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Governor Bentley left Montgomery in shame on Monday after pleading guilty to two ethics violations as part of a plea deal that spared him the further humiliation of impeachment by the legislature and potential indictment by a grand jury. Governor Kay Ivey, in assuming the reins of government proclaimed Monday to be "both a dark day in Alabama, but yet also an opportunity." Pledging honesty and transparency, Ivey closed the door on the scandal-plagued Bentley administration.
Many legislative observers had feared that the pending impeachment or his resignation would lead to the effective end of the legislation session. Luckily, this week proved them wrong as there was very little disruption caused by the transition and few legislators showed any interest in continuing to discuss the past administration.
The HBAA-backed HB 341 by Rep. Steve McMillan (R-Bay Minette) was on the calendar for Tuesday afternoon in the House. These revisions to the Home Builder Licensure Board were placed as number 11 on the calendar of 15 bills. Unfortunately, by convening at 4:30 pm the House only got through the first 5 bills on the calendar before adjourning for the day around 7:00 pm. Representative McMillan has asked that it be placed back on the calendar for one day next week.
On Thursday, the House took up the Gas Tax legislation. After a prolonged debate on the calendar, the measure was called to the floor. Despite the best efforts of Rep. Bill Poole (R-Tuscaloosa) the bill could not get enough votes to pass the Budget Isolation Resolution necessary to bring the bill up for a vote. A short time later, Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon announced that the tax on gas and fuel to pay for infrastructure improvements was dead and there would be no more gas tax issues during this quadrennium.
Having failed to pass the gas tax, the House voted to adjourn a few hours after the Senate had adjourned for the week. The Senate moved through several pieces of legislation this week including SB 319 by Senator Tim Melson (R-Florence). His bill requires that a builder disclose whether he has liability insurance in his contract with a homeowner.
In other happenings, HBAA and HBLB staff, along with Senator Steve Livingston (R-Scottsboro), met with Senator Phil Williams (R-Gadsden) on Wednesday to address his concerns with SB 268. Senator Williams expressed concern with provisions of the bill he felt might run afoul of the State's corporation statutes. He also expressed some concern with the low threshold. HBLB staff attorneys drafted alternative language to address his concerns on several points. Insurance industry representatives and HBAA staff will be meeting to discuss the threshold issue in the coming days. The measure is scheduled to return to the Senate Committee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development next Wednesday.
Fast Facts Number of Bills Introduced: 860 Number of Legislative Days Remaining: 13
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