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The first phase of 2012 election – the primary and run-off – is in the books, and our attention is now directed to November. While that is when the election occurs, there is much to be done before the fall. Organizationally and financially are both areas in which constant effort is required. Volunteers, first for outreach events, then later for election activities, are always solicited and welcome. A critical date regarding our financial preparation is July 24, which is the date for our annual Reagan-Lincoln dinner, and you are encouraged to mark your calendars for this important date. Vital to the success of this event is your participation, whether you purchase a dinner ticket, host sponsorship, table sponsorship, or help sell tickets and table sponsorships to others. Please keep this in mind and provide as many sales as possible to maximize the financial productivity of this event.

While we don’t want to lose sight of the task at hand here in Shelby County and around our state, it bears mentioning that there will likely be opportunities for campaign work in other states as the general election nears. Key toss-up states include Florida (29 electoral votes), Pennsylvania (20), Ohio (18), North Carolina (15), Virginia (13), Colorado (9), Nevada (6), and New Hampshire (4). States President Obama is expected to win places his presumed electoral vote totals at roughly 227, and the presumptive Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, 191 of the 270 needed to clinch election. Of those eight swing states, Florida is our neighbor to the south, and a critical battleground state. Likewise, Ohio is imperative as no Republican has ever won the presidency without winning that state. As you look to the months ahead, please consider spending some time doing some level of campaign work in at least one of those states listed here. If you can commit a week or even more, you are urged to

help supplement forces in those states and substantially increase the prospect of our nominee taking those states, and thus, the White House.

There can be no measure of underestimation of the efforts, money, and tactics that will be deployed to the reelection of Barack Obama. The left-stream media, many entertainment personalities, the Hollywood establishment and, of course, the Occupy Movement will join whatever reincarnation of ACORN materializes to benefit the president’s campaign for a second term. One need look no further than the media coverage of increasing gasoline prices to ascertain the bias that will be used to the benefit of the incumbent Democratic. During the same such increases that occurred during the second term of President George W. Bush, the occurrences of articles and news stories critical of the Republican were four times those which are critical of President Obama. Such inequities are to be expected, as will be a huge advantage in campaign funds favoring the incumbent darling of the left. These disparities should not be discouraging, and should serve to motivate us to the challenge, and the opportunity, that is before us.

While as Republicans, we are certainly focused on the election, but we cannot dismiss some extraordinarily troubling matters that have come to surface recently that reveal the level of arrogance and corruption that have tainted two critical federal agencies. Of concern is the General Services Administration. According to its mission statement, “GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. government offices, provides transportation and office space to federal employees, and develops government-wide cost-minimizing policies, and other management tasks.” According, its purpose is primarily to handle

Chairman’s CornerBy Freddy Ard

Editor-in-Chief Freddy Ard

Executive Editor Alan Reyes-Guerra

Creative Editor Laura Joseph

Managing Editors Andrew Plaster

Photographers Tom Fridy, Leigh Bratina

Contributing Editors Bill Armistead, Micky Hammon, TJ Maloney, and Diane Ravitch

Paid for by the Shelby County Republican Party

1920 Valleydale Road, Suite 154 Birmingham, AL 35244

205-994-6497 • www.shelbycountygop.org

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2 Chairman’s Corner

3 Cliff Sims to Address SCGOP

4 10 Truths About Charter Schools

6 7 Reasons Alabama Should Say “No” to Charter Schools

7 AL Senate Panel Changes Charter School Bill

7 Charter Schools Not Hijacking

8 ALGOP Announces Summer Dinner Plans

9 Alabama’s Sweet Manufacturing Boom

10 Lawmakers are Listening, and Taking Action

11 Legislative Roundup

12 Alabama Voters to Decide Legislature’s’ Pay

13 Conservative Voters Can Make A Difference

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procurement and therefore cost-saving functions for operating the federal government.

At the center of the scandal is the lavish spending at a 2010 Las Vegas conference. Normally an obscure federal agency, GSA and in particular Jeff Neely, an agency official, have become politically toxic following reports and videos documenting the opulent indulgences of the government –employed attendees. The revelation has prompted taxpayer indignation, embarrassed the administration and put a spotlight on wasteful spending by the GSA, all of which is intensified by the fact that it took 11 months for the results of an inspector general's investigation to become public. Appearing before a congressional hearing, former GSA administrator Martha Johnson said “the Western Regions conference at the heart of the problem had become a “raucous, extravagant, arrogant, self-congratulatory event that ultimately belittled federal workers.”

