The following Alabama legislative speed read comes by way of Dentons 50 partner Toby Roth.
With 9 legislative days remaining in the 2017 legislative session, political developments continue to dominate the news at the State House. Both the U.S. Senate special election and the 2018 Governor’s race were news items this week. Meanwhile, the legislature is expected to resume actions on several key issues next week like the budgets and possibly revisit the gas tax increase.
U.S. Senate special election
Last week’s bombshell decision by Gov. Kay Ivey (R) to move up the U.S. Senate special election to this fall was anticipated to bring more candidates into the race against appointed incumbent Luther Strange. The predictions appear to be accurate with the announcement this week by suspended Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore that he is entering the U.S. Senate race. Moore was suspended from the court last May for failing to abide by federal court decisions and orders related to gay marriage. Even though he was suspended, Moore was forced to resign his chief justice position because state law doesn’t allow judges to run for other non-judicial offices. Moore will be a formidable candidate with high name recognition, however despite his two successful statewide campaigns for chief justice he has twice lost primary elections for Governor in 2006 and 2010.
Also this week, the President of the Alabama Christian Coalition, Randy Brinson, announced he was entering the race, and State Rep. Ed Henry (R-Hartselle) had previously announced he was running. Other prominent names that are rumored to be considering the race include Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh (R-Anniston), State Sen. Slade Blackwell (R-Birmingham), State. Sen. Trip Pittman (R-Montrose), and Congressmen Robert Aderholt (R-4th Dist) and Mo Brooks (R-5th Dist.). Under the proclamation issued last week by Gov. Ivey, the U.S. Senate special election primary will be August 15; the runoff, if necessary, will be Sept. 26; and the general election will be Dec. 12.
New chief justice
On the same day that Roy Moore formally resigned his suspended chief justice seat, Governor Ivey appointed Justice Lyn Stuart (R) as chief justice. Lyn Stuart has served on the Supreme Court for over 16 years and has been serving as acting chief justice since Moore’s suspension last year. By elevating Stuart to the top position on the court, Governor Ivey now will appoint a new associate justice to fill the seat that Stuart formerly held. Amidst the court resignation and appointment, Justice Tom Parker – a Roy Moore ally on the court – announced that he would run for chief justice in 2018 when Stuart is expected to seek re-election to her newly-appointed seat.
Governor’s race – Although it is more than a year away, there were several announcements this week about the 2018 Governor’s race. Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle announced he would run as Republican for Governor. Also, Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox announced he was considering a run for Governor as a Democrat, but indicated he was also considering the U.S. Senate race later this year. And former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville ended weeks of speculation when he announced he was not running for Governor next year. Tuberville had embarked on a very public consideration of a campaign for Governor, but cited his regard for newly-minted Governor Kay Ivey as a big reason for standing down. Public Service Commission President Twinkle Cavanaugh (R) has previously announced her plans to run for Governor, but the decision of Ivey to seek re-election could well impact Cavanaugh along with numerous others interested in running.
Gas Tax
Although Speaker Mac McCutcheon previously declared that the legislation to increase the gas tax for highways and infrastructure was dead for this year and next year (an election year), there remains an effort to revive the issue. State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) introduced SB386 which would allow voters in each county to decide whether to raise the gas tax up to 5 cents in their county (the House bill that was pulled earlier in the session would have been a statewide gas tax increase). The county tax increases would expire after 5 years. Orr’s bill made it out of Senate committee this week, but the business community coalition supporting a statewide gas tax increase does not support this bill. In fact, even the opponents of the statewide gas tax bill such as the convenience store owners also oppose this county-by-county vote gas tax bill, and it is considered very unlikely to pass the legislature.
As for the statewide gas tax increase, there is a renewed effort to revive that legislation by Rep. Phil Poole. The business coalition has held meetings with the new Governor, Kay Ivey, and reportedly she is supportive of reviving the effort. Speaker Mac McCutcheon is believed to be supportive of the statewide gas tax but likely has concerns that bringing up the bill could burn up limited time with just 9 legislative days left. There is optimism among the business coalition that the Speaker will allow the statewide gas tax to come up for another floor vote, but there is still substantial opposition to tax increases which makes the gas tax very iffy at this point.
Redistricting
The issue of legislative redistricting re-emerged this week as lawmakers attempt to address a federal court decision invalidating some of the district lines that the legislature approved in 2012. Despite the fact that the federal judges took issue with only 12 of the legislative districts, those who are working on a redraft in time for the 2018 elections said this week their proposed plans will affect 25 of 35 Senate districts and about 66 of 105 House districts. It remains unclear if the legislature will be able to approve revised district plans in the time remaining this session, or if Gov. Ivey will be forced to call a special session in the summer or fall to address the matter.
