Our Stand: The only option

  Alabama voters are being presented with a choice to be voted upon September 18, but an honest assessment of the amendment which would transfer nearly half a billion dollars from a state trust fund to shore up the state’s operating budget reveals there is only one viable option. It’s a do-or-die scenario.

  Lawmakers want to borrow $437 million from the Alabama Trust Fund – a savings account resting on royalties from the state’s oil and gas reserves – to temporarily bandage a gaping wound in the General Fund, the state’s main operating budget. The Alabama Legislature failed to solve the issue – one that stems all the way back to Bob Riley’s tenure as governor – so voters will be forced to approve the measure or trust that the legislature can go back into session and pass a viable alternative before the clock runs out October 1, the beginning of the new fiscal year.

  Though many voters are justifiably concerned about shifting these dollars around, they should be more worried about how the legislature would respond if we fail to approve the measure. The problem has lingered for years, and during the last regular session, our lawmakers failed to act again. Why trust them now, especially when they’ll only have 12 days to remedy the problem should the referendum fail?

Steve Flowers: Inside The Statehouse: Special election approaches

  As the long hot summer continues, several events have transpired that warrant mentioning. Several of you have asked if the September 18 constitutional referendum on borrowing money from the oil royalty trust fund is not approved will Gov. Bentley call a special session to address the gigantic void in the general fund budget. There will be a tremendous deficit in the budget between what is appropriated and the revenue that will be available. There will be a very short window to resolve the dilemma as the new 2013 fiscal year begins on October 1. Your guess is as good as mine. Gov. Bentley has repeatedly said that he will not call for any new revenue enhancement measures. You can also bet your bottom dollar that the legislature is not going to raise taxes, especially without the governor requesting such measures. They may just kick the can down the road and hope for the best.

Steve Flowers: Inside The Statehouse: Bentley’s poll numbers and the approaching storm

  In a recent reliable poll Alabamians expressed overwhelming satisfaction with the job that our doctor governor is doing.

  The poll done by the Capital Survey Research Center revealed that a whopping two-thirds of Alabama voters approve of Gov. Robert Bentley’s job performance. When asked for their impression of Bentley, 63% of the surveyed voters reacted favorably to his performance, 20% were unfavorable and 17% were neutral or did not recognize the governor’s name.

  These are pretty good numbers for an incumbent governor one and a half years into his four year tenure in office. Such favorable approval ratings bode well for his reelection possibilities in 2014.