LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF
ALABAMA PROGRAM 2011-2013 as
adopted by the LWVAL Convention on May 1, 2011. Modified March
31, 2012 to include under Education: VII. Characteristics of Charter
School Enabling Legislation. LWVUS SUPPORT POSITIONS In addition to its own support positions, the League of Women Voters of
Alabama (LWVAL) supports the positions of the League of Women Voters of the United States (LWVUS). These include positions on:
To read the history and details of each of
these items, download Impact on Issues 2010-2012 from the LWVUS. LWVAL
SUPPORT POSITIONS The League of Women Voters of Alabama has also developed a series of program positions through the years. They are the result of study and consensus/concurrence on the part of the members of the League of Women Voters of Alabama. They have been adopted at different times and have different forms. LWVAL has policy positions on:
GOVERNMENT
Budget Process 1987 (Updated 1995) The League of Women Voters believes that the state
budgeting process should be an open process that includes
public input in the setting of budgeting priorities, reflects programs needed
and wanted by the people of Alabama, and finances state programs
realistically. The League, therefore, supports action to
Campaign Finance Reform 1995 The League of Women Voters of Alabama believes that the
methods of financing campaigns should ensure the public's
right to know, combat corruption and undue influence, enable candidates to
compete more equitably for public office, and allow maximum citizen
participation in the political process. Constitution Reform 1967 and 1973 (Updated 2002, 2009) The Alabama Constitution
should protect the people in the exercise of their civil liberties and
provide a framework for government, broadly defining authorities,
responsibilities, and relationships between branches of state government and
between state and local governments. It should contain neither statutory law
nor restrictive details that necessitate continual amendment. I.
A broad grant of authority should be delegated to
those local governments that choose to adopt a plan for home rule to enable
them to address local problems independently of the state legislature and/or
the state electorate.
II.
The three branches of state government should have
authority sufficient to perform their distinct responsibilities
independently, and they should function as co-equals within the traditional
framework of checks and balances.
*Adopted in
Amendment 339 in 1975
*Adopted in
Amendment 328 in 1973. III.
The taxation and finance provisions in the
constitution should provide for the flexibility to address changing
conditions, an equitable distribution of the tax burden, and the economical
use of the stateÕs financial resources.
A.
In its provisions for public indebtedness, 1. The
constitution should permit the state and properly constituted local
governments to engage in works of public improvement. 2. With
reasonable safeguards, the state should be allowed to finance capital
improvements by issuing general obligation bonds that pledge its full faith
and credit, in order to secure more advantageous rates than those for
indirect borrowing through agencies. 3. Debt
limitations in the constitution should be expressed as a percentage of some
reasonable measure of the stateÕs wealth, not in monetary terms. B. The
stateÕs system of taxation should be broad, equitable and efficient for the
taxpayers of the state. It should balance regressive and non- regressive
taxes. 1. The
constitution should contain no fixed tax rates. 2. The
constitution should place no limitations on ad valorem and income taxes. 3. The
constitution should neither mandate nor prohibit earmarking of taxes. With the prerequisite of an open
accountable legislature, responsive to all the people, the legislature should
be allowed flexibility in tax decisions to meet changing needs through
statutory law rather than constitutional amendment. C. To
enable local governments to address local issues independently of the state
legislature, local governmental entities should be granted taxing authority
in their duly adopted plans or charters. IV.
The League of Women Voters of Alabama supports a
convention of citizens for the purpose of rewriting the state constitution. V.
If the Alabama Constitution authorizes initiative and
referendum, the Constitution should either contain safeguards in the
initiative and referendum process to protect representative and deliberative
democracy, guarantee basic rights found in the U.S. and Alabama
Constitutions, maintain essential state services, and reduce the influence of
special interests or require that the legislature include such safeguards in
any enabling or other initiative and referendum legislation. (See Legislature - Initiative and
Referendum position.) Election Law Reform 1972, June 1988, February
2009 (Updated 1995 and
2003) The League of Women Voters supports uniform election laws
and procedures throughout the state to ensure the integrity of the election
system. At minimum these elections laws should include the
following: A. Simple
and easy to understand procedures for registration and voting. B. Uniform
residency requirements. C. A
statewide computerized voter registration system. D. Uniform
application of election laws. E. Consistent
use of terminology by election law and election officials. F. Uniform
polling hours statewide from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.* * Accomplished in
2003 G. Designation
of the Secretary of State as the Election Official for the State of Alabama.