Rep. Darrell Issa, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, described the unacceptable waste of taxpayer money, and in opening remarks of the hearing said "we're here today to get answers to questions that should have been asked and answered a long, long, long time ago," Issa added that the controversy raised "serious questions in the minds of the American people about how government is using their tax dollars." I have to agree, and commend the congressmen for his pursuit of the truth in the matter. Such waste can be neither commendable or acceptable. While some may imply that politics lies at the heart of these hearings, Rep. Issa’s comment that “the situation should raise questions in the minds of people about whether government and its reach should be expanded” holds merit, especially with the prospect of the unprecedented impact of Obamacare on the horizon. By no means the only reason, but certainly one for which we should give serious attention as we approach the November election.

mark Your Calendar!

May ExEcutivE coMMittEE MEEtingThursdaY, maY 10, 2012CounTY serviCes Building

1018 CounTY serviCes drive

Pelham, alaBama

7 P.m.FeaTured sPeaker: CliFF sims

FeaTured sPeaker: CliFF simsCliff Sims is the President of Yellowhammer Strategies, a political and communications consulting firm, and founder of YellowHammerPolitics.com, Alabama’s leading state politics website. He is also a frequent opinion contributor to numerous local and national publications including The Daily Caller and POLITICO.

In 2010, Cliff managed a successful House campaign as part of the Alabama Republican Party’s effort to take control of the state legislature for the first time since Reconstruction. The GOP now holds strong majorities in both the House and Senate after 136 years of Democratic control.

As Chairman of the Alabama College Republicans, Cliff grew the group into one of the most active and innovative student political organizations in the country. As a result, he was a guest on the Glenn Beck Show discussing how to communicate the conservative message to young people and minority groups.

Prior to transitioning into politics, Cliff worked in the music industry as both an artist and businessman. He has had songs featured on MTV & in major motion pictures, helped manage a roster of award winning producers, and produced and promoted large concerts and charity events. He has also been a member of The Recording Academy, the famed organization that selects the winners of the annual GRAMMY Awards.

Cliff played college basketball before venturing into the music industry. He won a state championship as a member of the Enterprise State Community College team and also played at Delta State University in Mississippi.

Cliff and his wife, Megan, now live in Tuscaloosa, AL.

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Unfortunately, opponents of Alabama’s Education Options Act (HB 650) are distributing misleading and inaccurate information about charter schools.

Alabamians deserve access to truthful information about charter schools so they can decide for themselves whether or not this education reform initiative would be beneficial for their children and their communities.

Shown below are 10 myths and 10 truths about charter schools:Myth 1: Charter schools are not public schools.

Truth: Charter schools are public schools.Charter schools are public schools that accept all students who want to come. Every student that is eligible to attend a traditional school will be eligible to attend a charter school within that school district. Charter schools cannot charge

tuition, teach religion, or have admission requirements.Myth 2: Charter schools don’t work.

Truth: Done right, charter schools can work well to improve student performance. But if a charter school doesn’t meet stated expectations, that school will be closed.Of course not every charter school performs well. Just like with traditional schools, sometimes even the best efforts to improve school performance fall short. The difference is charter schools are held accountable for their results. If they don’t meet expectations, charter schools are closed down. Poor-performing, chronically failing traditional schools can go on failing our children for years or decades.

The states with the most successful charter schools are those with strong accountability language allowing authorizers to close low-performing charter schools. That strong accountability

language is clear in Alabama’s Education Options Act.

Two peer states with charter schools laws are Tennessee and Louisiana: 52% or 14 of the 27 charter schools assessed in Memphis, Nashville and Chattanooga demonstrated significant student learning growth versus their traditional public school peers.

In New Orleans, among 45 charter schools, 22 made significantly faster gains in reading, math or both when compared with traditional schools.

Children in Alabama’s underperforming schools deserve the educational options that children in Tennessee and Louisiana have.

** In both studies, some charters are left out because they aren’t old enough to have produced enough scores, so the results may actually be even better.

10 TruThs aBouT CharTer sChoolsBy: Bill ArmisteAd, ChAirmAn, AlABAmA repuBliCAn pArty

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Myth 3: Charters undermine local control.

Truth: By giving power to parents, teachers and principals to run schools in a way that best meets the needs of students, charter schools represent the strongest form of local control in public education.In Alabama, only local boards will have the ability to authorize charter schools, except in extremely low-performing school districts. Only parents will decide whether or not to enroll their child in a charter school. No child will be required to attend a charter school and no child will be excluded. The decision is left solely to the parents.

Myth 4: Charter schools will cost the state more money than traditional district schools.

Truth: Charter schools will receive the same amount of money that traditional district schools receive.Every traditional school system receives a specific amount of money to educate a student (called the “per pupil allocation”). That money is intended to support the cost of educating that student. If a student chooses to go to a charter school, that charter school would receive that student’s per pupil allocation. The effect on the school system is the same as if that student had moved out of the school system or gone to a private school. The charter school receives exactly the same amount of money as the traditional school.

Myth 5: Republican lawmakers believe that charter schools are the only way to improve public education.

