Legislation
Transparency by Elected Officials,
In the 2009 regular session Rep. Ball introduced HB295. Drawing on his experience as an agent of the Alabama Bureau of Investigation conducting investigations of corrupt public officials, Rep. Ball has written and advocated legislation that would make it easy to detect public corruption. This bill requires all state, county, and municipal elected officials and candidates to report to the Ethics Commission any compensation they or their spouse receive via employment or contracts with the state, any county, or municipality, with a detailed job description, the date of the commencement of the employment or contract and the amount of compensation. The Ethics Commission would be required to post this information online to a searchable database.
Transparency in Campaign Finance Reporting
Rep. Ball has introduced and supported legislation that would empower voters with greater ability to see where politicians receive their campaign funding, including electronic reporting of campaign financing to a searchable database, including occupation of contributors on campaign finance reports, and the elimination of PAC-to-PAC transfers. During the 2009 session Rep. Ball and Sen. Arthur Orr introduced and passed legislation requiring timely reports even if a candidate is not opposed in a primary or general election.
Transparency in Governmental Operations
During the 2009 session Rep. Ball and Sen. Orr passed legislation that requires the State Comptroller to post all state expenditures, contracts, and grants to be posted online to a user-friendly searchable database; presenting taxpayers the opportunity to see where their money is being spent.
Initiative and Referendum
In 2009 Rep. Ball introduced HB279. When politicians say, “Let the people vote”, they usually mean, “Let the people vote, but only on what I choose for them”. Currently, the legislature has absolute control over these referendums. After careful research, Rep. Ball has authored and advocated legislation that would provide citizens the opportunity to place initiatives on the ballot, when the legislature refuses to act upon an issue that has statewide support. This bill would not interfere with our representative form of government, but would enhance it by encouraging the legislature to act ahead of the referendum in a manner responsive to the will of the people.
Housing Authority Transparency
In 2009, Rep. Ball introduced HB881. Responding to constituents concerns about recent actions of the Huntsville Housing Authority, Rep. Ball took immediately their concerns straight to Montgomery. He introduced a bill that would strip a municipal housing authority\'s right to use eminent domain to seize property. The bill would require city council (or the county commission, if outside the city limits) approval of their actions and require nearby property owners to be notified prior to the purchase of property.
Alabama News