The Secretary should have the authority to 1. Prepare
a specific, required course of instruction for all election officials 2. Inform
candidates of fair campaign practices. Off-Site Voting
Adopted
February 21, 2009
LWVAL supports absentee voting and early voting. The LWVAL also supports a simplified
application process and elimination of any requirement of excuses for absentee voting and early voting while
maintaining the integrity of the voting
process. . Ethics in Government May, 1991 (Updated 1995, 2003) Ethics law should provide clear and enforceable state law
regarding ethical conduct for elected and appointed officials,
public employees and lobbyists.
The law should establish that public office will be used
for the public good and not private gain and should provide a legal basis for public confidence in the integrity
of government. I. The Alabama Ethics Code should
1. It
should have sufficient authority to perform its responsibilities. The
Commission should have subpoena powers and be able to levy fines against
those late in filing statements of economic interests. 2. The
Commission should have guaranteed and adequate funding.
II.
Statements of economic interest must be submitted to
the Commission by the following: A. All
elected public officials and candidates for offices. B. Appointed
officials and public employees who are paid $50,000 or more a year (the
amount to be adjusted periodically). C. Appointed
or elected officials at any level of compensation and holding any title who
have the authority to make purchases in excess of $1,000 or to collect or
disburse funds. III.
Public meetings should be open to all citizens except
during discussion of a personÕs character or good name. Public officials should be diligent in
following the Open Meetings Law (Sunshine Law). The Open Meetings Law (Sunshine Law)
should be maintained and applied to the state legislature and its committees; state boards, commissions and committees;
and regional, city and county commissions, councils and boards. Timely public
notification of these meetings should be required. The state Open Meetings Law (Sunshine
Law) should include a provision to nullify decisions made in illegally
conducted meetings. IV.
Candidates for elective office should be required to
disclose all contributions and names of contributors to their campaigns
before the election. They should be provided with timely individual notices
of their reporting obligations. V.
All governmental entities in Alabama should be
required to take sealed bids on their major purchases and expenditures. These purchases should be widely
advertised to allow any qualified parties to bid and all bids on a contract
should be available for public scrutiny. Finance and Taxation January 1989 (Updated 1995) The League of Women Voters of Alabama supports action to
reform the state system of finance and taxation. Alabama's present regressive
tax structure places the heaviest tax burden on low income
people, who pay a larger percentage of their income in state taxes than any
other income group. In addition, the present system of earmarking tax
revenues causes inequities in funding the responsibilities of state
government. The state revenue system should be broad and equitable. The League, therefore, supports the following as part of
total tax reform: A. Any
new taxes which become necessary should be based on
ability to pay, in order to lessen reliance on regressive taxes. B. The
present mix of Alabama's taxes should be changed so that there is more reliance
on property tax and income tax and less reliance (dependence) on general and
selective sales taxes. C. The
sales tax on food should be eliminated, as it was for prescription drugs, but
sales tax exemptions that are designed to benefit specific groups should be
reduced. D. Local
government entities should be given more power to tax themselves. E. Any
new taxes and any increased revenues resulting from reform should not be
earmarked. The LWVAL continues to support a revised constitution that neither
provides for nor prohibits earmarked taxes. F. The
constitutional restriction limiting the income tax, Alabama's most
progressive revenue source, should be removed. G. There
should be no constitutionally-fixed tax rates. H. No
specific monetary debt ceiling should be stated in the constitution. However,
the constitution should mandate a specific debt limit that is a percentage of
a reasonable measure of a state's wealth. Legislature 2005 The League of Women Voters of
Alabama reaffirms its previous position that the Legislature should be
independent of the Executive Branch.
