By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
On Wednesday, August 5, the Alabama House of Representatives passed HB46 which eliminates earmarks on $508 million. HB46 is sponsored by State Representative Allen Farley (R-McCalla).
According to Rep. Farley, the State spends over $19 billion a year. $8 billion of that is Federal government dollars. $5.8 billion is in the Education Trust fund, $1.7 billion is in the General Fund. There is $11.184 billion after the Federal dollars. Rep. Farley said that there is $3,991 million that is earmarked so that it goes straight to the agency and we don’t see that money in either the ETF or the SGF. Farley’s bill would un-earmark $508 million of that money so that it shows up in the budgeting process in the 2017 legislative year.
Rep. Farley said that Governor Robert Bentley (R) came to us with about $420 million that he would like to un-earmark. They got to working on that with the help of the Legislative Fiscal Office (LFO) and they raised that number to $487 million and then finally $508 million. Farley and his fellow legislators were looking for earmarked funds that didn’t have federal matching dollars attached to it and for earmarks that were passed by legislative act. Those that are earmarked by an amendment to the Alabama Constitution they did not want to interfere with because that requires amending the constitution.
Rep. Farley said that HB46 would un-earmark $508 million for the 2017 budget year; but said that that would not help any during the current 2016 General Fund Budget debate.
Rep. Mary Moore (D-Birmingham) accused Farley of being untruthful: “To tell these people they are going to get the same amount of money they did last year is untrue.” That is not the purpose of un-earmarking.
Rep. Mac McCutcheon (R-Capshaw) said, “I want to thank you for carrying this bill. Our committee has been meeting trying to prepare this piece of legislation for September. We were looking at budget reform for 2017. Then the Governor sent over an un-earmarking bill for $397 million. We need to do what we can do to start budget reform. This bill is a huge step in that direction.”
McCutcheon said that the Confederate Memorial Park and Agriculture are concerned about us taking dollars away. We are not taking money away. Un-earmarking just gives us the ability to scrutinize agencies and how they are spending their money. This is all about accountability. This is about good budgeting. The concept we would like to see is a move to a zero based budgeting system. This bill is only going to get bigger as we move toward the 2017 session.
Rep. Farley said that we are trying to create a concept of accountability.
Rep. Paul Beckman (R-Prattville) said, “I agree with the concept but as I look at it I have my reservations. What bothers me is the transferability. That could lead to lawsuits and used ADEM as an example.”
Rep. John Knight (D-Montgomery) said “Thank you Mr. Farley for bringing this bill. People have been getting money for 20 or 30 years ago for a purpose that may not be relevant today. This means that there will have to be some kind of a justification to the legislature. You are headed in the right direction.”
Rep. Rod Scott (D-Fairfield) said that he was in favor of zero based budgeting. The Federal government did the same thing in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Rep, Farley said this is how it is supposed to work. “We have created a system over the years that is running itself. We have got to slow this machine down. We are looking at $3,991 million that is earmarked. We want you to have to justify how that money is spent. We are not taking any money away from anybody. We are putting this money back into the general fund account. Between now and February we are going to get with LFO and drill down deeper into that $3.991 billion and have recommendations for the legislature in February. The agencies are going to have come to the legislature and go through the budgeting process to justify what they need that money for.”
Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-Shelby County) said that every agency should have a clear mission statement and a clear business plan. “Our trust is to the people of the State of Alabama not to anybody else. Nobody is being asked to given anything up except a earmark.”
The House passed HB46 by a vote of 83 to 13.
The pro-Confederate heritage group, Save Our South, has come out against the bill because they believe that the Confederate Memorial Park in Chilton County could lose its earmark. The group wrote to their supporters on Facebook, “Alabama HB46 will defund the Alabama Confederate Memorial Park! Call the Alabama State House today and tell them NO to Amendments on HB46!!”
Many people who work for or are supportive of programs that are protected from the budgeting process by earmarks are afraid that that earmarked money will be used to fund the growing costs of Alabama Medicaid and the Alabama Corrections System.
Time is running out on this special and HB46 still has to be passed by the Senate.
