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The state is planning to pay an attorney $195 an hour, up to $100,000, to keep from paying $70,000 it allegedly owes a law firm that a legislative committee hired to contest the legality of the state spending more than $13 million on a no-bid contract.
The firm of Thomas, Means, Gillis & Seay has sought $70,000 for legal work it performed on behalf of the state's legislative contract review oversight committee when the committee attempted to block Gov. Bob Riley from signing a $13-million no-bid contract with Paragon, a company with no website, no listed phone number and documentation that listed its headquarters as personal residences.
A Jefferson County Circuit Court judge dismissed the committee's suit in December 2009, saying that the legislation that created the committee did not give it the power to sue.
Two months after that ruling, the state Department of Finance and state Comptroller Thomas White notified the clerk of the House of Representatives that it would not pay the firm because the committee and its chairman were not constitutionally empowered to file lawsuits.
Thomas, Means, Gillis & Seay, which is based in Alabama and Georgia, is suing the state finance department and White for the $70,000, but on Thursday the finance department requested up to $100,000 to hire Albert Jordan, an attorney with Birmingham-based Wallace, Jordan, Ratliff & Brandt LLC, to defend itself from the $70,000 suit.
The contract review committee has delayed the contract for 45 days, the most it can delay it under Alabama law.
State Sen. Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, said despite the outcome of the initial suit, the fact is Thomas, Means, Gillis & Seay did the work that they were hired to do.
"I have a problem with the administration taking this retaliatory action against a black law firm," Ross said. "I've not seen this administration do this against other firms."
State Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said that the contract review committee is being used as a political tool to attack Gov. Bob Riley's administration.
He said that the only authority that the committee has is the ability to hold up contracts for 45 days.
Marsh said it does not -- as the judge pointed out -- have the authority to bring lawsuits and the state should not pay for "frivolous lawsuits."
"If we don't like that then we need to change the committee or change the law," he said.
State Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, who serves as the chairman of the committee, said that he hopes that in the next 45 days a judge would hear the case and that both sides could come to terms.
If not, he said the case could end up much like the 1985 discrimination case filed by Johnny Reynolds against the state Department of Transportation. Reynolds, a black engineer who worked for the department, sued after facing racial discrimination at the then-predominantly white ALDOT.
Holmes said that the state would have only paid about $25,000 in back pay and legal fees in that case, but ultimately it cost the state more than $600 million.
MONTGOMERY — Two senators got into a discussion about Jesus on Thursday, prompting reporters in the Senate press room to observe that even Christianity has a political side.
The discussion involved SB233, sponsored by Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale. The bill would prohibit any individual, business or health provider in Alabama from being forced to participate in a health care plan.
The bill passed a Senate committee Feb. 2 but has not come up for a full Senate vote.
He said that as a conservative Christian, he believes the national bill was wrong.Beason blasted Senate leaders for not allowing the vote. He also took a jab at President Barack Obama’s administration.
That criticism got a little too harsh for Sen. Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, who also says he is a Christian, but one of a more liberal political perspective.
“It just amazes me when this happens,” Ross said. “How dare we pass a health care bill that causes more affluent people to pay more? The thing I want to know is where is the huma nistic side that wants to help people who cannot help themselves?
Beason responded, “I’ve heard people stand up here and preach about taking care of the least of these. God said for me to do this on a personal level. It is not fair or correct to steal people’s money to do this.”
Shorter school year?
During a House education budget committee meeting last week, Rep. Jeremy Oden, R-Eva, suggested legislation allowing fewer days in the school year if proration occurs again.
Oden said his proposal would be “a fall-back mechanism” if state tax revenue next year does not improve enough to meet the budget. He said it might help save local jobs in a pinch.
“One school day costs $18 million,” Oden said.
Alabama Education Association Executive Secretary Paul Hubbert opposed the idea. Education personnel will already be paying more for their health insurance next year, he said.
“I’m not proposing we do this now, but that we have verbiage in their contracts that would allow us to do it in worse-case scenario,” Oden said.
Rep. Jeff McLaughlin, D-Guntersville, tried to amend the bill under discussion to reduce the number of required education days by up to five if needed.
Committee chairman Rep. Richard Lindsey, R-Centre, said Legislative Fiscal Office Director Joyce Bigbee advised against putting the provision in a budget bill.
If the need arises, Lindsey said, it would have to come later in a separate bill.
He said the current bill allows people to look within each congressional district and "identify real critical needs and identify the funding."
