Attorney General Luther Strange yesterday expressed his support for legislation to streamline law enforcement in Alabama, consolidating a multitude of agencies for more effective operations and more efficient use of limited resources. Senate Bill 108, sponsored by Senator Del Marsh, passed the Senate unanimously last week, and yesterday passed the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee of the House of Representatives. Marsh projects the bill could save the state between $25 million and $35 million each year.
“This legislation has been carefully crafted to provide important reforms that make our law enforcement stronger and give it the ability to operate more efficiently to protect the people of Alabama,” Strange said in a statement. “Our State Troopers are overextended and have not received pay raises in many years. In addition, many areas in our state lack sufficient law enforcement resources to investigate crimes such as rural theft. I have been discussing these concerns with Senator Marsh, and I have received assurances from him that a portion of the savings this consolidation achieves will be reinvested to give our State Troopers the pay they deserve, a well-earned increase in their compensation, and to provide our state with agricultural investigators to protect our rural communities.”
While some House Democrats have expressed concerns with the bill, an endorsement from the state’s top law enforcement official will make it increasingly difficult for opponents to attack the proposal on its merits. “I am confident that the involved agencies and employees will work together and benefit from this cooperative team effort,” Strange concluded.
The bill is expected to easily pass the House and go on to Governor Bentley for his signature. In stark contrast to what we continue to see out of Washington, D.C., it’s refreshing for government to actually be shrinking in the state of Alabama.
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