More on the "PACT fix" bill
28/02/10 10:55
Brian over at Flashpoint has a good rundown of the problems with the PACT bill currently being debated in the Alabama legislature.
My only question is this: Why didn't any of the Republicans vote against it? I know opposing a PACT fix would be unpopular with many parents and grandparents across the state, but you would think that some of the Republicans would have taken a stand and let them know the bill will most likely put them back in the same position in a few years. People in Alabama aren't stupid and most would understand the problems inherent in the severability clause if anyone took the time to explain it to them.
On Thursday Alabama’s House of Representatives passed a bill meant to salvage Alabama’s Prepaid Affordable College Tuition (PACT) program on a vote 0f 104-0. The bill (HB228 sponsored by Craig Ford) includes a provision that Mike Hubbard referred to as a “poison pill.” The Montgomery Advertiser quoted Hubbard, but didn’t delve into the substance of his warning. The concerns come from a coupling of two provisions of the bill: a cap on tuition for PACT students and a rarely used “inseverability clause.” Those two provisions create the very real possibility of the entire legislative act becoming null and void. Read full post here.
My only question is this: Why didn't any of the Republicans vote against it? I know opposing a PACT fix would be unpopular with many parents and grandparents across the state, but you would think that some of the Republicans would have taken a stand and let them know the bill will most likely put them back in the same position in a few years. People in Alabama aren't stupid and most would understand the problems inherent in the severability clause if anyone took the time to explain it to them.
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