Truth: Republican lawmakers believe that we need a combination of strategies to address problems in Alabama’s education system.Most Republicans believe strongly that there is no “silver bullet” solution to the problems in public education in Alabama. We need many different strategies to make sure all Alabama students are prepared for any future they choose, college or

career. There is good work going on to address low-performing schools, including ARI, AMSTI and a commitment to give flexibility to all schools. Charter schools are an important piece of a larger, collaborative strategy intended to address educational inequity and chronic low performance.

Myth 6: Charter schools do not serve students with special needs.

Truth: Charter schools are open enrollment public schools required to meet the needs of all students.Charter schools must serve the needs of all special education students who wish to attend. Alabama has the benefit of learning from other states’ mistakes and has strengthened the language around special needs charter school students to ensure that charter schools are held accountable for meeting the needs of special needs students. It’s worth noting that several charter schools around the country are focusing their models to serve specific populations of students, including students with Autism. Such charter schools provide choices for all parents, including parents of children with special needs.

Myth 7: Charter schools “cherry pick” their students.

Truth: Charters must be open to all students who wish to attend.Every child who is eligible to attend a traditional school in a school system will be eligible to enroll in a charter school within that school system. If more students enroll than there are seats available, schools must conduct a random selection process to fill seats.

Myth 8: Alabama charter schools legislation is meant to enrich corporations by redirecting public money to for-profit charter school companies.

Truth: For-profit organizations will be expressly prohibited from chartering schools in Alabama.Alabama’s Education Options Act specifically bars for-profit operators from

managing charter schools. Only non-profit entities will be eligible to manage charter schools. It’s a sad, but predictable scare tactic to say that corporations want to come to Alabama and charter for-profit schools. Anyone who says that isn’t telling the truth.

Myth 9: Charter schools “deprofessionalize” teaching.

Truth: Charter schools honor the profession of teaching by providing classroom-level flexibility and autonomy.A core tenet of charter schools is teacher autonomy. Charter schools embrace the notion that the teacher knows what’s best for the classroom. Charter schools allow and support teachers to tailor instruction and strategies to the needs of students. Without having to adhere to strict salary schedules or requirements, some charter schools have implemented creative professional growth ladders, supporting teachers towards instructional leadership and administrative positions with appropriate compensation and responsibilities.

Myth 10: Stanford University says charter schools are worse than district schools.

Truth: Stanford University produced a study in 2009 that concluded that some charter schools outperform district schools and some do not.The CREDO study evaluated charter schools in 16 states. While this produced valuable information for crafting strong charter legislation, because charters exist in 41 states, the experience of charters in 25 states was not captured. In addition, the study concluded that in several of the states studied, low-income students and minority students performed significantly better in charter schools. Since the release of the study, there have been questions about the research methodology used, but ultimately, the study provides us valuable data about how to craft a strong charter bill and avoid the mistakes of other states. This report demonstrates the importance of how state laws address autonomy, accountability, and funding.

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Former Washington, D.C., school chancellor Michelle Rhee has sent her followers to Alabama to promote charter schools, but Alabama should say “No, thanks.”

The school day schedule is posted outside a classroom at Kipp Charter School in Atlanta, where students attend class from 8:08 a.m. to 5 p.m. -- a nine-hour school day. Atlanta Public Schools holds the charter for the Kipp school. (The Birmingham News/Joe Songer)

The District of Columbia is no model for school reform.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, which is the gold standard of education testing, shows that D.C. has the biggest achievement gap between black and white students in the nation — double the size of Alabama’s. Alabama should not take lessons from one of the nation’s lowest performing districts.

Charter schools haven’t helped other states and they won’t help Alabama. Here are the reasons why.

Numerous national and state studies have shown that charters on average don’t get better results than regular public schools.

A small percentage get high scores, more get very low scores and most are about average in terms of test scores. Why kill off a community’s public school to replace it with a privately managed school that is no better and possibly is worse?

Charter schools weaken the regular public schools.

They take money away from neighborhood public schools and from the district budget. As charter schools open, regular public schools must cut teachers and close down programs to pay for them.

Many of the “high-performing” charter schools succeed by skimming off the best students, even in poor districts.

The more they draw away the best students, the worse it is for the regular public schools, who are left with the weakest students.

Many charter schools succeed by excluding or limiting the number of students they accept who have disabilities or who are English language learners.

They are also free to push out low-scoring students and send them back to the local public school. This improves their results, but it leaves the regular public schools with disproportionate numbers of the most challenging students.

Many charter operators are for-profit, and the district winds up paying them tax revenue that should be invested in students.

Many of the nonprofits pay exorbitant executive compensation that wouldn’t be acceptable in a regular public school district.

SEvEN rEASONS ALABAmA ShOuLd SAy ‘NO’ TO ChArTEr SChOOLS

Charter schools fragment communities.

