Legislative Update

Final Installment

2011-06-10T12:13:00.000-07:00

We began the 2011 Legislative Session with a new majority for the first time since Reconstruction and promises of change. As of Thursday, June 9th, many of those promises were kept. The package of bills known as the “Handshake with Alabama” was completed on the final day of this year’s session. It was just part of a busy day in the Alabama State House.

In most years, the final day of the legislative session is a mixed bag of tradition, reminiscing, and laughter, coupled with frantic work to finish passing important legislation at the last minute. This year was no different and is exactly what both chambers did before adjourning sine die just before midnight.

Both the General Fund and Education Trust Fund budgets were completed along with finalizing the Board of Education redistricting plan. There was some slight concern that these would not be completed and that a special session would be needed, but that will not be the case.

Many other bills also received final passage. From our local delegation in Shelby County, Senator Slade Blackwell was able to pass SB 458, The Hagen Act, that requires inspection for residential elevators. Senator Cam Ward’s bill on Indigent Defense reform also was passed by the House. Representative Kurt Wallace received final passage on his bill to ensure a person’s rights to a vote by secret ballot. This bill is considered one of the “Handshake with Alabama” bills.

Other “Handshake” bills that were passed on the final legislative day were the Voter ID bill that requires a person to show state-issued photo identification in order to vote and HB 58, requiring elected officials and their spouses to report employment with the state or federal government. Both of these bills go to Governor Robert Bentley for his signature. The last of the “Handshake” bills to pass allows individuals to opt out of the President’s federal healthcare bill. This constitutional amendment goes directly to the ballot for a statewide vote.

The Brewery Modernization Act allowing Brewpubs to open taprooms, conduct tours or open restaurants on their premises was passed and signed by Governor Bentley.

In a change of direction for this report, a bill that did not receive final passage was the Jefferson County Limited Home Rule bill that would have given the Jefferson County Commission authority to approve $50 million in replacement revenue from the loss of the occupational tax. The bill officially died in the Senate late on Thursday.

Well, I opened the 2011 Legislative Session opining about Spring Training and my beloved Philadelphia Phillies. As the session has now ended, the baseball season has truly turned to the dog days of summer, and the Phightin’ Phils are still in first place. Hopefully they will remain there well into football season. To keep up to date with the Shelby County Legislative Delegation during the rest of the year you can follow us on Twitter @SCDelegation or like our Facebook page. Have a great summer everybody!

Week 11

2011-06-03T09:26:00.000-07:00

May 31 - June 2

Sometimes there is so much going on, and so much to report, that you just don’t know where to start. That would be the case this week from the State House. There were so many bills passed that I barely know where to start. So I’ll start with this, I played soccer for the first time in 3 years this week at Sports Blast in Chelsea. It was fun and a good way to get back into regular exercise for me, except for the fact that I no longer have a big toenail on my left foot. Ouch? Yeah, it hurts!

Sorry for that, let’s get on to business, shall we? I think it would be best to start locally. State Senator Cam Ward has had an extremely busy and productive session. In previous posts we have mentioned his tort reform package, sex offender notification and indigent defense reform and all of these passed through the House and moved on to the Governor this week. However, his anti-bullying bill that we mentioned early on in the session is dead for the year, but he says he will pre-file the bill again in 2012.

In some very important state-wide issues, the Senate passed a Congressional redistricting plan last night. This plan is different than the one they originally passed last week and rejected by House committee, but is the same as the plan that was recommended by the Joint Reapportionment Committee. Important to our area is that this particular map keeps Chilton County in District 6 instead of moving it to District 3. Toward the end of the day yesterday, the House also passed the budget, but it was by the slim margin of 51-49.

There are other bills of distinct note that received final passage yesterday. HB 56 deals with illegal immigration and is said to be an Arizona-style law. It passed the Senate by a vote of 25-7 and goes to the Governor for his signature. Under the law, a person not in Alabama legally could be convicted of willful failure to complete or carry an alien registration document. Law officers who stop a person in violation of another law must make “a reasonable attempt” at ensuring citizenship or immigration status. Senator Scott Beason says that the purpose of the bill is to create jobs for legal Alabama residents.

The House of Representatives gave final passage to SB 136 that provides for increased election transparency. Beginning in the 2014 election cycle, candidates will be required to submit campaign contributions much more frequently. A year from the election, reporting will be done monthly, a month prior will be reported weekly and daily reporting will be required within the week of the election. All reporting will be posted in an online searchable database available to the public.

The House also voted to remove racist and offensive language from the 1901 Alabama Constitution. SB 112 will be a statewide referendum voted on by the general public in November 2012. It is the same amendment that was voted down in 2004.

Like I said, it was a busy week in the Alabama State House. Many other bills, especially local bills for various parts of the state, passed as well. There are just entirely too many to mention in this small space. Next Thursday will be the final day of the 2011 Legislative Session and so next week should be the last update of the year.

Week 10

2011-06-03T09:25:00.001-07:00

May 23 - May 27

There are a lot of things that are different about this particular legislative session than in previous years. The proverbial ‘changing of the guard’ that we saw after last year’s election has been the cause for much of it. But there is one thing that stands out as different and frankly quite interesting. It leads me to this question. Do the State Senators in the Alabama State House long for their college days? I mean, there have been several all nighters during this session and other days that may have been shorter, yet still carried them late into the evening or early morning hours. I can say this, they are getting things accomplished.

After a two week hiatus for mandated public hearings on redistricting, both chambers came back into session on Tuesday with only 7 days left in this year’s legislative session. The general layout of the agenda was to finish the budgets, redistricting, tenure reform, tort reform, and of course many others.

This office, as well as most around the state, was inundated with phone calls regarding tenure reform, SB310, known as the Student’s First Act. I received many phone calls from teachers against the bill, but I also received phone calls from non-teachers that were for the bill. The highly contested bill was up for debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday where it passed by a vote of 56 to 43. The bill reforms the process of fair dismissal and the subsequent appeals as well as the Reduction in Force proceedings (layoffs due to reduction in funds or enrollment). There is much more involved than can be written here, but it is important to note that bill, now signed by Governor Bentley, does not remove tenure from teachers.

As of early Wednesday morning, after pulling an all-nighter, the Senate finalized the Education Trust Fund. When they reconvened later in the day, they passed a series of pro-life bills. Of these 5 bills, one of note allows the state to opt out of the abortion funding requirement in President Obama’s healthcare plan.

T o mention a few other bills, Senator Cam Ward had two important bills pass the Senate this week. The Victim’s Notification Act places priority on victims of crime and brings the notification process up-to-date. SB440, the Indigent Defense Fund Act, also passed the Senate on Wednesday. The inflated costs of indigent defense created a need for change and the new flat rate of $75.00 an hour for attorney fees and giving local Circuits the ability to choose the method of service best suited for their area will help to save the state money while still providing legal aid for those unable to do so themselves.

Lastly, an important date for 2012 was set this week with the Senate passing HB 425. The Presidential and state primaries have been set for March 13, 2012. Having both primaries on the same day will save the state $4 million. Non- presidential year primaries will continue to be held the second Tuesday in June.

The number of days left in the 2011 Legislative Session are becoming fewer and fewer. I will continue to keep you updated until the bitter end. Until next week, have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

Week 9

2011-05-09T12:30:00.001-07:00

May 2 - May 6

The Alabama State Legislature is now in recess for two weeks in order to hold public hearings around the state for reapportionment. Please see below for the schedule of these public hearings. Given the current state of our state, this recess seems to come at a very opportune time while we all continue to help with relief and recovery from the devastating tornadoes. As we all know, there is a lot of work to be done.

Before recessing for this two week break, the legislature passed a number of bills and resolutions relating to tornado recovery. Senate Bill 271 passed both houses and allows schools to adjust the instructional hours in a school day and also authorizes State Superintendent of Education to excuse days during extraordinary circumstances. The House also passed a resolution that assures schools that the Legislature will cover the costs of rebuilding damaged schools if insurance and federal aid do not cover all of the costs.

On bills not directly related to tornado relief, I have received many calls during this legislative session regarding bills that affect education and teachers. One such bill has been SB 310 dealing with the Teacher Tenure Law. This bill, known as Students First Act was passed shortly before midnight last Thursday in the Alabama Senate. The main functions of the bill are to give local school boards more authority to remove bad teachers and to ensure that teachers convicted of a crime do not continue receiving salary and benefits from the state. This bill passed by a very slim margin of 18-16.

Also on Thursday, Senator Cam Ward was able to pass SB 296 to strengthen the Sex Offender Notification Act. The bill will strengthen current law and remove loopholes that will allow law enforcement officers to crack down on violent sex offenders in our communities. The bill now moves to the House.

Two important bills that have received much attention received official passage last week. The Forever Wild legislation that has received much press and previous space in this update also passed the Senate. Forever Wild is a program established in 1992 to purchase and preserve land for public recreation. The bill as passed by the House will extend the program for another 20 years. The program is currently set to expire in 2012

The Illegal Immigration Reform Package also passed after much debate and collaboration from both sides of the aisle. The bill that has now passed was almost entirely re-written from the original HB 56 that passed the House of Representatives earlier in the session. You can see this article for a description of the revised bill.

Following the current recess, the Alabama State Legislature will reconvene on Tuesday, May 24 in order to finalize redistricting and finish all other business. They are expected to adjourn for the year on Thursday, June 9th.

May 10, 2011 12:00 p.m. Huntsville Von Braun Center
700 Monroe Street

May 10, 2011 6:30 p.m. Birmingham Birmingham Jefferson
Civic Center
2100 Richard
Arrington, Jr. Blvd.

May 11, 2011 6:30 p.m. Mobile Tillman’s Corner
Community Center
5055 Carol Plantation
Road

May 12, 2011 12:00 p.m. Selma St. James Hotel
downtown Selma)
1200 Water Avenue

May 12, 2011 6:30 p.m. Montgomery Alabama State House
11 S. Union Street,
Joint Briefing Room
(807)

Week 8

2011-05-03T12:06:00.000-07:00

April 25 - April 29

It has certainly been a different week in the Alabama Legislature, as both chambers met briefly this morning before adjourning to return home to their respective districts. In light of yesterday’s storms across the state, this was the right thing to do. It is more important for our legislators be at home offering aid and support than to be in Montgomery debating legislation. I know that the thoughts and prayers of each member of the Shelby County Delegation go out to our friends and neighbors that were affected around the state. That sentiment goes for me as well.

Tuesday was also a strange day. The Senate went into session at 3 pm Tuesday and did not adjourn until after 6 am on Wednesday. The all night session consisted mainly of Democrats speaking at great lengths on bills before the Republican majority would cloture to end debate and vote on the bill. This happened for each bill that was presented. Among the bills passed was Governor Bentley’s jobs bill that gives tax incentives to businesses with industrial projects. They also passed a Constitutional Amendment removing “Jim Crow” provisions and racial language from the Alabama Constitution.

The House was a bit more traditional on Tuesday and most importantly passed the General Fund Budget. They also passed a bill that would move the Alabama Presidential primary to the second Tuesday of March. The House also passed the Tort Reform package out of committee on Wednesday.

This morning, before adjourning from chambers, a Senate committee passed the House version of the illegal immigration bill that is mentioned below in last week’s update. To see last week’s update, please continue reading.

Week 7

2011-04-25T09:28:00.001-07:00

April 18 - April 22

As I have stated before, I usually spend most of my time during the Legislative Session taking care of things back home here in Shelby County. However, last week I was able to spend most of Thursday down in the Alabama State House for Autism Matters Legislative Day. The day, planned by the Autism Society of Alabama, was a chance for families affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) to speak with their legislators about how they can help make Alabama a better place for those with ASD. It is a great day that shows how effective people can be in lobbying their elected officials.

On Tuesday, Senator Cam Ward saw much of his hard work as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee pay off. The Senate passed 5 bills in a Tort Reform package that makes adjustments on who, when and where certain law suits can be placed. Two of these bills were also sponsored by Senator Ward. A brief synopsis of the Tort Reform shows bills that limit post-judgment interest to be paid by a defendant, prohibit product liability suits against resellers of a product, and limit where a wrongful death suit can be tried. More can be read here, on al.com

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee also passed a list of bills on Sentencing Reform that is meant to further deter crime and clean up the overcrowding in Alabama prisons. This is another area Senator Ward has been working hard to change during this session. These bills will now move on to the Senate floor.

We’ll call this update Senate week, as Thursday, the Senate passed an illegal immigration bill. This bill is similar to the one passed in the House of Representatives earlier in the session. However, there are differences and both houses will come together in a conference committee to sort those differences out. As I said, these bills are still very similar and their sponsors, Senator Scott Beason and Representative Micky Hammon are expected to find a middle ground on these bills.

Other Senate action of note is that Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh passed a resolution to set up a Constitutional Reform Commission. If signed by the governor, this commission would propose article by article changes to much of the Alabama Constitution. These proposed changes would have to be approved by the Legislature and then voted on by the people of Alabama before taking effect.

