In what many, including Gov. Bob Riley, are calling “historic,” Alabama lawmakers approved a major ethics reform package of seven bills that is geared to hinder political corruption.
After Riley called a special session Dec. 8 for his proposed bills to be considered, the Legislature passed the last bill at 3 a.m. Dec. 16.
“Passing any one of these reforms would have meant a tremendous positive change for the way the people’s business is conducted in Montgomery,” Riley said in a press release. “Passing all seven of these reforms represents a sea change of historic proportions and will make Alabama the new standard for ethical government in the United States.
“In just one week, Alabama has gone from having some of the weakest ethics laws in the country to having some of the strongest,” he continued. “The passage of these bills will usher in a new era of transparent, accountable and responsive government in Alabama that can begin the work of restoring the public’s trust.”
The bills come only two months after 11 lawmakers, gambling bosses and lobbyists were arrested Oct. 4 in a FBI “bingo” probe investigation on charges of conspiracy, bribery and other fraudulent practices. The trial is set for April 4.
“This was a reaction to what happened with the indictments,” said Joe Godfrey, executive director of the Alabama Citizens Action Program. “That’s what really motivated the people of Alabama. [They] said, ‘We have had enough of this kind of junk.’ The legislators knew (this) and ran to clean up Alabama politics.”
The people of Alabama first made their voice heard in the Nov. 2 election, voting for candidates they thought would clean up Montgomery, added Godfrey, who attended the special session. “And they did.”
At press time, Riley planned to sign the bills into law Dec. 20.
• Senate Bill 1, which gives the Alabama Ethics Commission subpoena power. This means they will have the power to call witnesses and require them to take an oath and provide evidence, whereas they could not do any of this before. Most state ethics commissions already have this power.
• Senate Bill 2, which will ban state and local governmental employees, political action committees (PACs) and any other governmental agency from using payroll deductions to pay dues for organizations that use funds for political activities. This includes the Alabama Education Association and the Alabama State Employees Association.
• Senate Bill 3, also known as the “Legislative Double Dipping Prohibition Act,” which with some exceptions will ban state legislators from holding a public office, such as a job at a state agency, college or public school, while also serving as a senator or representative. This will go into effect after late 2014.
(In related news, the Alabama Supreme Court said no Dec. 17 to the Alabama Education Association’s request to rehear a case that banned double dipping at two-year colleges. The high court had unanimously ruled in October to uphold the state school board’s ban, meaning legislators cannot hold a second or third tax-payer funded job in the two-year college system while also serving as a legislator.)
• House Bill 9, which will ban transfers of money between PACs and other groups. PAC-to-PAC transfers can launder money and hide from the public the source of a candidate’s campaign money.
• House Bill 10, which will ban “pass-through-pork” spending. This refers to the practice of a legislator spending state money that has been allocated to an agency or school on something else that has not been clearly marked in a budget.
• House Bill 11, which mandates that (many) elected officials and public employees at all levels of government receive training on the state ethics law. It also requires anyone who tries to solicit the executive or judicial branches in the awarding of a grant or contract to register as a lobbyist.
• Senate Bill 14, which will limit (with exceptions) the amount of what a lobbyist can spend on a legislator. Before a lobbyist could spend $250 per day per legislator. Now a lobbyist can spend no more than $150 a year per legislator, according to the Ethics Commission.
“[These bills] won’t alleviate corruption, but it will certainly make it harder for corruption to exist in our state, and that’s always good for Alabama,” Godfrey said.
Alabama’s Attorney General-elect Luther Strange applauded both parties for working together to get these bills passed.
“Ethics reform has been talked about for years, and now, thanks to Gov. Riley’s leadership, we finally have strict ethics laws that bring accountability and transparency to state government,” Strange said. “Restoring honesty and integrity in Alabama is a bipartisan issue. Republican and Democratic legislators from all across Alabama came together and passed this much-needed legislation.
“I look forward to working with our district attorneys and Ethics Commission Director Jim Sumner to ensure that these new laws are vigorously enforced,” he added.
Godfrey said Alabamians need to applaud the legislators for a job well done.
“The people of Alabama need to … contact their legislators and say, ‘Thank you for passing these strong ethics laws. And we’ll remember … that you stood strong at election time,’” he said.
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