Alabama House passes bill overhauling Birmingham Water Works Board

Yahoo

01-05-2025

Rep. Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham, speaks during a debate over a bill changing the make-up of the Birmingham Water Works Board on May 1, 2025. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jim Carns, R-Vestavia, passed the House over the objections of Jefferson County Democrats. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
The Alabama House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday to reorganize the Birmingham Water Works Board (BWWB) over the objections of Jefferson County Democrats who called it state meddling in local affairs.
SB 330, sponsored by Sen. Dan Roberts, R-Mountain Brook, allows each of the following entities to appoint one member to the board of the utility: the City of Birmingham, Birmingham City Council, Jefferson County Commission, Blount County Commission, Shelby County Commission, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Governor. The governor's appointment is restricted to a resident of Jefferson County.
The legislation passed the Senate last week unanimously.
'I say it's a miracle because I've been here a lot of years,' he said. 'Never, ever have I ever seen a bill where Jefferson County was involved that passed out of the Senate 30-0.'
The legislation is broadly worded but effectively targets the BWWB, which supplies water to Jefferson County and surrounding areas has drawn criticism over rates and governance. Democrats in the Jefferson County delegation have long resisted efforts to reorganize the board, saying it would give officials outside Jefferson County power over a local resource. Critics have also noted the plans would give majority-white counties control of an asset in a county that is 67% Black.
Jefferson County Democrats spoke on the bill for over two hours Thursday morning.
'For over a century, the Birmingham Water Works Board has provided safe, clean and reliable water to hundreds of thousands of residents and businesses across our region,' Rep. Patrick Sellers, D-Pleasant Grove, said. 'Their work is not only essential, it's exceptional.'
While Carns said he would not take any amendments on the legislation, four members of the delegation tried. Sellers said the board should not be politicized by elected state officials being eligible for appointment. He offered an amendment that would prohibit any of the appointees from being a lawmaker.
The amendment failed 70-28.
Rep. Ontario Tillman, D-Bessemer, offered an amendment to return appointing authority for one seat on the board to Birmingham City Council instead of the Blount County Commission because there are fewer customers in Blount County than in Jefferson County.
'We are silencing the voices of Jefferson County when it comes to being able to control their own water, which is a very precious resource,' Tillman said. 'We are losing that because we allow an outside source that serves maybe 100 people in certain areas, maybe 8% outside of Jefferson County, to be able to control the water.'
The amendment failed 70-28.
Rep. Jim Hill, R-Odenville, offered an amendment to limit the lieutenant governor's appointment to a resident of St. Clair County, which is served by the BWWB. He said he'd only ever support the legislation if St. Clair County was represented.
'We are a customer. We don't like to be treated that way, as if we are not important,' Hill said. 'If you think we're big enough, if you think we're important enough, if you think we ought to have representation on a board that we contribute $3 million in revenue to a year then let us have a seat.'
The amendment failed 54-38. Hill abstained on the final vote.
Rep. Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham, offered an amendment to restrict the board's appointees from having ownership or interest in any sewer system located in the county the authorizing municipality is located.
'So any potential complications with this bill have not been fully considered, particularly considering the Jefferson County sewer system,' Rafferty said.
The amendment failed 69-29.
Rafferty began protesting the legislation as the House adopted the Special Order Calendar. He said the bill is an assault on local governance.
'Each of us in this chamber would be rightfully concerned if outside representatives attempted to dictate how water systems operate in our districts without consulting us or even including us at the table, or, hell, even the room where this legislation was created,' he said.
Sellers said during debate that there are other issues with water supply and sewage in the state that are more important than restructuring the BWWB.
'Lowndes County, a significant portion of this majority black, low-income community, lacks proper sewer infrastructure, leading to raw sewage exposure in homes and public spaces,' he said. 'Why now? Why the Birmingham Water Works Board?'
Rep. Kelvin Datcher, D-Birmingham, called the bill undemocratic after it passed 66-27.
'What happened is undemocratic, and it absolutely destroys the opportunity for us to continue to work together as a region,' he said.
The bill goes to Gov. Kay Ivey's desk to be signed into law. A message seeking comment from her office was sent Thursday afternoon.
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