Major players in Alabama have large sums in DROP program

The following is a list of the people with the top 50 balances in the DROP program or Deferred Retirement Option Program. The Alabama Senate voted on Tuesday to kill the program and the House could vote on its version as early as Thursday. The name of the officials are followed by their balance in the program.

REED, JOE LOUIS; $1,475,952.21; Associate Executive Secretary, Alabama Education Association

HUBBERT, PAUL R; $1,374,311.70; Executive Secretary, Alabama Education Association


PORTERA, MALCOLM; $1,325,210.85; Chancellor, University of Alabama System

MOULTON, V GORDON; $1,188,669.94; President, University of South Alabama

PEEVY, KEITH JACKSON; $850,979.97; Pediatrician, University of South Alabama Hospital

MOORE, MAL M; $849,659.52; Athletic Director, University of Alabama

HAWKINS, JACK; $841,726.82; Chancellor, Troy University System

DAVIS, M WAYNE; $836,460.20; Vice-President, University of South Alabama

DELUCAS, LAWRENCE J; $835,433.66; Optometrist, University of Alabama at Birmingham

MASON, JOSEPH B; $769,941.43; Dean, University of Alabama College of Business

CAPILOUTO, ELI; $757,275.19; Provost, University of Alabama at Birmingham

LOBUGLIO, ALBERT F; $755,807.85; Director, University of Alabama at Birmingham Cancer Center

ROQUEMORE, PERRY JR; $750,454.75; Executive Secretary, Alabama League of Municipalities

BLAKENEY, LARRY; $748,161.90; Football Coach, Troy University

WHITT, JOE; $699,555.01

WHITLEY, RICHARD J; $696,527.03

KAHN, SHIRLEY SALLOWAY; $669,933.96

IRWIN, J DAVID; $661,061.84

MORTON, JOSEPH BRUCE; $660,675.91

JAHERA, JOHN STANLEY JR; $632,137.14

ALDERMAN, CHARLES W; $631,116.91

JONES, RONALD L; $621,247.48

ROGERS, WILLIAM J; $615,526.07

LUCAS, LINDA C; $614,172.99

QUINDLEN, EUGENE A; $601,967.87

BENEFIELD, R ALAN; $599,568.08

DALE, LOUIS; $586,065.84

BREZOVICH, IVAN A; $579,167.38

DULEK, RONALD E; $578,125.32

STAGNO, SERGIO; $570,164.37

WYSKIDA, RICHARD M; $569,713.41

COCHRAN, JOHN E JR; $569,431.00

YANCEY, DONALD L; $563,241.18

SCRIPA, ROSALIA N; $559,557.32

DYER, DAVID F; $558,511.68

GREGORY, JOHN C; $556,001.70

MERRITT, JUDY MILES; $554,659.42

STEPHENS, JERRY W; $546,935.11

MCALPINE, HELEN T; $545,568.25

RODRIGUEZ-KABANA, RODRIGO; $544,243.46

BLOUGH, DAVID K; $540,709.13

BRANCH, GARY LEO; $530,272.28

ANDREWS, J BARRY; $529,213.67

CAPLES, VIRGINIA; $526,227.74

DOUGLASS, PEGGI L; $525,464.47

MICHALEK, SUZANNE M; $521,521.73

ESSARY, REBA J; $520,759.17

BONNER, JUDITH L; $518,955.73

BROWN, DAVID B; $499,686.03

VAN MATRE, JOSEPH G; $497,818.97

source: Legislative Fiscal Office

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Senate Democrats attack repeal of DROP