Throughout much of last week there were many rumors flying around about how much time the Alabama Legislature would take off for reapportionment. The latest, as reported by Senator Cam Ward on Doc’s Political Parlor is that both houses will meet this week and next week before taking three weeks off in May for public hearings on reapportionment. They will then meet for two weeks following this time off to finalize reapportionment, thus preventing a special session to do so later. The Alabama State Legislature is expected to adjourn Sine Die on Thursday, June 9th.

Week 6

2011-04-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

April 11 - April 15

Last night, The Partnership of Shelby County put on its 4th Annual ‘A Taste of Shelby County.’ My wife and went to the event, held at the Cahaba Grand Conference Center, and had a wonderful time. Thank you to everyone at the Greater Shelby County Chamber of Commerce for your hard work to raise money for our teachers and students in Shelby County.

Speaking of education, that is exactly what the House of Representatives dealt with to start this past week in the Alabama State House. Last week, the Senate passed the smaller General Fund Budget out if its chamber and this week the House passed the much larger Education Trust Fund out of its chamber. This is much earlier than the budgets are typically passed, but each has a way to go still before being finalized.

Much of the day Tuesday was spent on bills that will help balance the budget. Such bills include transferring $30 million from a fund created for telephone services for the deaf into the Education Trust Fund. Others will require state employees and teachers to pay an increased amount of retirement contributions. This amount will increase by 50% over a two year period. In the end, the Education Trust Fund Budget passed the House by a vote of 64-36.

On Thursday, the House also voted to extend Forever Wild. Forever Wild is a program established in 1992 to purchase and preserve land for public recreation. The bill as passed by the House will extend the program for another 20 years. The program is currently set to expire in 2012 and must now be heard in the Senate for final passage.

During this week, the Alabama Senate moved on important legislation. It moved Sunset bills through just as the House did previously. On Thursday the Senate also passed HB61 by Representative April Weaver. The bill allows small business owners and their employees to deduct 200 percent of what they spend on health insurance premiums from their state income taxes. It has been delivered to the governor for his signature.

As always, thank you for keeping up with what is going on in Montgomery and please feel free to contact our delegation with any opinions, concerns or ideas that you might have.

Week 5

2011-04-08T11:40:00.000-07:00

April 4 - April 8

Representative Kurt Wallace just stepped out of my office. He is one of our newest members of the Shelby County Delegation and has the smallest portion of Shelby County. However, I’ll tell you what’s not small, and that is Representative Wallace’s heart. Kurt was just on the radio with the Matt Murphy Show on 100 WAPI to discuss HB 316 on shared parenting. Representative Wallace cares very deeply about the work he is doing down in Montgomery and is doing a great job so far representing Shelby and Chilton Counties.

Tuesday was the 10th Legislative Day of the 2011 Regular Session. On that day the House of Representatives completed the list of bills the Republicans deemed their “Handshake with Alabama” by passing HB 56 on illegal immigration. This is a similar bill to the one previously passed in Arizona that received so much media attention. The bill will move on to the Senate. The House also passed HB 60 on Tuesday that is known as the federal healthcare (Obamacare) opt-out bill. This is a proposed Constitutional Amendment that would prohibit anyone from being compelled to participate in a healthcare system.

On the same day, the Senate passed a number of bills. One of note was SB 192 known as the Brewery Modernization Act. This bill allows for a ‘brewpub’ to produce and sell beer to a licensed wholesaler for resale to a licensed retailer.

When committee day came around on Wednesday, the legislature addressed its first priority, the budgets. The General Fund Budget was assigned to the Senate and was passed out of committee. Subsequently, the Education Trust Fund was assigned to the House of Representatives and also passed out of committee.

Thursday was the 12th Legislative Day of the 2011 Regular Session. This was the day that the Senate officially passed the General Fund Budget. This task required the majority of the day and when it was complete the Senate adjourned until next Tuesday. The budget will now go to the House for final passage.

The House spent the majority of its day on HB 18. The bill was debated when it was moved to the front of the calendar and then again when it came up for a vote. Eventually the bill overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives. HB 18 is a ban on later term abortions, changing the legal age from 26 weeks down to 20 weeks. The bill will now move to the Senate.

Before I go, I would like to welcome the newest member to our extended family. Joel Hunter was born on Thursday and is a big, healthy little boy. I hope that all the work we do in and around the Alabama State House will create a better Alabama and a better United States for children like little Joel to grow up in.

Week 4

2011-04-04T08:49:00.000-07:00

March 28 - April 1

This week’s update is a bit delayed. I took Friday off with my wife to visit her parents in South Carolina. It was their first time to meet the Legislative Delegation’s official mascot, Roscoe. Roscoe was rescued from the Wal-Mart parking lot over a year ago and spent many of his first days here at the County Services Building. We all had a great weekend, including Roscoe. I also want to mention that last week, Governor Bentley signed a Resolution declaring April ‘Autism Awareness Month.’ There will be many great opportunities around the state this month to help raise money to aid those affected by Autism.

The week started in the House with some all important housekeeping. Each legislative session the legislature is responsible for passing Sunset Bills. The Sunset Bills are a requirement each session that keeps many oversight boards for state agencies current under state law. The Sunset Committee makes its recommendations for these boards to be renewed and the House must vote on whether or not to concur. There were 17 of these passed early last week.

There were also a few other bills of note that should be mentioned. The week was ended in the House of Representatives by passing Representative Jim McClendon’s bill to ban texting while driving. Even though there was some debate on the House floor, the bill passed almost unanimously in the end. This bill has passed the House in years past only to see it die in the Senate. However, whether we make this a law or not, we should all no better than to text while driving. It’s just not safe.

The House also continued to make our state government more transparent. Representative Paul DeMarco passed HB25 out of the House that will require the state to publish its financial records on the Finance Departments website. This bill overwhelming passed with a vote of 97-0.

We have been paying close attention to freshman Representative, April Weaver and HB61 that will aid small businesses in Alabama. Her bill passed through Senate committee this past week and she hopes it will be taken up on the Senate floor this coming week.

In the Senate, there were several very important public hearings this past week. One of those was on Sentencing Reform due the overcrowding in our State Prisons. This is something that Senator Cam Ward and the rest of a joint house committee has been tasked with trying to reform. It’s a tough task, but something that must be done.

The Forever Wild legislation that I have received so many phone calls about was voted through in Senate committee this week. The vote of 5-3 pushes the legislation along that will extend the Forever Wild Program for another year.

We have seen a lot of legislation passed so far during this legislative session. For the most part, they have worked on one bill a day and worked hard on each to get them passed. It will be interesting to see where the rest of the session takes us.

Week 3

2011-03-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

March 21 - March 25

Spring Break is a nice time of year. We go from the hustle and bustle of the legislative session, to a one week hiatus where everything suddenly stops. Phones stop ringing, emails stop pounding the inbox, and people stop walking into the office. Life goes from 100 mph to 0 in no time flat. It’s nice, even if it is just for a little while. Well, that time is over now and the legislature has been back in session for a full week.

The week started off with the House of Representatives passing a bill that is not only important to small businesses, but it is sponsored by Shelby County’s own Representative April Weaver. HB 61 is part of the Republican Party’s Handshake with Alabama package that was promised during the 2010 campaign. The bill allows small business owners and their employees to deduct 200 percent of what they spend on health insurance premiums from their state income taxes. This plan is designed to make healthcare more affordable and therefore more available to small businesses and their employees. The bill will now move to the Senate.

Senator Cam Ward of Shelby County also passed SB 26 out o the Senate this week. The bill allows for any Alabama resident that is on active duty in the military and in a combat zone or a qualified hazardous duty area to be exempt from paying state income tax. This is the least our legislature can do for those among us fighting for our freedom around the world.

Back in December, our state legislature convened for special session that focused on ethics. However, as we all know, there is much still to be done in the area of ethics in our state. On Thursday, Representative Mike Ball was able to pass HB58 in the House of Representatives. This bill that creates further transparency by requiring public officials to report state, county or city contracts with the Ethics Commission has been worked by Representative Ball for several years.

In my last update, I gave a mention to the repeal of the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP). There was more action this week as the bill went the governor and was sent back with an amendment that would extend the date of enrollment. This amendment was adopted and should give the bill more legal validity in the court system.

Another bill of interest also passed the House of Representatives this week. Until now, if any of us went to the polls on Election Day, we could show any form of identification, including a utility bill or bank statement. However, we will now have to show photo identification proving who we are in order to vote. The hope is that HB 19, sponsored by Representative Kerry Rich and supported by Secretary of State Beth Chapman, will cut down on voter fraud across the state.

In the end, it was a very productive week. There was a lot of committee work also done this week and while I seem to have left out the Senate. they were busy working on legislation also (including DROP). I promise to give the Senate a little more love next week. Until then have wonderful week.

Week 2

2011-03-11T14:44:00.001-08:00

March 7 - March 11

Spring Break is now upon us. The weather might not feel like it, but maybe that means we should all just go further south for the week. Either way, with as many people as I know leaving the state next week, it looks like I’m being left to run things for a while. Seriously though, I’m kidding, no one would want that.

Regardless of what next week looks like, both chambers of the State House this past week met for 3 consecutive days in order to get some good work in before the break. In doing so, two bills in particular ran their way through both chambers and were passed as quickly as any bill possibly could. And both continued on the theme of reforming our budgets.

Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed SB72, which repeals the DROP program, by a vote of 59-40. This was done in order to save the state millions of dollars each year and should help balance the Education Trust Fund. DROP was created about a decade ago in order to keep teachers of retiring age in education. If a teacher was 55 years of age and had their 25 years of service they could continue working while drawing retirement for five years. The retirement pay went into an account where it drew guaranteed interest and ensuring the employee a lump sum payment at final retirement.

Clearly the purpose of the DROP program was to be an incentive to keep good teachers and this is why the House of Representatives placed an amendment on the bill. The amendment will create a commission tasked with finding other incentives for keeping our best teachers in the classroom.

The other bill that passed both houses and is being signed by Governor Bentley today is HB57 by Representative Greg Canfield. This purpose of this bill is to avoid the proration in our Education Budget that we have today. It does this by putting a cap on the amount that can be appropriated from the Education Trust Fund and sending any excess money into a budget stabilization fund to be used in the lean years.

It has been a busy week here in the Shelby County Delegation Office. The phone has been ringing off the hook. That is what happens when legislation comes up that people are passionate about. I received phone calls on two specific bills all week. The DROP bill had many people calling with differing opinions as did HB126 relating to the Forever Wild Land Trust. I suspect my phone might be a little silent next week during Spring Break. Until the next week, have a great and relaxing break and I’ll try and do the same.

Week 1

2011-03-04T12:35:00.000-08:00

February 28 - March 4

The first week of the legislative session could very well be named “Committee Meeting Week.” Yes, it is true that there are committee meetings throughout the session, but in the first week, not much else happens. In order for a bill to pass through both chambers of the legislature, five legislative days are needed and since there are only 3 days in each week, it takes some time to get things accomplished.

With that said, there are no bills to speak of that have passed through our state legislature in this the first week. However, there has been some movement within the state house. A number of high profile bills have passed through committee and a number of those have come from our delegation in Shelby County.

The Rolling Reserve Budget Act proposed for several years now by Representative Greg Canfield has passed through house committee quickly and looks to have a lot of traction. His proposal would bring stability to our state education budget and put and end to proration through smart budgeting practices. Speaking of budgets, I should mention that the Senate passed a resolution yesterday presented by Senator Jabo Waggoner that asks the federal government to mandate a balanced budget like we do in the state. Wouldn’t it be nice to see fiscal responsibility at all levels of government?

On Tuesday, Governor Robert Bentley kicked off the legislative session with his State of the State address which preached this very concept and proposed a thinned budget with cuts throughout our state government.

There were a few other bills of note this week that passed through committee. Representative Kurt Wallace sponsored a constitutional amendment that guarantees all Alabamians the right to a secret ballot including in votes of employee representation. This bill has been supported by the Business Council of Alabama (BCA) President and CEO William Canary. Secretary of State Beth Chapman supported a bill sponsored by Representative Kerry Rich that would require all persons wishing to vote in an election to present government issued photo identification. Our Representative April Weaver passed HB61 through committee this week. This bill would allow businesses to deduct 200 percent of the amount they pay in health insurance premiums from state income tax and is also supported by BCA.

All in all, this was a very busy week for meetings, meetings and more meetings in Montgomery. With what seems to be a very productive start the legislative session, I think we should start to see a few bills come out of both chambers next week.

2011 Pre-Session Update

2011-02-25T10:18:00.000-08:00

Each year, just about this time, we all see certain signs that let us know spring is just around the corner. It could be the blissful 70 degree weather in February. It could be (and is for me) when pitchers and catchers report to Florida and Arizona for baseball spring training. And for some, it’s the start of the legislative session at the Alabama State House in Montgomery.

