Alabama Politics in
Doc’s Political Parlor
& Home of Lawn Mower Repair

Thursday we cited The Cullman Times saying that Gov. Bob Riley had “unexpected business” in Washington at “a high level meeting.”

And we noted that Harpers.org reported that a Cullman County GOP source attributed Riley’s absence to the administration being “very concerned about all the questions about the role Karl Rove played in this prosecution.”

The Birmingham News and the Montgomery Advertiser report today that the trip was about economic development. The Advertiser story made the specific point that the trip had nothing to do with fallout from the Siegelman conviction.

“Don’t believe those stupid blogs,” Jeff Emerson, a Riley spokesman, said Friday. “I can’t believe reporters are listening to that stuff. Yeah, he’s in Washington today, but he was not called to Washington. It’s got nothing to do with Don Siegelman.”

Okay.

I can’t make the case that the Governor’s office is being anything but straightforward on this. I do believe Harper’s Monthly and harpers.org to be of sufficient reputation that, assuming the Governor’s office is correct, I will also assume that Harper’s reported what they heard, but that what they heard was not right. I wish I had time in the next few days to ask around if that indeed was a rumor in Cullman County circles. Perhaps a commenter will know more.

I’m always glad to know that anybody is reading any of this, and despite readers who would strenuously object to this point, we do want to be responsible here. So I am glad to give the account of the trip from the Governor’s office.

I am intrigued that it was Wednesday before the Governor’s office could let the Cullman County folks know he could not come Friday because of a high level economic development meeting in Washington.

This is as good a point as any for a bit of clarification. I never believed (or said) that the quote attributed to the Cullman County GOP source was evidence of Rove’s participation in a conspiracy. The source was reported to have said that Washington folks were “very concerned about all the questions about the role Karl Rove played in this prosecution.” Concern about the questions is, in my book, not acknowledgement that Rove did play a role.

I thought this was quite clear, but I spent a fair amount of time clarifying this with folks in email and to some degree in the comments to people who believed that I was asserting with that post that there was a conspiracy.

Thanks to Flashpoint’s post for bringing the Advertiser article to my attention which I also should have seen in our Daily News Digest.

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• Siegelman Sentence Sends Riley to DC

Crossed my radar screen of late…

• A Birmingham man is not leaving his home until he counts to a million. Live on the internet. Watch him here. Read a little about it here or here. I find it odd and interesting. Enough even that I have considered buying an ad on his bathroom door.
• Today is the last day you can take a survey to help a doctoral student in media and public affairs at LSU in Baton Rouge who is researching the impact of blogs on state politics around the country. If you haven’t already, take a few minutes and help her out.
• Scott Walker of The Birmingham News rigged an old newspaper box to deliver headlines every morning to his living room. (See the picture.) Pretty nifty.
• Dan’s clever idea, Dan PAC, has garnered good press around the state. Here’s a good roundup at Between the Links.
• I am sorry that Wheeler at Alablawg has left the state but am glad to see that he plans to keep his blog going in some form or fashion. We’ll miss having him in Alabama. Here are some things he’ll miss.
• The Politics in Alabama blog is closed for renovation. Jeff says there will be a re-launch with a new design and format. You can keep up with him at his personal blog.
• Two new Alabama blogs have popped up that are political-ish: Mama’s Apple Pie and Legal Schnauzer.

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In part because “the United States attorneys scandal has made clear that partisan politics is a driving force in the Bush Justice Department,” The New York Times is calling this morning for a Congressional investigation into the Siegelman conviction.

Congress, though, should not wait. It should insist that Mr. Canary and everyone on the 2002 call, as well as Mrs. Canary and Mr. Rove, testify about the Siegelman prosecution. In standing by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales throughout the attorneys scandal, the Bush administration has made clear that it does not care about the integrity of the Justice Department. By investigating Mr. Siegelman’s case, Congress can show that it does.

Thanks to reader H.

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Related Articles:

• Siegelman Sentence Sends Riley to DC
• Siegelman Plot Going Mainstream

Birmingham News – Lawyers for Siegelman and Scrushy file for emergency hearing before 11th Circuit seeking immediate release pending appeal.

Birmingham News – Environmental Management Commission unanimously rejects proposal to reduce carcinogens in state’s waterways.

Birmingham News – State program attempts to match career skills with employers.

