Opposition to Statewide Amendment No. 3, the king of all political pork barrel proposals, is rapidly rising. Why? People are learning that the amendment’s language does nothing more than waste a billion dollars over 10 years on pet transportation projects.

If you trust the Alabama Legislature and the special interests they serve, then I recommend you approve Amendment 3 and give them a blank check to spend money as they have specified.

Amendment 3 does not in any way communicate what will happen if it is approved and certainly does not tell us about the specific legislative provisions which will dictate where most of the money must be spent.

The $100M per year that will be withdrawn for 10 years from the Alabama Trust Fund will be spent by the State Department of Transportation, Alabama’s counties and cities.

The Legislature has some unusual priorities in the act. For example, $1M per year will be distributed to the Alabama Shortline Railroad Infrastructure Rehabilitation Fund. Mass transit in the 6th and 7th Congressional districts will receive $2M per year but does not state what that amount will be spent on or who determines how it is spent. The 1st Congressional district gets $5M for the Port Authority and other entities get their “fair” share of this unjustified raid on the Trust Fund.

Now it is time for the voters to decide. I do not believe Statewide Amendment 3 is in the best interests of Alabama and I urge everyone to vote NO.

Col. Brock Wells

US Army Ret.

Foley, Alabama.