Robert Bentley vetoes bill requiring longer driver’s license office hours in Alabama
A widely passed bill requiring driver’s license offices across the state to be open a minimum of two days a week was pocket vetoed by Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley Monday, after the time during which he had to either veto or sign the bill expired. Because the pocket veto occurred after the Alabama Legislature had already concluded the session during which the bill was passed, the effort is dead for the year. The bill passed on the last day of the 2016 Regular Session, earning a vote of 24-3 in the Senate, and 99-1 in the House. The legislation was introduced during the budget fights of 2015’s multiple sessions after the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency decided to close down 31 of the state’s lowest-utilized driver’s license offices, including 10 in the already under-served agricultural “Black Belt” region. After a significant public outcry over the closures, many of the offices were reopened on a part-time basis, for as little as one day a month. Civil Rights activist Jesse Jackson even came to Alabama in October of last year to protest the bill, and have a conversation with the governor and other elected leaders in the state. The bill’s sponsor, Democratic Sen. Hank Sanders of Selma, says he is disappointed by the pocket veto, but plans on introducing the bill again in either a Special Session later this year or during 2017’s Regular Session. Supporters of the bill say they’d even be amenable to having the driver’s license offices open only one day a week, as was almost included in an amendment that was tabled due to timing concerns. “I’m not going to quit trying,” Sanders said. “I want every county to have a place where people can go on a weekly basis to get a driver’s license.” As of publishing time, the governor’s office had given no indication of why Bentley chose not to sign the bill into law.
Robert Bentley calls license office closures a funding problem
Gov. Robert Bentley on Wednesday said it’s up to lawmakers to come up with funding to reopen 31 rural driver’s license offices that were shuttered this fiscal year. “I do feel sorry for the rural areas. I do feel sorry for those who have to drive distances to get a driver’s license but the Legislature chose this. They chose not to fund these agencies,” Bentley said Wednesday. The governor said he is in discussions with lawmakers about how to reopen the offices, at least some of the time, but so far nothing has been finalized. The closures have become the latest point of contention between legislators and the governor. Bentley argued that lawmakers caused the closures when they rejected tax increases. Lawmakers have questioned the need for the closures, saying the state is saving little money while creating a hardship for people in rural, poverty-stricken areas of the state. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency last month announced the closures of the satellite offices – where a state examiner would typically give driving tests one or two days a week – because of budget cuts. House Ways and Means General Fund Chairman Steve Clouse said Bentley had discussed using money from the governor’s emergency fund to reopen the offices until February and then asking lawmakers to approve a supplemental appropriation, or tax, when they return in February for the 2016 legislative session. Bentley said he, “talked about that, but we may not do it that way.” “There are different ways we could do this, but it still comes down to a funding issue. If the Legislature wants to do their job and fund these offices then they are going to have to come up with some money. It’s really up to them,” Bentley said. However, Clouse said he was unsure where additional state dollars would come from for ALEA. “The money is just not there,” Clouse, R-Ozark, said State agencies last week announced the closure of state parks, license offices and National Guard Armories because of funding reductions in the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. Shuttering the license offices has created the greatest backlash. U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell asked the Department of Justice to investigate the impact on minorities since Alabama requires a photo identification to vote. Black lawmakers held a news conference with the Rev. Jesse Jackson last week criticizing the closures as an added burden on poor, rural families who already struggle with transportation. The offices were largely located in county-owned buildings and a state examiner would travel to the offices to give driving tests typically one day a week. An ALEA spokeswoman said last week that the department was on track to spend $100,000 on travel to staff the offices. ALEA Secretary Spencer Collier has called the closures a business decision to allocate existing staff to the state’s 44 fulltime offices that serve a much higher number of people each week. The 31 locations in 2014 collectively issued 5,000 learners permits, 3,149 driver’s licenses and gave 10,587 permit exams, according to numbers from ALEA. Bentley said one of the possibilities under discussion was to have the rural offices open twice a month, instead of once a week. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
