MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Public Service Commission (PSC) has in recent years slashed its own budget by more than 30 percent and plans to transfer the remaining surplus to the state’s ailing General Fund. On Monday, PSC leaders called on other state agencies to voluntarily find ways to cut their budgets as lawmakers convene in Montgomery to address the state’s budget shortfall.
“Alabama’s conservative legislators understand that taking more money out of the pockets of the hard-working men and women in this state and growing government is not the solution,” said PSC President Twinkle Cavanaugh during a press conference. “Hard-working Alabamians deserve to keep more of what they have worked so hard to earn.”
In a call for a Special Legislative Session to “fix” the budget, Governor Robert Bentley renewed some of his proposals for tax increases, a move Public Service Commissioner Chip Beeker alluded to in his portion of the conference.
“Last November the citizens of Alabama were faced with a stark contrast,” Beeker stated. “They chose between candidates who promised to raise taxes and candidates who promised no new taxes. We all saw the billboards that said, ‘No New Taxes.’ In commercials we heard candidates say, ‘No New Taxes.’ We read the campaign literature that said, ‘No New Taxes.’ The voters in Alabama wisely and soundly rejected the candidates who promised tax increases and elected those candidates who promised that there would be no new taxes.
“Now, the men and women of Alabama’s legislature have been called into a special session to consider whether to reject the results of that election and increase taxes on the very Alabamians who, with the votes they cast in November, shouted, ‘No New Taxes,'” he continued.
In preparation for the Special Session, Governor Bentley laid out a list of dos and don’ts for the state’s lawmakers. Budget cuts to Medicaid, corrections, state parks, the highway patrol, or mental health services are off the table, as is an expansion of gambling, while increases to tobacco taxes and the implementation of a “soda tax” both have the governor’s backing.
But down the street in Montgomery at the PSC’s new, vastly smaller offices—one of the many ways the agency slashed its budget—Commissioners Beeker and Cavanaugh hope the spirit of fiscal responsibility they’ve fostered will rub off on the rest of the state’s government.
“At the Alabama Public Service Commission we will continue to do our part and look for more ways to cut excessive, wasteful government and save money,” Beeker concluded.
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— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015
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