June 23, 2021 - Legislative Session Essentially Successful
The 2021 legislative session ended last month with an impressive slate of legislative accomplishments.
A goodly amount of the credit for the success of the session goes to the leadership of the new President Pro Tem, Senator Greg Reed of Jasper, who just completed his first session in this role.
The Senate was deliberate, effective and efficient as it took up a longer than usual list of issues given the legislature’s early departure from Montgomery last year due to the pandemic.
The Senate’s accomplishments include successes that range from economic development incentives, COVID-19 relief, legislation to support military families, election security, broadband expansion and more.
The Senate was also able to pass a constitutional amendment to allow the people of Alabama to vote on whether the state would finally legalize, cap and control gaming and a lottery. Although this bill did not make it through the House, it was an impressive feat to move this hotly debated topic through the Senate.
The legislature dealt successfully with the state’s budgets, which is the legislature’s number one responsibility. While the COVID-19 pandemic has led to many states across the country having to cut their budgets, the state of Alabama’s two budgets – the General Fund Budget and the Education Trust Fund Budget – were the largest ever passed in state history.
Senator Reed and the budget chairmen in both chambers where successful due to years of conservative budgeting by the legislature, as well as the resilience of the Alabama economy. Alabama’s conservative budgeting approach has given the state the resources needed to provide funding to support Alabama students, public employees, and to give our government agencies the resources they need as they work to improve our state.
The Education Trust Fund Budget, the state’s largest budget in history, provided a record-breaking $7.67 billion in funding. The budget provides a substantial amount of funding to address critical educational needs across the state, the most noteworthy of these being meeting the high demand for certified math and science teachers.
There are around 7,500 secondary level positions for math and science teachers statewide, and only 4,300 of those are filled with properly certified individuals. Science and math are critically important subjects for the educational success of Alabama students, and to excel in these areas, it requires our state to be able to recruit and retain credentialed teachers.
To address this concern, the budget included the Teacher Excellence and Accountability for Mathematics and Sciences (TEAMS) Act program to raise the salary schedule for math and science teachers so that they will make more money moving forward. Starting in the 2021-2022 school year, well-trained and educated middle and high school math and science teachers could earn up to $15,000 in additional pay each year.
The budget also provides funding for Governor Ivey’s recommended 2% across the board pay raises for all teachers, support workers, and transportation workers. The budget allocates about $80 million for these raises that go into effect on September 30, 2021. The budget also funds the school nurse program to ensure there is a nurse in every school system and sets up a retiree trust fund to present teachers with bonuses.
It is not only educators who will see pay raises as a result of these budgets. In the General Fund Budget, the largest ever passed by the state, the legislature included a 2% pay raise for all state employees. The budget also includes a 7.2% increase for the Department of Mental Health and a 12.5% increase for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
While the regular session has come to a close for the year, there are still several potential special sessions that could be called by the Governor. These could include special sessions to deal with issues ranging from gaming, to prison reform, to redistricting.
See you next week.
June 16, 2021 - Prison Issue Unresolved
There were two major issues not resolved during the just completed regular legislative session. Gambling and prisons were left on the table and up in the air.
It is foolish to not address a resolution to get some revenues for the state from gambling which currently exists in Alabama. However, it is not imperative that the problem be solved.
The prison problem is another question. It has to be addressed. The federal courts will take over Alabama’s prisons and tell the governor and legislature what to do to alleviate the crisis. The federal courts will win that fight every day of the week. They will act and give the legislature the bill for the expenses.
It is happening now in California, and the same scenario happened in Alabama five decades ago during the George Wallace versus Frank Johnson era. Judge Johnson prevailed and told Alabama what to do with prisons and sent them the bill.
The legislature, governor and U.S. Justice Department are all in agreement that Alabama has to have three new prisons to alleviate unconstitutional overcrowding.
The governor proposed privatizing leasing three new men’s prisons. Governor Ivey and the Alabama Department of Corrections proposed a lease project as the solution to replace many of Alabama’s aging overcrowded and understaffed prisons. In February, Ivey signed a 30-year lease agreement for two of the three new prisons, unilaterally, without legislative authority or input. The national firm, Core Civic, was chosen to receive the lease agreement and to build new prisons in Elmore and Escambia counties.
However, the privatization plan has been thwarted by the Private Prison Firm’s inability to garner financing. In May, Bloomberg News reported that all three banks that were to finance the venture were backing out completely.
The lease plan expired on June 1. Therefore, the route that legislative leaders prefer is that the state own the prisons and pass a bond issue to pay for them.
Legislative leaders primarily and importantly Finance Committee Chairmen, Steve Clouse of Ozark and Arthur Orr of Decatur, believe that there needs to be a Special Session called by Governor Ivey to address the building of three new men’s prisons and floating a bond issue to pay for them with the state owning the prisons.
Representative Clouse has brought up another valid reason for there to be a Special Session regarding prisons. The state received guidelines in the waning hours of the session from the Treasury Department on using the four billion dollars Alabama is expected to receive for state and local governments under the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress. The legislature will be the appropriator of that money. It may well could be used by the state for prisons.
Another factor that will be on the table are the locations of the prisons. A change from the lease plan to a prison bond issue would probably alter the locations to land already owned by the Department of Corrections. This land is available and was actually purchased adjacent to the current prisons at the time new prisons were last built over three decades ago during the last Wallace Administration.
This land around the prisons was purchased for future expansions. During the planning a blue ribbon study commission was hired to determine the best locations for the prisons. The commission suggested that they should be near the metropolitan areas of the state. Wallace looked at the proposal and said that looks good, but I think we will probably put those prisons in Barbour County. Gov. Wallace’s home county was Barbour.
The bottom line is that the prison lease plan proposed by the governor is dead. The other given is that new prisons have to be built to address a myriad of problems that have been outlined in the Justice Department suit.
This issue has to be addressed. Therefore, it looks imminent that at least two Special Sessions are in store for this year – one on reapportionment of legislative and congressional districts and one on prisons.
We lost our oldest past governor, Gov. John Patterson, on June 5. Gov. Patterson passed away at his ancestral home at age 99 surrounded by his family. Patterson was governor from 1959-1963. He defeated Gov. Wallace in the 1958 Governor’s Race, which featured a field of 14 candidates. Patterson was attorney general of Alabama prior to be elected governor.
See you next week.
June 9, 2021 - Politics Never Ends in Alabama
We are all looking forward to next year’s gigantic political cavalcade. The 2022 elections in Alabama will be momentous. We will have an open U.S. Senate seat along with seven congressional seats, all running under new district lines. We have a Governor’s race along with all the other Constitutional offices. All 105 state representatives and 35 state senators will be running for reelection under new district lines. All 67 sheriffs in the state will be on the ballot, as well as all 68 probate judges. All these races are on the cusp of beginning or have already begun.
However, we will have a mayor’s race in Birmingham this summer. The August 24 mayoral race in the magic city is shaping up as a Donnybrook. It is shaping up to be a rematch from four years ago between former mayor William Bell and current mayor Randall Woodfin.
Four years ago, young Randall Woodfin defeated then mayor, William Bell, the old fashion way. He outworked him. Woodfin went door-to-door in one-on-one campaigning in every precinct in Birmingham. He appears to have done a good job as mayor. He will be tough to beat. However, if anyone would do it, William Bell would be the one. He looks very distinguished and mayoral. In fact, I have often thought that if Hollywood were scripting a movie of a mayor of a city like the movie “Boss” with Kelsey Grammar, who played a Chicago mayor, that Bell would be the perfect actor.
There are at least two other significant candidates vying to be Birmingham’s mayor, LaShunda Scales and Chris Wood, which may place Bell and Woodfin into a runoff.
We have already had several special legislative elections throughout the state this year. Former Alabama House Member, April Weaver, won the Republican State Senate Primary for Senate District 14 on March 30. This senate seat was vacated when Cam Ward departed the Senate to become Director of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles. The district encompasses a good portion of Shelby County and all of Bibb and Chilton. It is a very Republican district. Therefore, Ms. Weaver’s victory is tantamount to election. She will face a token Democrat in the July 13 general election. Her triumph was extremely impressive. She garnered 82% of the vote against two opponents. She will be an effective senator for Central Alabama.
In an open state House seat in Shelby County, U.S. Army Veteran, Kenneth Paschal won the GOP Primary for House District 73, winning the Republican primary for a State Legislative district in a special election in Shelby County. Paschal won a close race over Leigh Hulsey, 51% to 49%.
There is a special election for state House District 78 in Montgomery to fill the seat being left vacant with Kirk Hatcher moved up from the House to the Senate.
There are several low-profile constitutional offices beginning to percolate for 2022. State Representative, Wes Allen, has announced and is running hard for Secretary of State. He is perfectly suited and qualitied for that office. He is in his first term as a State Representative from Pike and Dale Counties. However, prior to that he served 10 years as Probate Judge of Pike County, where he successfully oversaw elections. Wes is a native of Tuscaloosa where his daddy serves as a State Senator.
A successful Birmingham businesswoman, Laura Johnston Clark, is eyeing the State Auditor’s race. She was born and raised in Dothan and began her business there. She has deep and extensive family roots in the Wiregrass. Her father and mother and older brother are legendary and revered. She has been extensively involved civically in Birmingham for close to two decades. She is an integral part of next year’s World Games, which will be held in Birmingham.
The current occupants of the Secretary of State and state Auditor’s offices, John Merrill and Jim Ziegler are term limited. So, these two offices are wide open. 2022 is going to be an exciting election year.
See you next week.
June 2, 2021 - Session Ends: Gambling Left on the Table
The 2021 Legislative Session is in the books. I would rate it a success. When you pass budgets that are balanced, any session is a success. In fact, the only constitutional mandate given to the legislature is that they pass the two budgets.
The amazing revelation that is almost difficult to comprehend is the fact that both the General Fund and the Educational Fund budgets were not only status quo but were flush with growth coming out of a year of the COVID pandemic. State employees and teachers both received raises in the budgets.
Alabama is one of the few states in America that has not been devastated financially by the pandemic.
A lot of credit for this good fiscal stability goes to the Chairmen of the Budget Committees in both the House and Senate. They have worked and strived diligently to pass conservative budgets with reserve accounts that have allowed the state to avoid rainy days.
The state owes a debt of gratitude and a tip of the hat to House Budget Chairmen, Bill Poole (R-Tuscaloosa) and Steve Clouse (R-Ozark) and Senate Finance Chairmen, Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) and Greg Albritton (R-Escambia).
The Legislature dealt with a lot of high-profile issues. Not the least of which was the perennial issue of allowing doctors to prescribe medicinal marijuana for pain for their patients. This prescription has been allowed for years in many states. Now, Alabama doctors will be able to prescribe this medication to their patients.
The gambling issue dominated the entire session. The state Senate passed the gambling proposal to send to the people for a vote. However, it failed in the House of Representatives. It is a Constitutional Amendment and therefore needs 21 votes in the 35-member State Senate and 63 votes in the State House of 105 member representatives. It does not even go to the governor for a signature but goes straight to the ballot. The governor is very much for this initiative. However, it probably needs to be dealt with in a special session in order for it to pass. Governor Ivey needs to really promote the issue in a special session where it is the only issue dealt with and focused on. She has plenty of time. The Amendment if approved by legislators is not set to be voted on until the November 2022 General Election.
This proposed constitutional amendment is a very all-encompassing gambling plan. It institutes a lottery, authorizes sports betting and legalizes casinos around the state. It is a constitutional amendment that will also be exact and detailed and with authoritative gambling policy enforcement procedures. This regulation of gambling has been needed for years because we already have gambling in Alabama.
The new state gambling regulatory commission would oversee the lottery, as well as the five existing casinos in Macon, Mobile, Greene and Jefferson counties, and one yet to be determined in Northeast Alabama. This new location would be in the pristine Northeast Alabama mountains and would be given to the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. It would have the potential to be a destination tourist attraction.
The Poarch Creek casinos would continue to be regulated by federal statutes, but the state would be enabled to enter into a compact with the tribe for Class III table games.
All lottery revenue would be directed to education, including scholarships for higher education and trade schools and a loan forgiveness program for graduates who locate back in Alabama. The annual revenue from casinos and sports betting would be divided for several uses. Almost 50% would be up to the legislature to appropriate toward capital or other non-recurring expenses. Forty percent would be earmarked for “enhanced health care services,” and 10% would be divided among counties and cities for “Capital or other non-recurring expenses.”
Under the legislation for all gambling revenue up to 5% would be set aside for initiatives to help problem gamblers.
This legislation pretty much tracks the recommendations of Governor Kay Ivey’s proposal and actually does not even require her signature. She was very prominently lobbying for its passage and will endorse its ratification by Alabama voters. It will reap a significant amount of revenue for the State of Alabama.
You may very well see it come up again this year in a special session.
See you next week.
May 26, 2021 - George Wallace Stories
A good many of you enjoyed the George Wallace story I shared with you a few weeks ago. Allow me to reminisce and share two more funny Wallace era stories.
I became acquainted with Governor Wallace when I was a young Page in the legislature.
I was elected to the legislature in 1982. Ironically, my district was comprised of my home county of Pike and also the portion of Barbour County that was Wallace’s home, including Clayton and Clio.
Gov. Wallace thought that was the most remarkable story that he had first met me as a 12-year-old Page and now 20 years later I was his representative.
He would often ask me to come down to his office and he would reminisce and tell me stories. He would always begin with the remembrance of my having been a “Page boy” when we first met. He had aged prematurely and was confined to a wheelchair due to having been shot running for president. Therefore, on our visits he would tell me the same stories over and over.
Well, one day I was visiting, and he told me the same stories. He then stopped and got a faraway nostalgic look on his face and looked at me intently and asked, “Steve, how old are you now?” I said, “Governor, I am 32 years old. I am grown and your representative,” He replied, “Huh. I guess I’ve been governor all your life.” He had indeed been governor most of the 20 years between my 12th and 32nd birthdays. My reply was, “Yes sir. I guess you will be governor all my life.”
I will share another story that I remember well with you.
Since I was Gov. Wallace’s Representative, he had made me a Floor Leader. As I mentioned earlier, he had known me since I was 12 years old and a page in the Legislature during his first term as Governor. My relationship gave me access to him, so one Fall day I ambled down to the Governor's office. I walked into the office and the secretary whisked me back to his office pretty quickly. They said he would love to visit with me as he was not having a good day with his health and would like to reminisce with me about his younger days and first term. It would cheer him up.
Well, he seemed to be in good spirits when I went in, and he had his ever-present cigar in the corner of his mouth. Wallace’s health had deteriorated badly from the effects of the bullet wounds he had endured, and his hearing was really bad because he had been assigned to work around airplanes during World War II. My mission that day was to get $10,000 out of his Discretionary Fund for the Pike Pioneer Museum in my district. He controlled all of the extra pork money we appropriated, so we had to see the Governor for our pet project money. I knew we had put money into the tourism budget for projects like my museum. After listening to his story about politics and earlier days, I got down to business.
He led in by asking, “Steve, what did you want today?” I had to shout so Wallace could hear and began by selling the fact that my Pioneer Museum was located on a well-traveled four lane highway which was a corridor and travel route for northerners traveling to the beaches for their winter escape, and that they would stop at our museum and spend tourist money in Alabama. Therefore, $10,000 of tourism funds for my museum was a wise stewardship of Alabama taxpayer money.
Wallace still seemed like he did not hear me well, so I almost shouted that we were catching the snowbirds as they traveled north or south. I had just heard the term snowbird and was loudly and proudly using it. Well, Wallace had not heard the term, but he heard me and said, “Steve, what kinds of birds are y’all catching down in Pike County?” I knew he was confused so I dropped my snowbird terminology and said, “Governor, we have a lot of Yankees that come through Pike County and we want to stop them at our museum and get them to spend tourist dollars.” He looked even more puzzled and looked at me aghast and said, “Steve, what in the world are y’all doing to the Yankees down there in Pike County?”
The poor fellow thought I was asking for money to set up a speed trap of some sort for unsuspecting Yankees traveling through Alabama. He finally gave me the money for the museum, but I still think he was a little concerned about how it was going to be spent.
See you next week.
May 19, 2021 - Status of 2022 U.S. Senate Race
When Senator Richard Shelby announced he would not run for reelection to a sixth six-year term in 2022, speculation immediately began as to who would run for our iconic senior senator’s seat. Numerous names were floated as to who might lineup for the coveted seat. It is expected to be a fairly large field.
The winner of next year’s May Republican primary and ultimately the summer GOP runoff will be our next junior senator. Winning the GOP Primary is tantamount to election in the Heart of Dixie in a statewide race and especially a U.S. Senate race. It is highly unlikely that a candidate can win the primary without a runoff. So, the mission for each candidate will be to be one of the top two vote getters in late May and be ready for a battle Royale runoff brawl in the summer.
As the potential warriors prepare, they best be advised to have tough skin. It will be an acrimonious fray. All serious candidates will retain Washington consultants, pollsters, and media advisors. These D.C. consultants thrive on mean, vicious and unbridled, negative, advertising techniques. Therefore, the arena will be as tough to survive as a Roman gladiator spectacle.
The key to winning this race is the same as all races. It is simple. It is who has the money. Money is the mother’s milk of politics. When someone comes to this dance, the first question asked by those who observe, calculate, and analyze this race, is show me the money.
Congressman Mo Brooks of Huntsville wasted no time getting into the race. He has been planning to run for over two years. He has come out of the gate impressively and is the early favorite to win the race, which by the way is only one year away. Brooks is riding high among right wing Republicans for his red meat speeches and voting record in Congress.
There is no doubt that Mo Brooks is an ultra-conservative even if he has been ineffective. He has demonstrated his arch conservative Republican philosophy for nearly four decades of political life in Alabama Republican politics. He hails from the vote rich Tennessee Valley of North Alabama. It does not hurt him that he has run two statewide races, which has helped him build name identification and some organization. However, his major trump card is that he has received the early whole-hearted endorsement of former President Donald Trump. The problem Brooks faces is that Trump’s influence will fade over the next year, and the early favorite very rarely wins in a highly contested race for an open senate seat in Alabama.
Lynda Blanchard is another early entrant into the senate race. She is a Montgomerian, who appears to possess the main ingredient necessary to be a viable candidate. She appears to have the money. She began her campaign by loaning $5 million to her campaign efforts. She served as President Trump’s Ambassador to Slovenia. Her background and resume could be attractive. She should not be underestimated.
A well-heeled candidate who may be edging closer to entering the Derby is Dothan businessman Jeff Coleman. He possesses the right and necessary ingredient for a successful recipe – money. He can bankroll the effort and also has proven fundraising skills. Some people might be skeptical that his 2020 loss in the second district congressional race might hurt his credibility. My guess is that it is irrelevant as to whether he won or lost, most people do not follow politics enough to recall the outcome. The amount of time and especially money spent by Coleman in that race has secured some name identification in the southern part of the state.
The big question is, does Senator Shelby’s former Chief of Staff and current President of the Business Council of Alabama, Katie Britt, enter the race. Her credibility and success lie totally on Senator Shelby’s commitment to her cause. It is no secret that Shelby wants Katie Boyd Britt to succeed him. He likes the fact that she is brilliant, capable, and young. She would also be an excellent campaigner. However, it will take a lot of money to make Katie a winner. She begins with no name identification.
Again, this will be an expensive and probably a vicious race. The gloves will come off and it will be tough brawl.
It will be interesting to watch. I will keep you posted.
See you next week.
May 12, 2021 - How Will Alabama Fare in Washington after Richard Shelby
Some of you have inquired how Alabama will fare in Washington after Senator Shelby retires at the end of 2022. The answer is that it will be nothing less than devastating for the Heart of Dixie. The amount of federal dollars that Senator Shelby has individually brought home is incalculable and irreplaceable. Alabama is going to be in the proverbial boat without a paddle in 20 short months. We will have negligible power in Washington and for a state that depends on federal dollars, that is not going to be a good position to be in for Alabama.
Whoever wins the 2022 race for Shelby’s seat will have no real power for at least 18 years. The senate is a venerable institution where power is based on seniority. You have to wait your turn and patiently await the day when you can be a committee chairman or player in the senate. Even if we elect someone with the acumen, ability and temperament to be an effective senator, they will be in waiting two decades before they are modestly important.
Tommy Tuberville has only been in the senate for four months. He is 66 and will be irrelevant in probably one term in the Senate. In short, we are dead in the water in the U.S. Senate for this generation. There is hope for future generations of Alabamians if someone under 55 with ability takes Shelby’s seat.
There is a glimmer of hope for Alabama to sustain and preserve some of the mountains of largesse that Shelby has bestowed on our beloved state. However, that power rests in the U.S. House of Representatives. Congresswoman Terri Sewell and Congressman Robert Aderholt could be our hope for salvation for the upcoming decade.
Congresswoman Terri Sewell is in her sixth two-year term representing Alabama’s seventh Congressional district. She is one of the first women elected to congress from Alabama in her own right and is the first black woman to ever serve in the Alabama Congressional delegation.
She is the only Democrat in the entire Alabama delegation. Therefore, she is our only conduit to the Democratic Presidential throne. She is highly respected by the Biden Administration, as well as the U.S. House leadership. She is on a fast track too within the House Democratic Party. In her short time in Congress, Sewell has held several leadership positions including freshman class president and currently serves as Chief Deputy Whip under the tutelage of Democratic Whip James Clyburn.
Sewell has made her mark within the Democratic Caucus. The Democrats not only occupy the White House, they are also in the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. The majority party controls all the committee chairmanships and all of the power in Congress. The most important aspect of Congresswoman Sewell’s ability to help Alabama is that she sits on the exclusive House Ways and Means Committee, which writes the federal budget.
By far the brightest Republican star in our Washington delegation is Congressman Robert Aderholt. This clean cut, conservative was first elected to Congress in 1996 at the age of 31. He is now in his 25th year in Congress and is a member of the powerful House Committee on Appropriations. His sprawling north Alabama 4th District extends in a band across north Alabama from Mississippi to Georgia. Huntsville’s hope is that when the new Congressional districts are drawn this year for the 2022 elections, that Aderholt can be brought into Madison County to help protect the Redstone Arsenal, which is truly dependent on federal dollars from Washington.
Congressman Aderholt was born and raised in Haleyville where he and his wife, Caroline, reside when not in Washington. His father is a revered and respected, retired circuit judge. Caroline has deep political roots in the Huntsville/Madison area. Her father, Albert McDonald, was a prominent farmer who was a state senator from the Tennessee Valley and was Alabama’s Agriculture Commissioner.
A third member of the House delegation, Mike Rogers of Anniston, could give us a triumvirate of power in the U.S. House. Congressman Rogers is the ranking republican on the House Armed Services Committee.
Congresswoman Sewell, Congressman Aderholt and possibly Congressman Rogers, can be a hope for salvation in the post Richard Shelby era for the State of Alabama.
See you next week.
May 5, 2021 - Some Legislative Issues
The 2020 legislative regular session is wrapping up. After this week’s two-days of meeting days, only one final legislative day remains on May 17.
There have been a myriad of high-profile measures addressed during this year’s session. However, the budgets and how state dollars are spent are always the paramount issues on the minds of legislators, especially the budget chairmen.
The elephant in the room, which is on the back of everyone’s mind, is the prison issue. Alabama must have new prisons. The governor wants to and has moved unilaterally to privatize the new prisons. Legislators are skeptical of the open-ended cost and believe the state should own the prisons and a bond issue should be floated to pay for the state’s new prisons.
This skepticism by legislative leaders has resulted in a bill that is meandering through the legislature, which would create a joint legislative oversight committee to review any large expenditures. The bill would require any non-education state agency or state department to obtain approval from a newly formed oversight committee on obligation transparency for any General Fund expenditures over $10 million.
As the COVID pandemic shutdown began last March, home delivery of groceries and all merchandise flourished. Everything under the sun began to be delivered to people’s homes, except for alcohol in Alabama. We have very strict laws regarding the sale of alcohol. These laws are administered and upheld by the Alabama Alcohol and Beverage Control Board. Well, there has been a hue and cry from a good many Alabamians who have desired that wine, beer and liquor be delivered to their homes the same as other grocery items. The legislature heard their concerns and adhered to their wishes. They passed legislation allowing for home delivery of alcohol during this session, and Governor Kay Ivey signed the law.
However, in a recent conversation with Alabama Beverage Control administrators, Mac Gipson and William Thigpen, they are of the belief that very few Alabamians will actually be able to afford this luxury. The legislation calls for very stringent guidelines regarding the delivery process. It will probably be cost prohibitive for delivery companies to participate. There will be costly prohibitions in order to adhere to the ABC’s guidelines. Someone will have to be 21 or older at home to sign for the alcohol. Delivery drivers will have to have perfect driving records that will have to be void of DUI’s for at least six years. There will have to be proper refrigeration for certain beverages and numerous other precautions. There can be no delivery to college campuses or their surrounding neighborhoods. This legislation is not the panacea that at home drinkers believe it will be. Alabamians are also still prohibited from purchasing alcohol from out-of-state under any circumstance. Those Alabama drinkers who delight in garnering select brands of bourbon, scotch, vodka, gin and fine wines must still drive to some other states to get their preferred indulgence.
The perennial legislation regarding the use of medical marijuana for medicinal purposes has been front and center this session. It usually gets passed in the Senate. It always gets bogged down in the House of Representatives. It has become law in most states. However, Alabama is a conservative state, and the Alabama House is a very conservative and deliberative body. Senator Tim Melson, who is a staunch conservative Republican senator and a physician, is the sponsor. He has seen first-hand how the use of medicinal marijuana has helped his patients. A good many Alabamians, who have suffered debilitating pain from cancer and other illnesses, can and will attest to using this relief.
Alabama now has an official state vegetable, the sweet potato. The Alabama legislature made it official during the regular session. Alabama has taken heart in creating official emblems and honors over the years. We have an official state fruit, the blackberry. The official tree fruit is the peach. The official crustacean is the brown shrimp. The official amphibian is the red hills salamander.
All in all, it may not be a bad Session.
See you next week.
April 28, 2021 - Who Are the Nine People Who Sit on Our State Supreme Court?
This week allow me to share with you a sketch of the men and women who sit on our State Supreme Court. These nine Justices are all Republican, all conservative on both social and business issues. All are very devout in their faith and very connected to their church and their family.
Chief Justice Tom Parker has been on the State Supreme Court since 2005. He was born and raised in Montgomery and went to Dartmouth College and Vanderbilt Law School.
Chief Justice Parker and his wife the former Dottie James of Auburn have been married 39 years. Dottie was a supervisor of the governor’s mansion during the Fob James administration. They are Methodist.
Justice Jay Mitchell is the most personable and definitely the tallest member of the Supreme Court. Jay was a star basketball player at Birmingham Southern where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He is imminently qualified for the Supreme Court having graduated from the University of Virginia Law School and had a sterling career with a Birmingham Law firm prior to being overwhelmingly elected to the high tribunal in 2018. Justice Mitchell and his wife, Elizabeth, have four children. They reside in Homewood and are members of the Church of the Highlands.
Justice Tommy Bryan is a popular and conservative member of the high court. Tommy was born on a family farm in Crenshaw County. He served on the Court of Civil Appeals and was an assistant attorney general prior to being elected to the Supreme Court in 2012. Justice Bryan and his wife, Pamela, are very active members of the First Baptist Church of Montgomery where he is a Deacon, Sunday School teacher, and sings in the choir. He and Pam are very close and have raised two fine children.
Justice William “Will” Sellers, like Justice Parker, is a Montgomery native, as is Will’s outstanding wife, Lee Grant Sellers. Justice Sellers and Lee have been married 33 years and have three adult children and are active members of Trinity Presbyterian Church of Montgomery. Will was a prominent Tax Attorney prior to going on the court. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama Law School and has a New York University tax degree.
Justice Brad Mendheim was a Circuit Judge in Houston County prior to going on the Supreme Court. He was born and raised in Dothan and is one of the most respected young men to have come out of his hometown. He is a graduate of Auburn University and Cumberland School of Law. He and his wife of 24 years, Michelle, are very active members of the First Baptist Church of Dothan and they have three fine sons.
Justice Greg Shaw epitomizes a judge both professionally and personally. He is said to be the hardest working member of the Court and takes his role seriously and is well above reproach. He has an outstanding wife, Samantha “Sam” Shaw, who has also had a sterling career in politics. She was overwhelmingly elected State Auditor twice, serving eight years. Greg and Sam live on a farm about an hour from Montgomery. They have two outstanding sons and are members of the Auburn United Methodist Church. Justice Shaw graduated from Auburn and Samford’s Cumberland School of Law.
Justice Sarah Stewart is a longtime Mobilian and was a Mobile Circuit Judge prior to going on the Court. She is a very respected jurist and a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School. She and her husband, Craig, have two children and are Methodists.
Justice Mike Bolin is one of the finest men I have ever known. Mike was a stellar and popular Probate Judge in Jefferson County prior to his service on the Supreme Court. He is a graduate of Samford University and a graduate of Cumberland School of Law. Justice Bolin and his wife, Rosemary, have one daughter. They attend St. Peter the Apostle Church in Hoover. Unfortunately, Judge Bolin cannot run for reelection next year. He will be over 70 and is term limited under state law.
However, last but not least, Justice Kelli Wise is well below 70 and can and will run for reelection next year and she will win. She is a very popular member of the high court. Kelli served several terms on the Court of Criminal Appeals before matriculating to the Supreme Court. Justice Wise and her husband, former District Court Judge Arthur Ray, have one daughter and are members of the St. James United Methodist Church. Kelli is a Wiregrass native up for reelection next year in 2022.
See you next week.
April 21, 2021 - State Supreme Court often forgotten in Alabama
Our 1901 Alabama Constitution replicates the United States Constitution in designing a triumvirate of government. The Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches are designed to have separate and essentially equal powers.
Although, ideally, the three branches should be exclusive, over the course of history in both our state and national governments the Executive and Legislative Branches have been intertwined in public policy matters and government seems to work more cohesively that way, especially when they are on congruent pages. On the federal level, our judicial arm of government sits on a separate island shrouded by a statue of the Blind Lady of Justice, and rightfully so. They are very independent and shielded from politics on the federal level. The U.S. Supreme Court is an omnipotent and private reserve of ultimate supreme power over public policy in America.
Our Alabama Supreme Court is separate and powerful, but is not shielded by politics. Our Supreme Court judges are elected. Most states appoint these positions. However, Alabamians have resisted any move to go from elected to appointed. Although most Alabamians could not name any of the members of the Supreme Court, they will fight to their death for their ability to go into a voting booth to elect them even though after they have done so they cannot remember who they just voted for or why.
However, despite having to elect our judiciary, Alabamians have done a good job of electing good, well qualified people to our appellate courts. We have nine members of the State Supreme Court, all elected for six-year terms in staggered election years. We also have a five-member Court of Civil Appeals and a five-member Court of Criminal Appeals. They are also elected for six-year terms in staggered years.
All nine seats on the State Supreme Court are held by Republicans and all 10 appellate judges are Republican. Therefore, winning the GOP Primary in the state Supreme Court races is tantamount to election in the Heart of Dixie. Seven of the nine Supreme Court Justices are men and two are female. All are very conservative and religious in their court decisions and in their personal lives.
As late as the 1990’s, our Supreme Court was Democratic laden like our legislature. However, unlike our legislators, who were mostly conservatives and probably Republicans running as Democrats in name only, these Alabama Democratic Supreme Court judges were pro plaintiff trial lawyers and anti-business. Many had been plaintiff lawyers prior to going on the court. Due to this overt bias and brazen liberal interpretation of laws and justice, we had become the laughingstock of the nation for fairytale justice that gave outrageous verdicts and judgments against every national corporation that did business in our state or even traversed through our borders. Therefore, our State Supreme Court became an eyesore for Alabama in recruiting any business or industry. Time Magazine did a feature publication entitled “Alabama Tort Hell.” Numerous business publications cautioned against not only opening plants in the state but to be leery of even passing through.
Alabama was in bad need of Tort Reform. Alabama’s corporate community, as well as the national business community, decided to change things and that began with changing our State Supreme Court from a Democratic plaintiff bastion to a Republican conservative tribunal; and they put their money where their mouth was. The business community brought in the legendary Karl Rove to orchestrate the takeover. He was successful.
As mentioned, we now have a very conservative Republican nine-member State Supreme Court panel. As Rove was leaving, he imparted this nugget of advice for future races. His polling indicated that voters in Alabama prefer a Republican female candidate for a judgeship. Indeed, it is a proven fact in an Alabama appellate court race, if you place two candidates on a ballot in Alabama and neither does anything or spends any money, Jane Doe will defeat John Doe 54-46.
Next week we will give you a rundown on who are the members who sit on our State Supreme Court.
See you next week.