The League supports the strengthening of the Legislature that it may
effectively function within the traditional framework of checks and balances
among the co-equal branches of government. The League also reaffirms its
support in previous positions for constitutional guarantees of adequate
representation for all citizens and annual meetings of the legislature for
which legislators receive an adequate salary. I. Leadership Selection The internal leadership of the
House and Senate should be elected by the membership of each chamber. As part of this position, the League
reaffirms its support for the independent election of the Speaker by the
members of the House as an essential aspect of its support for the separation
of powers between the legislative and executive branches of government. II. Assignment of Members to Committees Assignment of members to
committee should be based on several criteria, the most important of which is
member expertise in the subject matter handled by the committee Additional factors that should
be considered include party ratios within the chamber, race and gender. III. Standing Committees The committee system, which is
the core of the legislative process, should receive continuing attention with
the aim of preserving existing strengths and eliminating the weaknesses. A. Jurisdictions and Numbers 1. The legislature should clearly define
committee jurisdictions and consistently assign bills based on jurisdictions,
in order to strengthen the committee system and enhance the ability of
committees to evaluate bills based on committee expertise. 2. The Legislature should use
clearly stated efficiency and effectiveness criteria for determining the
appropriate number of standing committees. B. Duties and Operation Each chamber
should maintain and adhere to written rules related to the duties and
operations of all standing committees.
At minimum these rules should provide for the following. 1.
Clear jurisdictional lines for each committee. 2.
A requirement that all legislation be sent to and
handled by committees based on jurisdiction. 3.
Selection of all committee chairs by a vote of the
membership of the committee regardless of party affiliation. 4.
Mechanisms for the members to call committee meetings
should the chair fail to do so. 5.
Open committee meetings to ensure public access to deliberations. 6.
Provisions for roll call votes. 7.
Timely Internet posting of committee meetings
including time, place and agendas. IV. Legislative
Staff Support A. Nonpartisanship The
staff for all legislative support offices should be nonpartisan and
professional. B.
Staff 1. The
nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Office (LFO) should be maintained. 2.
Objective legal advice should be available to all
committees. 3. A nonpartisan policy analysis
office should be established by the legislature. Priority in the officeÕs research
assignments should be given to requests for research from committee chairs
and chamber leadership. 4. Adequate clerical staff for
members should be provided in their Montgomery offices. Clerical staff for state legislators
in their districts should not receive state funding. 5. Funding for the policy office and
any expansion of clerical support should come in part from thorough reexamination of current legislative
funding and possible reallocation of these funds. V. Public
Access to Information The
Legislature should place the following on the internet to ensure that the
media, citizens, and others have access to the information needed for
informed participation in the political process. A. Legislative budgets including the
specific amounts budgeted to and spent by: 1. funds
for each chamber, the leadership, and the various standing committees. 2. discretionary
fund monies disbursed by the House and Senate leadership; and 3. discretionary
funds under membersÕ control. B. Information about all legislative
meetings (chamber and committee) specifying time, exact location, and agendas prior to their occurrence,
with such posting allowing sufficient time for interested parties to attend the
meetings. C. Roll call votes on bills
and amendments. VI. Lobbyists
and Lobbying. Lobbyists
play an important role in the transmittal of information to legislators, but
regulation of lobbying is necessary in order to prevent corruption and
instill public trust. The League
therefore supports the following: A.
Because campaign funding and the threat of its
withdrawal is a major lobbying tool that may result in undue influence, the League supports a
law to ban PAC-to-PAC transfers. B.
The current $249 limit on the amount a lobbyist is
allowed to spend on each legislator and his/her family per day without
disclosure should be substantially reduced. C. Registration Process Changes 1. Once registered, lobbyists
are required to register new clients within 10 days.
The 10 day period should be reduced. 2.
Internet postings should be used to allow lobbyists
to register and to update their registrations, including registration of new client
information and to pay filing fees online. 3. To ensure enforcement of the
regulations, the League reaffirms its support for adequate funding of the Ethics Commission. VII. Initiative and
Referendum
Adopted
February 21, 2009 A. The
League of Women Voters of Alabama recognizes the value of an initiative and
referendum process that allows citizens to take a role in initiating and
voting on both laws and constitutional amendments. Currently, Alabama does not have
initiative and the only form of referendum (voter approval or rejection of a
legislative enactment) now in place applies to constitutional
amendments. The state legislature
must place its proposed constitutional amendments with statewide application
on the ballot for voter approval.
B. The
LWVAL believes strongly that the right of citizens to vote on constitutional amendments as now provided in the Constitution of Alabama
must be preserved. C. If
Alabama adopts an initiative and referendum process, the LWVal believes that the process must
embody safeguards to protect representative
and deliberative democracy, to guarantee basic rights found in the U.S. and
Alabama Constitutions, maintain essential state services, and reduce the
influence of special interest politics.
Standards are needed both for the certification of an initiative proposal
and for the referendum in which voters approve or reject it. The safeguards that the League recommends include: 1.
