Jefferson County Delegation Addresses Mid-Alabama Republicans

The Mid-Alabama Republican Club (MARC) heard from the Republican members of the Jefferson County delegation to the Alabama legislature at their regular meeting on Saturday, January 10.

State Representatives David Faulkner (H46), Danny Garrett (H44), Mike Shaw (H47), Jim Carns (H38) and State Senators Dan Roberts (S15) and Jabo Waggoner (S16) gave updates on their expectations and concerns for the upcoming session.

Moderator Paul DeMarco opened the panel by asking Sen. Waggoner what he thought would be the main concern in this session.

“It’s always the budgets,” Waggoner said. “It’s the quadrennium,” which is always different because of the primary election. “We could adjourn early.” He then reminded the group that the two budgets — Education being over ten billion dollars and General Fund being over three billion — were no small undertaking.

Rep. Carns echoed Sen. Waggoner: “I think Jabo was right. It’s the budgets. The fourth year is unique,” but he also expects an early adjournment.

DeMarco then asked about income tax, mentioning that several nearby States — Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas — are moving towards eliminating their income tax.

Rep. Garrett began by pointing out that Mississippi has raised its gas and sales tax, and that “Alabama is lowest or second lowest” in total tax burden, and about seventy percent of the budget is derived from income tax. “Last year, we reduced taxes on groceries to half of what they had been,” and said that he was looking at reducing the grocery tax more. He also mentioned because the education budget, despite growing, was “spread over way too many school districts,” that “public education has got to be more efficient” in how they use those funds.

Rep. Carns added that when a tax on services was offered as a constitutional amendment in the early 2000’s, it “went down by something like three and a half to one” at the ballot box.

Sen. Roberts was asked about redistricting, and he opened by mentioning the Callias case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court. He spoke about the recent court-ordered changes to the State State map in Districts 25 and 26 (in and around Montgomery), and with regards to Callias “we think it will be earlier than June,” when the ruling is handed down. “That will determine what we do,” he said, but that it would require a special session to redraw the maps.

DeMarco then asked about public safety, and Rep. Faulkner spoke about the ongoing efforts to reform the Parole Board. “There’s constantly criminal justice bills and reforms that are being done. We see far too many times where we see people being let out. We’ve got to make sure the violent offenders stay there.”

Rep. Garrett continued the discussion by talking about the two megaprisons currently planned. The Elmore County facility should be open “by the end of 2026,” he said, with the second 4000-bed facility entering construction immediately thereafter. “We’re constantly under scrutiny from the federal government for that,” he reminded.

DeMarco then brought up the issue of sales tax. Rep. Shaw opened by saying that the Simplified Sellers Use Tax (SSUT) is an eight percent tax that is divided up by population. “It’s really a bit of a quandary, I don’t know what the solution is. I don’t favor raising it, but on the other hand, we have a lot of places that are benefiting from it. Money is moving out of larger cities to more rural areas.” He said that the solution would require involvement from all of the parties involved.

DeMarco then brought up the topic of Education, specifically the concerns many have about our Universities and how they are dealing with DEI.

Rep. Garrett said that “I think we’re on the right track with it,” and that the University Presidents know that “we’re serious about it” and “I’m confident that the University Presidents understand where the legislature is” on the issue of DEI.

Sen. Roberts said that “we’re looking at our higher education across the State. Some of our schools have graduation rates of less than five percent,” and because of that “we are looking at how we might do some outcome-based requirements on our Universities.”

DeMarco then asked about two hot-button issues, gambling and marijuana. Rep. Faulkner took the mic and spoke about how most of his time in the last session had been spent on the vaping bill, commenting that “nicotine is more addicting than heroin.” (Ed. Note: this is factually correct) In terms of recreational marijuana, he said “I don’t see it having any legs in this State.”

In terms of gambling, Faulkner said “we’re told most Republican voters are in favor of a lottery,” but the gambling interests are not satisfied with that — “they want it all.”

Rep. Carns said that “in 2021, we thought medical marijuana didn’t have a chance to pass, but it did. We had to set up a cash-only delivery system,” for the stores to use. He also said that “a straight lottery (bill) may have a chance. I don’t think we’ll ever see a pure lottery bill again.”

Sen. Waggoner remarked that “I don’t gamble, but I’ve eaten lunch there (the Poarch Creek casino in Wetumpka). “There’s probably illegal gambling going on in every County in this State. It’s a tough, hard vote.”

DeMarco asked the delegation about any significant bills related to the County that they had been approached about. Sen. Waggoner replied in the negative, and Rep. Carns said the same. Rep. Garrett mentioned that “Vestavia is trying to add two more entertainment districts,” but that was all he knew about. Rep. Faulkner stated that the seven percent property tax cap was going to be looked at, primarily because some locations had used it to add the full seven percent every year.

DeMarco’s final question was about Governor Kay Ivey’s legacy.

Rep. Shaw said that “for the most part, people are going to say she was a good Governor.” 

Sen. Roberts said “I think that she’s had a steady hand on the ship. We haven’t had any major scandals.” He commented that the Governor has a good staff, and that “I’m looking forward to working with Governor Tuberville.”

Sen. Waggoner said “she’s the eleventh Governor I’ve worked with, and the second female. She had a great staff. I would give her high marks.”

Rep. Carns said “she and I go back a long way. We had a great relationship until the gas tax,” who CNN he opposed. “That hurt our relationship, but we recovered.”

Rep. Garrett commended the Governor, saying “in education, she’s improved the State. We’ve seen a lot of economic development, and workforce development.”

Rep. Faulkner said “she’s always been there, and she’s worked very well with the legislature. Her staff is always there during the session.”

The meeting closed with a reminder from President Kimberly Cook that MARC will be sponsoring a debate between the Attorney General candidates on March 19 at The Club.

For more information, follow MARC on Facebook or on the web at https://www.midalgop.net.