These guys have absolutely no shame

Last year, during the first week of the first year of the legislative quadrennial, our glorious Alabama legislature tried to covertly pass a 62% pay raise – effective immediately – for themselves. It was a brazen, coordinated effort that was obviously planned well in advance, although none of the legislators choose to inform citizens just a few months earlier during elections. Their attempt to enact the raise via a voice vote was rebuffed when Gov. Riley vetoed the legislation. Of course many of our legislators have no shame whatsoever and presume that voters are mindless dolts with short memories and they overrode the veto on a recorded vote. Voila! A 62% raise.

Not happy with just that bit of chicanery, some members of our part time legislature also tried to also add taxpayer funded health insurance to their compensation package. Fortunately, a state insurance board killed that effort.

But our illustrious legislators don’t give up easily! Sen. E.B. McClain (hasn’t he (allegedly) pilfered enough money from us?) is pushing his insurance proposal again this year. It cleared a senate committee yesterday. It is no secret that Alabama’s general fund is strained this year. One state official said “there are not enough dollars in the General Fund to pay for all the activities of state government.” And yet McClain is asking taxpayers to give him and other legislators more.

The legislature is also fighting to take over control of the two-year college system. This is an especially bold move – one that is an outright challenge to the people of Alabama to see if we will simply let them get away with anything. For years the legislators have used the two year college system as a cushy job factory that effectively serves as a proxy for AEA support. Bradley Byrne recently took the reins of the two year system and as an element of purging rampant corruption (often involving double dipping legislators) he banned legislators from working in the two year system. (Byrne’s policy has since been “enjoined” by a Montgomery judge) This upset individuals like Ken Guin and they are fighting back. To give them control would be tantamount to letting the proverbial fox guard the hen house.

So what else has our legislature done over the past session and a half other than attempt to excise additional spoils from the public treasury and fight to preserve phony jobs given to them solely to leverage their influence? Well, they did get into a fist fight. They also got real pissy when they learned that Iron Bowl tickets were not their birth right.