Latest news with #AlabamaDepartmentofArchivesandHistory
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill to give politicians appointments to Alabama Archives' governing board fails
A bronze map of Alabama, as seen outside the Alabama Department of Archives and History on February 8, 2023. A bill that would have changed the governance of the department did not pass before the Legislature adjourned on Wednesday. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) A bill that would have subjected the Alabama Department of Archives and History's Board of Trustees to political appointments failed to become law in another legislative session. SB 5, sponsored by Sen. Chris Elliot, R-Josephine, would have taken the board's power to nominate its own members and made the governor the appointing authority for most seats, including members from each congressional district. Eight at-large appointments would havecome from the House Speaker, Senate President Pro Tempore, and the House and Senate Minority Leaders. This year's effort was the furthest his bill has moved. Elliott said that he planned on bringing it back next year. 'I think at the end, everybody was on the same page … just ran out of time. It happens,' Elliot said after the Senate adjourned its final day Wednesday, adding that 'it's certainly a starting point for next year, and we'll come back with it.' Elliott has pushed for similar legislation since a presentation about LGBTQ+ history in Alabama at Archives in June 2023 led to attacks from Republicans and right-wing tried to pull $5 million from the department in a special session on redistricting in the summer of 2023, but the bill failed to pass. The following year, Ellitt filed a bill that would have allowed state officials and legislative leaders to handpick the board members, keeping the board's size as it was. That bill made it through the Senate and a House committee, but it never got to a vote in the full House. The bill this year faced some delay after it returned to the upper chamber after the House added an amendment to remove the Senate confirmation process from appointments by the Speaker of the House. Sen. Robert Stewart, D-Selma, asked Elliot how he felt about eliminating the Senate confirmation process, saying that this would make the Department of Archives and History one of the few agencies not subject to Senate oversight via confirmations. Elliot, ignoring the debate while using his phone on the podium, did not look up. 'Well, I guess it's not his pleasure,' Stewart said. Elliot asked the Senate to adopt the House amendment, which would have sent the bill to the governor, but Senate Democrats continued to filibuster, effectively delaying and later killing some local bills. Elliott eventually changed his mind and asked the Senate to nonconcur, sending the bill to negotiations between the House and Senate through a conference committee. The conference committee met shortly before the Senate convened Wednesday and removed the amendment added in the House, bringing the bill back to the Senate version. But amid a filibuster from Senate Democrats, neither chamber took up the conference committee report before the Legislature adjourned for the year. Archives' board of trustees met on Wednesday afternoon. 'Whatever happens, we are very committed to working with the new appointments to be sure that we continue to serve the state well, and that there may well be some benefits of having those kinds of direct connections with the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House through their respective appointments,' Steve Murray, the director of Archives and History, said. He then expressed gratitude to the members who would have been replaced under the legislation. 'I also want to thank the staff who have maintained really an unbreakable spirit of service and continuity in our work,' he said. 'It has not been an easy couple of years for us here, but they remain absolutely committed to the work that we are doing, and do it with such energy and knowledge, and enthusiasm, and professionalism, that I could not be prouder to be affiliated with them.' After the 90-minute meeting, Delores R. Boyd, chair of the Board for Archives said the changes that was under consideration by the Legislature were unnecessary. 'The governance structure that has worked for years was adequate,' Boyd said. 'I respect the judgement of the politicians who believe that ought to have more impact. I hope that their motivation though, is one that is destined to keep this important agency on the same trajectory, that is: we are the crown jewel of state archival and history agencies. We have functioned well for over a century.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama House and Senate clash over local legislation as session nears end
Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro (left) looks at the phone of Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, on the floor of the Alabama Senate on May 7, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. The Senate saw two filibusters on Wednesday: one from Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham that would have allowed the governor to appoint members of the governing board of the Alabama Department of Archives and History without Senate confirmation; the other from Singleton in protest of the House not taking up a bill he considered important for his district. The Alabama Legislature ground to a halt on Wednesday afternoon amid a dispute between the Alabama House and a senator over a gambling bill for Greene County. The stand-off on the next-to-last legislative day of the session punctuated a tense day in the chambers that saw another filibuster on a bill that would change the governance of the Alabama Department of Archives and History and two Republican representatives getting into a shouting match on the House floor. 'The question about ending it today was the right decision, I believe, so that everyone stopped, we had a clean break, and then we're going into the last legislative day, knowing exactly what's in front of us,' said President Pro Tempore Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, after the Senate adjourned, adding that cloturing the Democratic filibuster would 'create a little bit of animosity towards each side of the aisle, and we don't want that.