The Birmingham City Council passed a resolution today opposing the proposed Amendment 14 to the Alabama state constitution.
The vote to oppose the amendment – which appears on the Nov. 8 general election ballot – was unanimous.
Several council members said the amendment could hurt Birmingham more than other Jefferson County municipalities and could cause it to lose funding for schools, transit and other needs.
The resolution was introduced by Council President Pro Tem Steven Hoyt after the council heard a presentation by Alabama State Rep. John Rogers (D-District 52), who strongly opposes the amendment and called it "the biggest scam since somebody invented the three-card Monte.”
The amendment is ostensibly meant to protect about 700 state laws passed since 1984 from possible legal challenges.
These challenges could come because, as a Jefferson County court ruled in December 2015, the Alabama House of Representatives has not properly followed the language of the state constitution regarding the required majority or quorum needed to pass local bills in each session before a state budget is passed.
Ward sponsored the legislation calling for the vote on Amendment 14, which would rectify the procedural inconsistency and grandfather in any past local bills that would otherwise be affected.
However, if the amendment passes it would also validate House Bill 573, allowing Jefferson County to refinance its one-cent sales tax. This law, which spurred the lawsuit and ruling that brought about a need Amendment 14, would allocate money to Jefferson County Schools, transit projects and other community resources such as the Birmingham Zoo.
But Rogers, a veteran legislator, argued that if the amendment passes Birmingham could come out on the short end. He said that tax revenues from the Magic City benefit other Jefferson County municipalities. “Birmingham is the cash cow," he said.
Appearing with Rogers at the meeting today was Birmingham resident Bob Friedman, who filed a lawsuit in Montgomery County Circuit Court on Oct. 17 asking that Amendment 14 be removed from ballots across the state.
Friedman, according to AL.com, is asking the judge to remove the amendment from the ballot because he says it could overturn the court ruling that halted Jefferson County's plan to refinance its school construction debt and divert much of the $60 million in savings to the county's general fund and other non-educational projects.
“You cannot overturn a sitting judge,” Rogers said. “That’s the constitution.”
Councilor Sheila Tyson said she agreed with Rogers that other Jefferson County communities, such as Hoover and Midfield, could likely benefit a great deal more than Birmingham.
“We’re losing money,” she said, adding, “Keep our tax dollars here in Birmingham so we can grow.”
Tyson said that the measure will take money from schools while giving legislators from the county $3.6 million a year to fund their “pork projects.”
“I wouldn’t vote for Amendment 14 if you held a gun to my head,” said Councilor Valerie Abbott, who expressed dismay with the impact on school funding.
“There’s been a lot of miscommunication going around about (an amendment) that affects the people of Birmingham,” said Council President Johnathan Austin, who voiced his opposition to the amendment.
Hoyt called the amendment a “boondoggle” and said that “it makes no sense at all.”