State district attorneys support Sept. 18 amendment

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September 5, 2012

State district attorneys support Sept. 18 amendment

Passage would provide money for General Fund over three years

By David Palmer The Cullman Times The Cullman Times Wed Sep 05, 2012, 03:20 PM CDT

The Alabama District Attorneys Association has endorsed the approaching Sept. 18 statewide referendum that would funnel millions of dollars into the state’s ailing General Fund.

Support has been growing among various organizations throughout the state as weighty programs such as Medicaid and the Department Corrections gobble up most of the available funding.

But also tied to the General Fund is a sizable portion of the money needed to operate the state’s judicial offices, including district attorneys.

Cullman County district attorney Wilson Blaylock said the need for the referendum’s passage should be viewed from a public service perspective, not politics.

“Purely from the standpoint of the district attorney’s office in Cullman County, we’re a service organization,” Blaylock said. “We’ve cut to the bone already. We can cut more, but with that will come consequences. And I don’t say that as some kind of threat. We know we have to live within whatever our budget is, but I’m looking at this from being able to prosecute and do the best we can for the victims.”

The local district attorney’s office receives 37 percent of its funding from the state. In the last three years, 36 percent of the state funding has been cut, Blaylock said.

“We’ve lost two-and-a-half employees because of budget cuts,” he said. “If you cut any deeper, victims may have to wait longer for cases to be resolved. You also may get into a constitutional issue because the guarantee of a speedy trial could be in jeopardy.”

Blaylock also said approval of the referendum would not allow him to expand his office to previous levels.

The referendum facing voters proposes to transfer $437 million from the Alabama Trust Fund, a repository for royalties from oil and gas leases, to the General Fund throughout the next three years. While the original bill calling for the referendum did not stipulate that the money should be repaid, lawmakers plan to add that requirement in the next legislative session.

Lawmakers and Gov. Robert Bentley have speculated that without the money the General Fund could go into proration of 10-14 percent and lead to layoffs and reduction of services in areas such as the judicial system.

Local lawmakers — Sen. Paul Bussman and Reps. Jeremy Oden and Max Buttram — are in support of the money being repaid to the trust fund, which appears to have wide support among the state’s lawmakers.

The referendum is considered a temporary solution for the General Fund which, if passed, would allow lawmakers time to develop a longterm solution.

* David Palmer may be contacted at dpalmer@cullmantimes.com or 256-734-2131, ext. 213.

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State district attorneys support Sept. 18 amendment

Passage would provide money for General Fund over three years

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