This year is no different, and on Tuesday, March 1 our newly elected Representatives and Senators will report for their first Regular Legislative Session. Granted, since being elected in November, the members have been charged with several duties. In December they met for a Special Session to pass legislation on ethics and in January they met for an Organizational Session to decide on leadership and set the rules for the next four years.

During the Organizational Session many of our Legislators here in Shelby County were given important leadership positions. In the Senate, Senator Jabo Waggoner was elected Senate Majority Leader and was appointed Chairperson of the Confirmations Committee. Senator Cam Ward was appointed co-Chairperson of both the Judiciary and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. And Senator Slade Blackwell was appointed Chairperson of the Banking and Insurance Committee.

Shelby County also has a number of State Representatives with leadership positions in the House of Representatives. Those with committee chairmanships are Representative Greg Canfield – Commerce, Representative Jim McClendon – Health, Representative Mike Hill – Insurance, and Representative Mary Sue McClurkin – Education Policy. All of these appointments are a tribute to the great leadership and representation we have in Shelby County.

The Shelby County Legislative Delegation looks forward to this upcoming session that will run from March 1 until June 13. If you would like to keep up with what is going on, please visit our website, www.shelbylegislators.com and be sure to look for our weekly updates. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact us via email at sfrey@shelbylegislators.com or by calling 205-620-6610.

Week 10

2010-03-26T08:19:00.000-07:00

March 23- March 26

I am tempted to welcome you all back from Spring Break, but it seems quite pointless at this late date. After all, Spring Break has been over for a whole week now. It feels like it has been an eternity. Even though our state legislators came back in this week, they only have a very short time remaining in this year’s session as yesterday was the 22nd Legislative Day.

I have noticed lately that most people around the state, or at least most of the people I have spoken with during the last week, don’t realize how short of a time our legislators actually spend in Montgomery. So here is a quick lesson. By law, the State Legislature only meets 30 days a year unless the Governor calls for a Special Session in an emergency situation. You may remember that last year Governor Riley called a Special Session to deal solely with several of the issues facing Jefferson County. To learn more about that Special Session you can look back in our updates from last summer.

Another topic I have heard from a few people is about introducing legislation at this late date in time. In a few very special circumstances a bill could be introduced now and still have a chance, but that is unlikely. SB233 by Senator Scott Beason is a late arrival, but it has such large implications and powerful people behind it that it just might be considered. On the other hand, several pieces of new legislation that have been mentioned to me recently just would not go anywhere. It takes a minimum of 5 Legislative Days to pass a bill and with only 8 left, this would be just about impossible.

The bill I just mentioned by Senator Beason is the bill that would essentially override the Federal Health Care that was passed and signed this week. It would exempt Alabama from having to participate in this new plan. Senator Lowell Barron will not put the bill up on the calendar and has thwarted all attempts to bring the bill up for debate in the Senate. I heard that Senator Barron was bombarded by calls, emails and texts about this bill during the week. I was at that point very glad that he isn’t in my delegation. That would have made for a “fun” week around the office.

You may be aware that the only items that our State Legislature is legally responsible for is the passing of two budgets, the General Fund and the Education Trust Fund. This year, both the House and Senate have procrastinated a bit and the House just got around to the Education Trust fund in committee this Wednesday. It will come before the full House body on Tuesday.

Speaking of the House, yesterday seemed to be just like good old times. Our own Representative Mike Hill brought up HB485 dealing with counties. The bill will provide a solicitors fee in criminal cases that will equal the current Fair Trial Tax Fund. The bill was filibustered for most of the day, but finally passed late in the afternoon before the House adjourned until Tuesday. This bill will now head to the Senate for final passage.

Well folks, we have just few weeks left, which also means we have only a short time left in Spring Training. I tell you, I sure am glad. I can’t wait for the Season to start. Believe me, on April 5, I will be wearing my Phillies hat to work. Oh, and I don’t want to talk about the whole March Madness thing. Villanova is out, Temple is out, and barring an utter miracle I can no longer win the pool here in our office building. Oh, well. Such is life. Have a great weekend.

Stephen Frey
Legislative Director

Week 9

2010-03-12T09:30:00.000-08:00

March 9- March 12

It looks like I might possibly be back on track. After all, today is Friday, it is still before noon, and I am writing this week’s update. Speaking of writing, I think I could get the hang of this on a more permanent basis. In fact, every day I read the Philadelphia Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki and it makes me quite jealous. Think about it, he gets to go to the ballpark and hang out around the Phillies clubhouse everyday and then he gets paid to write about it. That might be the most awesome job ever. Todd, if you are looking to give up your job, I want it. I’m just sayin’, that’s all.

Oh yeah, the state legislature, I almost forgot. I’ve enjoyed the Senate so far this year, at least from an entertainment standpoint. As long as they don't do something stupid and irrevocably destroy the state, I think I can continue to find their antics amusing and entertaining. Maybe it’s because they are a smaller body than the house or maybe it’s just the personalities that are there right now, but they sure do seem to take everything personally. Every other day someone else is mad and upset and starts yelling from the microphone. It kind of hurts my ears sometimes.

Anyway, after not having the votes on the Bingo bill last week, the Senate Democrats brought back the roads bill from earlier in the session and passed it 25-10. This is a Constitutional Amendment and has much further to go before we would take $100m out of the Alabama Trust Fund each year. To see the bill you can click here. After passage of this bill there was some of that aforementioned infighting before the Senate adjourned until after Spring Break.

As usual, the House operated in a much different fashion than the Senate this week. After a relatively short session on Tuesday they convened on Thursday with a 10 minute calendar intended to pass a large number of good bills. Many are bills that have been passed through in other years and either died in the Senate or on the Governor’s desk.

There were a number of bills by members of our delegation that saw action this week in either the House or even in the Senate. Representative McClurkin passed HB334 relating the Women’s Commission through the House this week. Our friend at the southern end of the county, Representative Jimmy Martin, passed both HB52 relating to animal traps and HB168 relating to motor vehicle salvage titles this week also.

Representative Jim McClendon has been busy with his bill to ban texting while driving again this year. The bill, HB35, has been read a second time in the Senate and could come up for debate in the near future. Representative McClendon also passed HB323 through the House. This bill is known as the Access to Eye Care Act .

No matter what is going on, Representative Cam Ward always seems to be right around the corner with another bill to pass. This week was no different. Mr. Ward passed both HB522 relating to the Dental Examiners Board and HB529 giving citizens the ability to voluntarily contribute to the Alabama Veterinary Medical Association for the Spay-Neuter Program on their state tax return. Cam also passed HB213 known as the Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act through the Senate. This bill will now go to the Governor for final approval.

Spring Break does not just exist for students around the state; it also exists for our state legislators. The next week will be a quiet one around the State House. Both houses will reconvene on Tuesday, March 23. Until then, enjoy March Madness and Spring Training. Have a wonderful Spring Break.

Stephen Frey
Legislative Director

Week 8

2010-03-08T09:17:00.001-08:00

March 2- March 5

There is a distinct possibility that today is Monday and not Friday. However, I was out of the office so much on Friday that I was not able to post the update. Frankly, I don’t even have a computer at home let alone the internet. So, in the end, you (yes, you - that one and only person that reads this update) had to wait over the weekend for what will inevitably be the biggest waste of 5 minutes you ever saw.

We waited through almost half the legislative session with great anticipation for the gambling bill to come up in the Senate. When it did early last week, it went thud with a somewhat anticlimactic denial. The bill, being a Constitutional Amendment requires 21 votes for passage which it could not muster. There is a chance the bill, known as the ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ bill will be dead for the remainder of the session. However, the roads bill that clogged up the Senate for the first several weeks has been rumored to be coming back up on the calendar soon. The Senate did pass Representative Cam Ward’s Uniform Limited Partnership Act this week.

With both houses headed into the home stretch the budgets are going to become more and more crucial. Being that there is a lack of funding for both budgets there is sure to be controversy and it might be to our benefit if the legislators get on the budgets soon.

The House is going to a 10 minute calendar for this coming week that is set up so that each legislator can pass a bill during the session. They will have 10 minutes to pass their bill or it will be carried over. These bills are usually non-controversial and usually have full support before being brought up. Look for updates on bills passed by our delegation members.

There is plenty happening around the county in the business community. I think I’ve been to about 5 Ribbon Cuttings around the county in the last week or so. That means new businesses are opening all over our county and we are continuing to grow.

I apologize for the late and somewhat generic update. Next week (later this week) will be better. I promise.

Stephen Frey
Legislative Director

Week 7

2010-02-26T09:47:00.000-08:00

February 23- February 26

I’ve spent most of my life wanting to “stick it to the man.” This, as a middle-class WASP (or even yuppie) is a little bit of a contradiction, but it’s still true of my view of our world. It may explain why I’m a bit of a ‘bleeding heart’ and why I spent the first part of my adult life teaching in places I clearly did not belong. Such is life. However, what I have realized is that if you want to stick to the man, become the man. What better way to create change than to do it from the top. So, as I vainly attempt to infiltrate the ranks of “the man,” here is this week’s Legislative Update. I told you I like to go down rabbit trails.

As most of us sit around and waste time, ink, breath and cyberspace talking about gambling the Senate is actually passing other bills for the second week in a row. I’m proud of the good Senators for not bringing up the BINGO bill without having enough votes, even if they still aren’t disclosing the day’s Special Order Calendar before that day. Baby steps, right? I feel like there are times in the past when controversial legislation would have been brought to the floor and clogged the whole session just for the sake of bringing it up. I could be wrong, it’s happened before.

The House spent some time on important legislation this week. Especially Thursday, when they unanimously (104-0) passed the PACT bill that will transfer $236 million from the Education Trust Fund to cover the program. The bill will also set a tuition cap on the Universities regarding students in the PACT Program. In other words, tuition can only be raised 2.5% each year on PACT students, but can be raised more than that on other students. Other bills relating to PACT also passed yesterday that will reorganize the PACT board and more strictly monitor their investment practices. Not everyone is happy with every aspect of these bills, but given the votes they received, there were certainly a good number of folks from all ends of the spectrum working together to resolve this issue. Both Houses must now concur on their respective bills.

Since a Constitutional Convention is brought up every year, why should this year be any different? The first attempt of the week would have allowed for the people to vote on calling a Constitutional Convention, but it suffered the same fate that it always does and will most likely be dead for the remainder of the session. Later in the week, Representative Paul DeMarco made an attempt at making Constitutional change in what would appear to be an article by article strategy to change things that may have been relevant in 1901, but not in 2010. The last of these bills to be brought up on Thursday was carried over to be brought up next week.

The Shelby Delegation was a somewhat quiet during the week, but Greg Canfield’s Education Trust Rolling Reserve Act was in committee on Wednesday.

I’m going to promptly end this without mentioning the Phillies…oh wait, I just did. Anyway, the U.S. is about to play Finland in the Olympic Semifinals. Hopefully I can see it on my computer; otherwise I might be doing my best to stick to the man. Everyone have a wonderful week and Go USA!

Stephen Frey
Legislative Director

Week 6

2010-02-19T10:11:00.000-08:00

February 16- February 19

Thanks to President’s Washington and Lincoln, I began this week at home. Little did I know what the week would actually bring both for the good and maybe even the bad. Some restructuring of the office may at first glance appear to be a negative, but it could, A: be a lot worse and B: work out better in the end anyway. The opportunity to speak at Samford University’s convocation service yesterday morning was an enjoyable time and seemed to go really well. Although, if I did really poorly, do you think they would have told me? To top it off, I will be at the Bassmaster Classic on behalf of the county some this weekend. If you know me, you will find that kind of funny. I’m not exactly Mr. Outdoors. But I enjoy the new experiences.

I don’t think that when the week started I could have told you that the Senate would pass as many bills as they did. There was a lot of rumbling of the Bingo bill coming up in the Senate in which things could have been shut down for some time. However, as the Democrats worked to get the right number of votes, it appeared they were coming up short. So they never brought the bill to the floor. In turn, a large number of mostly non-controversial bills where passed by the Senate, including some house bills. Every time I saw new tweet it was the Senate passing another bill. I doubt it was any sort of record, but I’d be curious to know.

We also saw the Senate version of the Charter Schools bill come up in the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee this week. Senator Steve French’s version of the same bill that failed to come out of a House committee last week suffered the same fate. It was indefinitely postponed and so any effort regarding Charter Schools in Alabama is certainly dead for this session.

The only real problems I heard during this week’s session in the Senate revolved around the minority party not knowing the bills placed on the Special Order Calendar in advance. It seems to make sense that we would want our legislators to be informed about the bills they are voting on with the ability to read the bill and understand it. If one party isn’t letting the other party have that opportunity there is seems to be a problem in my mind. The last time I heard something on this from the floor, it was getting better, but could still use some work.

