Feb. 26, 2015 is the day Robert Bentley stopped acting like a Tuscaloosa dermatologist and started acting like the governor of Alabama. When state Senator Bill Holtzclaw (R-Madison) put up a billboard opposing the governor’s proposed tax increases, the head of the Alabama Department of Transportation shut down several of the road projects in Madison County, quipping that someone so opposed to taxes must not want tax money spent in his district. Make no mistake, ALDOT does not operate free from the influence of the governor. Many veteran legislators can recall being summoned by George Wallace to the Governor’s Mansion before an important vote and leaving with new highway projects for their districts as a reward for their loyalty.
Constitutionally, the governor of Alabama is not a particularly powerful position. The veto – the signature tool of any chief executive – can be overridden by a simple majority of the legislature. In other words, any bill that the legislature passes can be passed again without edit regardless of whether or not the governor approves it. It is because of this weakness that former governors have had to use unconventional methods to push their agenda. Now, with legislators refusing to pass a workable budget after two special sessions and just over a month remaining before the new fiscal year, we need Bentley’s leadership more than ever.
The House of Representatives has twice passed a budget that would cut $156 million from Medicaid. Let’s pretend for a moment that denying healthcare to poor people in the wealthiest country in the world isn’t morally repugnant. That still leaves the problem of the inevitable lawsuit that will result from failing to provide services that the federal government has mandated we provide. Unless we want a repeat of the egregious expenses we incurred defending a blatantly unconstitutional immigration law, we will have to find a way to fund Medicaid. In addition to slashing Medicaid funding, however, the House’s budget would slash funding for all state agencies by 5.5 percent. That may not sound sig nificant, but the governor has issued a statement detailing all of the layoffs and closures of critical services that would result from the budget. Still, the legislature appears not to be listening, which is why it’s time to show them in a way they can’t ignore.
Governor Bentley should immediately furlough and send home all state employees, with pay, that would be laid off should the House budget pass before October. We don’t want to raise taxes, so we might as well go ahead and close our state parks tomorrow. When a father from West Alabama has a daughter that turns 16, let his legislator explain why he has to drive two hours to get her license, because the House budget would shut down licensing offices everywhere outside of Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville and Mobile. Of course, he may not want her on the roads anyway, with 75 fewer Highway Patrol troopers maintaining safe driving conditions. And God forbid someone in Coosa county gets sick from eating the meat we didn’t pay to inspect because we opted to close their public health department rather than raise the cigarette tax. At least he won’t die in Huntsville, where we couldn’t find the money to keep the morgue open.
There is nowhere near enough left to cut to put a dent in our deficit. It’s time for our legislators to start taking their commitment to Alabamians more seriously than their commitment to Grover Norquist. When I was in 7th grade, I told my mom I was tired of school and that I could get by in life without an education. She said that was fine and took me to the dumpster behind the Piggly Wiggly to find my dinner for that night. I learned that day that I would have to do things I didn’t want to do to have the life I wanted to live. I, much like today’s Alabama legislature, had a lot of growing up to do.
Kyle Campbell is a junior majoring in political science. His column runs biweekly.
