I could hear the squealing all the way to Birmingham. Our legislators currently get a pot of money each year to pass out as they see fit — this year’s budgeted amount is $12.8 million — and it’s usually used as undeclared campaign funds.
MONTGOMERY - The Alabama Supreme Court on Friday struck down as unconstitutional the system that state lawmakers have used for years to spend millions of dollars on education projects in their districts….
….For years, senators and members of the House of Representatives have each been allotted an amount they could request for projects. This year, each House member had $51,200 available and each senator had $153,600, with many higher-ranking lawmakers allowed more.
This system has great advantages for incumbents, who can show their constituents lots of bacon. It’s one of the reasons our legislature looks the same, election cycle after election cycle, even though we complain about them all the time.