What a Vote Yes on Amendment 14 Means for Alabama
The following is an opinion editorial drafted by ARC Realty Chairman Tommy Brigham regarding Amendment 14.
On November 8, every citizen in Alabama will have the opportunity to vote on Amendment 14, an amendment that will impact all 67 counties in our state.
By voting yes for Amendment 14, Alabamians will validate nearly 700 local laws that have been passed since 1984. Many of those laws and acts also were passed by local citizens in referendums. If the amendment does not pass, it will halt progress and momentum statewide, as hundreds of bills that provide funding for schools, hospitals, law enforcement and economic development projects will be lost. In Birmingham, we also would lose the proposed new football stadium at the BJCC. Voting yes does not create any new taxes – not a penny. However, a no vote would cost all of us, as taxpayers, dearly.
Located on the back of the second page of the ballot, Amendment 14 is very difficult to interpret. It is written as follows:
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama 1901, to amend Amendment 448 to the Constitution of Alabama 1901, now appearing as Section 71.01 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama 1901, as amended, to ratify, approve, validate, and confirm the application of any budget isolation resolution relating to a bill proposing a local law adopted by the Legislature before November 8, 2016, that conformed to the rules of either body of the Legislature at the time it was adopted. (Proposed by Act 2016-430).
Remember – a yes vote will provide each county in our state the necessary funding for our first responders and emergency care and healthcare providers.
A yes vote will save and create new jobs, while maintaining the services every community needs to be safe and secure.
A yes vote provides funding for the education of our children need, creating tomorrow’s workforce.
A yes vote creates economic development and job opportunities to keep our citizens working, and our state and cities at the cutting edge in a highly competitive economic and global market.
Finally, a yes vote on Amendment 14 will strengthen and enhance the future of the real estate and housing industry across Alabama.
I encourage every citizen to vote yes on Amendment 14 so that our cities, region and state can achieve its full potential, and ask that you encourage others to vote yes on Amendment 14 on November 8.
