The Alabama Legislature 2001

AlaLEAVs was a strong presence at the Legislature in Montgomery during the 2001 Regular Session. AlaLEAVs hosted lunches for the Democratic and Republican House Caucuses and played a major role in defeating some environmentally harmful legislation.

The following is a summary of some of the bills for which AlaLEAVs participated in the 2001 Regular Session:

• SB 5 by Sen. Smitherman and Rep. Spicer – The Alabama Land Recycling and Economic Redevelopment Act (Brownfields) became law 5-21-01.
• HB 402 & SB 277 by Sen. Butler and Rep. McDaniel – Family Farm Preservation Act passed the House but died in Senate Rules Committee. AlaLEAVs was against this legislation.
• HB 648 by Rep. Schmitz – ADEM Hearing Officers hired from the Attorney General’s office passed the House Commerce Committee but never came up for a vote in the full House.
• HB 75 by Rep. Johnson – Compliance Assurance Fees for ADEM passed the House Ways and Means Committee but never came up for a vote in the full House.
• HB 522 by Rep. Venable – Vessel Discharge passed the full House and Senate Committee but did not come up for a vote on the last night due to a Senate Filibuster.
• HB 728 by Rep. Perdue – Emissions Testing passed the House but never received a first reading in the Senate.
• HB 838 by Rep. Robinson – Aquatic Habitat Protection Act was introduced in the House with 24 co-sponsors after being introduced late in the Session.
• HB 793 by Rep. Page – Constitutional Amendment for a Clean and Healthy Environment was introduced in the House.
• HB 794 by Rep. Page – Establishment of a State Wilderness System was introduced in the House.

Representative Richard Lindsey had this to say about AlaLEAVs in the Cleburne News, Thursday, April 26, 2001: “Working on this bill (Brownfields) united two of the state’s most prominent interest groups, the Business Council of Alabama and the Alabama League of Environmental Action Voters. This issue is a classic example of how the environmental and business communities can work in a cooperative effort to improve the likelihood of economic activity and job creation for Alabamians, while protecting and enhancing our environment.”

The Opelika-Auburn News, May 19, 2001, on AlaLEAVs killing the 2001 Corporate hog farm bill: “It is our hope that those people who often speak against the environmental groups will now recognize them in their finest hour.”

**ALFA is determined to reintroduce the Family Farm Preservation Act in the next regular legislative session. AlaLEAVs is already preparing to again defeat this terrible legislation. For more information on how you can help call the AlaLEAVs office at (334) 834-2956.

Grassroots Lobbying 101

The Alabama State Legislature convenes this week in Montgomery for the start of the 2001 regular session. A regular session can consist of no more than 30 legislative (meeting) days, within a 105-Calendar day framework. Thousands of bills will be introduced in the Senate and House of Representatives with only a small percentage passing and becoming law.

So the question that is begging to be asked, with so many bills and so few passing, how does one get legislation passed?  Lets start with the most obvious answer first, Money. Those that have the most money wield the most influence. Elections for contested House seats today can cost as much as one hundred thousand dollars while a Senate election costs in the hundreds of thousands. Most of the money raised for these elections come from Political Action Committees (PAC) that are controlled by lobbyists who are bankrolled by big business and large corporations. Legislators tend to remember those who donated the most dollars to their campaign and most often their vote reflects the sentiment of their largest campaign contributors. AlaLEAVS has a PAC and we have been able to make small contributions to environmentally friendly legislators, but often times our few hundred dollar contributions pale in comparison with what big polluter PACs can afford to give. We hope that over the next few years we will be able to generate more interest among “green” voters and increase the contributions to the AlaLEAVS PAC. Just think; if every member of the Alabama Environmental Council gave just ten dollars to our environmental PAC it would generate over twenty-five thousand dollars, allowing AlaLEAVS to compete with the political powerhouses.

To be successful in getting legislation passed it must have the strong support of the Governor and/or the leadership of the House and Senate. I have discussed how money can influence this support, but there are other less expensive ways you can help in influencing your state legislator.

Most legislation takes years of being introduced, debated and amended before becoming law. Working with the state legislature takes a lot of patience and persistence. Last year I was the lobbyist for the Alabama Humane Federation and passed legislation making it a felony to torture a domesticated dog or cat. The bill passed the sixth year it was introduced (my third year as the lobbyist). I mention this, so as, I can use it as an example of ways to pass legislation when you don’t have the arsenal of an Alabama Power or ISCO steel at your disposal.

Being able to sway public opinion is an asset when attempting to pass legislation when you are not a “fat cat” political donor. Politicians read the newspapers, watch the news, and tend to listen to public sentiment. Letters to the editor, opposition editorials, guest articles in your local daily/weekly papers are all ways to influence the way a legislator votes. Many of your smaller community papers are starved for news to publish and will usually print articles submitted by the general public. This is an excellent way to communicate with elected officials and to influence your local community. If your article is published always be sure to clip the article and mail it to your local elected officials. I have never written a letter to the editor that hasn’t been published. It is quick, easy and effective.

Befriend a local reporter and feed them story ideas and information. Reporters rely on leads for good stories. Nothing makes a reporter happier than someone who provides them with a good story and can provide lots of information and research.

Learn who your state legislator is and introduce yourself to them. A personal relationship allows you more communication. If you know the spouse, neighbor or golfing buddy of your legislator take advantage of it and engage them into talking about environmental issues and legislation.

Volunteer your time and get involved in local political campaigns. Find out who is running and what the issues are and spend some time helping elect the candidate you think will serve your community best. Recruit someone from the environmental community to run for the state legislature, or run yourself.

Make sure you are a registered Voter. Being registered to vote is power. You are a constituent. The one thing that legislators fear most is chaos amongst their constituency. Talk to your neighbors, relatives and coworkers to generate phone calls, petitions, emails and letters. Many times it takes as few as a dozen phone calls from constituents to make a legislator rethink his/her position on a particular vote. Placing a phone call to your state legislator is the best way to communicate your opinion and it works.

This brings me back to the “Pet Protection Act” that was passed on the last night of the last legislative session. One Senator in particular had filibustered the legislation the meeting day before and was threatening to shut the Senate down so the legislation wouldn’t pass. Over the weekend over 500 phone calls were made to the home of this state senator on behalf of the legislation. Thousands more were made to the offices of the Lieutenant Governor and Senate leadership. Radio stations were pleading with listeners to get involved and talk of the legislation was leading local news telecasts. On the last day of the session dozens of concerned citizens were in the gallery and hallways of the statehouse along with some dogs that had been abused and tortured. The Lt. Governor told the senate chamber that if this bill didn’t pass his wife wasn’t going to allow him to come home. The bill passed two hours before midnight. The passage of this legislation happened because of a tremendous grassroots effort by Alabama citizens who cared and the same can be done concerning the fight to keep Alabama’s environment clean and safe.

The Alabama League of Environmental Action Voters relies on the strength and commitment of the environmental community in persuading the Alabama State Legislature. Our power is in our numbers, so if you are not a member of AlaLEAVS, please visit our website and become involved @ www.alaleavs.org.

Lets stay in touch as an environmental community. If you would like to know what is happening in the Alabama State Legislature regarding environmental legislation and issues, please join our email list to be periodically informed on how your state legislator is voting. To get on our list just email me your name, address and what senate and house district you reside in. We have over 1500 members of the environmental community on our email list and it is growing each day.

If you want to learn more about how you can get involved politically please call me (334) 834-2956 or email me at alaleavs@aol.com.

Sincerely,

Jeff Martin

Executive Director AlaLEAVS