‘Semper Fi!’ Wait ’til you see what Alabama’s Marine Senator did to fight Bentley tax hike

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February 23, 2015

MADISON, Ala. — State Senator Bill Holtzclaw (R-Madison), a retired Marine, unleashed his battle cry against Governor Bentley’s proposed tax hike Monday, and he wants to make sure his whole district knows where he stands.

Holtzclaw rented space on a billboard in Madison saying, “Governor Bentley wants to raise your taxes. I will not let that happen. Semper Fi – Senator Bill Holtzclaw.”

Talk show host Dale Jackson tweeted this picture of the billboard Monday afternoon.

Here is @billholtzclaw's billboard about Gov. Bentley's possible tax increase… #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/JdjtcKBkHc

— Dale Jackson (@TheDaleJackson) February 23, 2015

Here’s a closer look:

“110 days ago Governor Bentley and I were re-elected on the same ticket to serve our constituents” Sen. Holtzclaw told Yellowhammer Monday. “After months of campaigning I don’t recall either of us discussing tax increases – in fact we were saying just the opposite, no tax increases.

“Since early January the message has rapidly gone from – we might need to look at raising taxes, to – we really should raise taxes, to – we are raising taxes $700M.”

Holtzclaw began hearing from his constituents after the Governor’s announcement last week, the Senator told Yellowhammer, and the billboard offers a large-scale platform to announce his position.

“This isn’t about a fight with the governor,” Sen. Hotzclaw said, “this is about opposing ideologies on how to address the perennial budget crisis. I’m not ready to throw in the towel and surrender to the option of raising taxes. I believe the answer to our continued budget woes is two-fold; funding essential functions of government and un-earmarking the 80-plus percent of the revenue that is locked up through the actions of previous legislatures.”

Alabama Democrats are proposing a state lottery to fund the state government’s two budgets—education and general fund—and GOP lawmakers are offering up more cuts and reforms to shore up the estimated $200-plus million hole.

The Alabama State Legislature will convene for the 2015 session on March 3rd. They will have 30 legislative days to come to an agreement on how to reach a constitutionally-mandated balanced budget.