Alabama 2012 legislature session opens

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WALA) - The Alabama legislature opened its first session of the year Tuesday.

Lawmakers will tackle some major issues, including the budget and the state's tough new illegal immigration law. 

The 2012 legislative session kicked off around noon Tuesday with the swearing in of the newest members of the House of Representatives.  

All of the lawmakers, new and old, are facing the difficult task of trying to figure out how to fund state services with a lot less money. The budget is the top priority for Representative Jim Barton.

"The general fund is going to be the major issue, and it's going to affect our area, because the cuts we're going to have to make to the state government. So the city government and local government will have to make up those shortfalls to some degree," Barton said.

The legislative fiscal office predicts a drop of more than $500 million in tax revenue for Alabama this year.  That's about a fourth of the state's general fund budget.  

Representative James Buskey said that could lead to painful cuts in services including Medicaid and corrections.

"Obviously, we don't have money to fund corrections, then they're going to have to let some people go, and hopefully a decision will be made that only non-violent people will be released if that is case. Medicaid, those people, that's the service where most of the needs are, children, and the elderly we've got to preserve that," Busky said.

Senator Trip Pittman said the news is less grim for education.

"The good news is, is that the education budget issues are a lot less of a problem than the general fund.  We're going to have to cut about 2 ½, 3 percent.  We're in the process we're hoping we can glean savings from some non education items that are in the budget," Senator Pittman said.

In addition to the budget lawmakers will also focus on the states immigration law.  Several areas of the law have been challenged as unconstitutional. 

"A lot of that will be corrected in just definition of terms in the early part of the legislation.  So that defining such things that one would have to get a tag.  Just to make it simpler," Representative Randy Davis said.

Despite all the issues facing lawmakers this session they took a moment of silence Tuesday to remember Officer Steven Green, the Mobile Police officer killed in line of duty Friday.