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The disputes left the fates of high-profile legislation and dozens of local bills for individual districts up in the air. The last day of the session is May 14. '[Next week] looks slow because I'm settled in They've got 40 more House bills,' said Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, who filibustered a Senate calendar for most of the afternoon. 'I'm willing to talk 40 more hours.' Singleton wanted the House to pass a SB 90, a bill for Greene County that would update the distribution of local gambling revenue in the county and change the appointing authority for Greene County Racing Commission members from the governor to the legislative delegation. Wednesday was the last day for lawmakers to get bills to the governor's desk before Gov. Kay Ivey can wield a pocket veto over legislation. Singleton said Ivey's staff said she wasn't going to sign his bill, and that a Senate agenda of 10 bills taken up by the chamber on Wednesday 'needed to get out' because 'she's not going to sign the bills.' 'The governor has said to leadership that there were certain bills that she was not going to sign … That's why you saw all those bills because they needed to get out today, so that therefore they could override the veto on the last day if she decided to veto them,' Singleton said. Gina Maiola, a spokesperson for the governor, wrote in a text message Wednesday 'that's not necessarily true regarding issues with local bills,' saying that the governor met with leadership to discuss the final days of the session and agree to a final schedule. Singleton filibustered the local calendar but allowed the first five local bills on it to pass. The House did not put Singleton's bill on a calendar on Wednesday, likely dooming it for the session. In the House, Rep. Curtis Travis, D-Tuscaloosa, requested to bring SB 90 to the floor out of order, a move that requires four-fifths of members present to approve. After an hour and 45 minutes of debate, Travis withdrew the motion. House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, said after the House adjourned that all gaming bills must be brought to the floor on a special order calendar, regardless if they are local legislation or statewide bills. '(Singleton) was really adamant about getting on the floor, and gave a chance for Rep. Travis to have a conversation about it,' Ledbetter said after the House adjourned. 'And I think that's what he wanted to do. And unfortunately, our rules and rules in the Senate aren't the same. And anything that's got to do with gaming in the House, it's got to be general and going to the House floor.' Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest, who co-sponsored a comprehensive gambling package last year, supported the motion saying Alabamians gamble anyway. 'I do feel that we failed our citizens last year by not voting on a comprehensive gaming package,' Whitt said. 'This is a great demonstration of what happens when we let this patchwork gaming happen all across the state, and it will continue to happen. If you don't think gambling and gaming is happening in your communities, you're all wrong.' The House had its own internal drama Wednesday when Reps. David Faulkner, R-Mountain Brook, and Matt Simpson, R-Daphne, had a heated discussion on the House floor over an amendment to SB 82, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur. The bill requires municipal court magistrates and circuit court clerks to annually audit and recall outstanding warrants for Class B and Class C misdemeanors and violations that have not been served within 10 years. Faulkner's amendment allowed the presiding judge to decide if a warrant would be recalled. Simpson asked Faulkner to change his amendment to also alert the prosecuting attorney. 'We're not amending the amendment,' Faulkner said. 'You can amend the bill.' Simpson argued Faulkner could not do that. 'I can have this debate with you right now because I'm asking to amend the amendment,' Simpson said. 'Let's let the body ask to amend the amendment.' The pair got heated, then the bill was carried over to the call of the chair. The pair continued their debate away from the podiums on the House floor, then moved to a side room for about an hour. They emerged, but the bill was not brought back up. Both chambers of the Legislature will return on Wednesday afternoon, but the battle between the chambers may not ease. Ledbetter said Singleton's bill will not be on the calendar when the House returns. But Singleton said after the Senate adjourned that he still wants his bill passed 'like all other local bills.' The Senate minority leader noted the Senate still had to pass about 50 local bills and approve confirmations, and warned that he was willing to filibuster most if not all of them. 'That's where we will be. If that's what game they want to play, I'm willing to play, and I think most of you know that I can play that game,' Singleton said. 'We probably have another 25 confirmations out there. Somebody's not going to get confirmed, and some local bills will die.' The impasse could also threaten high-profile state bills, including a bill broadening police immunity that Ivey called for in her State of the State address in February. A bill to change the governance of the Alabama Department of Archives and History also stalled after Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, objected to the bill removing Senate confirmation of board members. The bill will go to a conference committee. 'As of right now, the local legislation is my main priority because all politics is local. We want to make sure that we try to take care of our members here and the members in the House,' Gudger said after the Senate adjourned Wednesday. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House passes bill restructuring Alabama Department of Archives' governing board