As has been mentioned a number of times, State Representative Cam Ward likes to get his bills out and taken care of early in the session. In fact, when one of his bills came up for debate this week our own Representative Mike Hill came to the microphone to give Mr. Ward a hard time about it. Mr. Hill wanted to know why all of Cam’s bills always came up and other peoples didn’t. He was clearly saying this in jest and giving Mr. Ward a hard time. It was a fun, light moment on the floor.

However, it is true and Mr. Ward passed two more bills out of the House this week. HB 141 deals with electronic campaign finance disclosure. I think we can all agree that more transparency and easier access to information is a good thing for our state at this time. HB 376 also passed this week and create the Alabama Trails Commission that will coordinate local needs, goals and leadership in trail design, operation, build-up and maintenance for hiking, biking, running horseback riding, motorized off-highway vehicles and water sport.

Speaking of outdoors and sports, Spring Training started this week Florida and Arizona. That’s right; my Phillies have officially begun their quest to be the first NL team since 1944 to go to the World Series three years in a row. Yes, I am very excited and can’t wait for the season to actually start on April 5 in Washington D.C. where Roy “Doc” Halladay will officially take the mound for the 2010 Fightin’ Phils.

See you next week.

Stephen Frey
Legislative Director

Week 5

2010-02-12T09:36:00.000-08:00

February 9- February 12

I hate to harp on the weather. To me, it’s a sign that you have nothing better to talk about. This actually may be true if you are on a date. However, if it’s SNOWING the way it is outside my window right now and you live in ALABAMA, I think it’s worth mentioning. We may not get much and it might not stick, but it sure it pretty coming down.

So, here we are into February, the doldrums of winter and it really feels that way in the State House. There certainly has been some heated debate on both floors. I even heard some name calling on the Senate floor this week, but there really hasn’t been much as far as passing bills in either house this week. Both have been fairly slow as committees take up several high profile bills.

Mary Sue McClurkin’s Charter School bill was in committee this Wednesday only to see it face an indefinite postponement. The motion to postpone was passed by a vote of 13-2. This means that a number of members from both sides of the aisle voted to postpone the bill. It is unfortunate that this bill could not have at least been heard and debated by the larger House membership. For all intense purposes, the Charter School legislation is dead for the remainder of this session.

The Senate is very near to starting what could be some intense debates on gambling. Obviously, the Bingo issue is a big one around the state and until now, there is has been little done about it in the State House. Legislators will see a number of bills related to gambling. The current one coming up in the Senate is on regulating and taxing the electronic bingo that was just shut down by the Governor’s task force. Expect things to get heated in debate before any sort of resolution comes about.

I hear a lot from people regarding the PACT program. Honestly, I receive calls with varying opinions to either uphold the PACT or not to. Yesterday, the Senate passed SB162 which would allocate funds to ensure that the PACT program meets all of its contractual obligations.

The House spent much of the week passing Sunset Bills. There was some debate over issues of minorities on certain boards and things of this nature. Representative Jim McClendon did have another bill related to Motor Vehicles pass the House yesterday. This bill, HB322 would make DUI penalties more severe.

Well, the snow is continuing to fall, which means it is still winter. However, the Phillies report to Spring Training in Clearwater, FL in only 5 days. To me, it is a little ray of hope, that in the middle of winter, spring is just around the corner.

Until next week, enjoy the snow, and be safe.

Stephen Frey
Legislative Director

Week 4

2010-02-05T12:37:00.000-08:00

February 2- February 5

On a chilly, rainy, miserable southern winter day like today, there is nothing better than going to the new Dunkin Donuts here in Pelham. The place was packed and the wait took about 30 minutes, but man that coffee sure is good. I was also able to get a breakfast sandwich on a bagel which is a big deal for me because it is almost impossible to find a place that serves bagels around here. Anyway, you are here to talk about politics/government/legislation, things like that. Dunkin Donuts can thank me later for the free advertisement.

Let’s start with the Senate, that’s my favorite place to start. It’s easier to keep up with the Senate for several reasons. The biggest reason is that they accomplish so little that it keeps things simple. Second, there is much less chatter in their chamber so the audio is much clearer and more pleasant to listen to. Have you ever tried to listen to the House audio? There is so much background noise that I usually have a headache within five minutes. As usual, I digress.

Yesterday, the Senate passed its first bill of the entire session. Earlier in the week the much debated $1 billion roads bill was tabled indefinitely. They moved on and then passed SB52 yesterday by a vote of 30-0. The law will prohibit no-bid contracts by the state of Alabama in most cases. This will relate to contracts for more than $7,500 and says that any current no-bid contract that is less than 50% complete will be re-bid.

On Wednesday, there was a joint public hearing by both the House Education Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee. During the public hearing, many people spoke for and against the creation of charter schools in Alabama. There are identical bills in House and Senate regarding Charter Schools. House Bill 189 is sponsored by our Representative Mary Sue McClurkin and Senate Bill 202 is sponsored by our Senator Steve French. The Shelby County Reporter also wrote a piece on charter schools that features both Senator French and Representative McClurkin this week.

Transitioning to the House, (and I should interject here that between lunch and a power outage it has been quite a few hours since I wrote the previous sections of this update) on Tuesday the members voted to concur with the Senate and officially override the Governor’s veto on SJR9 the Teacher Code of Ethics.

As in a typical week, the House passed a number of bills that will now be sent to the Senate. Of those bills the most notable is HB37 revokes teacher certification and employment for any teacher convicted of a felony or sex crime involving a child. There were a number of other bills passed that passed regarding things like procedures for arrest warrants involving a teacher or police officer who committed a crime in the line of duty. You see, things like that the vast majority of you don’t really care a whole lot about.
What you do care about are all of these ads on television regarding gambling. Well, here is what I can tell you. There has yet to be any legislation come up regarding gambling yet this session. It will, you can be assured of that. But to this point, the legislators have been debating bills regarding a plethora of other topics. Representative Cam Ward put it very well in his blog on Political Parlor earlier this week.

In other news, I usually bring my dog to the office on Friday. You know, the one from the picture in week one? He’s getting bigger, but is still a puppy. You know what that means. Destruction! Check out this picture. He got into my bag, took out my Bible and ripped it to shreds while I was out to lunch. To my bosses or anyone else in the county that might care: He has not destroyed anything in the office and he is house (office) broken. So, no worries.

Week 3

2010-01-29T09:10:00.000-08:00

January 26- January 29

Let’s be honest, sitting an office by yourself can get lonely and somewhat boring. The muffled voices of legislators through my computer monitor speakers just aren’t the same as human interaction. Not to say that they aren’t entertaining, because they certainly are. However, there was some added excitement this week when the Greater Shelby County Chamber of Commerce hosted a Gubernatorial Forum at their monthly luncheon. A total of eight candidates for the highest state office spoke at the packed Pelham Civic Complex. I would venture to say that everyone there learned valuable information about each candidate. I know I enjoyed the event.

There were some things going on from a legislative standpoint as well.

Regarding constituents, I heard mostly about the PACT program this week being that a bill to ensure the remaining 45,000 unfulfilled contracts are guaranteed was heard by the Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Accountability Committee. The Committee heard the bill and passed it 10-0. It will now be heard in the Senate. For those that have called with concerns, I know that most legislators I have spoken with are committed to finding a way to ensure those in the PACT program have their investment guaranteed.

The Senate action for the week can be very simple to sum up. Two things were done this week. One was a continued filibuster and debate on the $1 billion roads bill by Senate Democrats. There are have been 6 legislative days and this bill has all but taken up every single one of those days. However, they did receive messages from the Governor and voted to override the Governor’s veto on the Teacher’s Ethic’s Code. This was the resolution that was passed by the House and Senate in the first week. I mentioned it in that week’s post. You can look back for more information on it.

As for the House of Representatives, they went the typical route of passing a large number of bills.

(In case you are wondering, the rules in each Chamber are set up so that this very thing will happen. Based on those rules, the House can only debate a bill for so long before it inevitably must vote one way or the other. The Senate, on the other hand is set up to be much more deliberate in how it votes on legislation. If it comes down to it, the Senate is set up in a way that it can virtually shut down and entire session over one bill.)

In our delegation, Representative Cam Ward passed several bills through the House this week. As he stated in his blog on www.politicalparlor.net, he prefers to work very quickly early in the session to get his bills pushed through. Others prefer to do things later in the session, it is all a matter of preference.

Of note, Mr. Ward passed bills this week relating to Limited Partnerships, Criminal Littering and the Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act. He also had several bills pass through committee. However, one bill had in committee that would loosen qualifications for independent and third party candidates did not pass through committee.

Representative Greg Canfield also had a bill pass the House this week that amends Trademark laws. It has not been amended since 1988, and this bill basically brings those laws up to date in the 21st Century.

As more and more happens in both houses we will keep you updated. Until then, have a good weekend and make sure to anticipate my Super Bowl pick next week.

Stephen Frey
Legislative Director

Week 2

2010-01-22T09:25:00.000-08:00

January 19- January 22

Predictability. It’s a nice word; simple, easy, and painless. But it’s also unbelievably boring. Think about it, if you knew what was about to happen in your favorite drama series on television, it wouldn’t be very fun to watch. In fact, it would probably stop being your favorite show rather quickly. Well, welcome to week two in the Alabama Legislature. Also known as, The Broken Record. Okay, fine, I made that up. But it sure does fit.

Simplifying the activities as much as possible, each house did just what we expected them to. The House pushed through bills that have been previously passed only to die in the Senate or on the Governor’s desk. It makes sense really. This same group of House members passed these bills before, so why waste time on them.

To the contrary, the Senate proved why so many of the bills passed in the House never come up in the Senate. What did they do in week 2? Filibuster. This particular filibuster was by the Republicans in order to prevent passage of SB121 which is $1 billion plan to build and repair roads and bridges. This is where the Senate stood when they adjourned for the week on Thursday.

Moving back downstairs to the House of Representatives, a few of the bills passed this week were sponsored by members of our delegation. To mention them quickly, Representative Canfield passed HB100 which authorizes county commissions to establish reduced speed in school zones.

Representative Martin passed HB30 to establish a commission to advice on the ability to set up electronic overseas absentee voting.

A bill that has caught some attention that passed the House this week is Representative McClendon’s bill to ban texting and handheld GPS while driving. HB35 passed on Tuesday.

Another important bill to mention has been one brought up by Representative Ward on many occasions. Giving the Ethics Commission subpoena power has been important to Mr. Ward for some time now. So important that he put all politics aside this week and helped pass an identical bill to his that was presented by a Democrat. Representative Ward’s version of the bill came up next and was graciously postponed indefinitely by Mr. Ward.

According to Mr. Ward, the point is not to be political, it is to create true ethics reform in our state government. It was a great picture of both parties putting aside differences to get the right thing done. It will now be the Senate’s turn to do the same.

They will also be called to pass another House bill on PAC to PAC transfers that was passed this week. This is another bill designed to clean things up in Alabama. Hopefully the Senate will agree that this needs to be done.

I have heard a lot this week from folks on the PACT issue. There is a bill that will be coming up in committee this week by Senator Ted Little. This PACT bill would take $236-million from the education trust fund over eight years and use it to shore up the PACT plan. AEA has come out in opposition to this particular bill saying that it will not work. This is sure to be an important topic throughout the session.

On issues that you don’t care about, the Phillies report for Spring Training in less than a month and have recently re-signed two of their arbitration eligible players to 3-year contracts. It just shows how well they built this team from within the organization and their commitment to winning over the long haul. The next few years could be a lot of fun as a Phillies fan. It’s exciting to think that I am witnessing the Golden Age of a franchise that has been around since the 1890’s. Go Phils!

Oh, and I’ve also enjoyed watching Conan O’Brien stick to NBC all week. I think we all want to stick it to the man at some point and getting to watch him do it to his own network is highly entertaining.

Stephen Frey
Legislative Director

2010 Legislative Session

2010-01-14T13:17:00.000-08:00

Week 1
January 12- January 15

Welcome back to the most riveting, exciting and rambling blog about the Alabama State Legislature you will find anywhere. Yes, I said rambling. From time to time I have been known to digress, or even talk about Philadelphia sports even when no one is paying attention (more on that later). However, I will do my best to stay on point and make sure that the good folks of Shelby County are kept up-to-date on the happenings in the State House.

The 2010 Session began with a very typical, anticlimactic bang. They called both houses to order, banged the gavel a few times, took pictures, passed a few resolutions and then adjourned. I was down in the House and I’m pretty sure it was over within a half hour. Yes, I was there. On certain grand occasions, like the first day, they actually allow me to hang out around the State House. I was promptly banished to my lonely office in Pelham by 2 pm. If only it could have lasted longer. Oh well, maybe I’ll get to go back in April.

