By: Marie Leech, The Birmingham News

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Hubbard promised the law will not be repealed.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)

MONTGOMERY – House Speaker Mike Hubbard today congratulated Dickie Drake on his election to the Alabama House of Representatives in District 45. Drake will succeed his late brother, Owen, who died on June 27 after representing the district since 2006.

“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.”

MONTGOMERY – The dramatic decline in Alabama’s unemployment rate shows that the state’s strict immigration law is helping more Alabamians find jobs, House Majority Leader Rep. Micky Hammon (R-Decatur) said today.

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.”