One of the obvious political changes in Alabama government over the last decades with the Republican takeover of the Legislature has been the reluctance to raise new revenue to fund state government. Many of the current Republican legislators came to Montgomery in 2010 with a no new tax pledge. Voting for any kind of tax or fee increase was considered blasphemous.
In bygone days, powerful governors like Big Jim Folsom and George Wallace would raise taxes at the drop of a hat. Especially when it came to a gasoline tax to build roads. It was perfunctory and almost mandatory for a governor...
