MONTGOMERY – The Alabama House of Representatives convenes for the 6th day of the 2012 Regular Session Tuesday set to take up a bill that would finally ban texting while driving on Alabama roads.

House Bill 2, known as the “TTYL Act,” would prohibit driving a vehicle on an Alabama highway or street while using a wireless telecommunication device to write, send or read a text-based communication, including email. The catchy title “TTYL,” which is text-message lexicon for “talk to you later,” is intended to reach the texting-crazed 16-25 year old demographic to encourage them to drive more responsibly.

Statistics show that sending and receiving text messages while operating a vehicle is as likely or more likely to contribute to a deadly crash than drunken driving. While cities and counties across Alabama have passed their own local “texting” bans, bill sponsor Representative Jim McClendon (R-Springville) said it is on trooper-patrolled state highways where high speeds make distracted driving especially deadly.

“We all know sending text messages or emails inhibits a driver’s ability to operate a vehicle by taking their eyes of the road, hands off the steering wheel and mind off the task of driving,” Rep. McClendon said. “We have traffic laws to protect citizens from risky driving behaviors, and those laws must keep up with the times. It’s time we protect our families on the highways by addressing the problem of texting while driving.”

House Speaker Mike Hubbard said he supports Rep. McClendon’s bill and will work to see it enacted because it means saving lives.

“The simple fact is this bill will save lives,” Speaker Hubbard said. “I’d say almost every driver has allowed themselves to be distracted by a text or email. We’re all in too big of a hurry. What drivers need to understand is that it’s not just their own lives, but the lives of others on the road that are endangered by texting. We need to empower law enforcement officers to protect our highways by passing a law that prohibits texting while driving once and for all.”

According to a University of Utah study, distraction from a phone delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. And the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that drivers who use cell phones are four times as likely to get into an injury-causing crash.

This is the fifth year Rep. McClendon has proposed this type of legislation. The bill has passed the House twice, but failed to receive final passage by the Senate. However, this year the bill has a powerful co-sponsor in State Senator Jabo Waggoner (R-Vestavia Hills), who chairs the agenda-setting Rules Committee and serves as the Senate Majority Leader.

“Texting while driving creates a danger to all of us that is 100% preventable. We owe it to the people of Alabama to pass this legislation,” Sen. Waggoner said. “This bill will save lives.”

Also up for votes this week in the House are:

• Updating the “Move Over” Highway Safety Law to Protect Service Vehicles, House Bill 76 sponsored by Rep. Mac McCutcheon (R-Huntsville)
• Currently Alabama’s “move over” law requires drivers to vacate the lane closest to public safety vehicles parked on a roadside.
• This bill would ensure that service vehicles, such as utility trucks and wreckers and the workers that drive them, are also protected by requiring drivers to slow down and move over to allow them room to work safely.

• Cracking down on synthetic drugs, House Bill 158 sponsored by Rep. Allen Farley (R-McCalla)
• In addition to traditional drugs, synthetic drugs known as “spice” or “salts” have become an increasing problem in Alabama.
• Updates to the law are necessary to allow law enforcement officers to crack down on such substances and protect Alabama neighborhoods from the latest manifestations of drugs.
• Under this bill, anyone who possesses, manufactures, delivers or traffics one of the synthetic cannabinoid-like substances, commonly known as “spice” or “salts,” would be guilty of a felony and subject to fines ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 and a minimum prison term of between three years and life depending upon the amount of drugs involved.

• Rewarding Teacher Certification, House Bill 251 sponsored by Rep. Jay Love (R-Montgomery)
• This bill sets aside $2.3 million in a conditional appropriation to fund a $5,000 bonus for teachers who become national board certified.
• In Alabama we want excellent teachers in every classroom preparing the next generation of Alabamians to be our greatest yet. Supporting our teachers in their pursuit of national board certification helps us make that a reality.

The House convenes at 3:00 p.m. Tuesday.