Proposal Preparation a.
Limit each proposal to one subject. b.
Explicitly bar propositions that would abrogate
rights granted in the U.S. and Alabama Constitutions. c.
Require initiative sponsors to file with a designated
state official (e.g., Secretary of State) before collection of petition
signatures begins
i. the proposed initiative and title as they would appear on
the ballot
ii.
a copy of the actual
petition to be circulated; and
iii.
clear identification of
initiative sponsors d.
Mandate an impartial expert review of proposal
wording before collection of petition signature begins to ensure the proposal
i. is constitutional
ii.
makes clear what a ÒyesÓ
vote and a ÒnoÓ vote means in practice, and
iii.
uses language that is not
offensive The review
agency/agencies should be respected nonpartisan organizations such as the
Legislative Fiscal Office, Legislative Reference Service, or Alabama Law
Institute. e.
Bar the filing of a defeated proposal until at least
two years have passed. 2.
Signature Collection a.
Set a reasonable time limit for the period within
which petition signatures must be collected. b.
Require signatures from registered voters only. c.
Require that signatures be collected from all areas
of the state. d.
Base the minimum number of valid signatures needed on
the number of votes in the last gubernatorial election. e.
Set the minimum number to initiate a constitutional
amendment higher than for initiating a statute. f.
Require that all organizations working to gather
petition signatures periodically file financial disclosure forms with the
appropriate state office. 3.
Campaign for Passage and the Vote a.
Require validation of petition signatures for
placement on the ballot. b.
Place proposals only on general election ballots. c.
For proposals related to statutes, require only a
simple majority for passage. Set
the number higher for constitutional amendment initiative proposals. d.
Require an impartial analysis of the effect of the
measureÕs passage on existing law, current levels of service, and fiscal
consequences. This information should be disseminated as widely as
possible. The review
agency/agencies should be a respected nonpartisan organization such as the
Legislative Fiscal Office, Legislative Reference Service, or Alabama Law
Institute. e.
Set a limit on the number of initiatives that may be
placed on the ballot in any one election. f.
Require that all initiative sponsors periodically
file financial disclosure forms with the appropriate state office. 4.
Legislative Role Serious consideration should be
given to allowing for legislative action on an initiative in the session that
follows the certification of the petitions. Legislative adoption of a statutory
initiative as filed would mean the initiative could become law without a vote
by the people. If the Legislature offers an
alternative measure, both versions would go on the ballot. Should the legislature fail to act on
the proposed initiative, the initiative would go directly to the voters. See related issues under Constitution
Reform position PUBLIC
TRANSPORTATION
January, 1999 The League of Women Voters believes that the state of
Alabama, like most other states, should share in the fiscal responsibility
for providing public transportation as it does for highway construction. Public transportation is defined as
those forms of surface transportation which serve the
public as a whole as opposed to the private automobile. These include, for example, fixed
pools, park-and-ride lots, light and intercity rail, but not highway
construction. In order to provide
a stable funding source without further earmarking, this function should be
included in the existing constitutional mandate earmarking gasoline and some
other vehicle taxes for construction and maintenance of highways and bridges
only. It believes further that
local governments should be given the freedom to tax themselves for
transportation needs without prior legislative approval.
HUMAN RESOURCES Criminal Justice 1975, 1976, 1977 and
1979 (Updated 1995 and
2003) The League of Women Voters favors an adequate
budget to support criminal justice needs throughout the state. In order to deal with the problems of reintegration of
offenders into the community and to minimize the use of traditional
incarceration, the League of Women Voters supports maximum efforts to
expedite trial and to ensure swift and consistent justice. It also supports the concept of
rehabilitation as a major goal of the criminal justice system. The League recognizes the need to deal with the special
problems of the juvenile offender by the development of programs and policies
designed to aid in rehabilitation and prevention of further delinquency. I.
The
League supports the following actions in relation to bail and pre-trial
confinement: A.
Reform of bail and pre-trial release practices with
use of release on recognizance when possible. Cash bail should not
discriminate against the poor, should be administered through the courts, and
should be publicly accountable. B.
Revocation of release for noncompliance with the
terms of release, should occur only if the accused
has had adequate notification of appearance, place and time. C.
According persons held pending trial the presumption
of innocence and the privileges consistent with this assumption. D.
