When the Alabama Legislature comes together for its 2012 regular session Tuesday, Feb. 7, members of Congress said “immigration” and “education” would be just some of the hot-button issues they’ll tackle.

The general fund budget, job creation, taxation on groceries and broadband access in rural areas, will also be issues State Sen. Hank Sanders (D-Selma), Rep. Darrio Melton (D-Selma) and Rep. David Colston (D-Hayneville), plan to discuss.

Sanders said he expects the general fund budget to be a pertinent issue due to budget cuts.

“It’s going to be a great challenge … we have some severe cuts and the general fund is already small,” Sanders said. “It might mean cutting Medicaid among other things. The government is (also) advancing to unearmark education. We’re going to fight that to death. We cannot rape our children’s future.”

HB56, the bill name and number of Alabama’s new immigration law, prohibits employers from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants and requires local officials to enforce federal immigration laws. Sanders said the law is a threat to the state’s productivity and growth.

“The immigration bill will be a hotbed issue — it really needs to be repealed, not corrected,” Sanders said.  “It has become a negative symbol all over the world. It will hurt business and economic development.”

The current immigration legislation, Sanders believes, adversely affects the Black Belt in a “powerful way.”

“It affects not just the Black Belt, but it affects the whole state,” Sanders said. “I can’t think of anything that would affect the whole state more than the immigration bill.”

Taking tax off food, Sanders said, is a piece of legislation he will also continue to push.

“We’re going to try again to take sales tax on food,” Sanders said. “We shouldn’t tax air, water and food.”

And though it has become a recent problem locally, the issue of copper theft, Sanders said, won’t be discussed.

“I know it’s a problem because people steal so much from houses for scrap metal, but I haven’t heard any legislation on it,” Sanders said. “I would be surprised if someone doesn’t come forward with some bills.”

During the session, Melton plans to continue implementing legislation he introduced in 2011 regarding electronic textbooks and devices for classrooms, which would create a more technological-friendly environment for students. Though the resolution was passed in the house but was never voted on in the Senate, Melton said his Republican colleagues have adopted the legislation and plan to present it to the Legislature.

“One of the major themes in my campaign was to bridge the digital divide,” Melton said. “It is my hopes that my colleagues would like to work with me in a bipartisanship manner in structure and legislation.

“This year, I’m in the process of writing a bill that would introduce all elec-tronic devices to students on a need basis,” Melton said. “Why waste tax payers’ dollars, when you can use what you already have? I want to make sure money is spent more wisely.”

An advocate for mental health services and family, Melton plans to continue to push legislation that supports both.

“It is my plan as well to continue to fight for a waiting period for divorce,” Melton said. “Our communities are only as strong as our families. So I will continue to write legislation that strengthen families.”

With education at the forefront, Colston said the Legislature may discuss the possibility of “charter schools,” or schools that receive public and private donations and are not subject to certain rules and regulations as traditional schools, coming to Alabama.

“It will be on the table,” Coltson said. “Sometime in January, Sen. Hank Sanders and I will see what issues we’ll put on the table.”

In addition, Colston said he has some local bills, rather than statewide, that he will sponsor.

“After the session starts, I will get more support for the bills,” Colston said. “The ‘texting while driving’ bill and immigration bill — some amendments will be made to them … I think all the issues that will come up will affect our area.”