A move by the Alabama Legislature to end a state retirement program is not “anti-teacher,” former Republican gubernatorial candidate Bradley Byrne said Thursday.

“In a filibuster that ended (Thursday), the Alabama DROP Program was killed,” Byrne told members of the Escambia County Young Republicans. “This action will save $60 million a year for the Alabama taxpayers. This move isn’t anti-teacher, but pro-student and pro-taxpayers of this state.”

The DROP program allowed teachers and public employees to continue working past retirement age and draw retirement benefits. Democrats, now in the legislative minority, had attempted to filibuster the bill, which was supported by Gov. Robert Bentley.

Byrne compared the political turnover in Alabama to that in Wisconsin, where legislators are involved in a fight over union rights for teachers. Wisconsin legislators this week voted to end collective bargaining rights for teachers, working around the absence of Democrats who fled the state to avoid the vote.

“The two states with the greatest turnover in the legislature is Wisconsin and Alabama,” Byrne said. “The biggest flip in numbers in the legislature was Alabama.”

With a majority of Republican legislators in office, government leadership is now heading in a better direction, Byrne said.

“With the new Republican majority in the Legislature, we have hope to rescue Americans from the hole we fell into in 2007 and 2008,” Byrne said. “We can now continue to be the most prosperous nation in the world.”

Byrne said work by the Legislature has put new rules and laws on the books that reflect principals and ideas of the Republican Party.

“In (a special) legislative session (in December), double dipping has been banned,” Byrne said. “PAC to PAC transfers have been banned and regulations to require lobbyists to register was passed.”

Byrne also said ethics training was required and state agencies can no longer collect dues for a political organization as a result of legislation this year.

Byrne, who is an active member of Reform Alabama, said the focus of the Republican Party should now be on county government seats.

“The focus for the next couple of years needs to be on county courthouses,” Byrne said. “The most powerful antiseptic for government is sunlight.”