Democrats in the Alabama Senate are calling the attempt by Republicans to stop the DROP retirement program a punitive attack on teachers and state employees hidden behind the guise of saving money.
Senate Minority Leader Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, said that Republicans in the regular session, like they did in the special session on ethics, are bringing up a bill that would hurt teachers and state employees as the first proposal they consider. During the special session, the first bill considered and passed by the new Republican majority stopped politically active associations that represent teachers and state employees from collecting their dues through the state's automatic payroll deduction system.
The Deferred Retirement Option Program or DROP program allows state and education employees who are 55 years old and have 25 years of service to receive salary and retirement benefits while continuing to work. The program was passed in the hope that it would discourage valuable employees from taking early retirement.
State Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma, said the intent of DROP was to slow teachers leaving Alabama for other states.
Projections from the Legislative Fiscal Office and others put the savings to the state for repealing DROP between $35 million and $70 million.
Republicans believe the "luxury benefit plan" needs to be repealed during these tough financial times.
"DROP is simply an added luxury that public employees enjoy, but the state does not have the resources to continue funding luxuries while cutting the budgets for the necessities. I believe the people of Alabama can understand that logic," said Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston. "It's the same logic that they follow when making financial decisions that impact their families - it's simply common sense budgeting."
Bedford said the purpose is "not to save money, but to punish them because a disproportionate number of them chose to vote for Gov. Robert Bentley over not-Gov. Bradley Byrne"
The Alabama Education Association supported Bentley, then a two-term state legislator, over Byrne, former chancellor of the state's junior college system who was supported by some of the state's most prominent Republicans, in that party primary.
Sen. Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, said the bill is an attack on teachers and state employees.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Bill to Shut Down Drop Program Advances

Members of the House Ways and Means General Fund Committee voted 10 to 4 along party lines to advance a bill that would end enrollment in the DROP program and change how much interest the remaining accounts receive starting June 1. Ending the program was one of the cost saving measures that Gov. Robert Bentley outlined in his state of the state address Tuesday.

State Rep. Barry Mask, R-Wetumpka, is the sponsor of the bill and he said its only purpose is to “scrape up all the money we can” to help the state save money in the beleaguered General Fund. Projections from the Legislative Fiscal Office and others put the savings to the state between $35 million and $70 million. But opponents of the bill argue that lawmakers don’t have the real numbers on what eliminating the program could cost the state.

The bill would end new enrollment in the DROP program, which was created in 2002 to discourage valuable employees from taking early retirement. It also would change the interest that DROP accounts accumulate from 4 percent to whatever the market rate is. DROP provides an incentive for state, county and education employees who are 55 years old and have at least 25 years of service to keep working for at least another three to five years in exchange for sending their retirement allowance to an account that they can cash out when they complete the program.

Committee members heard impassioned pleas from high school football coaches and teachers who extolled the benefits of the program and asked lawmakers to consider ways to keep it and save money during a public Wednesday.

Steve Savarese, executive director of the Alabama High School Athletic Association and 37-year veteran teacher, asked lawmakers to consider what doing away with the program would do to the state’s ability to keep experienced teachers in hard to staff subjects such as math and science.

“My main concern is that we’re going to lose our best and brightest,” he said.

Read the rest of the story in Thursday's edition of the Montgomery Advertiser at www.montgomeryadvertiser.com.

-- Markeshia Ricks

House reconvenes at 12:01 a.m., continues debate on ethics bill

Democrats in the Alabama House of Representatives pushed the special session on ethics to a sixth day by delaying action on a bill they believe would hurt the Alabama Education Association and other politically active organizations.
The House adjourned at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday and reconvened at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
Democrats kept filibustering the bill for the better part of 12 hours on Tuesday.
They are fighting a bill they believe would be devastating to the AEA and the Alabama State Employees Association. The bill would prohibit the AEA, ASEA and other politically active organizations from collecting dues through automatic payroll deduction from state payroll.
Democrats believe the bill is politically motivated and aimed to destroy the AEA.
Republicans believe that state resources should not be used to collect dues for organizations that are politically active.
Republicans tried to shut down the debate on Tuesday, but did not have the necessary three-fifths vote required to stop debate on a bill.
The Senate adjourned closer to 11 p.m.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Republicans unable to shut down debate on ethics bill

Republicans failed to shut off debate Tuesday afternoon on a bill that would stop the state from deducting dues for organizations such as the Alabama Education Association from state paychecks.
Democrats have delayed on Tuesday to keep the bill, which they believe would hurt the AEA and the Alabama State Employees Association, from coming up for a vote. They have said the bill is politically motivated and does not belong in the current special session on ethics.
Republicans have said that state resources should not be used to collect dues from organizations that are politically active.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