The Alabama Department of Archives and History, as seen on February 8, 2023. The Alabama House Tuesday approved a \bill that restructures the board of trustees for the Alabama Department of Archives & History, which the House passed along party lines on Tuesday.(Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) The Alabama House of Representatives passed a bill along party lines Tuesday that restructures the board of trustees of the Alabama Department of Archives & History. Currently, the Alabama Department of Archives and History has two trustees from each congressional district and two additional at-large members, plus the governor or their designees. The board nominates its own members. SB 5, sponsored by Sen. Chris Elliot, R-Josephine, would make the governor the appointing authority for most seats, including members from each congressional district, with eight at-large appointments coming from the speaker, president pro tempore, and the minority leaders of the House and Senate. The bill strips the board from nominating its own members. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'This bill reconstitutes the board of directors to make it more in line with our other two flagship museums in the state: the battleship and the rocket center,' Rep. Jamie Kiel, R-Russellville, who carried the bill in the House, said. Rep. Joe Lovvorn, R-Auburn, offered an amendment that takes away the Senate confirmation process from the appointment by the Speaker of the House. 'The basis of that is: Why would the Speaker have an appointment and that appointment be confirmed by the Senate?' Lovvorn said. Rep. Napoleon Bracy, D-Mobile, said he is concerned about how people will be appointed and removed from the board. 'This has just been a messy situation from the start, I think we can all kinda agree on that,' Bracy said. The bill passed the Senate 26-5 on April 18. Elliot was one of several Republicans who attacked the Archives Department for hosting a presentation on LGBTQ+ history in Alabama in June 2023, claiming the board is not accountable to elected officials, calling it a 'unicorn.' Elliott then introduced a bill in the redistricting special session in mid-2023 to strip Archives of $5 million, which did not pass. He also introduced a similar bill for the 2024 legislative session that would have given state officials and legislative leaders the power to appoint board members, while keeping the board size the same. The bill passed the Senate and a House committee but did not reach the House floor. The bill received approval from the House State Government Committee on April 23 with some audible 'no' votes from Democrats. Lovvorn's amendment on Tuesday passed 96-0. Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery, questioned why the board needs to be restructured now. 'The staff that's at the Archives, they're incredibly professional. They're historians. They're the experts that are doing their best to honor all people in the state. That's incredibly important, making sure we're telling the full true history of Alabama,' Ensler said. He claimed the bill is government overreach. 'It seems like it's big government where we're all of a sudden micro-managing what this board can do,' he said. 'This just feels like a personal attack on their expertise, their professionalism.' The bill passed 74-29. It goes to the Senate for concurrence or conference committee. There are two days left in the legislative session. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House committee approves bill restructuring Department of Archives' governing board
Sen. Chris Elliot, R-Josephine, speaks to the House State Government Committee on April 23, 2025, in the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Alabama. The committee approved Elliot's bill that will restructure the Alabama Department of Archives and History on Wednesday. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector) An Alabama House committee approved a bill Wednesday that would restructure the board of trustees of the Alabama Department of Archives & History. SB 5, sponsored by Sen. Chris Elliot, R-Josephine, would remove the board's appointing authority and increase its membership from 16 to 17 members, by making Gov. Kay Ivey the 17th voting member. 'Previously she was not a voting member, and now she'll be a voting member,' Elliot said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The governor would be the appointing authority for most seats, including members from each congressional district, with eight at-large appointments coming from the speaker, president pro tempore, and the minority leaders of the House and Senate. 'Basically, it takes the board from being a self-appointing board to being one that has appointing authorities,' Elliot said. The House State Government committee approved the legislation with some audible no's from Democrats. The Senate passed the bill last week 26-5. The new structure will take effect as current board members' terms expire. Rep. Prince Chestnut, D-Selma, opposed the legislation because he did not like part of the bill that says each board member will 'serve at the pleasure of his or her appointing authority.' 'This makes it an extremely hyper-political board,' Chestnut said. Currently, the Alabama Department of Archives and History has two trustees from each congressional district and two additional at-large members, plus the governor or their designees. Elliot was one of several Republicans who attacked the Archives Department for hosting a presentation on LGBTQ+ history in Alabama in June 2023, claiming the board is not accountable to elected officials, calling it a 'unicorn.' Elliott then introduced a bill in the redistricting special session in mid-2023 to strip Archives of $5 million, which did not pass. He also introduced a similar bill for the 2024 legislative session that would have given state officials and legislative leaders the power to appoint board members, while keeping the board size the same. The bill passed the Senate and a House committee but did not reach the House floor. The bill will move to the full House. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
