The Montgomery Advertiser asked Alabama lawmakers to grade the 2007 session so far. The consensus is that the House is doing ok, but the Senate needs to improve, with one state representative giving the Senate an “F-.” Most folks following the 2007 legislative session can understand the frustration, since the Senate has spent most of this session in gridlock.
How do Alabamians feel about the state legislature? Capital Survey Research Center polled 453 voters in March of this year to determine confidence in state and local institutions. The margin of error was +/-4.6%. If we combine responses of ‘great deal of confidence’ and ‘some confidence’ we get the following rankings for government entities:
Professors and universities 75%
Local Public Schools 71%
State Government 68%
Your local City Government 67%
Your County Government 65%
Alabama Supreme Court 64%
Alabama State Department of Education 63%
Your Local School Board 62%
Alabama Legislature 58%
In terms of state government, the Alabama Legislature is at the bottom of the confidence heap. It is ironic that the Legislature ranks below county and city government in terms of voter confidence, yet continues to block any attempt to rewrite the Alabama Constitution to enable those local governments to make more decisions. Looks like those who have the power want to hang onto it, even if they don’t inspire confidence.