Kay Ivey on Environment

Tax credits for landowners who replant cut trees

According to the EPA, Alabama's air is much cleaner than it was 30 years ago. So is our water: 97% of our rivers and streams are clean, as are 84% of our lakes. Alabama is also blessed to have some of the largest areas of forest in the nation. And most of this land--almost 75% of it--is owned by private, non-industrial owners who use it for camping and hunting.

Surprisingly, most of the progress Alabama has made in being a cleaner state came way before the federal government decided it was a problem. Rather than rely on a slow-moving state or federal bureaucracy to tell us when our air, water, or land is in trouble, we need to encourage public-private partnerships that would reward responsible landowners for keeping their land pristine. Tax credits for landowners who replant trees when they are cut would be a good start.

No water commissions with onerous regulations & litigation

We do not need to establish commissions and departments which would create excessive, onerous regulations. We need to avoid the potential for more litigation which would clog our overburdened courts. We must guard against creating financial obligations that the state can't adequately fund. And, I'm ever mindful that without proper rules and accountability in place, governmental regulatory bodies invite the potential for corruption.