Granting the right to appeal a decision to detain
pending trial. E.
Crediting to a sentence all time spent in custody
pending trial. F.
Use of citation or summons by appropriate officials
rather than arrest procedures where appropriate. G.
Use of counseling programs as alternatives to
pretrial detention. H.
Provision of medical treatment in a medical
environment when needed for those held in custody. II. The League supports
the following actions with regard to the Alabama prison system: A.
Use of a classification system run by adequately
trained personnel. B.
Rehabilitation opportunities offered for all inmates
regardless of the length of their sentence or the offense committed. We
support programs focusing on substance abuse as well as assistance to inmates
in overcoming a lack of education. Emphasis should be placed on basic skills
with a high school equivalency diploma as the minimum goal. C.
Priority given to prison industries that provide
inmates with vocational training that they can use after release. D.
Minimizing the use of traditional incarceration.
Should more prisons be built, smaller minimum security
facilities should be located in areas where work release opportunities exist. III. The League supports the following
actions in the area of juvenile justice: A.
Creation and maintenance of a family court system. B.
A standard maximum legal age for juveniles set at 18. C.
Creation and maintenance of community facilities to
treat status offenders under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. D.
Coordination by the Department of Youth Services
(DYS) of services for delinquent youth and status offenders, including
services provided by private agencies regulated and subsidized by DYS. E.
Establishment of uniform standards and procedures for
the screening and diversion of juvenile offenders to non
institutional programs and agencies. F.
Uniform probation services supported by state
funding. G.
Appropriate time limits on periods of
institutionalization rather than indeterminate periods. H.
Use of parole for juveniles held in state juvenile
institutions. I.
Community aftercare programs and local case worker supervision for those released from juvenile
institutions. Day Care 1984 (Updated 1995 and 1977) The LWVAL believes quality day care, defined in its
broadest sense to include child care, elder care, and care for those
disabled, should be available to those who need it. To accomplish this goal, we support
the following: A. The
development of a variety of resources to meet the need for quality day care,
both full-time and part-time, including before and after school child care.
Employers, private day care providers and government should be encouraged,
with the aid of such devices as tax incentives, to help make quality day care
affordable for all families. B. Licensing
should ensure that acceptable standards are maintained. The licensing
standards should be enforceable and allow variety in programs. Exemptions
from the standards should not be permitted. Enforcement of licensing standards
should be conducted by qualified staff with manageable case
loads, and sufficient power to close unsafe day care facilities. C. Consultation
services and training should be offered for providers to improve quality. D. Zoning
regulations for day care should be consistent with zoning for elementary
schools and churchs. Department of Human Resources 1987 (Updated 1995, 1997 and 2003) The LWVAL advocates taxes
sufficient to support social welfare programs. The Department of Human Resources (DHR) must have
adequate funding in order to administer those programs designed to deliver
services to the needy. The
federal government should be responsible for the bulk of financial
assistance; however, state and local governments should share in the costs of
their programs. DHR services
should not be reduced. When
needed, additional funding for DHR should be provided from the General Fund
Budget. The state should appropriate adequate money to: A. Fund
any federal government shortfall in the food stamp and welfare cash benefit
programs from the General Fund, if necessary, rather than reducing services. B. Increase
welfare cash benefit payments. C. Maintain
and expand, when possible, existing programs such as the statewide work
program, assistance to two-parent families in need, protective services for
abuse prevention and early intervention, and in-home care services to the
elderly, blind and disabled. D. Work
toward a General Assistance Program to help those in need who are not
eligible under existing programs. Education 1964, 1966, 1980, 1984,
1985, 1999, 2012 (Updated 1995,
1997,1999, 2003) The League of Women Voters of Alabama supports maintaining
and improving a system of free public schools in Alabama based on the belief
that a free public education which provides equal
opportunity for all its citizens is an investment in the future. Improvement may be achieved through action in support of
the following: I.
Legislation that will assure adequate financing for
the total needs of
Alabama public schools. Such legislation should create a long term program for quality education. II.
Provision of free textbooks for public schools as
part of a total needs approach. III.
Creation and maintenance of a process for selecting
and distributing free textbooks. That system should meet the following
criteria: A.
Selection and final adoption of textbooks by a
committee composed of outstanding members of the teaching profession chosen
by methods free of political influence. B.
Selection of the best textbooks nationally available
based on valid educational objectives. C.
