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LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF
ALABAMA PROGRAM 2013-2015 as adopted by the LWVAL Convention on April 28, 2013. Amended
to add Health Care:
Access, Cost , and Quality as adopted by the LWVAL Board, Feb. 1, 2014. 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
2012-2014 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 state’s 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
state’s wealth, not in monetary terms. B.
The state’s 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 person’s 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
office’s 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
members’ 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 “yes” vote and a “no” 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 measure’s 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
state’s 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 ACHE’s 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.
Amended 2014) 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. Health Care Access, Cost, and Quality
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
April 28, 2013 by Convention: LWVAL will complete the
Health
Care Study and consensus with adoption by the LWVAL board as
appropriate. A Study: Energy
Use in Alabama LWVAL will continue with the development of
a Facts and Issues on
Energy Use in Alabama for distribution and, if warranted, for
formal
study, consensus, and adoption for position by the LWVAL board as
appropriate. |