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PROPOSAL RECEIVES ENDORSEMENT OF HOUSE AND SENATE GOP CAUCUSES

Montgomery – State Rep. Mike Ball (R – Madison) and Sen. Phil Williams (R – Gadsden) on Tuesday announced they are sponsoring a constitutional amendment that will allow voters to repeal a 62% pay raise approved by the Democrat legislative majority during the last quadrennium and replace it with a salary scale that ties compensation to Alabama’s median income level.  The amendment also removes the legislature’s ability to set its own salary in the future.

This bill is the consensus version of legislation originally drafted by Sen. Bryan Taylor (R – Prattville) and Williams, two of the Senate’s leading crusaders against the Democrat-passed pay raise.

“Tying legislators’ salaries to the median income level in the state serves as a form of performance pay, which rises or falls depending upon how Alabama’s economy performs,” Ball said.  “If we had originally approved this plan rather than the pay raise the Democrats force fed us, salaries for lawmakers would have actually decreased by 8%, the same amount Alabama’s median income has dropped since the economic recession began.”

Taylor noted that the amendment also repeals automatic cost-of-living adjustments built into the Democrats’ pay raise and takes away every legislative “expense allowance” ever enacted by the body.

“When it comes to filing for expenses, lawmakers will finally have to operate under the same rules that we impose on all state employees.  By requiring signed vouchers to be submitted, the Legislature will have its fullest measure of transparency and public disclosure in its history,” Williams said.  “And because an independent, non-partisan board will ensure that all payments to lawmakers comply with the law, as well as the rules that apply to state employees, taxpayers will begin to receive the accountability that they have long demanded.”

Under the provisions of the measure, the currently mandated constitutional salary for legislators, which is set at $10 per day for each day the Legislature is in session and 10 cents a mile for one roundtrip of travel per session, would be repealed and replaced with an annual salary equal to the median family income in the state.  Reimbursement for travel and other expenses would be identical to the standard set for all state employees.

Oversight of payment of legislative compensation and expenses would rest with the State Personnel Board, an independent agency that would have the right to reject expense requests it did not feel were within the purview of legislative job duties.

Because the salary would be set by a constitutional amendment, future legislatures could not adjust its compensation without also subjecting their changes to a vote of the citizens of Alabama.

Politicians are never short on promises. Whether you vote Republican or Democrat, whether you are young or old, we have all been promised something by a politician who didn’t deliver. In Alabama, unfulfilled political promises are something of a tradition. For decades, lawmakers promised big changes to make needed improvements in this state. But somehow, after election season was over and it came time to govern, change seldom happened.

That’s not the way things work anymore. In the 2010 elections, a new class of lawmakers was elected on this promise: Send us to Montgomery with a conservative, pro-business majority, and we’ll pass a specific agenda of some of the most meaningful and transformative legislation enacted in decades. That’s exactly what we did.

Anti-corruption reform, pro-growth economic development bills, budgeting reform, tenure reform, tort reform and campaign finance reform were highlights on a long list of campaign promises turned into legislative accomplishments.

The Birmingham News famously named us “Alabama’s Do-Something Legislature,” noting the unmistakable difference in productivity compared to previous legislatures.

Now, with our second regular session starting on Tuesday, we intend to maintain that reputation of reliability and make even more progress moving Alabama forward. Too often, politicians are all talk about tackling real problems. But when it comes to creating jobs, improving schools and cutting government waste, talk is cheap.

It’s time for action.

ACTION ON JOBS

Our No. 1 priority for 2012 is boosting private-sector job growth in Alabama.

Obviously, the sluggish national economy makes that task difficult. Still, the recent numbers are encouraging. Alabama’s unemployment rate dropped from 10 percent in July to 8.1 percent last month, far outpacing the rest of the nation and our neighboring states in reducing unemployment. Since last January, Alabama has added more than 41,000 jobs.

That’s positive news and proof that we’re heading in the right direction. However, if this recession has taught us anything thing it’s that we must keep innovating and keep finding ways to give Alabama a competitive advantage in economic development.

We’re proposing a slate of bills that will give our state and local economic developers more tools to both recruit new industry and help existing industry expand. We also aim to make the necessary investments in our workforce development platform so we can give unemployed workers the training they need to fill these jobs.

