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TUESDAY MORNING LEGISLATIVE LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE MEETINGS
The BCA Governmental Affairs Committee will NOT have a guest speaker on Tuesday, May 7; however, BCA's Intergovernmental Affairs and Advocacy staff will be available at 8:30 a.m. in the first-floor auditorium of the Business Center of Alabama, 2 N. Jackson St., Montgomery, to discuss bills of interest to the committee. Refreshments will be served.
Contact Pam Ware for more information.
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HOUSE PASSES OMNIBUS GUN BILL
As expected, the House of Representatives on Thursday took up the substitute to SB 286, Sen. Scott Beason's omnibus gun bill. After hours of debate, the bill by the Gardendale Republican passed 74-27 with bipartisan support.
It now goes back to the Senate which can either concur with the House version or non-concur and send the bill to a conference committee. Three working days remain in the 2013 regular legislative session that must end on or before May 20.
Although groups representing law enforcement and district attorneys were staunchly opposed to the Senate version, the House version struck a compromise with these groups and the National Rifle Association, the main group pushing changes to Alabama's gun laws. The Business Council of Alabama maintained its opposition based on the principle that property owners should be able to set their own policies on their property without government interference.
Following the passage of SB 286, BCA President and CEO William J. Canary released the following statement:
"As we consistently have stated, three conditions were presented in order for the BCA to support this bipartisan legislation: absolute immunity from civil liability for businesses; equal application to everyone in Alabama; and an opt-out provision. Two of these three have been accomplished.
"The BCA strongly maintains that all amendments to the Constitution of the United States are applied equally, with none having precedence over another. The Fifth Amendment rights of property owners are equally as important as the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
"While we appreciate the significant efforts made in the Alabama House of Representatives by the House leadership and the House sponsor to protect businesses from this government mandate as best as possible, this legislation falls short of our support."
As substituted, SB 286 mandates that business owners cannot set policies to prevent employees from keeping pistols or long-guns - shotguns or rifles for hunting - stored out of sight and locked in their vehicles on company property. The House version requires that employees who keep a pistol in their vehicle must have a concealed-carry permit and any long guns must remain unloaded.
Alabama businesses would receive complete immunity from any civil action resulting from illegal use of a firearm on company property. BCA has consistently advocated for this protection since before the session began (read the February issue of The Business Advocate).
The bill also would allow lifetime gun permitting with some exceptions and with a post-issuance repeal. Additionally, it would allow transporting of unloaded firearms without a concealed-weapon permit as long as the firearm is out of reach of a vehicle's occupants. To read more about the changes the bill makes to Alabama's gun laws, see Kim Chandler's AL.com story.
On the floor, the House sponsor, Rep. Ed Henry, R-Hartselle, said those working on the bill were sensitive to the conflict between the rights of gun owners and the rights of property owners. Numerous legislators at the microphone expressed concerns over the effect on business owners, but it became clear during debate that the politics of the day, including fears of federal gun control, were driving this issue. The heavy, bipartisan support clearly indicated that few were willing to oppose the NRA and other gun-rights groups.
Rep. Phil Williams, R-Monrovia, said that while he is a strong supporter of the second Amendment, he ran for office on the platform of "the three E's: Ethics, Economic Development and Education." Because this bill would likely prevent international companies with facilities in Alabama from expanding in the future, he said he could not support it.
Odd debate on unrelated gun bill
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed a completely unrelated constitutional amendment that, if ratified by Alabama voters, would require state courts to apply a "strict scrutiny" standard on any gun control measures that may be passed in the future.
HB 8 by Rep. Mike Jones, R-Andalusia, which is part of the Republican "We Dare Defend Our Rights" platform, was discussed at length earlier in the session. When it was brought up at the "call of the chair" on Tuesday, the House majority quickly moved to cloture to prevent a filibuster.
This move provoked an angry response from House Minority Leader Craig Ford, D-Gadsden, who in a press release strangely directed his frustration at the BCA's Canary.
According to the release, Rep. Ford was upset because he was unable to attach an amendment to HB 8 that would require businesses to allow guns in their parking lots. It is unclear why Rep. Ford wanted to add this amendment to a bill that had nothing to do guns in the parking lot especially given that just days before in the House Commerce Committee, he voted for the Omnibus Gun bill - SB 286 - which contained a similar provision.