Mobile Press-Register – Attorney say affidavit alleging political implications in Siegelman case won’t be issue in appeal.

Mobile Press-Register – Six qualify for Senate District 32 vacancy.

Montgomery Advertiser - Riley’s office denies that Washington trip has anything to do with Siegelman verdict.

Tuscaloosa News - Democrats dismayed at Siegelman sentence, GOP remains silent.

Opelika-Auburn News –  The Opelika-Auburn News contends that Siegelman, Scrushy got what they deserved.  
(more…)

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Today, “the Alabama Environmental Management Commission voted unanimously this afternoon to defeat a proposal to lower the cancer risk allowed from chemicals poured into Alabama’s waterways.” The Alabama Environmental Management Commission oversees the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM).

Twenty-eight other states and nearly two-thirds of the country’s population live with the tougher standards that were proposed for Alabama, but the agency whose mission it is to “improve the quality of Alabama’s environment and the health of all its citizens” agreed with Alabama Power, the Alabama Coal Association, and the Business Council of Alabama that our lower standard is good enough for Alabamians.

More from today’s story:

The state’s water rules are written that 1 in 100,000 people could get cancer from chemicals in the state’s waters. Clean water advocates had asked for a tougher rule incorporating a standard of 1 in 1 million.

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• Alabama Water: Questions and Cancers

Birmingham News - Two community college presidents retire rather than face firing.

Birmingham News - Chancellor prohibits college presidents from spending state funds on lobbying firm.

Birmingham News - Report reveals that House Majority Leader Ken Guin (D-Carbon Hill) received payment from Shelton State Community College for  “duties as a legislator in tracking legislation, and in providing customary constituent services.”

Birmingham News - Alabama Environmental Management Commission to decide today on whether to reduce allowable carcinogens in state waterways.

Birmingham News - The Birmingham News sees prison sentences given to former governor as offering as offering promise to “those who want to see cleaner government.”

Birmingham News - The Birmingham News urges Environmental Management Commission to enact tougher standards to limit carcinogens in state’s waterways.

Mobile Press-Register - Pending retirement likely not to impact legislative career of Rep. Yvonne Kennedy (D-Mobile).

Mobile Press-Register - Former governor sentenced to over 7 years in corruption case.

Mobile Press-Register - Press-Register says Siegelman, Scrushy deserved prison time.

Montgomery Advertiser - Governor issues proclamation asking citizens to “pray for rain.”

Montgomery Advertiser - Report by two-year college systems paints Bishop State as in “serious trouble.”

Montgomery Advertiser - The Montgomery Advertiser sees proposed strengthening of state’s environmental rules as “reasonable.”

Decatur Daily - State Board of Education passes resolution prohbiting “pass through” appropriations in two-year college system.

Tuscaloosa News - In spite of Supreme Court’s refusal to hear case, The Tuscaloosa News calls for the state to proivde post-conviction legal counsel to death row inmates.

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Former Democratic Governor Don Siegelman was sentenced to more than seven years today. Former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy was sentenced to more than six after their bribery convictions.

The Cullman Times:

Unexpected business will keep Gov. Bob Riley from attending the Cullman County Republican Party dinner tonight as planned.

…

[Treasurer Brenda] Horn received a telephone call Wednesday morning from the governor’s office.

The scheduler told Horn the governor was called to Washington for a high-level meeting. She said he was disappointed.

Harpers.org:

Riley told disappointed organizers of the Cullman function that he will meet with Bush Administration officials to discuss damage control relating to the Siegelman case. “The sentence will come down today, and they’re very concerned about all the questions about the role Karl Rove played in this prosecution,” the [Cullman County GOP] source said.

Damage control? For Rove’s role? (Undoubtedly, Rove knows nothing about any role he may have played though what he means to say is that he has no comment.)

I would like to know more about what they are so anxious about.

Other bits:

• The prosecution believed Siegelman deserved a tougher sentence because he was tough on crime. From AP: “But chief prosecutor Louis Franklin said Siegelman deserves a harsh sentence partly because of his tough stance against crime.”

  I suppose the flip side of that is that if Siegelman had been lax on crime as Attorney General, the prosecution would have asked for a lighter sentence?