We intend to offer relief to small businesses that often struggle with a complicated sales and lease tax structure, burdensome regulations and a difficult loan market.

Another proposal — the “Heroes for Hire” bill — would offer businesses a $2,000 tax incentive for hiring veterans returning from war, because those who served on the front lines should go to the front of the line for new hires.

I believe Republicans and Democrats will agree on most, if not all, of these proposals and work to pass them in a bipartisan manner.

ACTION ON EDUCATION

Alabama has made great strides in improving public education over the past several years. Still, many students remain woefully underserved, and Alabama’s achievement gap is far too wide.

Lawmakers have been studying how other states have succeeded when they allowed local school boards to cut the bureaucratic red tape that keeps children from having the quality education they need.

The Legislative Leadership is working closely with Gov. Robert Bentley on an agenda of bold reforms aimed at allowing schools to innovate and find ways to increase instructional quality. These include:

• Authorizing innovative public charter schools to allow communities more options for dealing with failing schools.
• Providing all local school systems the opportunity to have more autonomy and flexibility from certain “one-size-fits-all” laws and regulations in order to encourage local innovation and improvement.
• Developing a simple, fair, grading system for schools to ensure transparency with parents about the performance of their child’s school and to foster local “buy-in” from communities on improving schools. Cash performance bonuses can be provided to offer educators an extra incentive to raise achievement.

ACTION ON EFFICIENCY

It is our constant duty to ensure that state government is operating as efficiently as possible and that taxpayers are getting their money’s worth. We must examine every dime of state spending, set priorities and, like every Alabama business and family, make the government live within its means.

That’s why Senate President Pro Tempore Del Marsh this year created his efficiency-in-government initiative to benchmark functions of government in comparison to other states.

Drawing ideas from this initiative’s comprehensive study, lawmakers will enact carefully crafted proposals to reduce waste and improve government services. We aim to ensure the financial stability of vital state programs, particularly the retirement systems and our prisons.

OTHER ACTION ITEMS

• Repealing the Democrats’ 2007 pay raise and allowing voters to determine how lawmakers are compensated.
• Prohibiting texting while driving, which will allow law enforcement officers to crack down on this deadly habit and save lives.
• Adjustments to our state’s immigration law. Make no mistake: The law will not be repealed. We will, however, make technical adjustments so that our immigration law is stronger and works better. We’re focused on clearing up misconceptions and correcting any portions that might be vague or require additional definitions. We seek to ensure more efficient and less burdensome application of the law for businesses and local governments.

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Mike Hubbard represents the Auburn-Opelika area and serves as speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives. Email: Mike.Hubbard@alhouse.gov.

Be sure to check out the following articles to learn more about the declining unemployment rate across our state:

ANNISTON STAR:“Alabama’s unemployment rate takes a big drop again”

BIRMINGHAM NEWS: “Alabama, Birmingham unemployment rates drop in December”

DOTHAN EAGLE: “Houston County unemployment drops  to 7.1 percent”

GADSDEN TIMES: “Local, State jobless rates drop; Etowah rate down for six straight months”

HUNTSVILLE TIMES: “Madison County’s unemployment rate drops to 6.4 percent in December”

HUNTSVILLE TIMES: “Madison County’s jobless rate in December reaches lowest since 2009″

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER: “State’s unemployment rate continues decline”

NEWS-COURIER: “State, local jobless numbers drop again”

OPELIKA-AUBURN NEWS: “Jobless rate in Alabama, Lee County going down”

TIMES-DAILY: “Alabama’s unemployment rate now below national rate, Shoals counties improve”

WKRG-TV: (VIDEO) “Jobless Rate Lower in Baldwin County”

MONTGOMERY | Republican leaders in the Alabama Legislature said Wednesday that their priority at the beginning of the 2012 regular session next month will be to pass bills that will encourage businesses to create jobs.

Senate President Pro-Tem Del Marsh said the first bills he expects to come up for consideration in the Senate are measures that will provide incentives for businesses that create new jobs and for new industries that bring jobs into the state.