It was no secret that the Omnibus Gun Bill containing the parking-lot language was coming up for a vote this week, so it begs the question, what was Rep. Ford trying to accomplish with his amendment other than play politics? Even more confusing is the fact that Rep. Ford voted for HB 8 and subsequently released his scathing press release criticizing it.
The official statement from House Minority Leader Ford following passage of
HB 8:
"Since February, Alabama Democrats have made it publicly known that we had an amendment for House Bill 8 that would protect an employee's right to store their firearm in their vehicle while at work. But today, Republicans in the Alabama legislature showed their true values when they voted to cut off debate before our amendment could be offered.
"When pushed to make a choice, the Republicans in the Alabama legislature chose Billy Canary over the people of Alabama's Second Amendment rights. The Republicans chose to put their biggest campaign contributor's desires ahead of the safety and best interests of the people of Alabama.
"At the end of the day, we see that it is Alabama Democrats - not the Republicans in Montgomery - who will stand up for the Second Amendment."
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SENATE COMMITTEE TAKES UP TIPAC BILL
The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday took up HB 227 by Rep. Paul DeMarco, R-Homewood. Known as the TIPAC bill (Transparency in Private Attorney Contracting), it would require a state contracting agency to make a written determination that contingency fee counsel is cost effective and in the public interest. The legislation requires a contracting agency to request proposals from private counsel, with certain exceptions.
In order to rein in excessive attorneys fees, the bill sets tiers for contingency fees as a percent of recovered amounts ranging from 25 percent to 1 percent. To ensure that the private plaintiff's firm is acting in the best interests of the state, and not in the interest of their own profit, the legislation requires government attorneys to maintain control of cases and any settlement decisions.
Transparency is achieved through the requirement that a copy of the executed fee contract be posted online. In addition, the private attorney must maintain time records and keep detailed records of expenses, disbursements, etc., for four years after the contract terminates.
The committee gave the bill a favorable report, and it received its second reading in the Senate on Thursday afternoon. Two weeks ago, the House passed HB 227 with bipartisan support 69-26.
The BCA has been advancing this model legislation, which has already been introduced in more than a dozen state legislatures and successfully implemented in states like Florida, Indiana, and Mississippi and is a top priority for the U.S. Chamber's Institute for Legal Reform.
The BCA strongly supports this legislation.
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MEDICAID OVERHAUL BILLS CONTINUE TO ADVANCE
The Senate version of the Medicaid overhaul bill was favorably reported by the House Health Committee on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee favorably reported two Medicaid-related bills, HBs 562 and 605, and sent them to the full Senate.
SB 340 by Sen. Greg Reed, R-Jasper, is the primary Medicaid overhaul bill that was favorably reported. Reed's bill is first on the proposed Special Order Calendar when the House reconvenes on Tuesday.
The Senate had passed the bill on April 25. The House version, HB 454, by Rep. Jim McClendon, R-Springville, passed the House on April 23.
The Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee on Wednesday favorably approved HBs 562 and 605 that relate to voluntary Medicaid provider taxes or assessments. Both are sponsored by Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark.
HB 562 would extend the Medicaid nursing home supplemental privilege assessment and monthly surcharge for two years. HB 605 would extend the hospital Medicaid assessment for three fiscal years but would allow for a change after two years if Congress makes changes.
The Business Council of Alabama supports Medicaid reform to ensure long-term sustainability and to control costs by improving efficiency, addressing fraud and abuse, and ensuring access to quality health care for citizens.
SB 340 would require Medicaid to set up regional care organizations where providers would manage the health care of approximately 940,000 Medicaid recipients and avoid costly emergency room visits for routine care. Regional care organizations will have to be set up by Oct. 1.
The bill if it becomes law will allow the Medicaid Agency to contract with regional care organizations to provide medical services to Medicaid recipients in yet-to-be-determined geographical areas in exchange for a negotiated payment per patient.
Reed and McClendon along with State Health Officer Dr. Don Williamson have effectively explained Medicaid changes, setting the stage for probable passage in the waning days of the 2013 regular legislative session.
"I think it's important because it will improve the quality of care, it will move us from paying for visits and volume to outcomes and quality," Williamson said. "You will over a five-year period save $50 to $75 million state dollars."
In addition, the House passed HBs 370 and 371 by Rep. Greg Wren, R-Montgomery, but they had not been assigned to a Senate committee on Thursday.
