"Hello and Hell No" that's the message protestors in front of the Statehouse have for legislators here to protest the legislative pay raise. Repeating what was written on a sign held by one of audience, radio personality Matt Murphy said "Hello and hell no, we will not accept the 62% pay raise." Murphy says the issue is a system of an "sickness" that plagues the state.
"Lawmakers in the Statehouse believe they are aboue the system...Alabama has a disease..you are the cure," Murphy told the cheering crowd bussed in from north Alabama.
Signs read "Don't Steal from Me," "Little Jim Folsom Must Go," Now You Know Why They Call It the Dirty South," "Strike the Hike," Voters Won't Forget." These signs were all hand written in different shapes and sizes.
The governor will have the document vetoing the raise ready by 1 p.m. It is not known for sure whether the governmor may propose any kind of alternative.
Sen. Hank Erwin says the Legislature needs to "see the light," "wake up and smell the coffee," and "Give it back or hit the road Jack."
Erwin says he will remind his fellow senators they are first and foremost public servants and the pay raise of 62% is outrageous. "I will not take the pay raise today, tomorrow, or forever," says Erwin.
Erwin told the crowd "because of you...what was a slam dunk (the overriding of the governor's veto) is today up in the air...the people in there are having second thoughts...(the pay raise) is outrageous and it shall not stand."
Murphy told the crowd that the Constitution gives the people the right to redress grievances with the government and "the Legislature ...bave us every good reason to have a large grievance." Murphy said citizens were "angry and frustrated" that the Alabama Legislature "thought they can pull one over on the citizens of the State of Alabama."
Many of the protestors I spoke to were more mad at the way the raise came about and the amount than anything else. Tommy Isbell from Guntersville, who held the sign saying Folsom must go, says it was the way business was conducted on the issue. "They should have had a roll call vote."
Another family told me that if the pay raise was more reasonable they would have had less problem with it and also echoed their displeasure over the way the vote was conducted.
Sen. Charles Bishop brought up the issue of immigration to the crowd who roundly cheered when he asked, "How many of you believe these Mexicans need to go back to Mexico?" I asked Senator Bishop about his comment later and he said he stands by what he says, but was referring to those who come here illegally.
The Gazette is on the Hill today for a press conference this morning with Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom and Rep. Cam Ward to introduce a bi-partisan task force on Autism in Alabama. Saying that now one in very 150 children in the U.S. are diagnosed with some form of Autism, Alabama state Representative Cam Ward told a room packed with media and families affected by the disease in some fashion that this was not an issue "sponsored by lobbyists...it's from the heart."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called autism a national public health crisis. It is a complex brain disorder that inhibits a person's ability to communicate and often is accompanied by extreme behavioral challenges. The costs associated with the required therapies to help these children grow and thrive in society is enormous as are the costs helping to care for individuals not only as children, but also as adults. The emotional strains on families dealing with the issue are often monumental as well and despite the best efforts of organizations like the Autism Society of Alabama many families have little support.
Rep. Ward has a child with autism and he says he hopes at least as a minimum the task force will address three issues:
Sources of funding for more research into autism within the State of Alabama
More helpful tools to diagnose autism at an early age and to make sure it is properly diagnosed. "For many years this was not correctly diagnosed."
"How we as a state deal with the transition from childhood to adulthood" for those who have autism.
Ward says the recommendations from the task force on the issue will probably be "thick" and the issues he raises are just the beginning of what needs to be done.
Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom, who is the uncle of an autistic child, says "10-15 years ago... one in 10,000 were diagnosed; today, one in 150..with some form of autism disorder..."
Folsom says it is "critically important to put the full force of the Alabama Legislature on this issue and to continue to work to develop a plan of action so we can be prepared in the future."
Folsom says as more and more children are diagnosed with autism that means eventually there will be more adults and their families that will need the support of the community to deal with the many challenges." He says for society it is an issue "that we simply must deal with."
He said he realized autism was much more prevalent than he thought when people came up to him during the campaign and shared their stories with him after learning there was a member of his family who had autism. "I was really touched...by the number of parents who came to me and had heard of my family situation and told me about theirs."
Commission John Houston of the Alabama Department of Mental Health and Retardation told the assembly that families "kind of feel left out, disenfranchised." He says part of the problem is autism crosses a lot of lines - there aren't clear lines of responsibility because of the number of areas and issues involved. He says both he and the governor are "committed to work with the task force ...to makes some significant strides (forward)."
A representative of the Alabama Autism Society says they will be presenting recommendations from other states. about how they select their task force members.
The task force will evaluate the strength and weakness of the current situation in Alabama, make recommendations, and identify funding streams. The individuals on the task force will come from both the public and private sector and their recommendations will be presented to Governor Riley.
Rep. Ward says Alabama is currently "doing the best we can with what we have." Commissioner Houston says there are some bright spots such as an early intervention program but he agrees with Rep. Ward that a lot more needs to be done to help families dealing with this issue.
The House bill having to do with funding the rebuilding of Enterprise schools is schceduled to be brought up in the Finance and Taxation, Education Committee Wednesday. The bill has already passed the House. The Senate bill on the same issue could not get on the Special Order calendar to be brought up on the Senate floor sparking heated debate and hearburn last Thursday.
Sen. John McCain makes another trip to Alabama today and is holding a fund raiser followed by a speech to a joint session of the Legislature scheduled for 12:30.
As of this writing the governor has not vetoed the legislative pay raise passed last week. That is expected some time today.
More shortly.
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