House Speaker Mike Hubbard told the Birmingham Rotary Club that the Republican leadership in the House is proposing a slate of bills that will give the state more tools “to recruit new industry and to help existing industry expand.” Hubbard of Auburn was the first Republican speaker in Alabama in more than 130 years.

“We must keep innovating and finding ways to give Alabama a competitive advantage in economic development,” Hubbard said.

“The number one issue we are dealing with is jobs. We have a whole package of bills that will stir the economy,” Hubbard said later Wednesday.

A Republican from Anniston, Marsh said “anything that we consider job producing legislation if going to be a priority” early in the session, which begins Feb. 7.

Alabama’s unemployment rate was 8.7 percent in November, an improvement from previous months, but Marsh said he would like to see it drop much lower.

“I would honestly love to see it get to 5 percent,” Marsh said.

Marsh said he doesn’t expect legislators to pass budgets until later in the session when members may have a better idea of what the economy will do.

One bill to be considered early in the session is a measure by Rep. Duane Bridges, R-Valley, that would increase incentives for companies that hire veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bridges said his bill would offer a $2,000 tax credit to employers who hire an unemployed veteran.

“A lot of guys are coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan and looking for jobs and we want to help the veterans out so they won’t be out on the streets,” said Bridges, a former Marine. He said he expects the bill to be considered at the start of the session.

Hubbard said one priority of the session for Republican leadership will be to pass a bill authorizing charter schools in Alabama. Charter schools are public schools that are free from much of the bureaucracy and regulations of traditional public schools.

He said he recently took a group of legislators to Memphis, Tenn., and was impressed with how well charter schools work and allow for innovation.

House Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford, D-Gadsden, said Democrats also want to see new jobs created in Alabama, but believe the best solution to the state’s financial problems is eliminating tax loopholes for large corporations. He said Democrats plan to meet soon to decide which bills will be a priority in the upcoming session. He said he’s heard Republicans talk about creating jobs before.

“That was their priority last session,” Ford said.

View the original article here: http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20120112/NEWS/120119937?p=2&tc=pg

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Allowing charter schools in Alabama — one of just nine states that doesn’t allow them — will be a priority in the upcoming legislative session, Rep. Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, told the Birmingham Rotary Club Wednesday afternoon.

“The status quo is not an option,” said Hubbard, who is speaker of the House of Representatives. “(The system) isn’t working, and we need some changes.”

Charter schools are public schools that exist through a contract with either a state agency or local school board. Charter schools are free from much of the bureaucracy and regulations traditional public schools must follow, but must achieve stringent goals set out by the charter, including improving student achievement.

“We must do something to fix Alabama’s drop out rate, which is up to 40 percent in some schools,” he said. “I am an advocate of school choice.”

Hubbard said a recent trip to visit charter schools in Memphis, was encouraging.

“Memphis is very similar to Birmingham and their scores increased at the charter schools,” he said. “It is not a panacea. It’s not a cure-all for all of our ills. But it will provide an option … We should not force parents, our taxpayers, to send their kids to schools that are failing.”

Other priorities during the upcoming session, which begins Feb. 7, include job creation and running a more efficient government.

Job creation, he said, occurs in the private sector, not government. But the government can make things easier, he said.

A few upcoming bills will help that, he said, including a bill to streamline tax incentives to recruit and retain jobs, a bill that would offer tax incentives to companies that hire active members of the military, and a bill that would require an exhaustive study before any additional regulations on businesses could be imposed.

“Like I said, the government does have its role, but it should be there to help businesses prosper, not to hinder growth,” Hubbard said.

Alabama’s immigration law also will be a topic of discussion in the upcoming session, he said.

Hubbard promised the law will not be repealed. Instead, he said, it will make it more business friendly. The law also may be changed to allow more temporary work visas to be issued for agricultural workers, he said.

“We are committed to fixing it to make it even better,” he said.

The final priority includes right-sizing the government, he said.

“We are looking at every area of government and looking at duplication,” he said. “Believe it or not, we have some duplication, and we want to make sure we have the right size state government.”