HB 370 would cap the amount of General Fund dollars appropriated to the Medicaid Agency beginning Oct. 1, 2016, the Legislative Fiscal Office said. HB 371 would authorize the Medicaid Agency to seek a waiver from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to increase Medicaid recipient co-payments on Medicaid health care services.
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HOUSE PASSES BILL TO AMEND THE ALABAMA ACCOUNTABILITY ACT
Supporters used a cloture petition to end debate, and shortly thereafter, the House passed HB 658, by Rep. Jim Carns, R-Vestavia Hills, on a vote of 62 to 40. The bill clarifies that under the Alabama Accountability Act, no public or nonpublic school is required to enroll any student attempting to transfer from a failing school. The bill moves now to the Senate for consideration, where a related but more detailed bill, SB 360, by Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, is on the Senate regular calendar.
SB 360 provides further clarifications and facilitates the implementation the Alabama Accountability Act by providing that: 1) no public or nonpublic school is required to enroll any student who attempts to transfer from a failing school; 2) the parents of a student who is either enrolled or assigned to attend a failing school will qualify for the tax credit; 3) a "failing school" is defined as one that has rated in the bottom 10 percent on the state standardized assessment in reading and math for three or more times in the last six years; 4) the student seeking a transfer from a failing school shall first attempt to enroll in a non-failing public school within the same school system; and 5) scholarship granting organizations may award scholarships to students in failing schools whose family income is not more than three times the federal poverty level. The bill also specifies that the tax credit to scholarship donors shall equal 100 percent of the contributions (originally 50 percent in the Accountability Act) made to a scholarship granting organization, with the aggregate cap of scholarship credit not to exceed $25 million.
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SESSION'S FINAL GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE SPEAKER WAS GOVERNOR'S LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR
Governor Robert Bentley's legislative director on Tuesday summed up the 2013 regular legislative session for the Business Council of Alabama's Governmental Affairs Committee.
With five legislative days remaining in the scheduled 30-day session, Legislative Director Blaine Galliher said most of the BCA and the administration's important issues have passed or are in position to pass. They include school accountability, red tape reduction, consolidation of the state's law enforcement and information technology departments.
The session cannot last beyond May 20.
Galliher said the promises Bentley and legislative leaders made to voters are being or have been accomplished. Specifically, he said, the legislature kept it and Bentley's promise to begin repaying the $437 million that voters approved taking from the Alabama Trust Fund last September to prop up the ailing General Fund that finances regular government operations.
"That was important," said Galliher, who was a Republican House member from Rainbow City when Bentley tapped him as his legislative director last year.
Galliher also said that bills important to the BCA are moving. The outside attorney contingency fee bill by Rep. Paul DeMarco, R-Homewood, is in the Senate. "We're looking forward to working with you to make sure that important piece of legislation is passed," Galliher said. The BCA supports the bill.
Galliher served in the House for 18 years including two terms with Bentley, a former House member from Tuscaloosa. Galliher's duties as legislative director include influencing the governor's bills in the House and Senate. The Republican-dominated legislature has been largely receptive to Republican Bentley's interests.
The school accountability bill that passed will allow parents to move their children from certain failing schools and receive tax credits. "We think this will offer a lot of opportunities for failing schools to turn around," he said.
Medicaid reform "is a big issue," said Galliher, who thanked BCA Governmental Affairs Committee members for helping with the bill. SB 340, the Medicaid reform bill by Sen. Greg Reed, R-Jasper, was approved by the House Health Committee on Wednesday and sent to the full House. The BCA supports the bill.
Galliher said the "old model" of Medicaid was financially inefficient because it was based on a fee-for-service system that required more federal and state dollars. "We had to change that reimbursement system," he said.
Consolidating the state's law enforcement functions, creating an IT cabinet secretary position to oversee state technology, and consolidating all fleet purchasing and maintenance will save millions of dollars, Galliher said.
Galliher lauded the successful transfer of the Alabama Industrial Training Institute to the Department of Commerce to aid industry recruiting. He said he plans to work on strengthening the Alabama Technology Network and college and career readiness to aid in training the current and future generation of highly skilled employees.
Galliher cited the importance of limited-tort liability legislation passed for Airbus that announced last year it will build a passenger airliner assembly facility in Mobile, creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
"This put us on the tort level playing field with (competitors) Mississippi and Florida," Galliher said. "(Airbus) will have a large say in where Tier One and Tier Two suppliers are located."