Ordering and distributing textbooks on a nonprofit
basis by the State Department of Education and the local Boards of Education. IV.
Continued federal funding of the following current K-12
programs, which schools with a low level of local support could not afford
without federal funds. These federal programs, which contain no requirement
for a national curriculum, include the following: child nutrition, special education,
Title I (supplementary instruction in reading and mathematics), professional development for science and
mathematics teachers, equipment and teachers for vocational education, and programs aimed at
helping children at risk and providing a safe, drug-free environment. V.
Extension of public kindergartens, including support
of permissive legislation enabling counties to conduct such programs. VI.
The League of Women Voters believes that an excellent
higher education requires improved cooperative planning, coordination, and
equitable support for the public institutions of higher learning in
Alabama. Granting
appropriate authority to the Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) and
improved teacher training are two means of achieving excellence. A. In
regard to ACHE the League of Women Voter supports the following: 1. Sufficient
authority for ACHE to carry out its mandate. 2. Mutual
efforts by ACHE and the institutions of higher learning to eliminate
unnecessary duplication of programs. 3. A
study by outside consultants of the stateÕs needs in medical education
emphasizing the possibilities of consolidation of existing facilities. 4. Identification
of the strengths and future needs of engineering education within the state. 5. Implementation
of ACHEÕs study based on long term planning recommendations that support
League positions. B. In
regard to teacher education, the League supports the following: 1. Maintenance
of high admission standards for entry into the institutions of higher
education with greater emphasis on standardized test scores and preparation
in mathematics, computer skills, and foreign language. 2. Programs
of teacher education which a.
Include preadmission and interim evaluation of all
degree candidates. b.
Emphasize subject matter expertise. c.
Provide additional training for teachers already in
the classroom. VII. Characteristics
of Charter School Enabling
Legislation (adopted March 31, 2012) The LWVAL does not take a
position on whether legislation authorizing charter schools in Alabama should
or should not be passed. However, its membership believes that charter school
enabling legislation should at minimum include the following:
G. Permit some
flexibility in general oversight guidelines that all public schools are under
(e.g., allow waivers for teacher certification for those with documented
alternative training/experience in a specialty area and/or teaching methods). H. Guarantee equal access
to charter schools by students of all social, economic, racial, and ethnic
backgrounds. I. No specification of
allowable curriculum approaches or teaching models or methodologies. These decisions should be made by the
organizers of the charter school and appropriate professionals, as reflected
in the charter itself.. J. Academic
accountability required throughout the duration of the charter, with at
minimum the same testing regimes as required of other Alabama public schools.
Additional assessment measures should be applied where appropriate (e.g.,
portfolios in art-focused programs, technical skills tests). The academic accountability
information should be disseminated to parents, the community, local board of
education, the Alabama State Board of Education, and appropriate accrediting
bodies (where applicable). LWVAL believes that transparency enhances acceptance of
governmental decisions and support for public institutions. Therefore, easy
public access to information about each charter school should be
guaranteed. Examples of
information that should be public include, but are not limited to: charter
petitions, chartering decisions, school structure and operations, finances,
governing body membership, curriculum, and assessments of academic
performance. Health Care 1986 (Updated 1995
,1997 and 2003. Revised 2009 and 2011.) GOALS: The
LWVAL supports access to basic health care services for all Alabama
citizens. This object should be
accomplished through an equitable planning regulatory system that is subject
to checks and balances and representative of both consumers and providers,
and through the development of delivery systems that take into account the
specific needs of
children, the elderly, rural and disadvantaged persons. Access to basic health care is a universal
human right that should be met by an expanded network of providers and
coordination among providers. Other policy goals should include efficient and
economical delivery of care, integration of technology with advances into
care at a reasonable level of state funding. The League of Women Voters, therefore, supports action on
the following: A. State
public health planning should be organized to ensure that the deliberations
and recommendation of the decision-making boards and committees are
ultimately accountable to the people of Alabama. Their placement in the
organizational structure of the executive branch and their interacting
authorities should promote independence from political considerations. B. The
main criteria for processing Medicaid contracts should be quality of service
and qualified reviewers. C. Eligibility
for treatment should be based only on medical considerations. D. Conformity
with federal regulations on the use of new techniques or advanced technology
should be maintained. E. Decisions
of the Certificate of Need Board relating to allocation of new or expanded
sites for health care facilities/agencies and technology should be based on
strict adherence to regulations accurately reflecting the needs of the
population to be served. F. An
aggressive campaign to reduce infant mortality should include access to an
adequate number and location of affordable quality prenatal services such as mobile
clinics, utilization of a variety of qualified medical professionals and
provision for a variety of educational strategies about family planning and
prenatal care. G. The indigent care load should be shared by all health care
providers, both public and private. H. Counties
should be required to pay for health care for their indigent population, but
the cost of care should be billed through the state in order to speed up the
collection of monies and to provide records reflecting the magnitude of the
problems. I. Every
Alabama resident should have access to a basic level of care that includes health
maintenance and disease prevention, primary care (including prenatal and
reproductive health), acute care, long-term care and mental health care. Access
would be achieved with the use of wellness clinics or programs throughout the
state and through public education about healthy lifestyles. J. The
League believes that efficient and economical delivery of quality care can be
enhanced by such cost control methods as:* a. the reduction of administrative costs, b. the use of managed care (moving toward a model that
encourages and incentivizes primary care and coordination of patient care
through a primary care physician), c. utilization review of treatment, d. consumer accountability through deductibles and
co-payments.