(Source: al.com, Marie Leech- The Birmingham News, http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/01/charter_schools_will_be_priori.html)

“Dickie is a strong conservative who will represent the values of his district in the Alabama Legislature,” Speaker Hubbard said. “We all miss Owen dearly, and I know he’d be proud to see his brother continue his legacy of leadership in the Legislature.”

Speaker Hubbard said he looks forward to working with Dickie Drake on job-growth proposals in the upcoming Regular Session of the Legislature, which begins February 7, 2012.

“Our top priority is boosting private sector job growth and getting Alabamians back to work. We have a strong slate of proposals to accomplish that, most of which I believe Republicans and Democrats can agree on and work together to pass. I know Dickie understands this, and I’m glad to have him as part of our team.”

Gov. Robert Bentley announced Friday that Alabama’s unemployment rate for October was 9.3 percent, down from 9.8 percent in September. In Marshall County, a known hotbed for illegal immigrant labor, unemployment was at 8.1 percent for October, down from 8.8 percent in September and 10 percent in June, when Alabama’s crackdown on illegal immigration was signed into law.

“We’ve heard anecdotal evidence from all corners of the state about how more Alabama citizens are being hired in jobs formerly held by illegal immigrants, but the statewide and county-specific data released today is probably the best statistical proof we’ve seen to indicate this is happening,” Rep. Hammon said. “There are many factors that come into play for employment numbers. However, take Marshall County, where the illegal immigrant problem has probably been more pronounced than anywhere in the state. When Marshall County’s unemployment rate drops almost a full two percent since the law was signed, it’s difficult to deny the law is having a positive effect on employment.”

Other counties where illegal immigration has been a problem saw precipitous drops in unemployment as well, including Morgan County, where the rate declined a full 1.1 percent from September to October.

Though opponents of Alabama’s immigration law have done all they can to discredit its economic benefits, the numbers tell a different story, Rep. Hammon said.

“Despite how desperately illegal immigrant sympathizers have tried to portray this law as somehow harmful to our state’s economy, the truth is more Alabamians are working today thanks in part to our decision to crackdown on illegal immigration,” he said. “The evidence is clear: this law is helping put more Alabamians back to work, and that’s why such a strong majority of Alabamians support it.”

MONTGOMERY- Alabama’s top legislative leaders today detailed an aggressive agenda aimed at helping more Alabamians find jobs by offering strategic tax incentives for new and expanding companies, easing burdensome government regulations, connecting unemployed Alabamians with available jobs through investments in workforce development and helping veterans returning from war land jobs in Alabama.

At a news conference in Montgomery, House Speaker Mike Hubbard and Senate President Pro Tempore Del Marsh outlined specific job-growth proposals saying despite the difficulties Alabama faces with a stagnant national economy, state government must look for ways to create jobs for more Alabamians.

“Our number one priority is boosting private sector job growth in Alabama,” Speaker Hubbard said. “Obviously, the sluggish national economy makes it difficult. However, if this recession has taught one thing it is that we must keep innovating and keep finding ways to give Alabama a competitive advantage in economic development. We’re proposing a slate of bills that will give our state more tools to recruit new industry and help existing industry expand. We also want to make the necessary investments in our workforce development platform so we can give unemployed workers the training they need to fill these jobs.”

Senator Marsh said equipping job creators with a skilled workforce and offering innovative incentives will help Alabama achieve both short- and long-term economic success.

“By continuing to invest in cutting-edge workforce training initiatives, we can ensure that Alabamians are prepared to succeed in the careers of tomorrow,” Senator Marsh said. “A skilled workforce coupled with innovative incentives that encourage businesses to grow and expand makes Alabama uniquely prepared to compete in the global economy.”

Senator Marsh added that maintaining a business-friendly environment is essential for not only recruiting new business, but keeping existing business in Alabama. He said while the state must work to get the almost 10 percent of jobless Alabamians employed, lawmakers also want to help existing business keep the other 90 percent of Alabamians working.