Instead of everyone working together to support the children and schools of their communities, charters and regular public schools fight over resources and space. This is not good for education or for children.

Charters cannot help the large numbers of children who live in rural and semi-rural communities in Alabama. These communities barely manage to support their own local public school.

Replacing a community institution with one that is managed by private operators with no local ties would do harm to the community.

Transferring control of public dollars to private hands is not reform. It is privatization.

This strikes at the very heart of public education. It is a mirage.

Alabama needs to do the right thing and support a sound public education system that benefits the children of the rising generation.

Diane Ravitch, Ph.D., was an assistant secretary of education under President George H.W. Bush. Her most recent book, “The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Public Education,” was a New York Times bestseller in 2010. Her email address is gardendr@gmail.com.

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With your annual contribution of $180, you can help make sure that Alabama does not miss the opportunities we have to build a Foundation for our Future in which the Alabama Republican Party is the majority party for generations to come. Membership in the Capitol Club will entitle you to:

• LegislativewrapupconferencecallwithLieutenantGovernorKayIvey• DiscountedticketstotheannualSummerandWinterDinners,aswellasspecialevents• InvitationstomeetwithnationalVIPRepublicanswhentheycometoAlabama• Regulare-mailupdatesfromtheGovernor,RepublicanLegislativeCaucusandChairmanoftheAlabama

Republican Party• AlabamaRepublicanlapelpinandwindowdecal

Please call ALGOP Headquarters at 205-212-5900 or email Clayton Turner at cturner@algop.org for information on how to join or visit algop.org and click “Join the Capitol Club”

An Alabama state Senate panel approved a number of changes to its charter schools bill, including a requirement that the people operating the schools be U.S. citizens and Alabama residents.

Alabama state Senate panel approved a number of changes to its charter schools bill, including a requirement that the people operating the schools be U.S. citizens and Alabama residents.

Republican sponsor Sen. Dick Brewbaker also wants charter schools to keep detailed records of students who drop out or transfer in the middle of the year in order to better gauge their effectiveness.

Charter schools receive taxpayer money, but are run by private companies and aren’t subject to the same rules as public schools.

Brewbaker’s bill differs from an Alabama House version in that it would allow low-performing schools to be transitioned into charters. The House version would create charters alongside low-performing schools.

Democratic Sen. Quinton Ross says charter schools would be a hijacking of the public school system.

alaBama senaTe Panel Changes CharTer sChool Bill- AssoCiAted press

STATE SEN. Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, called Alabama’s latest charter school proposal a “hijacking, for the lack of a better word, of our public education system.”

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The latest proposal, Senate Bill 513, narrowly approved in committee last week, would allow ailing schools to be converted to charter schools so they could be more innovative. In fact, under the Senate proposal, converting low-performing traditional schools to charter schools would be the only way charters would be allowed in the state.

So, brand-new charter schools would not suddenly pop up down the road from healthy traditional schools, from which they could siphon off students. Considering this careful and measured approach, the bill — introduced by Sen. Dick Brewbaker, R-Pike Road — deserves the approval of the full Senate.

Some of the state’s biggest supporters of public education — the School Superintendents of Alabama and the Alabama Association of School Boards — are now backing SB 513. The AASB calls it the “new and improved” Education Options Act.

You can see why charter schools are catching on in many parts of the country. They enjoy autonomy in key areas such as finance, personnel, scheduling, curriculum and instruction. And they are recognized for their mentoring, innovation and smaller class sizes.

The proposal would prevent a state council from forcing more than one charter school on a district, so opponents needn’t worry that it would endanger the whole of public education — as some have claimed. In fact, any charter schools would still be public schools, and they could be closed down if they do not perform adequately.

In some failing school districts in Alabama, families are desperate for any improvement that could brighten their students’ educational prospects. The bill being proposed in the Senate is no silver bullet, but it would give a few struggling schools a fighting chance at success.

CharTer sChools Bill noT a hijaCking- press-register editoriAl BoArd

Senator Dick Brewbaker Senator Quinton Ross

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ALGOP Announces Summer Dinner PlansI am pleased to announce that our distinguished guest-speaker for the Alabama Republican Party’s 2012 Summer Dinner will be Florida Congressman and rumored Vice Presidential hopeful, Colonel Allen West.

Rep. West is a dynamic speaker who embodies the conservative spirit and values of the Republican Party. I encourage you to take just a few minutes to watch this video so that you can hear for yourself the

enthusiasm and passion Col. West employs in his speeches.

We could not be more pleased that he has agreed to join us for our 2012 Summer Dinner. A retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, Rep. West’s family members

have served in the United States Armed Forces for four consecutive generations. Col. West proudly and bravely served our country for more than 22 years, fighting in a number of combat zones including Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom and the conflict in Afghanistan.

