Alabama Treasurer, Kay Ivey, says she wants to save the PACT program. Why then, is she proposing legislation that gives the board the authority to dissolve it?
Her plan comes just two days after the board met, discussed options, and specifically rejected the option to dissolve PACT. Oddly though, minutes after that vote was taken, Treasurer Ivey presented an outline of 4 changes to the program that she wanted to ask the Legislature to make.
#2 on her list was to give the board the authority to dissolve the PACT program.
In the video, you'll see where Ivey triumphantly announces that the PACT will not be dissolved, then moves into the legislative discussion. Bradley Bryne calls her on the request for authority to dissolve PACT, saying that it's directly contrary to the previous vote. She argues with him and tries to leave it in, but the board rejects her request.
Then, Ivey appoints a committee to deal with the legislature, consisting of herself, Lt. Governor Folsom, and Chancellor Bryne. The audience shouts out, asking for a parent to be appointed and Ivey brushes them off. Then, a parent asks to help write the legislation and Ivey gives that woman the equivalent of a pat on the head before brushing her off.
Today, we learn from Huntsville Times reporter, Bob Lowry, that the draft legislation Ivey is shopping around still includes the authority to dissolve PACT. Bryne doesn't like it:
But Byrne said he is concerned about language in Ivey's bill that could dissolve the PACT. She said that "would be a worst-case scenario."
It appears that Ivey's preferred scenario is the "worst case" option. Or maybe she just wants to be able to use dissolution as a bargaining chip to force her real preferred option down the throats of the parents: "Oh, you don't like what we're planning? Guess we'll have to dissolve the PACT!"
Just two days after the PACT board voted unanimously to kick their problem into the lap of the Alabama Legislature, they find Alabama's newest political football sailing back into their territory.
Reporter Bob Lowry of the Huntsville Times reported this morning that two prominent Alabama politicos "see no need to fix PACT now."
Two Statehouse figures normally at odds with each other agreed Wednesday there's no need for the Legislature to rush to fix Alabama's embattled prepaid college tuition program this session. Rep. Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, House minority leader, and Paul Hubbert, executive secretary of the Alabama Education Association, said there's plenty of time for lawmakers to take a thoughtful approach to the problem.
It's not a "crisis situation," Paul Hubbert notes, "because we can pay tuition next year."
Mike Hubbard is equally sanguine, pinning his hopes on a rebounding stock market. (Pssstttt…. Hubbard is also chair of the Alabama Republican Party. I guess he didn't get the memo about wanting Obama's stimulus package to fail.)
I'm glad these guys aren't in charge of anything really important, like, say flood control. I can just hear them as the waters rise:
"Well, before we take action, we need to know what's causing the flooding. But of course, we have enough sandbags to last a day or two. Oh, and the Farmer's Almanac says that next year is supposed to be a lot drier than normal. That would fix the problem without us having to throw a lot of money or effort into it. Everyone just be patient and hold your breath."
Now, we've been all over the PACT board's inexplicable lack of interest in how the stock market crash was affecting the PACT trust fund and how the money was invested (see HaveALittleTalk's PACT posts for more info). It appears that they asked no questions and took no action until half the money was gone. Now, it's an emergency situation where options are limited and action is needed.
Amazingly, Hubbard and Hubbert are using the same logic. "Hey, they've got enough money for next year so it's not a crisis."
If anyone ever had any question about why the Alabama state government is so reactive and crisis-driven, here's your answer. Nobody is interested in long-range planning, transparency, and accountability. Our "leaders" in Montgomery don't want to act until the situation is so critical that taking just about any action looks like an improvement.
It's like a doctor waiting to treat a patient until gangrene has set in, amputating both legs, then wanting accolades for saving the guy's life!
If Lt. Governor Jim Folsom, Jr. was waiting for an opportunity to step in and be the PACT hero, Hubbard and Hubbert have handed it to him on a platter.
As a board member, Folsom bears some responsibility for the problem, and he made a strong statement of support at the board meeting on Tuesday, pledging to work with the legislature to take quick action.
In this battle of titans, who will emerge the victor? The 2010 governors race could depend on the outcome.
At the March 12th North Korean Show Trial Parents' meeting in Mongtomery, many parents offered suggestions to the board, and some had proposed solutions too.
There were a lot:
Do not shut this program down
Work with the universities in the state
Deal with the Legislature
Can we use any stimulus money?
Consider a bond issue for the short term...
My favorite quote (given that our family also holds Jefferson County Sewer bonds -- talk about people who can't catch a break!) was this comment:
"If we can issue bonds for sewers that don't work, surely we can issue bonds to support higher education!"
And btw... I also have a video clip of a Birmingham banker describing how the state sold this program to the banking community in Alabama in the early 1990's (before we stopped trusting bankers, remember). As a result of the sales pitch, bankers across Alabama recommended PACT to their customers. At the time, that was not a community that indulged in much risk. I'll have it up by tomorrow.
But for now, here are some proposed solutions from parents and grandparents on the flip....
Only 5 members of the Board are present for the meeting. She didn't have the names of all those present, but Kay Ivey is there. The big news is that Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom is not there; he sent a representative instead.
Is this a continuation of Folsom's "don't blame me, I'm not really involved with PACT" stance? I know the Senate is in session today, but if he couldn't attend he should have insisted the Board meet on a non-legislative day, like a weekend when more working parents could get there -- which would have been better anyway. Update: Folsom wasn't presiding over the Alabama Senate Thursday afternoon, he was in New York on business for his other job.
Also, countrycat is 80 somethingth on the speaker list and they figure they have time for 70 speakers.
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Alabama Treasurer, Kay Ivey, says she wants to save the PACT program. Why then, is she proposing legislation that gives the board the authority to dissolve it?
In the video, you'll see where Ivey triumphantly announces that the PACT will not be dissolved, then moves into the legislative discussion. Bradley Bryne calls her on the request for authority to dissolve PACT, saying that it's directly contrary to the previous vote. She argues with him and tries to leave it in, but the board rejects her request. 
If Lt. Governor Jim Folsom, Jr. was waiting for an opportunity to step in and be the PACT hero, Hubbard and Hubbert have handed it to him on a platter. 