Ross said people talk about stimulus coming from Washington to help the economy, but he considers the proposal Alabama's stimulus plan. He said the savings account is for dire times like these with more than 11 percent unemployment.
"We can stimulate the economy without having to wait on Washington to come forth with something to put Alabamians back to work," Ross said.
Dixon said he was also concerned about language in the bill, which he believes would let senators and not the Alabama Department of Transportation select the projects that would receive the funding.
Dixon agrees the proposal is a raid on the trust fund.
Lawmakers approved an amendment that would not let the principal part of the fund dip below $2 billion.
Sen. Ben Brooks, R-Mobile, tried to add additional amendments to further protect the principal funds. He tried to increase the floor to $2.5 billion, which is about the current balance of the trust fund.
State Rep. Billy Beasley, the House sponsor of the legislation, said he was delighted to see the bill pass in the Senate. He said he has been talking to House members about a substitute version, but "the most important thing is we can get the bill passed and get it to the people and let the people vote on it."
"This is so important to repairing roads and bridges in the state of Alabama," he said. "This will affect every corner of the state."
Beasley, D-Clayton, said he is going to ask Rep. John Knight, chairman of the House General Fund budget committee, to bring the proposal up for consideration.
He believes they can garner enough votes to pass the bill in the House.
Barron said he hopes the House deals with the bill quickly so people can vote in November. The Legislature is now two-thirds of the way through the current legislative session.
Barron said he did not believe that amendment, introduced by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, would accomplish his objective. Barron said his proposal gives every city, county, and congressional district a fair share of the funding.
Ross said he believes it was important to break the money up by congressional district using a formula from the Alabama Department of Transportation. He said there are counties with a smaller population than Montgomery that have critical needs and areas that people cannot cross because of the conditions.
He said the current bill allows people to look within each congressional district and "identify real critical needs and identify the funding."
Ross said people talk about stimulus coming from Washington to help the economy, but he considers the proposal Alabama's stimulus plan. He said the savings account is for dire times like these with more than 11 percent unemployment.
"We can stimulate the economy without having to wait on Washington to come forth with something to put Alabamians back to work," Ross said.
Dixon said he was also concerned about language in the bill, which he believes would let senators and not the Alabama Department of Transportation select the projects that would receive the funding.
Dixon agrees the proposal is a raid on the trust fund.
Lawmakers approved an amendment that would not let the principal part of the fund dip below $2 billion.
Sen. Ben Brooks, R-Mobile, tried to add additional amendments to further protect the principal funds. He tried to increase the floor to $2.5 billion, which is about the current balance of the trust fund.
State Rep. Billy Beasley, the House sponsor of the legislation, said he was delighted to see the bill pass in the Senate. He said he has been talking to House members about a substitute version, but "the most important thing is we can get the bill passed and get it to the people and let the people vote on it."
"This is so important to repairing roads and bridges in the state of Alabama," he said. "This will affect every corner of the state."
Beasley, D-Clayton, said he is going to ask Rep. John Knight, chairman of the House General Fund budget committee, to bring the proposal up for consideration.
He believes they can garner enough votes to pass the bill in the House.
Barron said he hopes the House deals with the bill quickly so people can vote in November. The Legislature is now two-thirds of the way through the current legislative session.
The Alabama Senate has passed a bill that, if approved by the House of Representatives and voters, would spend $1 billion over the next decade to improve the state's roads and bridges.
On Thursday, the Senate voted 25-10 to pass the bill allowing Alabama residents to vote on the constitutional amendment. Democratic lawmakers failed on previous occasions to pass the measure.
Sen. Lowell Barron, D-Fyffe, said the bill would create jobs while improving safety on Alabama roads and bridges.
Republicans, including Sen. Larry Dixon of Montgomery, expressed concerns about taking money from the state's oil and gas trust fund, which receives royalties from natural gas wells in Alabama waters in the Gulf of Mexico. Some senators were also concerned about withdrawing funds because interest is used to help the state's General Fund budget.
Barron, who has sponsored the legislation for three years, said he drives the state, city and county roads every day and "many of the roads are in terrible condition." He said the state should address infrastructure needs, which his proposal would do while putting thousands of people back to work and stimulating the economy.
"This is a win-win for the people of the state," Barron said.
Dixon voted against the proposal. He favored an amendment, which failed, that would have based a higher percentage of the funding communities received on population, which would have doubled the money for Montgomery County while also increasing funding for Autauga and Elmore counties.
In the current bill, Montgomery County would receive $2.1 million a year, $21.3 million over the 10 years. It would have received $4.4 million a year or $44 million over 10 years if the amendment had passed.
