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Bentley says he has answer to PACT woes
Published January 16, 2010
One gubernatorial candidate says he has an answer to the state’s PACT program woes, and said he knows how to ensure schools get the funding they need.
Dr. Robert Bentley, who is running for governor, was in Marshall County recently and stopped by The Reporter to share some of his ideas on how things should be done in Montgomery.
“I believe that we have not only a moral, but a legal obligation to pay PACTs and not a portion. That’s not what these people signed up for … These people thought they had the good faith standing of the state behind them,” Bentley said.
Bentley said he has a bill ready that would solve the problem, and he went on to say that if lawmakers don’t solve the problem this year “then they are not going to solve it next year,” meaning they will not be re-elected.
His idea would be to set up an annuity amount payout system, which will pay out an equal amount over the next 20 years.
He said the state needed roughly an additional $22 million, which he proposed borrowing from the Alabama Trust Fund, which is worth about $2.6 billion.
“You borrow it from that each year as long as you need that and close it off to students so no more students come into this program because we need to get rid of it.
“But, as the attrition of students takes place, when you get to about the 10th year, you are going to have more money (in the PACT fund) and you start paying back the trust fund,” Bentley said.
It would take a constitutional amendment to take money from the trust fund, which means the people of Alabama would have to vote on it.
Bentley also has ideas for raising revenue in Alabama, which would help pull the state out of its current economic turmoil. He wants to create an environment through which you recruit industry.
He said Alabama needs to remain a right-to-work state, keep the cost of business low and keep taxes low.
“I know sometimes people say, ‘Well we are the lowest taxed state in the country,’” he said. “Well, we may be but that is why we have been able to recruit industry into Alabama because we have low taxes. Low energy is another reason we’ve been able to recruit industry.”
He said another key to recruiting industry and other businesses is ensuring Alabama has the work force capable of filling the “high tech” jobs that the state is trying land.
“I think with our two-year system we’ve done a good job. But, I think we need to work more with our high schools and technical training in our high schools,” he said.
Bentley said his No. 1 priority would be putting people in Alabama back to work.
“Job trends, and the lack there of, transcends everything right now,” Bentley said. “Even though ethics are important, education is important, all of these are important but if you can’t feed your family, it doesn’t matter.”
Bentley said he has already pre-filed a bill that would give an employer a 50 percent deduction of a yearly salary if they will hire someone off of the unemployment roll in Alabama.
The main stipulation for employers to receive the deduction is they have to keep the employee for a year.
“Now this deduction will not hurt the education trust fund, because if you put someone to work, say they make $40,000 a year, (the employer) gets a $20,000 deduction off of their state income tax,” Bentley said.
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