Galliher said Bentley believes that creating jobs will help the state government budgets and overall economy. "The governor is committed to economic development," Galliher said.
"We've had some good success already," Galliher said. "It's been a great working relationship with the House leadership and the Senate leadership and the governor."
Galliher was the final scheduled Governmental Affairs Committee speaker this regular session.
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TIMELY PAYMENT BILL ADVANCES IN SENATE
The Senate on Tuesday approved SB 237 that would require public agencies to quickly pay invoices submitted by contractors on most public works projects. The Senate voting 30-0 with one abstention passed the bill sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, and sent it to the House. It was assigned to the Committee on Transportation, Utilities and Infrastructure.
The bill requires public agencies to pay invoices submitted by contractors within 35 days of receiving the invoice. Alabama Department of Transportation public road and bridge projects and Alabama Building Commission contracts would be excluded from the payment time limit.
Small contractors told the sponsor of the House version, HB 303, Rep. Bill Roberts, R-Jasper, that some government agencies did not pay invoices promptly after they were submitted. Roberts is on the House Committee on Transportation, Utilities and Infrastructure.
Marsh's bill contains language that contracts must state whether funds to pay an invoice are available or whether funds will be available only after work is completed.
Would-be bidders armed with this knowledge would be able to decide whether to waive the right to speedy payment by bidding on the project. Once the funds become available, the 35-day clock would start ticking.
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TAX CREDITS FOR THE RESTORATION OF HISTORIC STRUCTURES SENT TO GOVERNOR
On Thursday, the Alabama Senate passed HB 140, by Rep. Victor Gaston, R-Mobile, by a vote of 28-1. The bill provides a tax credit of 25 percent of the qualified rehabilitation expenditures that improve "certified historic structures" and it provides a tax credit of 10 percent of the qualified rehabilitation expenditures made to improve "qualified pre-1936 non-historic structures." The aggregate annual cap of all credits allowed for historic structures shall not exceed $30 million. Upon the enactment of this legislation, Alabama would join 31 other states that have established tax credits for the preservation of historic structures. Supporters of this legislation credit it for promoting the restoration of communities and job growth in those states.
The BCA supports this legislation, which now will be transmitted to the governor.
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| This week, the Senate Quarry Bill, SB 457 by Sen. Shadrack McGill, R-Woodville, was the subject of a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Local Legislation, but the committee did not vote on the bill. This legislation would prohibit a new rock quarry, concrete plant or asphalt plant from being established within 2 1/2 miles of an existing school in unincorporated parts of Madison County. The Birmingham News covered the public hearing on the bill. The BCA is opposed to this legislation. |
The Birmingham Water Board bill, SB 460 by Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, received a favorable report from the Senate Commerce, Transportation, and Utilities Committee. The House companion of this bill, HB 647 by Rep. Paul DeMarco, R-Homewood, was the subject of a public hearing in the House Committee on County and Municipal Government last week. The House bill was scheduled for a vote in committee this week, but the committee failed to meet due to the lack of a quorum.
This bill would apply to municipal water works boards that serve water customers in two or more counties other than the one where the authorizing municipality is principally located. The legislation would: 1) provide for the appointment to the board of an additional member by the county commission of each county where water customers are served, other than the county where the authorizing municipality is principally located; 2) limit the term of all board members to two, six-year terms; 3) limit the compensation and expense allowance of board members; 4) specify that the board members would be covered by the State Ethics Law; and 5) provide for notice and a public hearing prior to the board adopting any rate increase.
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The General Fund Budget, SB 143 by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, was passed by the House, and a conference committee has been appointed to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. BCA supports a properly funded Alabama Department of Environmental Management, and the bills include increased appropriations compared to the budget recommended by the governor.
Unfortunately, the House-passed bill decreased the amount of funding from the General Fund to ADEM by $550,000, compared to the Senate-passed version. If additional funds are not included in the budget for ADEM, Director Lance LeFleur has stated he will seek a permit fee increase to fill any gaps.
Also, the language inserted in the budget, under the Geological Survey of Alabama, would expand the water assessments to include both surface and ground water assessments and require the effort to be in coordination with the Office of Water Resources.
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YOUR BCA ADVOCACY TEAM
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For more information on the Business Council of Alabama contact Elaine Fincannon at elainef@bcatoday.org |
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