• Birmingham News:
  

  Fuller decided that charges on which Siegelman was acquitted at trial could be used in considering his sentence. Prosecutors had argued that, even though a jury did not find him guilty, there still was evidence of some wrongdoing.

  I know I recognized in an earlier post that this is sometimes done in federal cases, but I do not understand it. If a defendant is found innocent of charges, why should those charges be used in considering the sentence? If you are not guilty of a charge, how can you get prison time for it?

  If I am a prosecutor with a vendetta against someone who is going to federal court, why not seek to bring a lot of extra charges that may not stick for the purpose of trying to lengthen the sentence?

  If someone was innocent of all charges brought, wouldn’t it make as much sense for that defendant to get some prison time because a judge decided that charges on which the defendant was acquitted could be used in considering a sentence? Just saying…

• In addition to the prison sentences…
  

  Siegelman was fined $50,000 due immediately, plus $181,325 to a state agency where prosecutors said kickbacks were made. He is to perform 500 hours of community service when his sentence of seven years, four months is completed.

  Scrushy was fined $150,000 due immediately, plus ordered to pay restitution of $267,000 to United way of Central Alabama. He also was ordered to perform 500 hours of community service when released after serving six years and 10 months.

Both men were taken into custody immediately, and both are expected to appeal.

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• Siegelman Plot Going Mainstream

Water in Alabama’s streams and rivers causes cancer.

The acceptable rate, according to Alabama environmental law, is that about one in 100,000 Alabamians exposed to the risk will get cancer from Alabama water, because, in Alabama, industries are permitted to put 58 chemicals in the water that are known carcinogens. Chemicals such as benzene, arsenic, and DDT.

Every other state in the southeast, save one, allows for a one in a million risk of cancer from water. Tennessee and Alabama have rates ten times higher, allowing for an acceptable rate of risk that ten in one million people may get cancer from their state’s water.

A coalition of groups has presented petitions asking the state to adopt more protective recommendations from the Environmental Protection Agency, as most of our neighboring states have already done. Adam Snyder, director of the Alabama Rivers Alliance, has said, “The goal is to improve the regulations at ADEM and get them to comply with their own policies. We want them to meet the recommended standards that EPA has produced,” and added that “existing laws do not protect the residents of Alabama as well as they deserve.”

The mission of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, i.e. ADEM, (and Alabama Environmental Management Commission) is “to protect and improve the quality of Alabama’s environment and the health of all its citizens.”

Yet, a sub-committee of the Alabama Environmental Management Commission (which oversees ADEM) has met to consider the petitions and is recommending that the larger board reject the petitions. In written comments submitted to the subcommittee, Alabama Power Co., the Business Council of Alabama and the Alabama Coal Association argued that the “10-in-a-million guideline was good enough for Alabama.”

Many people disagree and believe that Alabamians deserve better. Such as The Birmingham News. The Huntsville Times.

ADEM’s recently reported failure to warn Lincoln residents of environmental hazards it had known about for three years does not inspire confidence in ADEM’s regard for our well-being; it was the U.S. EPA who began to warn residents in recent weeks of lurking dangers from an abandoned foundry. Tomorrow comes an opportunity for ADEM to live up to its mission.

Tomorrow, the Environmental Management Commission will meet to consider the petitions. Tomorrow, in the words of the Daily Home, “ADEM has a chance to send a message that it will, in fact, protect the people of this state.”

Tomorrow, “Alabama finds out what a human life is worth to the agency charged with the responsibility of protecting it. The answer will come when the ADEM board votes ‘yea’ or ‘nay’ on the standards.”

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Birmingham News - Sentencing guidelines for Siegelman could lead to prison sentence of 10-12 years.

Birmingham News - Monitor’s report reveals poor conditions at state’s prison for women.

Birmingham News - Shelby County House members blast Senate counterparts.

Birmingham News - Federal judge questions plea agreement in continuing postsecondary case.

Birmingham News - Alabama bankruptcy filings up 54% in past year.

Mobile Press-Register - New report highlights problems at Bishop State Community College as Chancellor prepares to recommend whether to terminate college president.

Tuscaloosa News - Decision expected today on president of Shelton State Community College.

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The Political Parlor has it on good authority that Democrats on the national level are still trying to persuade Agricultural Commissioner Ron Sparks to run against Senator Jeff Sessions in 2008. The local take is that will this not happen, Sparks has made his decision, and that Sparks would not look good in reversing himself.