A typical week consists of three days of work down in Montgomery. The legislators will be in the Chamber on both Tuesday and Thursday leaving Wednesday for committee meetings. This is exactly why nothing really happens on the first day. A bill cannot be brought for debate until it passes through committee, and if the committees don’t meet until the following day then clearly there are no bills to debate or vote on.

Thursday was a little bit longer, but believe me when I use the word little. Both houses adjourned fairly quickly with one resolution catching some debate and therefore the headlines. SJR9 is the teacher code of ethics adopted by the State Board of Education last year. It then received disapproval by the Joint Committee on Administrative Regulation Review. The resolution is to sustain this ruling and support the Alabama Educator Code of Ethics proposed by the Joint Committee. The resolution was passed by both houses. Those voting for this resolution claim that the initial code of ethics was too vague without clear definitions.

Other than a number of bills passing through committee not much else has happened this week. However, if you missed our column in the Shelby County Reporter, here is a brief overview of the bills being introduced by members of our delegation. To see a complete list of bills sponsored by members of the Shelby County Delegation, please visit the Current Legislation page on our website.

Both Senator Steve French and Representative Mary Sue McClurkin are working on the forefront of legislation to create Charter Schools in Alabama. This legislation has been unanimously supported by the State Board of Education as of Thursday.

Representative Cam Ward will once again be fighting to give the Ethics Commission subpoena power which passed through committee this week. As well as introducing legislation on economic development and campaign finance reform.

As in previous years, Representative Jim McClendon will be pushing to ban texting and handheld GPS while driving a motor vehicle. This bill, too, has passed through committee.

Representative Greg Canfield hopes that we can adopt his Rolling Reserve Budget Act which will be brought up again this year. He is also introducing a bill to provide for the establishment and tax relief of medical savings accounts.

Among other bills, Senator Hank Erwin will be introducing the Tim Tebow Act that allows for home or church schooled children to participate in public K-12 extracurricular activities. This is along with a pro-life bill that requires all expecting mothers to have an ultrasound before considering an abortion.

You should expect several hot topics again this session. The biggest of these, at least as it appears now, will be gambling. Expect the grocery tax to come up many times as it did last year. Ethics reform and charter schools are being pressed hard by the Governor and members of our delegation as mentioned above. And, as we saw on Tuesday at the State House, we can expect some considerable time to be spent on the PACT issue.

As for me, I spend most of time wondering what to do with this crazy dog of mine. He was found at the Wal-Mart parking lot in Alabaster. Apparently I’m a sucker for cute little puppies that are well on their way to becoming giant puppies that eat everything and poop everywhere. Yes, I should have named him Sam, but I named him Roscoe instead. I like to tell people that he was made in China, just like everything else at Wal-Mart.

Speaking of Wal-Mart, I would congratulate all the Bama fans on winning a National Championship, but I have my reasons not to: A) everyone else already has B) they never played Boise State and C) I just don’t care that much. However, I am looking forward to Penn State coming to Tuscaloosa on September 11. As far as sports that I do care about, the Eagles just got embarrassed to end the season, the Flyers are mediocre, the Sixers are horrible and frankly just unwatchable, and the Phillies don’t start spring training for another 5 weeks. At least ESPN plays college basketball every night at this time of year. In case you are wondering, I pull for all of the Big 5 teams from Philly (Villanova, Temple, St. Joes, LaSalle, and Penn) as well as UAB, who looks pretty good this year. For the record, this is what happens when you go to a small NAIA school in the Mid-West.

As I leave you to ponder just how my mind actually works, let me remind you that any opinion stated here is only my opinion and not that of the entire delegation unless otherwise noted. My attempt is to report what is going on in the session, not to give you my opinion. Sometimes, I just can’t help myself. Have a great long weekend everyone. Talk to you next week.

Stephen Frey
Legislative Director

Special Session, August 2009

2010-01-14T13:12:00.004-08:00

Special Session 2009 Wrap up
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The special session to save Jefferson County ended today. It lasted the minimum five days and all in all went the way it was supposed to. There was a minimal amount of drama, not that there wasn’t any, but it was fairly clean and simple.
The purpose of calling this special session was to create legislation that would help keep Jefferson County out of further financial disaster or even bankruptcy. It appears that this objective was achieved. The occupational tax was passed by both houses and will be signed by the Governor. At that point the tax will be deemed legal again. The new aspect that came out of this session is something several legislators worked very hard to do during the regular session, but without great success. The accountability bill was created to force the county commission to hire both a county manager and comptroller. The comptroller portion was substituted out of the bill, but the county manager portion was passed. I believe the commission has until 2011 to hire a professional county manager.
Good luck to whoever gets that job! It will be a tough one for sure.
That should be all until the next regular session. See you all in January.
Go Phillies!
AUG
13
Day 4 - Special Session
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Today’s biggest news comes in the form of the Jefferson County Senate Committee.
After pushing the start time from 3:00 to 3:45, the committee approved the occupational tax bill and the accountability bill. However, Senator Smitherman introduced a substitute to the accountability bill. The substitute does away with the comptroller portion of the bill. The comptroller would be the one creating accountability for all dollars spent by the county commission. The bill was approved with the substitute.
Tomorrow morning the Senate will convene at 9:00 am and the House at 10:00 am. It appears that tomorrow will be the last day of this special session. We’ll just have to wait and see how it ends.
AUG
12
Special Session - Day 3
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If you are reading this particular blog, then surely you have read most other reports on today’s events in the State House. This morning the House of Representatives met to discuss the bills approved out of committee yesterday. Of the bills passed, two are of major significance.
First, the occupational tax bill, HB13, passed by a total of 17 to 15. On first vote the bill failed with only 14 yea votes to 15 nay, but when recalled the vote came out differently. I thought you would all also find it very beneficial to know that 5 members of the Shelby County Delegation voted against the Jefferson County occupational tax. The only member not to vote against it, Representative Jimmy Martin, did not vote at all either passing, or not present. We heard from a great number of Shelby County residents that work in Jefferson County and almost to a person they were against the tax. The members of your delegation were listening and voted the way you wanted them to. It will now be up to the Senate that will receive the bill in a half hour or so. I understand things could get very interesting in the Senate on this one. But that’s not really anything new.
The other major bill to pass today regarding Jefferson County was HB16 requiring Jefferson County to hire a comptroller and county manager. This bill was passed by a much wider margin of 25 to 1. It is nice to see that most legislators can at least agree on the need for accountability and transparency. Again, this bill will go to the Senate very shortly.
The House will be back in Session tomorrow at 5 pm.
AUG
11
Day 2 - Special Session 2009
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This certainly is an odd special session. As Cam Ward has pointed out, he can’t remember there ever being a special session regarding one counties local legislation. I guess this goes to show how important the stability of Jefferson County is to the rest of the state.
Today, the bills created to help solve Jefferson Counties problems were sent to committee. Apparently it was quite a full committee room and at points it became a very heated committee room. The Jefferson County house delegation approved Representative Rogers bill to continue the occupational tax and allow a vote by the people in 2012. They also approved Represetnative DeMarco’s bill that would force Jefferson County to hire a comptroller and eventually a county manager. Other bills, such as Representative Williams bill that also dealt with the occupational tax, created a good bit of drama. That particular bill was carried over shortly before the committee adjourned. They will reconvene tomorrow at 9am.
While the House members of the Jefferson County Delegation were mired in committee, the Senate had no business and adjourned until 5pm on Wednesday.
This could all get very interesting before it’s all over.
AUG
10
Legislative Update: Special Session - Part 1
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As many of you are well aware, Governor Bob Riley has called a Special Session that will begin tonight, August 10, 2009 at 6 pm. And if you are aware that fact, then you are most certainly aware that the Special Session is being called to resolve the financial issues concerning Jefferson County.
Over the last several weeks, Jefferson County legislators have been meeting in order to work out a plan that will resolve some of the financial problems facing the county. Since the current occupational tax was deemed illegal, Jefferson County has not been able to spend the revenue generated by the tax. As a result, satellite courthouses have been closed, over a 1,000 employees have been placed on leave without pay and the budget cuts have created a major rift between the County Commission and the Sheriff.
Governor Riley has said for some time now that when it appears there is a consensus among the Jefferson County Delegation, or at least a bill that can be passed, he will call a Special Session, and that is what he has done. It will take a minimum of five days to pass a bill, but could take up to 12 days. As I understand it, the current proposal would create a .45% tax on all workers, including the professionals that pay a licensing fee. However, the tax would be voted on by the people on the 2012 ballot and if rejected the tax would be phased out from there over the course of 5 years. There is also a proposal to force the County Commission to hire a professional County Manager and Comptroller by 2011.
Here in Shelby County we are affected in a number of ways. First of all, Jefferson County and Birmingham are the center of our metropolitan region and if they falter we will certainly all feel the ramifications. It is true in all cases that if the city center suffers then its suburbs and other outlying areas will suffer also. It is unavoidable.
Another issue is that many Shelby County residents work in Jefferson County and therefore will be forced to pay the tax. Many have called this office to voice their opinion on this vary matter. I thank you for your calls and your concerns. They are certainly not falling on deaf ears. Many are also concerned that they do not have representation on this tax. However, it should be made clear that a good number of our Legislators also represent Jefferson County and have been a large part of the ongoing negotiations. All three of our Senators; Hank Erwin, Steve French and Jabo Waggoner are also on the Jefferson County Delegation, along with Representatives Mary Sue McClurkin and Greg Canfield. I can assure you that all of these members are looking out for the best of all their constituents and that Shelby County does have representation within the Jefferson County Delegation.
I know there will be much more to say in the coming week(s) regarding this special session. I will do my best to keep you as informed as possible.

