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ethics laws

News / Legislature

Once again, Godspeed Speaker McCutcheon

When Alabama’s Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon released a statement regarding the 2018 House election results in legislative districts across the state, he did more than take a victory lap, he actually laid out a list of priorities for the next four years. McCutcheon wrote, “Our infrastructure is in decay, and our roads and … Continued
November 9, 2018

Republicans playing by different rules when it comes to state ethics laws

The law is simple: Candidates running for public office in Alabama must file a statement of economic interests when they qualify, and then must file an annual SEI by the yearly deadline. That’s not hard, right? File an SEI when you qualify. File again at the next year’s deadline. Simple. But then, following ethics laws … Continued
August 14, 2018

King leads April fundraising, but elites allied with Canary double down on Marshall

In what may be the most consequential political race of 2018, interim Attorney General Steve Marshall was bested in fundraising in April. According to the latest campaign finance reports, former Attorney General Troy King raised around $500,000 to end the month while Marshall received just under $250,000 during the same period. Of the four Republican … Continued
May 7, 2018

The Republican Party has a problem

Greed is consuming the Republican Party. From top to bottom, state and national, today’s GOP is filled with men and women who will shirk any ideal, sell out any person or group and subvert any ethics laws to enrich themselves and their friends. If you doubt this, do me one favor: Read the New York … Continued
April 23, 2018

Alabama politicians aren’t even trying to hide the corruption anymore

The corruption within Alabama’s state government doesn’t surprise me anymore. The brazenness of that corruption does. Seriously, these people aren’t even hiding it anymore. Former Republican majority leader Micky Hammon, before being busted, convicted and shipped off to federal prison, actually told a reporter about his illegal deal with a health care company. Former Republican … Continued
April 4, 2018

House sends economic developer bill to governor’s desk

Just before ending this year’s legislative session, the Alabama House of Representatives voted to send a controversial economic development bill — one that would exempt a large group of “economic development professionals” from having to register as lobbyists — to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk. By a vote of 52 to 22 with a large contingency … Continued
March 30, 2018

Prevaricators fool Senate lawmakers again

In a stunningly shrewd move orchestrated by attorneys and lobbyists representing a tiny group of shadowy special interest lawmakers, on Tuesday, eliminated the part-time provision that plagued the so-called economic development HB317. But in doing so, they also removed specific language that defined a full-time economic development professional — potentially opening a loophole that may be … Continued
March 28, 2018

Senate delays vote on economic developer bill after negotiations

A controversial bill that would exempt a class of “economic development professionals” from having to register with the state as lobbyists appears to have made it through a round of intense negotiations and sits in a position to pass. Those negotiations, which took the better part of the weekend and most of Tuesday, produced a … Continued
March 28, 2018

HB317: The players

Sometime after 10 a.m. today, the Alabama Senate will take up HB317, a bill to exempt a specific class of individuals from the state’s ethics laws. During a hearing on the bill before the Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee, Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh told the committee members that the legislation was, … Continued
March 22, 2018