sidenote - If you have never been to the Stagecoach Cafe in Stockton, then you are missing out on some good, ol' fashioned country cookin'!
AMENDMENT 4:
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to repeal portions of Amendment 111, now appearing is Section 256 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, relating to the separation of schools by race and to repeal Section 259, Amendment 90, and Amendment 109, relating to the poll tax.
Vote YES to effectively remove racist language from the Constitution with regards to separation of schools by race and paying poll taxes. This will have no legal effect on Alabama citizens, but will help with regards to recruiting industries to invest in our state.
AMENDMENT 5:
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to provide for the transfer of the assets and liabilities of the Water Works and Sewer Board of the City of Prichard to the Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners of the City of Mobile, presently known as the Mobile Area Water and Sewer System.
Vote YES to approve the transfer of all assets and liabilities from Prichard Water Works to MAWSS. Prichard Water Works cannot support itself and provide affordable services to the people of Prichard. This will allow the system to be run by MAWSS and managed properly. Existing MAWSS customers will not incur any cost increases due to this acquisition.
AMENDMENT 6:
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to prohibit any person, employer, or health care provider from being compelled to participate in any health care system.
Vote YES to give Alabamians the choice on whether or not they would prefer to participate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (commonly known as "Obama-care"). Hopefully this is not a new issue to any of you, so I won't go into any more detailed explanation!
AMENDMENT 7:
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to amend Amendment 579 to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as Section 177 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, to provide that the right of individuals to vote for public office, public votes on referenda, or votes of employee representation by secret ballot is fundamental.
Vote YES to ensure that every Alabamian is allowed to vote by secret ballot. This means that voting records for any individual will not become public. This also supports our "Right to Work State" status.
AMENDMENT 8:
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of 1901, to repeal the existing provisions for legislative compensation and expenses and establish the basic compensation of the Legislature at the median household income in Alabama; to require legislators to submit signed vouchers for reimbursement for expenses, and to prohibit the Legislature from increasing the compensation or expenses payable to its members.
Vote YES to revise the base compensation plan for members of the Alabama Legislature. This will effectively repeal the 62% pay raise passed in 2007 and block legislators from increasing their own salaries in the future. Legislator's pay will be based upon annual median household income for Alabamians, which seems to be the most fair way to pay them.
AMENDMENT 9:
Proposing an amendment to the private corporation provisions of Article 12 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to become effective January 1, 2014, to continue the authority of the Legislature to pass general laws pertaining to corporations and other entities; to continue the authority of the Legislature to regulate and impose a business privilege tax on corporations and other entities; and to repeal various provisions concerning private corporations, railroads, and canals.
Vote YES to remove antiquated language from the Constitution and to consolidate provisions related to corporations. The Alabama Constitutional Revision Commission approves this amendment to remove these obsolete sections from the Alabama Constitution.
AMENDMENT 10:
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, effective January 1, 2014, to amend Section 247 relating to the authority of the Legislature concerning banks and banking, to repeal various other provisions of Article XIII concerning banks and banking; and to repeal Amendment 154 to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as Section 255.01 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, subject to the contingency that a new Article XII of the state constitution is adopted that repeals existing Section 232 of the state constitution, and subject to the contingency that Sections 10A-2-15.01 and 10A-2-15.02, Code of Alabama 1975, are repealed.
Vote YES for all the same reasons I listed above for Amendment 9, except this one is in regards to banking.
AMENDMENT 11:
Relating to Lawrence County, proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to prohibit any municipality located entirely outside of Lawrence County from imposing any municipal ordinance or regulation, including, but not limited to, any tax, zoning, planning, or sanitation regulations, and any inspection service in its police jurisdiction located in Lawrence County and to provide that a municipality prohibited from imposing any tax or regulation under this amendment shall not provide any regulatory function or police or fire protection services in its police jurisdiction located in Lawrence County, other than public safety mutual aid.
Vote YES to prevent any municipality outside of Lawrence county to enforce any ordinances or taxes upon the county. This is a simple case of county sovereignty from surrounding municipalities (in this case, Decatur).
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