What will the rules be? That’s the question state Sen. Wendell Mitchell says the "thinking person" will ask when he endorses a vote to call a constitutional convention.

It’s a legitimate question, and one we believe lawmakers should work harder to answer.

Throughout the state, voters are backing calls for changes in Alabama’s 1901 Constitution. Those changes ­ whether in the form of specific bills addressing issues or a major rewrite ­ are necessary to address issues as varied as tax reform, educational funding and home rule.

And, while most lawmakers seem to agree that reform is necessary, they raise some valid questions about how to approach that reform ­ most pressing, how to keep a constitutional convention from becoming a lobbyists’ free-for-all. The concerns are legitimate, but they need not preclude lawmakers from the

main objective, which is addressing the outdated and inefficient laws in Alabama’s Constitution.

Sen. Mitchell is right; the thinking person does question how to best go about reforming our state’s constitution. But he also thinks its a reform that is long overdue in coming, and that our elected officials must provide the guidance and answers to that solution.

And, he’s probably right in his second prediction: That it will take a new Legislature, a new slate of lawmakers who are willing to take the political risks, to bring about the much-awaited constitutional reform. Ultimately, though, we believe that reform will ­ and should ­ take place.  

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