After retiring from the military, at the urging of friends and neighbors, Col. West decided to make a bid for Congress in 2010. Employing a purely grassroots movement, Col. West quickly went from a long-shot candidate to igniting support across the country through his candid, no-nonsense approach to American politics and amazing ability to electrify a crowd. Supporters embraced West’s passion and unapologetic conservative views, contributing the second highest amount of money for a Congressional candidate in the entire country, almost all of which came from individual donors. Recently receiving endorsements from a number of Republican heavyweights as a potential Vice Presidential candidate, West has a bright future with the Republican Party.

ONTHEHORIZON:

SCGOP LINCOLN-REAGANDINNER It’s time again for the Shelby County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln-Reagain Dinner! Our featured speaker at the July dinner will be Governor Robert Bentley. Updates will be posted on Twitter, Facebook, and of course, our website shelbycountygop.org. We look forward to seeing you again at this year’s highly-anticipated signature event!

I hope you will join us on Friday, June 22 for the annual ALGOP Summer Dinner. The event will be held at the Renaissance Hotel in Montgomery, and will begin with a welcome reception at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m. Please visit our website to learn more about ticket prices. You can purchase your tickets online or by calling 205-212-5900. Reservations at the Renaissance can be made for the low price of only $99 per night when you ask for the Alabama Republican Party room block. Rooms will go fast, so please call the Renaissance Hotel today to secure your room – 334-481-5000. You can also reserve your room online by clicking here. The date and group code (reprepa) will automatically populate into the correct fields in order for you to receive the reduced rate.

If you are interested in sponsoring a table at the dinner, contact Britney Garner at 205-212-5900, or by email at bgarner@algop.org.

Governor and Mrs. Bentley had the honor of welcoming His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward, to the state of Alabama. There was an event over the weekend in his honor that also recognized the recipients of the Duke of Edinburgh award. A garden party started the day of celebration and a formal event at The Club in Birmingham followed.

Governor Bentley presented the prince with gifts from Alabama including one for Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth, to celebrate her time on the throne.

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As manufacturing picks up across the United States, Alabama has become an unexpected beneficiary.

The state -- best known for agriculture and textiles production -- is enjoying the best pickup in industrial manufacturing in five years as U.S. and foreign companies flock there.

The credit goes to the state’s low taxes, top-grade trade schools, a statute that curbs union power, and other incentives spurring many manufacturers to move to or expand in the state, experts said.

“2011 is the best year we’ve had in terms of manufacturing jobs and activity since 2007,” said Greg Canfield, Alabama’s secretary of commerce.

Companies that are set to open new plants in the state include German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp and a Chinese manufacturing giant, Golden Dragon Precise Copper of China.

Meanwhile Hyundai, Honda (HMC), Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) and truck manufacturer Navistar (NAV, Fortune 500) are expanding there.

One U.S. company that recently came to the state is Wyomissing, Pa.-based Carpenter Technology Corp. (CRS), which broke ground last week in the state’s Limestone County to build a new 400,000-square-foot plant.

Carpenter Technology is one of 70 domestic manufacturers that announced plans last year to set up a factory in Alabama. They’re expected to create 4,879 jobs and $1.6 billion in capital investment over the next two to three years.

Manufacturing is my future

In the same year, an additional 313 manufacturers, already in the state, announced expansion plans that would

create another 12,369 new jobs and pour $2.5 billion in capital investment.

“In [the previous] five years, the percentage of our workforce in manufacturing has jumped to 12% from 5%,” said Canfield.

State officials are pleased with the increased activity, but are looking to raise Alabama’s profile even more as a top-notch destination for industrial and high-tech manufacturing.

In January, they unveiled “Accelerate Alabama,” a plan to aggressively court manufacturers in 11 business sectors over the next five years. The 11 sectors include automotive, aerospace agricultural products, information technology and bioscience.

“We’re focusing on where we expect manufacturing to thrive in the future,” said Steve Sewel, executive vice president of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama.

The program highlights the benefits manufacturers can get by bringing their business there. One advantage is Alabama’s right-to-work statute, which puts a damper on union activity.

The law says workers can’t be forced to join, or abstain from joining, a union as a condition of employment. “Manufacturers are more at ease making large investments knowing this fact,” said Canfield.

Other advantages include relatively low labor wages and living costs, as well as state incentives that include free workers’ training and recruiting programs.

State officials are also going so far as to pitch company executives with Alabama’s world class golf courses, hotel resorts, bass fishing and hunting trails.

Nine months in trade school. Job guaranteed.

“Whether it’s our golf courses or bass trails, which are very popular with Japanese executives, or NASCAR, [these intangibles] give Alabama a leg up on the competition,” said Canfield.

The state developed its famous Robert Trent Jones golf trail in the 1980s with the specific intention of drawing company executives to the state.

