Dear editor,

Alabama’s only savings account, better known as the Alabama Trust Fund, is in danger of being raided.

The monies in the Trust Fund are derived from royalties paid to Alabama by companies that pump natural gas offshore, and these amounts are decreasing.  The Fund was set up in 1985 for the continuing benefit of the State of Alabama and all its citizens as an irrevocable, permanent trust fund. Earnings from the Trust Fund support the State’s critical services such as public safety, the court systems, the prison system, Medicaid health care for the poor and disabled, and other services. These services are necessary for all Alabama citizens.

The Alabama Trust Fund must be managed to provide the most good for Alabamians, and proposedAmendment 2 does NOT do that.

On the Nov. 4 ballot, Amendment 2, if approved, would raid the Trust Fund of $74 million over the next 20 years. We need to preserve the Alabama Trust Fund for the future of Alabama.

As a Trustee of the Alabama Trust Fund, I urge you to vote “NO” on Amendment 2 on Nov. 4. Alabama is depending on you!

Sandra Sims-deGraffenried

Trustee, Alabama Trust Fund

sandrahsims@gmail.com