May 2009

2010-01-14T13:12:00.003-08:00

Final Update: The week of May 11 through May 15, 2009
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The Legislative Session of 2009 is now over. We could take a look back and see what has happened over the course of the last four months. Or we could save the headaches and just look at what happened during the last week. For information on issues throughout the session please read the previous posts. Some people will consider this session a success and others will not. I think that’s just how life goes; I’ll try and stick to the facts of what passed and didn’t during the last two days of the session.
In Shelby County the Governor’s veto on the bill that would allow restaurants to continue selling alcohol was overridden by both houses and therefore enacted into law. There was not much else in the way of local legislation for us, but there were some bills from our delegation that should be mentioned.
Representative Cam Ward had a number of bills passed this session, the last of which came this week that prevents inmates from profiting on work they do while behind bars. He also passed another Autism bill that creates university based research centers. Of note, Representative Jim McClendon had a bill to outlaw texting while driving that died in the Senate. Representative Greg Canfield presented a bill mentioned in previous posts that would update our budgeting system that died in the house of origin. Representative McClurkin has recovered from being ill and seems to be doing well. Her bill to ban smoking in public places did not get the attention it did last year and also died in the House.
Other statewide legislation of note this week: Free the Hops passed both houses along with a similar bill for wine. Even though they were sitting in a swamped State House, the legislature did not pass a bill to begin plans for a new State House to be built. A bill to give military service people the ability to vote electronically died this week in the Senate also. On the flip side, a bill was passed that sets minimum standards to be a state judge. Currently there are no such standards.
Jefferson County had two bills important to many people at the end of the week. One was for a county manager and the other dealt with the occupation tax. The county manager bill passed last week and will give the County Commission the ability to hire full-time professional county manager. The Occupational Tax bill was not passed and therefore the county cannot collect this tax. I received many phone calls on this issue from all different points of view, so I won’t give an opinion. Without the tax the county will be short in revenues and the paper read this morning that 1,200 people will be laid off.
Lastly and most importantly is ethics reform. There were plenty of bills introduced regarding ethics reform this session, but none of them passed. Many of the bills mentioned in this blog have two sides of the story; they help one group but inevitably hurt another. Ethics reform is not this way; it only helps our state and it needs to be addressed. I’ll leave it at that and I will now leave you for the session. Check back periodically throughout the year for updates and musings on government, sports and life in general.
Stephen Frey
Legislative Director
MAY
15
Final Installment
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Today is the final day of the 2009 Legislative Session and therefore the final installment of the Legislative Update will not be posted until Monday, May 18, 2009. Thank you for you patience.
MAY
8
Legislative Update: The week of May 4 through May 8, 2009
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In case you have been hibernating for the last 24 hours, let me fill you in on some big news in the state house. No, they did not reform the ethics laws, there will be no vote on a constitutional convention, and there are still no alcohol sales in Shelby County on Sundays. However, the State House did flood and cause both bodies to move over to the Capital for the remainder of the day.
If you are familiar with the old chambers, they have wood chairs, no sound system, no air conditioning, and no electronic board for voting. I’m sure some of you are gleefully happy in a vindictive way. You probably have some sort of idea that this is the way it should be, and wonder why our legislators have nice amenities to begin with. But, I’m pretty sure you are the same people that would complain about our state being in the dark ages if our Legislature operated that way normally. Sorry, can you tell I’m ready for a soap box? Just give me a topic, I’m ready to go.
Now that I’ve cooled off let me mention a few noted topics from the week. There were a lot of bills to come and go this week, so forgive me for leaving most of them out. If a bill did not pass its house of origin by last night, that bill is dead for the session. A few notable bills faced this death yesterday.
The bill known as the “Sweet Home Alabama” bill failed to come to a vote yesterday and so did the Governor’s bill regarding a wide range of ethics reform. One of last year’s most supported bills went by the wayside much more quietly this year and so there will be no ban on smoking in public places.
This session has had its share of hot topics and one of those has been the PACT program. The legislature promised to try and find a way to save the program. Call it their own state level bank bailout. This week the House did pass a bill that borrows $150 million from other state funds. The bill goes to the Senate for final passage.
Locally, it seems this alcohol sales issue on Sunday’s wont’ go away. You are probably aware the governor vetoed the bill last week. This week the House voted to override the veto but the Senate failed to do so. I am told that it will be revisited next week sometime, maybe on Thursday.
The occupation tax in Jefferson County also affects many people in Shelby County and I hear about it quite often. At this point the bill has passed both houses, but the Senate passed an amended version this week that exempts professionals from paying the tax. Representative John Rodgers, the bill’s sponsor, would like a conference committee so that the two houses can come to an agreement. The quote I read in the Birmingham News from Senator Jabbo Waggoner makes this seem unlikely meaning the bill will die. Without the bill the occupational tax remains an unlawful tax and places Jefferson County in a worse financial situation than it is already in.
Lastly, and sticking with my neighbors to the north. The county manager bill, that everyone in Shelby County would tell them is working out pretty well for us, looks to be dead. Senator Rodger Smitherman chairs the Senate committee for Jefferson County and does not seem to have any intention of bringing the bill up for debate or a vote.
Before I leave you, my Phillies swept the Cardinals this week in a two game series, only to turn around and be swept by the HATED Mets. Oh, do I hate the Mets!! The Phightin’ Phils still lead the division, but only by a half game. They really need to start pitching if they want a chance of repeating.
See you next week for our last installment.
Stephen Frey
Legislative Director
MAY
1
Legislative Update: The week of April 25 through May 1, 2009
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As everyone and their brother (or son) jumps in the upcoming gubernatorial race, we focus on the here and now and important legislation at the State House. And just so you know, this week, some people worked and got a few things accomplished.
There are two budgets that must be passed by the House and Senate each session and both are almost complete. As of this week, the Education Budget has passed the House and gone back for approval in the Senate which it gained. All that is left is for the Governor to sign it. The General Fund Budget that originated in the House has passed through committee in the Senate and should be passed next week. It is amazing how easy it is to pass a budget when you don’t have any money to argue over. If not for the federal stimulus money, the state would be in serious financial trouble. Let’s all just hope that our State Legislators don’t think this money will be there every year, because it won’t.
Other notable legislation this week includes the deregulation of telephone service in the state. The House passed the bill on Thursday and will now go to the Senate. The Jefferson County occupational tax bill is still not agreed upon. The Senate version taxes professionals and the House version does not. In order to create a law allowing the Jefferson County Commission to collect this tax, both houses must pass the same version of the bill. And lastly, Governor Riley has introduced an ethics bill that is currently being considered by the House Judiciary Committee. This bill would give a complete overhaul down in Montgomery and potentially clean things up a good bit. The problem is that the session is almost over, and there may not be enough time to pass such a bill.
In Shelby County, Sunday alcohol sales are back in the forefront. The bill we all thought had passed last week was vetoed by the Governor this week. The House voted to override the veto; however it did not come up for a vote in the Senate before the close of the day on Thursday. Maybe they will get to it before the end of Session.
I hope everyone has a great May.
Stephen Frey
Legislative Director.

April 2009

2010-01-14T13:12:00.001-08:00

Legislative Update: The week of April 20 through April 24, 2009
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As the end of the session is getting ever closer, our dear legislators are becoming more and more annoyed with one another. It kind of reminds me of living in the dorm in college. By the time summer comes, you can’t wait to get away from everyone. However, a few weeks away and you miss all the fun and excitement. I heard from a Representative this week that they usually feel this way about one another around the 27 or 28th Legislative Day, but this year has been so bad that the ill feelings came around the 18th day. Maybe it’s this annoyance that has motivated them all to get the budgets completed on time this year.
Early in the week the Education Budget came out of Senate committee and then passed on the floor, while the House of Representatives passed the initial General Fund unanimously yesterday. They say both should be done by next week and that after this they will get to all the fun stuff. Which means absolutely nothing if you look at how the rest of the session has gone.
Of local interest, the bill that would allow restaurants that currently operate under a club license on Sundays to sell alcohol passed the Senate. This is more like a grandfather clause, so new restaurants in Shelby County would not be able to operate in this manner and therefore would not be able to sell alcohol on Sunday. This was an amendment to a bill that allows towns of less than 7,000 people in dry counties to pass a local referendum to sell alcohol. Senator Hank Erwin did not stand in the way of the Shelby County amendment, but he did amend the bill changing the size of towns from 7,000 to 1,000.
State Representative Jim McClendon of our delegation had a bill hit the news this week also. The bill would have outlawed texting while driving and most thought it was a good bill that would create safer roads and highways around the state. In fact, this bill passed the house unanimously early on in the session. However, it has now been held up in the Senate and will not be pushed through. I hear there is money from the cell phone companies holding the bill back. Someday I wish Alabama politicians would say, “Keep your money, I’m doing what’s right for the state.”
On a very interesting note, I noticed that two quite contrary items passed the house yesterday regarding the gay community. First, the House passed a bill that expands the range of hate crimes to include crimes against people for their sexual orientation. However, at the same time they passed a Resolution commending Miss California for making a statement in the Miss USA pageant against gay marriage. I understand that these are two very separate issues, but I still found passing both of these (especially on the same day) to be quite contradictory.
In more fun news, and I’m sure you all already know this, two members of our delegation will be running for higher office. This past Sunday, Senator Hank Erwin announced he will be running for Lt. Governor. The following day Representative Cam Ward made three announcements and a live blog announcement that he would be running for Senator Erwin’s vacant Senate seat. While I didn’t feel right about mentioning them before this, both were some of the worst kept secrets I have ever heard. The entire state knew what was going to happen well before it did.
I think I should continue with my sports update that I know no one in Alabama cares about. That’s why it’s fun to me actually. My Philadelphia Flyers (that’s hockey) are down 3 games to 2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I’m not usually a pessimist, but I don’t have much hope for them this year. If they get to the next round maybe I’ll get excited. Same for the 76ers, I have no real reason to actual care at this point in the playoffs; they really don’t have much of a chance. And as for my Phillies, they need to get over their hangover from winning the World Series, but hey, they did win the World Series!!! I still have that. Have a great weekend.
Stephen Frey
Legislative Director
APR
17
Legislative Update: The week of April 13 through April 17, 2009
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Welcome to the late edition of this week’s legislative update, I have been extremely busy today and just sat down at my desk for the first time. On a few beginning notes, I am writing with a bit of a heavy heart since different occurrences on Monday. First our own Mary Sue McClurkin was taken to the Hospital on Monday where she remains until the doctors can replace the battery in her pacemaker. Mary Sue continues to have fevers but is feeling much better. As soon as the infection is cleared and the battery can be replaced, hopefully Mary Sue will be able to return to doing her great work for us here in Shelby County. Please pray for a full and speedy recovery and pray for her husband and family during this stressful time.
Yesterday was a very busy day down at the State House for some of us. As you might remember, we held the second annual Autism Legislative Day and lobbied our Senators to pass several different bills regarding Autism in our state. Even though the day began once again with Senator Phil Poole and his “Philibuster,” he was willing to give up the floor to pass HB 41. It may not have been the bill we most wanted to have passed, but it will still go a long way in creating an Alabama interagency council to oversee the agencies in the state that provided services for families dealing with Autism. This should allow for children and adults on the Autism Spectrum to receive better and more complete services in their area of the state. Congratulations to Mr. Cam Ward and the great people at the Autism Society of Alabama for this great victory!
There are a few other items that I have been called about throughout the week. In regard to the Occupational Tax in Jefferson County, the bill has passed the local delegation and State Representative John Rogers has agreed to give up his earmarks on the bill in order to save many county jobs that would otherwise go by the wayside. However, he is unwilling to give the exemption for professionals such as lawyers, doctors, etc. The Bill will now be considered by the entire House of Representatives before going to the Senate.
I received numerous phone calls, emails and faxes regarding the Education Budget that was started this week by a Senate Committee. The current budget as it is written is $1billion lower than two years ago, but it is expected to be caught up by the stimulus money coming from the federal government. All jobs should be saved by that money and hopefully AMSTI will be as well. At this point I have no further answer specifically regarding AMSTI.
Earlier this week I read that the Senate was content to let a bill that would make PAC to PAC money transfers illegal which is a little disconcerting. We began this session with many good bills on ethics reform and it seems most of those have either been let die or voted down entirely. As it stands now in my book our current legislators as a whole aren’t all that interested in cleaning up the crooked system we currently have. However, I heard this morning from a reliable source that the Governor is considering a special session to solely focus on ethics legislation. As we have all heard the ethics talk from gubernatorial candidate Artur Davis, maybe this is spurring our current governor on to cleaning up Montgomery on his own. Just a thought.
Before I leave, I have to mention one of the greatest voices I have ever heard. Growing up as a Philadelphian and specifically a Phillies fan, Harry Kalas was the voice of my life. I heard him at least every day for 6 months of the year during baseball season if not more often because of commercials and NFL Films. If I ever heard a voice narrating my life, it was most certainly Harry. Harry Kalas died in the broadcasting booth on Monday morning and I, along with the entire city of Philadelphia shed more than a few tears. I am very grateful that such a great broadcaster, man and Phillies fan was able to give the call when the Phillies won the World Series. What a way to go out? Truly on top! So in the words of the late, great Harry Kalas, I’m…”Outa Here!”
Stephen Frey
Legislative Director
APR
10
Legislative Update: The week of April 6 through April 10, 2009
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With another wasted week in the legislature behind us, I would like to take a moment to tell you about a topic near and dear to my heart. Now, don’t go flipping out, it actually relates completely to our state legislature and even to current legislation. So without further delay I would like to tell you about Autism. (Other notable Legislation at the bottom of the blog)
As of this legislative session April is now Autism Awareness Month in the state of Alabama and there is plenty going on to make you aware of it. Or at least it is making me aware anyway. Last night was opening day for the Birmingham Barons, but it also coincided with Autism Awareness Night at Regions Park. In light of this, State Representative Cam Ward and I had the opportunity to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Of course, there were about 4 other people there to do the same thing, but non-the-less it was a cool opportunity.
This was good timing because last week one of Representative Ward’s bills on Autism passed the House of Representatives. House Bill 615 creates a state-wide system in which regional centers will be set up in our research universities. Each center will be responsible for the families in their region affected by autism and charged with creating the best possible practices for each family. They will not provide the actual clinical services, but rather oversee and make sure that each family has the proper diagnosis and is receiving the proper therapies. The bill was designed after an existing system in Florida and now goes to the Senate for final passage.
Now that the bill has moved out of one house and is soon to come up in another, the Autism Society of Alabama (ASA) is about to bombard the State House once again. This coming Thursday, April 16, hundreds of people affected by Autism will descend on their State Senators to lobby for passage of HB 615 and plead for further help in their cause. ASA held this same legislative day last year and it was a huge success. If you are one of the many people that know someone on the Autism Spectrum, please join us in this great effort next week.
Other events coming up this month are an Autism Walk put on by ASA at Regions Park on the 25th beginning at 8:30 am and then a more raucous fundraiser that night at Blackwells Pub in Cahaba Heights. Both will be great events for the cause to raise awareness and hopefully some monetary help for the Autism Society and their great work. I hope you can make it out to one or both.
If you are wondering at this point why I care so much or how I know all this information, I will fill you in. While in Pennsylvania I had two different stints where I worked one-on-one with Autistic children in the schools and in their homes. This experience was gut wrenching at times, but also gave me a desire to continue helping throughout my life. I now am a Junior Board Member of ASA and work closely with Representative Ward and the Autism Task Force.
In other legislative news, the Republican Caucus has introduced a different bill that would give tax credits to low income families to off-set the sales tax on groceries. Instead of having to make up $400 million in state revenue they would only have to find $19 million. I don’t think this is the solution Democrats and most Alabamians are looking for. I read this morning that the Speaker of the House Seth Hammet expects there to be a 4th vote coming up soon on the bill to remove sales tax on groceries.
And on the gambling front, Hank Sanders (D-Selma) has introduced a bill that would create a pact between the state and the Poarch Creek Indians that would allow them to build and run casinos on Indian Territory. Would the governor really stand up against gambling in every other scenario in the state, but allow Native Americans to run casinos? I would be very interested to see what happens if it passes both houses and gets to the governor even though this seems very unlikely.
With the Legislative session on the downturn, we will have to see if things start to pick up on the floor of both houses. Hopefully we can see some movement on the issues that have the houses so divided.

