News in Brief: A State Capitals Roundup

The Alabama board of education has endorsed the governor's proposal to allow voters to decide if the state needs a new constitution.

"The Alabama Constitution of 1901 preserves a failed system for funding public schools and other governmental services, which forces them to suffer from inadequate and unpredictable funding," declared the board's resolution, which it approved on a 7-1 vote Jan. 24.

During his State of the State Address last month, Gov. Donald Siegelman, a Democrat and president of the state board of education, urged lawmakers to allow a referendum on whether Alabama should hold...