This week at the Alabama Statehouse: May 12-14
All eyes will be on the Republican leadership this week as competing solutions to the state’s budget shortfall make their way through the House and Senate: At 1 p.m. Tuesday the Senate Tourism & Marketing Committee holds a public hearing on Senate Bill 453, Sen. Del Marsh’s proposal to legalize casino-style gambling in Alabama. Marsh is expected to ask the committee to vote on the bill the same day. At 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, a House panel on boards and commissions will consider a handful of bills. Included on the agenda is House Bill 563. Rep. Patricia Todd and Rep. Howard Sanderford sponsored the legislation to ensure that only licensed veterinarians can make medical or surgical decisions on the treatment of animals. The bill also says spay and neuter clinics would be regulated as veterinary facilities. House Bill 14 by Rep. Randall Shedd will also be heard. It makes revisions to the state cosmetology and barbering board by removing the licensing for barbers and changing details related to who can be appointed and for how long to the renamed cosmetology board. At 3 p.m. Wednesday, the Senate committee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development will hear Senate Bill 452 offered by Sen. Bill Holtzclaw, which would change the law for brewpubs to allow allow them to sell beer not just for on-premises but also off-premises consumption. A slate of proposals to boost tax revenue are expected on the House floor this week. House Republicans unveiled their budget plan last week, including $151 million in tax revenue and a recommendation to accept an offer from the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in exchange for exclusive gaming rights. The Times Daily is reporting that the tax measures are likely to fail in a Senate unconvinced of the need to boost revenue. A full committee meeting schedule can be found here. Keep checking ALToday.com for updates.
Best practices: Sen. Bill Holtzclaw’s blog
I’ll admit it: I’m impressed and maybe even a little jealous. This website has been launched almost two weeks and some days I find myself struggling to balance all of the responsibilities that come with making it a success and writing as much as I want to be and should be. Which is why I feel like I’ve run out of excuses as I’ve run into State Sen. Bill Holtzclaw’s website with blog. As I look for topics and to get a handle on the beast that is Alabama politics and the goings on at the State House, I’ve come across some examples of best practices and some examples of times I say to myself “if the public only knew this was happening”. One of the most impressive things I’ve come across is the website and blog that Holtzclaw maintains. He essentially gives his constituents nearly daily updates on the ins and outs of what’s happening in Montgomery. It’s quite impressive and certainly a great model that I wish more legislators and elected officials adopted. Holtzclaw has maintained his site since December 2010 giving sometimes riveting accounts of what’s going on. In a May 2011 blog, “Good, Bad and Ugly” he detailed a crazy night of attempting to pass the budget and the lengths that Democrats went through to get some pr0-life legislation passed. Speaking to AL.Com this year, Holtzclaw said, “I answer to the people that sent me to Montgomery, not the people in Montgomery.” That strikes me as the attitude and level of commitment to their district that everyone should have, not just during election years or campaigning, but an every-day commitment to transparency and communication.