Phillies Update: I am giving my Phillies a reprieve in their home opening series. With the banner presentation on Opening Night and World Series rings being given out two days later, clearly the celebration got in the way of playing good baseball. They may be 1-2 right now, but they showed what they are made of and why they won the World Series by coming back from 7 runs down in the 7th inning on Wednesday. GO PHILS!

Stephen Frey
Legislative Director
APR
3
Legislative Update: The week of March30 through April 3, 2009
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If you are looking for more ranting and raving this week, please look somewhere else. After more and more filibustering in the House, I have come to the conclusion that it is what it is. Frankly, I love that phrase, it helps me relax and take life as it comes. I dislike the phrase politics as usual because I feel we can always improve on the systems we have, but this week as in most was politics as usual and we deal with it.
As of Thursday the bill that would allow the people to vote to remove state sales tax on groceries failed to gain enough votes to even come up for debate for the third time. And again, the Black Caucus filibustered following the vote. One legislator described it as Groundhog Day, and they sure are right. This does not seem like it will end anytime soon. The Republican Caucus has no intention of budging on this particular method of removing the tax and therefore it will not receive the needed 63 votes. In fact, the vote has steadily become lower and lower in favor of the bill over the course of the three votes.
The Republicans are planning to introduce their own bill on Tuesday that would make up the lost revenue in another way. Are they serious about wanting to remove the sales tax, or are they just making a good showing for lower-income voters in their districts? We will have to wait and see. But for now there is no definite end in sight. I just hope we can get to the budgets before the end of the regular session.
There are other issues that we have all certainly been watching very closely over the last few months, let’s see if I can help update you on those. In grand federal form, a house committee this week approved a bill that would literally bail out the PACT program. If passed the bill would give the program $150 million dollars from state oil and gas royalties. It will move to the house floor to be considered in the near future (assuming the house starts moving forward sometime soon).
In regard to Sunday alcohol sales in Shelby County, we may have a solution that would allow those restaurants already selling on Sunday to continue doing so. The legislation passed by the house should come up on the Senate floor very soon. In fact, it was on yesterday’s schedule but was removed at the last second. Our State Senator Hank Erwin who has been opposed to Sunday sales throughout will most likely continue to oppose the bill and vote against it, but it does not look like he will block it from being passed. Most think there are enough votes in the senate to allow Sunday sales to continue.
I have also received numerous calls, faxes and emails regarding the tax preparer’s bill that would mandate licensure and regulate those that prepare taxes. The initial legislation was not received well by local accountants, but after working with lawmakers have reworked the bill that passed through committee this past Wednesday and will come up in the House of Representatives for vote in the near future.
The governor will very shortly be given legislation passed by both houses calling for the state to accept federal stimulus money for unemployment benefits. This money has already been denied by the governor, we will have to wait and see if he signs the legislation or not.

Lastly, the smoking ban by Senator Vivian Figures came up for debate on the Senate floor at the end of the day on Thursday and continued on for several hours. Many Senators have amended the bill almost to a point that Ms. Figures does not even recognize it. The bill was carried over and should be looked at again on Tuesday when the Senate reconvenes.
I think I have spewed all the information I can in a short time. If I were you I would be glad I got back to just giving you the fact anyway. I hope that your taste for law making has been sufficiently satisfied this week and that you have a terrific weekend. Next week should be a good one to watch.

Stephen Frey
Legislative Director

March 2009

2010-01-14T13:10:00.000-08:00

Legislative Update: The week of March 23 through March 27, 2009
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Every Friday morning I sit down to write this blog. Some mornings I have everything written out and am ready to go with different bills to explain but others (like last week) are merely what I am thinking about at that time. With the Legislature starting up again this week, I was very ready to get going with an excellent update today. Then they actually opened the session and all my hopes and dreams went flying out the window in one hurricane like gust.
I should have seen it coming. One of our Legislators, Representative Cam Ward, even wrote about it at the end of the day last Friday. He warned us of what was going to happen on Tuesday, and boy was he right.
On Tuesday the bill that would create a constitutional amendment to remove the state tax on groceries failed to receive a passing vote on the Budget Isolation Resolution (BIR). When this happened the House Black Caucus swore to shut down the rest of the legislative session by filibustering until the bill was passed.
So yesterday morning, when I turned on the Audio feed from the chamber floor, I could hear Representatives from the Black Caucus going on and on about how we should be helping the poor of our state. Clearly nothing was being accomplished, so I flipped it over to the Senate audio feed. And what did I hear? Oh, yeah, another filibuster! This one was from a one man show, Senator Phil Poole (D-Moundville) who apparently had been lied to for the final time. I heard him say he was going to shut down the Senate for the next year and a half before he began reading every line of some bill in the most annoying, monotone voice you could ever imagine.
Clearly when I was thinking about what to write about, I did not have much of a choice because in reality not much happened this week in the legislature. Except for a bunch of immature, thin skinned, self-important elected officials who can’t move on in life when something doesn’t go their way. It’s funny how everyone gets along for the first half of the session when we are passing uncontested bills like free pieces of candy at the bank. Then when our legislation gets voted down we pitch a fit like a child who didn’t get the toy they wanted.
I know for a fact that earlier in the session there was some other very important legislation that would have begun to clean up our state government that was not passed and those supporters just moved along, debated and voted on the next piece. I am not making any sort of judgment for or against the grocery tax issue, that’s not my job. But I am calling all of you out because there are a lot of bills that need to be discussed and voted on still. We all need to lighten up a little and move on. Politics is not about your ego, it’s not personal, so when something doesn’t go your way, when you are lied to, or when a little punk like me writes about you, get over it and move on because you represent an entire group of people and a whole state not just yourself.
Oh, and my NCAA bracket is still going strong. After one day of the Sweet 16, I have a perfect 4 for 4 in the Elite 8.

Stephen Frey
Legislative Director
MAR
20
Legislative Update: The week of March 16 through March 20, 2009 (kind of)
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When you finish reading this, you’re probably going to wonder why I even wrote it. So let’s cut to the chase. It’s Spring Break, the Legislature is not in session and frankly that means I’m bored! So forget the PACT issues, Sunday alcohol sales, grocery taxes, steel coils and who’s running for what in 2010, because it’s Spring Break and there are so many other wonderful things to think about. And yes, I’m so bored; I’m even going to write about them.
We are currently in the midst of the greatest weekend in the sporting year, the NCAA basketball tournament. If only college football could get their act together and create something like this, it might actually make it a legitimate sport. So anyway, I figure if the President can talk about his picks then so can I. I think I’m doing pretty well for the first day. There were 16 games played yesterday and I picked 13 correctly. Of the three that I missed, I had all of them losing in the next round anyway so there is no long term damage to my bracket. In case you’re wondering, and you should because I’ve won several pools in my day, my final four is Louisville, Missouri, North Carolina, and Villanova.
While basketball may be at the fore front I still find time for my favorite sport, baseball. The World Baseball Classic could be a much better event, but it has been fun to follow nonetheless. The U.S. team pulled of an exciting come-from-behind win over Puerto Rico (shouldn’t they have to play for the U.S.?) this week. It was even more exciting because the rally to win was sparked by two of my favorite players, Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies. The only problem is that David Wright had the winning hit. Have I mentioned that HATE the Mets? Okay, so I realize that I’m in the South and no one cares or understands what I’m talking about. Oh, I hate the Braves too, but not as much as the Mets.
I guess I will stop there. No reason in continuing to torture you… I’m just glad Cole Hamels elbow is going to be okay for the season. That was a scary few days when we thought he might be out for a few months. So, Go Phillies! And I’ll be sure to let you know how my bracket ends up.
Stephen Frey
Sports Enthusiast masquerading as a Legislative Director
MAR
13
Legislative Update: The week of March 9 through March 13, 2009
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As the middle of March is upon us, days grow longer, the weather is becoming increasingly warmer and this legislative session marches on. No pun intended. If I were going to sum up how things are going at this point, I am sure I could do so in one very short sentence. The Senate is working. That’s right, nothing more to write about, they are doing their jobs and House bills are actually passing through the Senate in a fashion not seen in several years. This could mean more bills being passed which could be good and could be bad. Let’s all remember, just because someone wrote a bill doesn’t mean it should be a law.
A bill that had not been passed for several years and needed to be finally passed both houses this week. Senator Jabo Waggoner and Representative Paul DeMarco wrote identical bills that placed regulations on the transportation of steel coils on State Highways. These heavy coils fall off and tear up our roads, but fortunately have not killed anyone to date. Now with stricter laws, these coils shouldn’t fall off any longer thanks to the House passing Senator Waggoner’s version of the bill.
For other news on the Shelby County Delegation front, things are relatively quiet for the moment. There does not seem to be any significant news on the issues that have been brought up in weeks past, but they most likely will not stay that way. I will keep you updated in the weeks to come.
Sticking with controversy, the first Bingo Bill passed a House committee this week and will certainly catch some publicity along the way. It would allow for bingo machines in several counties around the state in specific establishments. The bill would set a 20% tax on the machines. The proposal will first have to pass with a vote of at least 63 of the 104 members of the state House of Representatives and then 21 of the 32 in the Senate before being considered by the Alabama voters. With the amount of opposition already see, it is unlikely these events will occur.
Lastly, a bill I read about this week that truly intrigued me involves our 9 electoral votes. As many of you know, at this time whichever presidential candidate receives a majority vote statewide, they receive all 9 of our electoral votes. The bill would split those votes among the candidates proportionately based on the percentage they receive in the statewide vote. The House committee that passed the bill voted down party lines and I would expect Republicans in the House to strongly oppose the bill when it comes up for debate later in the session. Non-the-less it’s still interesting to think about and consider the most appropriate way to elect our highest official.
That’s all I have for now, I hope you enjoyed my shortened version. Have a wonderful weekend.
MAR
6
Legislative Update: The week of March 2 through March 6, 2009
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Welcome to March and Spring. We are officially into the second month of the current session and things are moving right along. Of course, as some of us have begun to learn, it doesn’t quite move along the way we think it does. I have a friend whose son served as a page in the House of Representatives a few weeks ago and he was completely taken by surprise. Based on the proposed schedule, he thought we would be on the House floor for long periods at a time, when in reality it was a total of about 3 hours on Tuesday and 3 hours on Thursday. Even committee day left him underwhelmed with things to do. I think what my friends son and most of us can learn from this is that the majority of the work, the debating, posturing, positioning and decision making is done outside of the House floor.
This seems to have actually been a slower week than some, or at least a quieter week than others. There were quite a number of bills passed that lack the publicity of some big ones. It’s not that some of these bills, or all of them, aren’t important, they just lack the controversy of some others. Our own Legislators had a few bills of this nature. State Representative Jim McClendon had several bills that passed Tuesday that dealt with issues like the Optometry Board, Medical Licensure, and Elevator Safety. State Representative Cam Ward had several bills up for debate yesterday. They related to uniformity in limited partnerships, and real estate training and licensure.
Alcohol
It seems as though alcohol is a big topic these days in Shelby County, I hear about it often in my office and several important bills to always be at the forefront of public debate. Firs the simple one, the Gourmet Beer Bill that would increase the percentage of alcohol allowed in beer. This would allow for higher end beers to be sold in our state. As of this week they House passed this bill. There is also a Senate bill that almost identical. We will have to wait and see if one of them can pass the other house. A similar bill that would do the same thing with wine has been sponsored by our own State Representative Greg Canfield. This bill was scheduled to come to the House floor yesterday and is now going to committee in the Senate.
Locally, there is an update in Sunday alcohol sales on our county. It’s a small update, but if it affects you and your business it’s something you will want to know. It is understood that this could affect the economy of our county even further and many legislators and even the governor are working on a compromise that would allow for a grandfather clause in the existing laws. This would most likely allow existing restaurants that are already operating under both licenses to continue doing so. Continued patience will be required.
Education
I read a very interesting article yesterday regarding a bill that would basically give teachers greater reign on teaching “the full range of scientific views” on certain controversial topics. This bill, almost surprisingly, is greatly supported by the Christian Coalition of Alabama and other anti-evolution groups. The Education Policy Committee tabled the bill, but it’s very interesting to look at. Our own Superintendent, Randy Fuller was asked a few questions for the article. In regard to the bill Fuller says, “This bill would take away the control of the curriculum and give it to the teachers.” So the bill actually asks another question of us all. Not whether or not we should include creation and evolution in our classrooms, but who should make that decision? Should teachers control what they teach and have no repercussions about that content? Or, should they be held to a strict curriculum mandated by the state or local education departments? To read the full article click here
Stimulus Money
Okay, so I don’t usually touch on national issues, and I’m still not, it just looks that way. As many of you know, Governor Riley has stated that he is turning down a portion of President Obama’s stimulus money. The portion he is turning down is tagged for unemployment benefits. Senator Rodger Smitherman wants to introduce a bill that would override the governor and accept the bill. According to this article each is supporting a special interest group. Riley is acting on behalf of business that states the money would force the state to raise taxes while Smitherman is defending Labor groups.
For further information on legislation and Alabama politics in general visit the following websites. The first is the Alabama State legislative website and the other is a forum for all things politics in Alabama. Have a great weekend.
ALISON
Doc’s Political Parlor
Stephen Frey
Legislative Director