House Democrats elect leaders

Democrats in the Alabama House of Representatives selected state Rep. Craig Ford of Gadsden as their minority leader on Tuesday.
They also selected Rep. Thomas Jackson of Thomasville as chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.
Ford said they would share power.
Other officers elected during a Tuesday meeting at the Alabama Education Association include: Barbara Boyd of Anniston as vice chair of the caucus; Joe Hubbard of Montgomery as minority whip; Rod Scott of Fairfield and Chris England of Tuscaloosa as caucus whips; Richard Lindsey of Centre as secretary/treasurer; and A.J. McCampbell of Demopolis as policy member.
Each officer was elected to a two-year term, according to the new charter or rules drafted by the Democratic caucus on Tuesday.
Ford said all 39 Democrats in the House would be responsible for holding Republicans accountable. Republicans hold 66 seats in the 105-member House.
The leaders said the priorities for Democrats remain the same, removing the sales tax from groceries and protecting Medicaid and children's health insurance.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Byrne goes after AEA, James in "Fear" ad

In his latest ad, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bradley Byrne attacks the Alabama Education Association and rival Tim James, who is among the six Republicans he will face in the June 1 primary.




-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Sanders to run for eighth term

After originally saying he was not running for an eighth term, powerful state Sen. Hank Sanders changed course on Wednesday and said he is going to let the voters decide if he should serve another term.
"Since I don't know what to do, I'll let the people decide," he said.
People cheered as he made his decision in a Senate chamber filled with legislators, lobbyists, staffers, supporters, and state officials including state schools Superintendent Joe Morton.
"In truth, I still don't want to run. I knew this needed to be brought to a conclusion," said Sanders. People had already announced they were running for the Senate seat they thought would be open.
Sanders, chairman of the Senate education budget committee, said he "struggled mightily" with the decision. He said he did not know whether he was running again when he walked into the chamber and that his wife did not know his decision.
The Selma Democrat said he planned to walk into the chamber with two press releases, one saying he would not run again and another that said he would. He said he did not have time to write the releases.
He sent an e-mail to friends, colleagues and supporters last year informing them he would not run again, but he said the reaction to that statement was extraordinary.
"In truth, I never anticipated the strength of this reaction," he said.
His wife, Rose, said the respectful and loving response was uplifting.
Morton and Paul Hubbert, head of the Alabama Education Association, said they were glad to see the senator run again.
They talked about Sanders' calm and fair demeanor in talking through tough situations.
Morton said he had talked about the decision with Sanders.
"Deep down I was hoping the outcome would be like this," he said.
The superintendent said "all of Alabama should be too." He said Sanders has left an imprint on the state and used his influence to increase funding for vital programs that improved reading, math, science, and technology.
Morton said he worked intimately with Sanders in his role as chairman of the education budget and said the senator was always professional and courteous, even during contentious discussions including 2008 when fighting lead to the legislative session ending without lawmakers passing an education budget.
Hubbert said people have been curious about Sanders' decision. He said Sanders has been a "great chairman" and credited his success to his demeanor, the way the senator approaches people and issues, and the way he is able to build a consensus. He said Sanders often had lined up support for the education budget before it was brought to the Senate floor for a vote, which he said is "remarkable."
Sanders, who came from poverty to graduate from Harvard Law School, was the first African-American to represent the Black Belt in the Alabama Senate. He said he never wanted to run for public office, but eventually did at the encouragement of his law partner, J.L. Chestnut.
Sanders, 67, said his mind and spirit did not want him to run three decades ago and they did not want him to run again.
"I don't want to do it, but I'm going to do it because duty calls," Sanders said.
He added "These are difficult times. I don't think I've ever been one to abandon the ship in difficult times."
On Wednesday, he sounded like he was sticking with his original decision when he began talking. He had told the Montgomery Advertiser this month that he was leaning toward not running again.
"This is a watershed moment for me and I have struggled mightily with it," Sanders said. "I struggled because logic and reason say I should run again, but I could not align my spirit with it."
After saying he was running again, Sanders said "nobody has ever outworked me in an election."
He said his goals this session were to pass a budget that would not go into proration, to work with others to try to create jobs, to work to pass accountability measures including those to place more restrictions on no-bid contracts, and has again proposed a bill that would place a moratorium on the death penalty, which he said he really wants to push.
"We can't afford a budget that leads to proration," he said.
In the Senate, Sanders said he has most enjoyed being able to help people. He said he could make a call and help someone in two minutes with something that might make two years if he was not in his current position.
He said he disliked the Legislature becoming more and more partisan.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen