By Bill Britt
Alabama Political Reporter
The votes of a legislator are not generally ones that make them heroes or coward, but taken on whole we see the character of the individual lawmaker. SB122, is one of those votes that will show who stands for good government. A yes vote on SB122 is a vote to place fear and party politics before what is good for the State.
SB122 will be before the senate today its passage will cast a very long shadow on the legislator who votes for it and the future of honest government in the state.
SB122, along with its companion SB112, is an audacious takeover of the checks and balances in state government. It is designed with a single purpose to place almost total control within the hands of the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tem of the Senate. Under
SB122 a select group of lawmaker will form a junta appointed by the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tem of the Senate to control every aspect of the State Legislature. The only exception will be that the Speaker, President Pro Tem and the Lt. Governor’s Offices will be exempt from the rules. According to SB 122 there will be no oversight of salaries, budgets, accounting or purchase made by the Speaker’s Office, the Pro Temp’s or the Lt. Governor’s. Is there a singe good reason that these three offices should run without oversight or accountability?
Many republican senators have expressed in private their reservation about SB122 but threats coming from Mike Hubbard and his confederates have made it clear that voting against SB122 will come with a price. The Speaker spanks, even in the Senate.
A complex bill at 102 pages is a power grab of unprecedented proportions. This is not streamlining government it is unifying power for a few at the cost of the many.
A slight-of-hand under the banner of ‘what is good for the state,’ that would make Stalin smile and Washington ashamed.
The Governor has spoken out against SB122 as well as those who have worked in the legislature for decades. Heroes and cowards are known by their deeds, sometimes a single vote can prove the character of a legislator, this is one of those times.
This bill will silence the will of many good men and women, let us pray that those who believe in fair and accountable government will not fail the people today.