Raymond Cheng, whose company SoZo was hired by Golden Dragon Precise Copper of China to scout U.S. locations in 2011, said: “It was also important for our clients to choose a place with a good quality of life for executives and staff,” he said.

Alabama has a lot going for it, such as its golf courses, but Chinese restaurants are few and far between, he quipped.

Meanwhile, Carpenter Technology’s $518 million plant is scheduled for completion by 2014. It will produce about 27,000 tons of premium alloy products for the aerospace and energy industries annually, said Bernie Mara, the company’s vice president of global advanced engineering.

The company chose Alabama out of 250 worldwide locations, said Mara.

“At the end of the day, the incentive package that Alabama offered us, in terms of tax abatements, labor training programs and infrastructure grants were very compelling,” he said.

alaBama’s sweeT manuFaCTuring BoomBy pArijA KAvilAnz @Cnnmoney

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Republicans were elected to Alabama’s legislative majority in 2010 because of a specific set of promises and needed reforms that we intended to keep. Among our pledges was the guarantee that Alabama would lead the nation in enacting the nation’s strongest law to battle illegal immigration within the state. A year ago, we kept our promise by passing a statute that resulted in the voluntary self-deportation of many illegal aliens.

In the months since, Alabama has witnessed a dramatic drop in unemployment that has surpassed the rest of the country and is beginning to jumpstart our state’s economy. Despite the whines of the liberal media and the protests of the left-wing naysayers, I believe deeply that passage of the immigration statute led directly to our embryonic economic turnaround.

Republican lawmakers listened to the people of the state in crafting the original bill, and we continue to listen to the voices of the people as we search for ways to

improve its enforcement. After months of meeting with our constituents, local small business owners and hometown law enforcement, we received valuable suggestions of practical ways to clarify and simplify the law.

Republican lawmakers wasted no time taking action to craft revisions that would keep the law the toughest in the nation while also making it easier to enforce and tougher for groups sympathetic to illegal immigrants to block. Unfortunately, a great deal of misinformation has been spread about the changes contained in HB658 by those who do not understand their intent and others who want to keep the floodgates of illegal immigration flowing into our state wide open.

Make no mistake; no changes have been suggested that weaken the law. Instead, they simply aim to make it even more workable for local governments, more enforceable for state and local police, and less burdensome for law-abiding citizens and businesses. For detailed information

lawmakers are lisTening and Taking aCTionBy mAjority leAder miCKy hAmmon

regarding tweaks made to the law, I would encourage you to visit the House Republican Caucus website online at www.alhousegop.com. ;

The purpose behind passing the original immigration statute and proposing the needed changes remain consistent - our state’s borders must be secured, our taxpayer dollars must be protected and the interests of those who come here illegally must not be placed ahead of those who reside here lawfully. My record as a legislator and the threats I have received from illegal immigrant groups prove that no one believes more strongly than I in the necessity of upholding the rule of law. That is why we went to great lengths to ensure that HB658 maintains the strength of the original immigration law while removing possible obstacles facing law-abiding Alabamians.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is simply not telling you the truth.

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We’re nearing the end of the 2012 legislative session in Montgomery, and our Republican leaders are working overtime to make sure their legislative agenda is accomplished. Over the last year they have worked hard to pass bills that would help foster a business-friendly environment in our state, which will in turn spur job growth. Recent news articles have shown how effective these bills have been and I encourage you to read these stories if you haven’t already - Hyundai to Hire 877 Workers (Birmingham News) and State Receives More Positive Job News (Montgomery Advertiser). Though they continue to face opposition from the Democrats across the aisle and AEA union boss, Henry Mabry, our Republican Leaders are determined to finish the job they started and continue to help get Alabamians back to work.

Here’s what else is going on in Montgomery:

House Republican Update

The House on Tuesday voted 96-0 to approve legislation that will require companies to offer coverage for the treatment of autism, and will give companies the option of offering that coverage to their employees. Senate Bill 283, sponsored by Cam Ward of Alabaster, now heads to the Governor for his signature.

On Wednesday, the House Health Committee approved two pro-life bills. The first, House Bill 223, sponsored by Mary Sue McClurkin of Indian Springs, will require abortion clinics to meet the same health standards as ambulatory health care centers, require physicians who are performing the abortions to have hospital admitting privileges, as well as require them to provide befor and after care for the patients. The second bill, House Bill 112, sponsored by Ed Henry of Hartsell, will prohibit insurance plan offered through a state healthcare exchange from providing coverage for elective abortions.

Thursday evening, the House stayed in session for 15 hours, not adjourning until midnight, in their efforts to pass House Bill 223. Not surprisingly, the Democrats filibustered in order to keep this pro-life bill from coming up for debate. Rep. McClurkin says she will try again to bring the bill to the floor.