* These are to
be treated as examples and not as an exclusive list. K. The
League believes that the state must a. allocate medical resources to underserved areas, b. provide for education of health care professionals in
needed fields of care, c. standardize basic levels of service for publicly funded
health care programs. L. The
League believes that the ability of a patient to pay for services should not
be a consideration in the allocation of health care resources. Limited resources should be allocated
based on the following criteria considered together: the urgency of the medical condition,
the life expectancy of the patient, the expected outcome of the treatment,
the cost of the procedure, the duration of care, the quality of life of the
patient after treatment, and the wishes of the patient and the family. NATURAL RESOURCES Natural Resources 2003 LWV of Alabama supports measures to promote an environment
beneficial to life through the protection of natural resources in the public
interest. In agreement with the
position of the LWVUS, the LWVAL believes that natural resources should be
managed as interrelated parts of healthy ecosystems. Resources should be
conserved and protected to assure their future availability. Pollution of
these resources, especially air and water, should be controlled in order to
preserve the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of the environment
and to protect public health. Coastal Zone Management 1980 (Updated 2003, 2009) Recognizing its
particular environmental issues and the unique value of the Alabama Gulf
Coast to the state, LWVAL supports
increased attention to identifying adverse impacts on the coast by the
ecosystems of the entire state and establishment of regulations and enforcement
mechanisms to prevent or to mitigate those impacts. LWVAL also sees the need for new
assessments of coastal conditions and new regulations to address problems,
including those caused or revealed by storms
and development, in order to secure the future
ecological health of the region in the face of the increased growth in
coastal communities. I.
Standards
and guidelines to protect the coastal ecosystem should be developed and
periodically revised, based on the latest scientific research and
methodology, and adjusted to specific coastal needs. Enforcement standards should include
stiff penalties for infractions, repeated failures, and negligence. These coastal standards and guidelines
should address the following:
II.
Environmental
impacts should be considered and regulated for rebuilding and new development
on the coast and for every new coastal enterprise that could adversely affect
the coastal environment or ecosystems.
At minimum, such actions should include:
III.
LWVAL
supports reform of the present state and local regulatory and enforcement
systems for environmental standards on the coast to encourage, facilitate,
and enforce public and private cooperative efforts across political
boundaries, including the possible creation of one or more regional
authorities with enforcement powers.
Structural changes should separate licensing from enforcement and from
administration of rules and regulations to ensure accountability. A
Study: Health Care in Alabama Adopted
May 3, 2009 LWVAL hereby
undertakes a study of the current health care conditions and policies in the
state of Alabama, and on barriers to health care in the state, focusing on
cost, access, and the quality and equity of care. Amended May 1, 2011 by Convention: Completion
of the Health Care Study with the aim of taking the study through the
consensus process. A
Study: Charter Schools in Alabama Adopted
at LWVAL Council, May 15, 2010 LWVAL hereby
undertakes an emergency study of charter schools in Alabama with the
possibility of developing a position through the league consensus process Amended May 1, 2011 by
Convention: Completion of the Charter School Facts
and Issues and adoption of Charter Schools as a formal study with the aim of
taking the study through the consensus process. |