“Ask any small business owner what the biggest obstacle to their growth is and they’ll tell you bureaucratic red tape and burdensome government regulations,” Senator Marsh said. “We plan to examine how our laws and policies, particularly the tax code, are affecting small businesses in this state. We’ll also propose legislation requiring that, before adopting a new regulation, every state agency must determine how jobs will be affected in the state. It’s time to for state government to get out of the way and let the private sector perform.”

Legislative leaders also want to tackle an impending problem in Alabama: thousands of veterans returning from war to an economy in which it is difficult to find a job. Offering tax incentives to businesses for hiring Iraq and Afghan War veterans puts them the front of the line for landing jobs.

“In Alabama, we support our troops when they are at war and when they return,” Speaker Hubbard said. “Offering incentives for hiring veterans returning from war not only helps us mitigate what will be a growing problem around the country, it’s just the right thing to do. So many Alabamians have sacrificed so much fighting terrorism around the globe. Veterans should be at the front of the line for companies to hire once they return home from war.”

Speaker Hubbard and Senator Marsh outlined the following proposals as the jobs portion 2012 legislative agenda:

Streamlined Tax Incentives to Recruit and Retain Jobs

-          This constitutional amendment would give the Alabama Development Office and the Governor more flexibility in offering tax incentives to land major economic development projects, and retain those companies that might otherwise relocate outside Alabama.

“Made in Alabama” Job Incentives Act

-          Recommended by the Speaker’s Commission on Job Creation and passed into law in the 2011 Regular Session, this measure allows the state to offer temporary state income tax incentives to offset build-up phase tariff costs for international companies bringing jobs to the state.

-          As a direct result of this legislation, literally hundreds of foreign-based companies representing thousands of jobs expressed interest in locating their North American facilities in Alabama.

-          Unfortunately, the Alabama Education Association is suing to block the law, creating uncertainty for businesses that could take advantage of the incentive.

Data Processing Center Economic Incentive Enhancement

-          Data processing centers are unique components of a 21st century economy.  These centers employ a skilled workforce, provide high-paying jobs, and have a low environmental footprint.  This proposal would expand the scope of certain tax incentives in order to focus on recruiting more data processing centers to Alabama.

Tax Incentives for Hiring Veterans Returning from War

-          With wars winding down in Iraq and Afghanistan, thousands of Alabama veterans will soon return home to a stagnant economy in which it is difficult to find a job.

-          This proposal would offer Alabama businesses a $1000-$2000 tax credit for hiring a veteran recently returned from war.

Making Workforce Development Work for the Unemployed

-          Thousands of unemployed Alabamians are able – but not trained – to enter into available good-paying skilled-labor jobs, such as construction, welding, plumbing and machine maintenance.

-          We will make the necessary investments that afford our two-year college system the resources they need to meet Alabama’s jobless with Alabama jobs.

-          It would also offer veterans a $1500 tax credit for starting their own business.

Alabama Regulatory Flexibility Act

-          The Alabama Regulatory Flexibility Act would require each state agency to prepare an economic impact analysis as well as a regulatory flexibility analysis prior to the adoption of any proposed regulation that may have an adverse impact on small businesses.

Legislation Establishing a Small Business Financing Authority

-          One of the top inhibitors small business development and growth is access to capital. Loans are increasingly difficult to come by even for good candidates with solid business plans.

-          A key recommendation of the Speaker’s Commission on Job Creation, this authority would assist small businesses with financing issues by making direct loans, helping small businesses attract more banking partners, and meeting a variety of credit-related needs.

-          Other states have created small business financing authorities.  In Virginia, for example, the return on investment has been $5.81 for every state dollar loaned to a small business. Using that calculation, a one-time appropriation of $5 million would allow the state to assist more than 200 small businesses and generate $35 million in private equity and credit in the first year the loans are made.

Creation the Alabama Sales, Use, and Lease Tax Simplification Task Force

-          The Alabama Sales, Use and Lease Tax Simplification Task Force would be a twenty-member panel required to study the issue of streamlining and simplifying the administration and remittance of sales, use and lease taxes.

More detailed information on these proposals is contained in the 2012 Jobs Agenda Fact Sheet attached to this press release.

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