"All area counties would get more money," Dixon said.
The amendment, he said, would have directed more money to where there are more people driving vehicles.
Dixon said he tried to convince Montgomery County's other senator, Democrat Quinton Ross, to vote with him on the amendment. Dixon said some senators are too locked in to voting with their party.
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Barron said he did not believe that amendment, introduced by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, would accomplish his objective. Barron said his proposal gives every city, county, and congressional district a fair share of the funding.
Ross said he believes it was important to break the money up by congressional district using a formula from the Alabama Department of Transportation. He said there are counties with a smaller population than Montgomery that have critical needs and areas that people cannot cross because of the conditions.
The bingo battle wages on, and just days after raids on gaming establishments, state leaders are speaking out against the intensity of Governor Bob Riley's gambling task force.
Democratic State Senator Quinton Ross, of Montgomery, said the raids are hurting an economy that is already down.
"So it's really an economic issue because you are talking about putting 1,000s of people out of a job, who have been at these positions supporting their families for some time in some of these counties. We have a situation here where the Governor of this state is willing to, by any means necessary, put people out of work," Ross said.
But, Governor Riley and his task force commander John Tyson, Jr. are standing by the law they believe in.
The Governor said in a press conference Wednesday, "About a year ago, we determined that there was absolutely no gray area, there was no ambiguity in the law. The law is crystal clear that you cannot do what these casinos are doing today."
Governor Riley said if the Attorney General, Troy King, isn't going to enforce the law against electronic bingo machines, he is obligated by the terms of his office to make sure Alabamians are lawful.
People around the state have mixed feelings about the raids and the price tag they carry.
Tanecia White said she thinks the state should continue spending money on the raids.
"I mean I think they should enforce the law, if it's illegal then hey, if it was left up to us or if we were illegal they would have did something about us. They are not wasting it on anything so waste it on the right thing, that's all I have to say," White said.
Darryl Pugh thinks otherwise.
"I mean seriously, spend my money better!," he said.
Senator Ross said he and several other of his colleagues couldn't agree more with Pugh's point of view.
"But don't use the courts use the resources of the state, taking state trooper's off the road to try to impact this situation, to intimidate people from going to work number one and people from coming to participate in the activities there, that's not right," Ross said.
There is a temporary restraining order in effect that is keeping the state's Illegal Gambling Task Force from entering certain gaming establishments. The task force is waiting to see if the Alabama Supreme Court will lift that order so they can enter with search warrants.
Community leaders, businesses and organizations were honored Saturday evening during the 2010 Act of Kindness Celebration.
The program remembering the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was held at Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church.
Before the ceremony, a small reception was held to recognize Empowering Communities, Helping Ourselves volunteers who have given their time to improving Montgomery.
"This is a celebration of thanking those who have helped us over the past year," ECHO Executive Director Aieda Harris said.
This year's guest speaker was Col. Edward Brown, director of the Montgomery Cares Movement and chief executive officer of the 100 Black Men of Greater Montgomery.
"My whole goal is to focus on the value of mentoring," he said. "Martin Luther King set the hallmark for mentoring."
During the ceremony, community leaders spoke of King and his dedication to the community.
City Councilman Tracy Larkin was the master of ceremony for the evening. Larkin encouraged the audience to remember the difference King made in Montgomery, calling him the "quintessential dreamer."
Before the honorees were announced, a local church choir and youth mime team performed for the audience. Both groups brought people to their feet as they clapped and sang along.
The audience also recited a Pledge of Non-Violence in honor of King.
Recipients were divided into four categories depending on the part they play in the community.
Mary Dumas, Cynthia Holt and Stacy Williams were honored as the "Spirit of Service."
Montgomery Police Chief Art Baylor, Montgomery County Board of Education President Beverly Ross, state Sen. Quinton Ross, Alpha Upsilon Lambda Fraternity and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts were honored as the "Spirit of Preserving the Dream."
The "Spirit of Sustaining the Dream" honorees were Montgomery County Commission Chairman Elton Dean, Nathan Geno, Rosa Parks Avenue Church of God, Southside Church of Christ and Wachovia Foundation.
Christian Life Church was honored as the "Champion of the Dream."
Geno, owner of Integrity Computer and Media Systems, has been working with ECHO to build and launch a Web site to continue and expand its work in the Montgomery area.
"It was an honor to receive this award," he said. "I appreciate what Aieda and ECHO are doing for the community to promote unity and make Montgomery a better place to live and work."
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