Government Corruption and Ethics Ranks #3 Among Alabama Voter Priorities
In late 2017, the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) surveyed Alabama voters to determine their thoughts about the general direction of the state and the issues that most concern them. PARCA partnered with Samford University to survey policy professionals from across the state including academics, journalists, business and nonprofit leaders, and lobbyists. Their […]
What is the Budget Reform Task Force Studying?
The Alabama Legislature’s Joint Legislative Task Force on Budget Reform met for a third time this week in Montgomery continuing its search for solutions to Alabama’s perennial problems with crafting budgets. The bipartisan panel of state senators and representatives has now met three times and each time has made sure to clarify what they are and […]
Constitutional Amendments on the November Ballot
When Alabama voters go to the polls on November 8, they will be asked to consider adding 35 more amendments to the Alabama Constitution. PARCA has compiled a summary of each of the 14 amendments that will appear on the ballot statewide. Alabama already has the nation’s longest constitution — about 12 times longer than […]
First Meeting of Task Force on Budget Reform Wednesday
A newly formed Joint Legislative Task Force on Budget Reform meets for the first time this week in Montgomery: a group of House and Senate members tasked with studying and recommending changes to the state’s broken system for budgeting. That is the same issue PARCA examined at its 2016 Annual Meeting this February. The Task […]
Resources for Understanding Alabama's Budget Process
As February approaches, the Legislature is preparing to return to Montgomery for yet another tough session of struggling with Alabama’s budgets. The Governor’s Office is in the process of crafting a proposed plan and budget. The Legislature has already begun its process of reviewing budget requests from state agencies. PARCA’s annual meeting, to be held […]
PARCA Annual Survey of Public Opinion 2016
In January 2016, The Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama conducted its annual poll of public opinion. This is the 10th year of the survey. This year, the survey focuses on revenue and spending in state government. The survey touches on multiple topics: taxes, education, Medicaid, highways, public safety, courts, state parks, and others. The […]
General Fund Sputters Along
Despite the healthy economy, the state’s General Fund posted its usual sputtering performance in 2015, according to the state’s year-end revenue collection reports. The General Fund, which supports the non-education functions of state government, received about $1.8 billion in 2015, up from approximately $1.7 billion in 2014. However, that total includes a $105 million transfer […]
PARCA Talks State Budget
With the passage of the state’s general fund budget last week, PARCA Senior Research Associate Tom Spencer took a moment to sit down with WBHM’s Andrew Yeager to provide an overview of the budget and how some of the key departments will be affected. “Medicaid, prisons, and education had strategic plans in place,” said Spencer. […]
Back to the Basics on Taxes and Budgeting
With the Governor and Legislature still at odds over how to solve a $250 million shortfall in the state’s General Fund, we thought it would be useful to again call attention to two essential underlying problems that explain why we are in the current predicament. PARCA has written about both recently and, over the past […]
State Workforce grew slightly in 2014; Still about 5,000 smaller than 2008
Alabama state government employs 4,923 fewer people than it did in 2008, according to the figures provided by the Alabama State Personnel Department. With the exception of 2013, the total number of state government employees in 2014 was the lowest it’s been since at least 1996, according to State Department of Personnel annual reports. [iframe […]