Also on Thursday evening, the House passed House Bill 688, sponsored by Rep. Mike Hill of Columbiana. This bill will raise court fees for both civil and criminal cases in order to help fund the cash-strapped judicial system in Alabama. This bill heads to the Senate for consideration.

The House also passed House Bill 166, sponsored by Rep. Steve McMillan of Bay Minette, which will require insurance companies to clearly disclose to their policy holders what their policies do and do not cover. After passing 96 - 0, it now goes to the Senate.

Senate Republican Update

On Tuesday, the Senate approved a $5.5 billion education trust fund budget, 31-4. This budget is about 2.7 percent (approximately $150 million) smaller than the budget passed last year. It now goes to the House Ways and Means-Education Committee where it is expected to go through some changes.

Also on Tuesday, the Senate passed House Bill 360, sponsored by Rep. Randy Davis of Daphne. This bill will require schools in Alabama to start the school year no more than two weeks before Labor Day and to end the school year the Friday before Memorial Day. It is hoped that a longer summer break will help generate additional revenue for the general trust fund via increased tourism during the summer months. It now goes to Governor Bentley for his review.

The Senate also passed House Bill 89, sponsored by Rep. Mike Millican of Hamilton. This bill will help provide consistent funding for 911 call centers

across the state, by establishing a flat rate for traditional landline phones and wireless phones. This bill now goes before Governor Bentley.

On Wednesday, the Senate passed 33 - 0 for a bill sponsored by Rep. DuWayne Bridges of Valley. House Bil 238 will require funeral protestors to remain at least 1,000 feet away from the funerals of fallen soldiers or other victims. It now heads to the desk of Governor Bentley.

The Senate Health Committee met on Wednesday to hear testimony regarding Senate Bill 5, sponsored by Senator Phil Williams of Rainbow City. This ‘personhood bill’ will define personhood as beginning from the ‘moment of fertilization and implantation in the womb.” The committee didn’t vote on the bill but will meet again soon.

On Thursday, the Senate approved House Bill 340, sponsored by Rep. John Merrill of Tuscaloosa. This bill will make looting a property in the wake of a natural disaster, such as the April 2011 tornadoes, a crime. It heads to the Governor now for his review.

Governor’s Desk

On Thursday Governor Bentley signed Senate Bill 459, sponsored by Senator Slade Blackwell of Mountain Brook. This law creates a way for businesses that operate in more than one municipality to have a single, online place at which to handle their tax filings, eliminating the need to file multiple tax returns.

In Case You Missed It

Once again, Alabama is leading the nation with our continued drop in the unemployment rate. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Alabama tied with Michigan in having the steepest decline in our unemployment rate. Read more at the Birmingham News - Alabama unemployment rate decline in March tops among states.

Legislative RoundupBy tj mAloney, exeCutive direCtor, AlABAmA repuBliCAn pArty

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Alabama voters will get to decide in November if they want to repeal the big pay raise legislators gave themselves five years ago and cut the typical legislator’s compensation by about $7,000 annually.

The Alabama House and Senate agreed Thursday on a proposed constitutional amendment that will restructure legislative pay, but it won’t take effect unless approved by a majority of voters in the general election Nov. 6.

The legislation’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Mike Ball of Huntsville, is optimistic it will pass. “I’ve never heard of a Legislature voting to cut its own pay,” he said.

The pay plan stems from the Legislature’s vote in 2007 to increase its compensation 61 percent from $36,660 to $49,500. The raise, pushed mainly by Democrats and opposed mostly by Republicans, also provided for annual cost-of-living increases that raised compensation to $53,388.

Some legislators refused the raise and others declined the annual cost-of-living increases. Some Republican candidates made it an issue in the 2010 legislative elections and promised to repeal it. Republicans took control of the Legislature in that election, ending 136 years of Democratic dominance, but the new GOP majority did nothing about changing the pay in 2011.

Ball worked with Republicans Sens. Bryan Taylor of Prattville and Phil Williams of Rainbow City to find a middle ground that ended up passing unanimously.

The proposed constitutional amendment will repeal the 2007 raise and set the salary

at the state’s median household income, which was $40,474 in 2010.

Taylor said the pay will rise or fall each year with the median household income. If the Legislature helps spur Alabama’s economy and the household income increases, so does legislative pay. If the economy falters and household income goes down, so does legislative pay, he said.

There are no automatic cost-of-living increases in the plan.

The constitutional amendment would also prevent the Legislature from raising its pay with a resolution like it has done in the past. Any change in the pay structure would require a vote of the people.

“The Legislature can never raise its own pay again,” Taylor said.

The plan provides for legislators to get the same travel reimbursements as state employees, including 55 cents a mile for trips to Montgomery and $75 a night for overnight stays if they live more than 50 miles from the capital city. The typical legislator would have 45 overnight stays during the 15 weeks the Legislature usually meets each year.

Travel expenses would boost the typical compensation to $45,980 — or $7,408 less than the current average.

