All of the Alabama political world is focused on the legislative session opening on Tuesday. Governor Bob Riley will deliver his State of the State address that evening and the major issues, most pressing is the significant shortfall in the general fund, will begin to be addressed. The major papers offer a great deal this morning for those who are interested in what the legislative session will bring.

  • The Birmingham News points out that the Governor has until Thursday to offer up his budget and they characterize his position as being stuck between a rock and two hard places.
  • The News also reminds us that a constiutional ban on gay marriage will be near the top of most legislators agendas.
  • The Mobile Register editorial board once again advocates for the legislature to begin looking further into the future than just the upcoming fiscal budget.
  • The Huntsville Times offers up the removal of racist language from the state constitution as another major battle in the upcoming session.
  • The Montgomery Advertiser offers a helpful guide to the bills that have already been put in the hopper for the upcoming session, as well as an interview with Govenor Riley.

    • There are a lot of hints out there about where the legislature would like to end up, but the Governor is playing his cards extremely close to the vest. There will be no further cuts in state department budgets, because there is little left to cut, but everything else appears to be a possibility. I believe we will see a teacher pay raise of around five percent, we will see a tax on soda, we will see a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage that won’t be on the ballot for the next election and the same circus that we see every year surrounding a variety of other issues.

    **Crossposted at Polstate.com

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