February 2009

2010-01-14T13:09:00.001-08:00

Legislative Update: The week of February 23 through February 27, 2009
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For those that don’t know, this is my first year back in Alabama in nearly 10 years. While gone, I forgot what this time of year was like. When the power went out in my office today for the second time in two weeks, I was very clearly reminded. So…I am writing from home. That’s right, commitment at its finest. I had this thing almost finished, but the power never came back on at the office, so here we go. I may keep this short.
It appears that we here in Shelby County continue to stay in the headlines, even if those headlines aren’t as negative as our counterpart to the north. On Tuesday, Governor Riley flew to Shelby County and brought four members of our delegation back with him. The press conference/rally was intended for the Governor to take a stand against illegal gambling in Alabama, but if you were there, the speech that will be remembered was from our own Senator Hank Erwin. Senator Erwin became very animated and reiterated Riley’s call that gambling of any kind is illegal in our state. Amidst the fun and excitement a few facts jumped out at me. One, gambling takes place all over the state disguised as “bingo.” Two, many legislators attempt to pass local bills that would normally be uncontested in order to legalize gambling in their county. This seems like a slick move, but one that is not going to work anytime soon. Third, and lastly, Governor Riley stated that there is an estimated $675 million spent on illegal gambling in our state each year. His agenda is to clamp down on illegal gambling and hope that this money is then spent in legal avenues that bring revenue to the state. Tuesday night in Pelham was certainly not one to miss.
The Governor has also made a sincere call this week for ethics reform in our state. This is an important cause that our own State Representative Cam Ward has taken under his wing. He proposed a bill to give subpoena power to the Ethics Commission. There are several other bills that relate to ethics reform that we all know is much needed in our state and hope that it will clean up our state government. Some of this legislation and the Governors’ suggestions would also make our state government more transparent. To see more go to this article in the Birmingham News.
Focusing in other areas besides Riley, the Jefferson County Bill that would allow the County Commission to hire a county manager has passed the house and will now go to the Senate. The House also passed a graduated licensing system for young drivers that gives further restrictions to those young drivers that have restricted drivers’ licenses. There are also two members of our delegation, Sate Representative Jim McClendon and Senator Jabo Waggoner that have introduced bills that would disallow texting while driving. McClendon’s bill has passed the house and goes to the Senate while Waggoner’s bill has gone through committee but has yet to come to the Senate floor and must still pass both houses. Either way, it looks like many of us will have to stop texting in the car very shortly.
To end my little update, many of you have called in reference to Sunday alcohol sales. So much so that I feel I must address the situation again. I will not go into detail about the situation, for more information you can call the office or email me. However, you should know that at this point there is NO pending legislation that would allow the sale of alcohol on Sunday in Shelby County. That is the bottom line and where things stand for now. If there is any change, I will certainly make the change known.
Hopefully the weather and my time will agree to allow for a better update next week. Have a wonderful weekend.
Stephen Frey
Legislative Director
FEB
20
Legislative Update: The week of February 16 through February 20, 2009
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I spent my first day of this particular session in Montgomery yesterday. Running around the State House like chicken with his head cut off is much more exciting than sitting in my office in Pelham, but it is much hard to get a grasp on the entire day’s happenings when you are doing various tasks for the Legislators. None-the-less I have some updates for you and a few bills and a few happening around the State House that you all might enjoy.
I am going to take a different spin on the Shelby County section today. While I know there are a few bills that affect us, let’s talk about the bills that are specific to our Northern neighbors that only prove how much better of a county we really are. The Jefferson County Delegation approved a bill this week that will give the county commission authorization to hire a county manager, a form of county government that has proved to work very well here in Shelby County. The bill only gives permission, but also mandates that the commission begin its search within 12 months of passage of the bill. I only hope that the Jefferson County Commission can be as level headed as their elected counterparts in Montgomery.
There were a few good bills that will affect the entire state that passed this week. A senate committee approved a bill by Senator Vivian Davis Figures (D-Mobile) that would ban smoking in public places. You may remember this bill from last year. It gained a tremendous amount of attention and promises to do so again this year.
The bill that passed the Senate last week allowing for stronger alcohol content in beer also passed a House Committee this week. Other bills that passed House Committees this week will make it easier for third party candidates to get on the ballot – Cam Ward (R-Alabaster) and will create stricter qualifications for judges – Paul DeMarco (R-Homewood). State Representative Jim McClendon’s bill that bans texting while driving passed through the House of Representatives and his bill to outlaw using handheld cell phones while driving passed through a House Committee.
In exciting news, Senator Jabo Waggoner’s (R-Vestavia Hills) bill that regulates the transportation of steel coils over state highways passed the Senate this week, but not without some controversy. This bill had been introduced before only to be held up by Senator Phil Poole (D-Moundville). Senator Poole was not present during the vote for Senator Waggoner’s bill that passed overwhelmingly 27-0. When the Senate reconvened on Thursday Senator Pool began his one-man filibuster against Senator Waggoner and began by reading an Ethics Complaint and made threats of not backing down. The Senate adjourned at 12:45 on Thursday. Now you know why things don’t get accomplished in the Senate. Well, at least they keep it exciting.
Thanks for reading and have a great weekend. See you next week.

Stephen Frey
Legislative Director
FEB
13
Legislative Update: The week of February 9 through February 13, 2009
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As I sit here and stare at my notes I wonder what on earth was going through my head when I wrote them. Not only can I not read my own hand writing a day later, but I am befuddled by the supposed order that I wrote them in. Which in the end means that this blog is as much for me to get handle on the past week’s happenings in the Legislature as it is for you. Like most weeks in the Alabama Legislature, a lot happened, but we still need to keep in mind that it is very early in the session and most of these bills still have a LONG way to go before becoming law. To understand the legislative process better please see the tab on the left hand side of our website. www.shelbycolo.com
In Shelby County
There was some notable legislation this week that directly affects us here in Shelby County. There was also some talk around town of future legislation that could drastically change Shelby County, but we will see where that goes. A bill passed the House this week that would allow the process of building toll roads and bridges in Alabama a streamlined process. The process would use bonds to fund joint public-private projects. Shelby County has been looking at building elevated lanes on Highway 280 for years now and this legislation could be the kick start that project needs.
A bill has also been introduced in the house that would greatly affect our hospital dilemma in Shelby County. Representative Mike Ball (R-Madison) has introduced a bill that would abolish the Certificate of Need process that has bogged down the construction of many needed hospitals across the state. In this Birmingham News article it is obvious that this bill itself will not go through, but Mr. Ball and others hope that we can at least streamline the process and save the state both money and valuable time.
If you paid attention at all this week, you will have seen that Hoover Mayor, Tony Petelos made a tongue-in-cheek- comment on Monday about the City of Hoover defecting to Shelby County. While it may not have been serious at the time, the media ran with the comment and it became big news. If it ever did become a serious notion I understand that the resolution would have to pass both houses by a 2/3 majority and I just can’t ever see that actually happening. Sorry Hoover, Shelby might be the far better county, but I think you’re stuck in Jefferson.
Around the State
Notable legislation on the state level include such ethics bills as the one passed by the House this week that would prevent Political Action Committees (PAC’s) from moving money from one PAC to another. Right now it is very easy move money around during campaigns and therefore makes it difficult to know where campaign contributions are coming from. This is the seventh year in a row this legislation has passed through the House, but has never gotten through the Senate. It died on the last night of last year’s session.
Another bill with a similar past is the Gourmet Beer Bill. This year it was started in the Senate and passed through committee this week without descent. Currently the law states that beer with more than 6% alcohol content is prohibited from being sold. The bill would raise the allotment of alcohol content in beer to 13.9%.
Other bills that ran through the House are all but one Sunset Law which is held up in committee still. Many energy bills passed this week also, much more to come on this in the future.
From our Delegation
State Representative Cam Ward (R-Alabaster) had significant legislation pass through committee this week. His bill to give the Ethics Commission the power of subpoena was sent to the House of Representatives by the House Judiciary Committee. Passage of the bill will require an uphill battle but is much needed and far overdue. To read a full article on the bill please click here. Mr. Ward also introduced a bill that would create a 7 member Transportation Board that would oversee transportation needs across the state including public transit.
Also of note is the support that Representative Greg Canfield (R- Vestavia Hills) Senator Steve French (R- Mountain Brook) are receiving on their bills to change education funding. The bills would “limit change in appropriated Education Trust Fund revenues in an upcoming year to the average change in revenues for the previous 15 years.” To read more see this article.
Once again, I know there was no way I covered everything or went into great depth on all the legislation, but I hope you got a glimpse of what happened this week. I hope I didn’t bore you. Oh, and the Senate started out the same way under their new President Pro Tempore as they ended with the old one. See Representative Ward’s blog for an insider’s look. Have a great weekend; I look forward to next week.
Stephen Frey
Legislative Director
FEB
6
Legislative Update: The Week of February 2 – February 6, 2009
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As promised, this is the first installment of our weekly Legislative Updates. If you check back in on Friday of each week, you will be able to see highlights from the week’s action in the Alabama Legislature. Not all bills or every topic will be addressed each week, but we hope to give you an outline of what happened and to be specific on the big issues and what our Shelby County Delegation has been up to during the week. We truly hope you find this update beneficial and we welcome any concerns or comments that you might have.
First things first, for the Senate to properly function, and we all hope that they can properly function, they were in need of electing a new Senate President Pro Tempore and did so by casting their votes 18-12 in favor of Senator Rodger Smitherman (D-Birmingham). The 12 opposing votes, all from Republicans except one were cast for our very own Senator Jabo Wagoner (R-Vestavia Hills). Both men were very gracious following the election, and we all hope and pray that this will lead to our Senate working together for a better Alabama.
Calls coming into the office this week were on several specific topics. The first of these is about the budget and how to bring in more revenue for our state. Thank you for all of your ideas, our Legislators are doing all they can to be creative and help the Alabama economy. I know there will be plenty more to say on this in the weeks and months to come. Next, were calls about the issue on Sunday alcohol sales in Shelby County, but as of now there has been nothing to come from our delegation and it does not appear that anything will in the near future. We may be stuck with our current laws, and the way the ABC board interprets them for some time. Lastly, were calls regarding HB 146 which would help to further fund the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for the testing of DNA. Currently this department is 80% funded by the Federal government but has no guarantee of maintaining this funding under the new administration. ADFS has an excellent track record and reputation around the country, but still have around 1,800 backlogs in DNA related crimes. Without funding these and other crimes will not be solved.
We have also seen our Shelby County Legislators in the news recently. Representative Jim McClendon (R-Springville) introduced a bill that would outlaw texting while driving. The fine for an initial violation would be $25. The bill passed the Public Safety Committee but Representative McClendon’s bill to ban the use of handheld phones while driving did not. Representative Cam Ward (R-Alabaster) has also made the news this week with his bill to give the Ethics Committee power of subpoena. We are currently the only state in the union whose Ethics Committee does not currently have this power. Just as Governor Riley in his State of the State address, Mr. Ward says we need to focus on, “ethics, ethics, ethics.” Lastly, Representative Greg Canfield has announced his intentions of filing a bill known as the Education Trust Fund Rolling Reserve Budget Act that would eliminate proration and create sustainable growth in education funding. To see Mr. Canfield’s bill click here. There will be more on this in the weeks to come.
On a state wide level there were a few bills that passed committee yesterday that will surely get a lot of attention over the next few months. First, the Education Appropriations committee passed a bill yesterday that would take the 4 percent state sales tax off of most groceries and would save money for single people making less than $50,000 a year and for married couples making less than $100,000 a year. Our Representative Mary Sue McClurkin voted against the bill in committee and was quoted by the Birmingham News saying that she “dislikes the idea of people paying state incomes tax on money they pay to the federal government.” For further information click here to see the article.
Also, the House Constitution and Elections Committee passed a bill that would allow voters in Alabama to vote early by means of absentee ballot. Secretary of State (and Shelby Counties own) Beth Chapman is quoted in a Birmingham News article endorsing early voting, but is skeptical about doing it by absentee ballot because of the potential ease of voter fraud. Click here to see the Birmingham News article.
Over the course of this 2009 session the layout and quality of this weekly update will hopefully improve greatly. Until then, I hope you have found this to be helpful and informational. Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy our warm February weekend.
Stephen Frey
Legislative Director