The compensation of the lieutenant governor and House speaker would also drop from $71,598 annually to $63,980.

With the current system, legislators who live in the Montgomery area get the same compensation as those living in

Florence or Mobile. Ball said the proposed system is fairer because legislators near Montgomery will get less in travel money than those who live along the coast or in the Tennessee Valley.

If approved by voters, the change in pay will take effect with the legislative elections in 2014. Ball said that addresses the concerns of legislators who ran expecting $53,388 during this four-year term.

“Before anybody runs in 2014, they will know what the pay is, and they can put a pencil to it to see if it works for them,” Ball said.

Senate Minority Leader Roger Bedford of Russellville voted for the legislation, but complained that if voters reject the amendment, then the 2007 pay raise will remain in effect. He wanted the constitutional amendment worded so that if it got rejected by voters, the 2007 raise would also die.

Ball called that political posturing by Democrats who wanted the new Republican majority to do nothing about legislative compensation so that Democrats could use it as an issue in the 2014 elections. “There were very few saying ‘repeal it’ that I would actually believe,” Ball said.

Ball said he has no money to promote the amendment, but he isn’t worried about voters forgetting about it over the next six months.

“Legislative pay is such as hot-button issue, people will be interested,” he predicted.

alaBama voTers To deCide legislaTure’s PaYBy: phillip rAWls, AssoCiAted press

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Every election is important, but there has never been one more important than this one. Our children and grandchildren will never know the country that we grew up in if we lose this one!

Barack Obama’s presidency has been, in the words of former Vice President Dick Cheney, an ‘unmitigated disaster’. The U.S. national debt is over $15.6 trillion. That comes out to over $138,000 for every taxpayer. Spending in Washington is out of control, giving us a budget deficit of over $1.3 trillion. Medicare and Social Security are on unsustainable paths, predicted to run out of funds in 2024 and 2033 respectively. Officially, over 12.8 million Americans are unemployed, though unofficially that number is believed to be much higher. I know coming to grip with these numbers is mind boggling, but we MUST understand what is at stake here.

And what is President Obama’s response?

a. To kick the can down the road and hope future generations fix the problem.

b. Blame former President Bush.

c. Blame Congress (just the Republicans of course).

d. Suggest another stimulus package, despite the utter failure of his first few.

e. All of the above.

If you answered ‘all of the above’, then you are correct.

Unfortunately, the economic blunders made by the sitting President and his Congressional Democratic cohorts have a negative affect here in Alabama. No matter how hard our Republican elected officials work to strengthen the economic climate here in our state, it’s impossible to completely offset the damage being inflicted by Obama and the Democrats in Washington D.C.

Alabama Republicans are all that stand between our hardworking taxpayers and the radical agenda Obama and the Democrats would like to force upon us all. Alabama Democratic Party Chairman, Mark Kennedy, has made it clear that he believes that Obama should be embraced and that they intend to fully support him this November - “Next year, we’re going to be proud to stand by Barack Obama as our nominee,” Kennedy said. “He is a good president. He is a good Democrat. And he’s worthy of consideration — more importantly, he’s worthy of our praise.”

In case you still doubt Kennedy’s commitment to supporting Obama, keep in mind that he welcomed into Alabama comedian Bill Maher, who is best known for his crude rants and rabid anti-Christian ramblings. To demonstrate his unrelenting loyalty to Obama, Maher recently donated $1 million to an Obama Super-PAC. I still find it amazing that a

leader of any Alabama organization would want to align with the likes of Bill Maher, but that just shows the values espoused by Mark Kennedy and the Alabama Democratic Party.

It’s clear that Democrats - whether it’s Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi in D.C. or Mark Kennedy and Lucy Baxley here in Alabama - are completely out of touch with Alabama values. And it’s equally clear that if Democrats are allowed to implement their failed economic policies in our state, all of the good that has been accomplished by Alabama Republicans over the last few months will be undone.

November 6, 2012 will be the most important election in our lifetime. No, make that the most important election in the history of our country. It can also be the turning point in our country where Americans say ‘enough is enough’. We simply cannot continue on the path of higher taxes, wealth redistribution, and the pervasion of government into every area of our life. We must return to the path set out by our Founding Fathers of economic prosperity and personal and religious freedom.

Conservative voters like you will make the difference.

Please help us make sure that we’re ready to take on the liberal Democrats who seek to undermine all that makes Alabama and America great. Join us today by making a generous one-time donation. Or if you are on a budget like most of the country, then please consider signing up to make a small monthly donation to our Victory Fund. Either way, you will make a difference- not only this November, but in the months to follow.

Please donate today! May God bless you. And, may He bless our great state and nation!

ConservaTive voTers Can make a diFFerenCeBy: Bill ArmisteAd, ChAirmAn, AlABAmA repuBliCAn pArty