GUEST EDITORIAL
June 20, 2011

A fresh start for Alabama

I knew going in to the 2011 General Session that it was not going to be business as usual in the Alabama Legislature. The 2010 election had guaranteed that. But the level of change was brought home quickly in one of the first public hearings held on a substantive jobs bill when a well-known lobbyist for a liberal organization stood to speak against the bill. “Well,” she said, “I'm not accustomed to having to justify my position but here goes…” That was one of many such moments in the session which demonstrated that conservative values were finally at the forefront.

Over the past several months, legislation has passed into law which was previously only dreamed of. Alabama now has one of strongest illegal immigration laws in the country. New tort reform measures became a reality. Pro-life legislation triumphed. A law that pushes back against Obamacare is now in place.

Tax credits have been established for businesses that will hire currently unemployed citizens. A complete overhaul of the budgeting process was created to avoid future risk of proration. Campaign finance transparency is now mandated. The long coveted voter photo identification law is in place. Alabama firmly declared itself a right-to-work state with the passage of the secret ballot initiative in union voting. In the midst of it all, the Legislature operated in good faith in accordance with the new ethics laws that were fresh from the 2010 Special Session. And the list goes on and on.

The reality of what has been accomplished will still be setting in for some time as the laws begin to have their desired effect. But already the national import of this past session is being lauded. When the ACLU threatens the state and, at the same time Rush Limbaugh claims that “Alabama is in first place,” you know that big things are happening.

And the unsung victories abounded as well. I personally recall voting against a bill that would allow cities to independently restrict firearms. Spending measures in the State House were slashed. There was a unified resistance to raising taxes. For the first time the Senate chamber was broadcast live online for the public to see and hear their Legislature at work. And unlike what happened so often in the past, the Senate committees actually met every week to publicly review all proposed bills.

None of this is hollow rhetoric about what could have been, or touting what we hoped to do. This is a substantive recounting of what actually took place on behalf of the citizens of this state. And the voters have themselves to thank. Conservative values were too long held at bay in the Alabama Legislature.

To sum it all up, the 2011 General Session represented a fresh start for Alabama.

Phil Williams is the Republican state senator for Alabama's 10th District, which includes Cherokee County.