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Who’s in the Money? Alabama House Races

By TWAY Kris

I’m sorry I got distracted with some other things over the last few weeks, but I did not want to neglect the Alabama House races and the financial reports that were filed at the end of January.  So, let’s take a look:

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Once again I have sorted the list by cash-on-hand, as what they have left to spend in the upcoming race seems most salient.  No surprise that incumbents top the list, and Republicans hold the top six spots, led by Minority Leader Rep. Mike Hubbard.  The Democrats are led by Rep. John Knight and Rep. Richard Lindsey, each with close to $100K on hand.

Susan Pace Hamill showed extremely strong, leading challengers in cash-on-hand and with almost 4 times as much as her nearest competitor for the open 63rd District seat.  John Merrill also showed strong with over $75K on hand in another open seat race.  Friend of TWAY, Joe Hubbard also showed strong, doubling the fundraising total of the sitting Rep. David Grimes and leading him in cash-on-hand by $15K.

What was most surprising to me in these numbers was how little some sitting representatives have in their campaign coffers.  I imagine many of them don’t raise money because they don’t have to, but there certainly seem to be some vulnerable incumbents on the fundraising front, who do not currently have any declared opposition.

Your comments and thoughts are welcome below.

February 18th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Category: Politics | 9 comments

PAC-to-PAC and Texting While Driving Bans Pass the House – 3rd Legislative Day Summary

By TWAY Kris

Today was the 3rd legislative day of the 2010 Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature.  The main action in the state Senate was on resolutions, though there was some debate on SB121, which calls for a $1 billion investment in infrastructure, utilizing funds from the Alabama Trust Fund over the next 10 years.

The House, on the other hand, was extremely busy passing bills.  The PAC-to-PAC ban passed without a single no vote…again.  We all hope that it will finally pass the Senate this time.  There was also a bill approved that would allow TVA money paid to north Alabama counties to remain in north Alabama instead of being re-distributed to “dry” counties. A bill to seize the property of sex offenders was also passed without a dissenting vote.  Finally, the House passed the ban on texting while driving, 95-3.

In other news today, the Governor revealed some additional details about the incident that precipitated the resignation of the head of his illegal gaming taskforce.  Also, about 200 tea party supporters showed up at the State House for a rally, including several Republican gubernatorial hopefuls.

 

January 19th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Alabama, Politics | 3 comments

We Made it to the End of the First Week

By TWAY Kris

If you’ve never looked at the legislative status sheet, it’s actually a very useful tool that you can get through the ALISON system, but many people don’t know it exists.  You can access the report as of today (end of the 2nd legislative day) HERE.

What it shows you is how far each bill that has been introduced has made it through the legislative process.  There has been a bit of a discussion going on at Doc’s Political Parlor about how quickly a bill can move through this process, but we now believe the shortest time is five days.  You can see why that is on the status report.  It spells out each of the steps and when those steps occurred for a bill.  Certainly, since we’re on the 2nd day, the furthest any bill could have made it is to it’s 2nd reading in the house of origin.

I was explaining to someone the other day the importance of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd readings in ensuring that bills can’t be rushed through with no knowledge from anyone.  The readings are not literal readings of the bill, they are simply the bill being highlighted again as one that is moving through the process.  So, it’s also a good idea for observers of the legislature to pay attention to where these bills are in the process, so that we aren’t suprised either.

Any thoughts you have on the legislative process or how the first week of the 2010 Regular Session went, please offer them below.

January 15th, 2010 | Tags: , , , | Category: Politics | One comment

Legislative Committee Meetings and Details of Governor’s Budget Today

By TWAY Kris

The second day of the 2010 regular legislative session brings several committee meetings that will deal with a number of bills.  In the Senate, the Governmental Affairs and Fiscal Responsibility and Accountability Committees are scheduled to meet today.  I don’t see much on the Governmental Affairs agenda that should be controversial.  However FR&A will be taking up the bill banning most no-bid contracts, two bills dealing with employment of illegal aliens, and a PACT bill (SB162).

The House has many committee hearings today, with the highlights being:

  • Public Safety committee taking up HB35, the text messaging ban bill
  • Constitution and Elections committee looking at HB30, the overseas voting act, and PAC-to-PAC transfers (HB85)
  • Judiciary committee looking at bills regarding school employees who engage in sex acts with minors
  • Government Operations committee will be looking at a bill to a transportation commission (HB70)

Also, the governor’s office will brief the media on the governor’s budget, which he described last night as providing at least level funding for state agencies and containing no layoffs.

NEWS AND OPINION TO START DAY 2:

Dothan Eagle: Culver says Riley’s Speech targeted him

Gadsden Times (AP): Legislator: “Riley writing a check that may not be good”

Gadsden Times(AP): Riley sets big agenda for last year in office

Montgomery Advertiser: Riley Tells Legislators There’s No Financial Crisis in Alabama

Montgomery Advertiser (Editorial): Riley Less Pessimistic on Funding

Decatur Daily (Editorial): Highway Bill Paved with Pork

January 13th, 2010 | Tags: , , , | Category: Politics | Leave a comment
 
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