In the most unlikely event that he does turn around, his entry into the race would almost have to appear as a draft. Otherwise Sparks would appear to be indecisive.

State Democrats are also wondering why state Sen. Vivian Figures (Mobile) keeps postponing the announcement of her candidacy for the race.

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When I was first elected to the Alabama House five years ago the budget process seemed like the equivalency of studying soil on Mars. It just didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Five years later I have a good grasp of the process despite the fact that the outcome is not always to my liking.

Alabama has the distinction of being the last state left in the country with two budgets. There is an Education Trust Fund Budget (which funds all education functions of the state) and a General Fund that pretty much covers everything that is not education related (ex.- state troopers, mental health, prisons, etc.). Now before all of you constitution reform advocates start beating your drums let me tell you how this came about. It is largely the result of populist governors like George Wallace who was real quick to take money from schools and put it into road projects during election time. Often taxes were approved by the voters for schools and then Wallace or other governors would later take, or as the education folks like to call it, divert money from education to projects in legislators’ districts.

Eventually Alabama created an Education Budget to prevent money from being diverted to general fund purposes. It makes for an interesting process because you have to debate two budgets instead of one. Since Alabama is constitutionally mandated to have a balanced budget you cannot deficit spend. The problem comes in when one budget runs short on revenue (typically this is the cash strapped general fund which is funded with low growth taxes). You cannot prop up one budget with funds from another budget.

This is why we have now reached a point in Alabama where roughly 92% of the revenue coming into the state budgets are earmarked. The legislature really gets discretion with only about 8% of the revenue. The next highest earmarking state is Nevada which earmarks roughly 38%. Is this a crazy system? Yes. Has there been an attempt to change it? Yes, it was called Amendment One and as Paul Harvey says “now we know the rest of the story.”

Unless you are on the budget committees I dare say most legislators do not read the actual budget bill front to back. It is the size of the Birmingham phone book so it is a little cumbersome. Most legislators rely on “the spreadsheets.” Legislative Fiscal Office produces what I call the cliff notes for the budgets. There are two spreadsheets that outline each budget, line by line, agency by agency. The spreadsheets detail how much money an agency received last year, how much the Governor recommended they receive this year, and how much money was actually budgeted to them.

Many people have never seen the details of these budgets before. Below is a link to each of the spreadsheets. Take the time to look at them when you get the chance because they are an interesting peak into the workings of the Alabama budget process.

Education Trust Fund Budget (pdf)

State General Fund Budget (pdf)

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Birmingham News - Sentencing hearing begins in former governor’s corruption conviction.

Birmingham News - U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear case challenging state’s property tax system.

Mobile Press-Register - Mobile legislator’s trial on misdemeanor charges delayed until September.

Mobile Press-Register - State Health Insurance Board sets review hearing before deciding how to proceed on legislators’ health insurance.

Senate Sketches - “Senate Sketches,” Sen. Hank Sanders’ (D-Selma) weekly column for his constituents.

Montgomery Advertiser - The Montgomery Advertiser calls for State Board to remove Bishop State President if Rep. Yvonne Kennedy (D-Mobile) refuses to resign.

Decatur Daily - State receives grade of D on preparing special ed teachers.

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Recently I had the opportunity to speak on a panel along with other leaders from around in the country, including the first lady of West Virginia, about innovative education programs in the United States. While the media has focused a great deal of attention on the antics of “the punch” in the closing day of the Alabama legislative session, there are programs in Alabama that have earned national attention.

Through groundbreaking legislation and state funding in 2005, Alabama created a new educational opportunity for many of our students through the Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide (ACCESS) program. By using interactive videoconferencing technology the Department of Education provides Alabama high school students the ability to participate in Advanced Placement (AP) courses to prepare for college. After an initial appropriation of just over $10 million in its first year, the Alabama Legislature increased the investment in ACCESS each year and is now appropriating $25 million annually.

Other states are taking notice of this program. Now several national organizations are talking about Alabama’s success with ACCESS. The National Governor’s Association, Council of State Governments, and the National Conference of State Legislatures have all included presentations in their meetings on how other states can replicate this tremendous success story.

What does this mean for high school juniors and seniors in Alabama? Nearly 45,000 seats will be available in advanced educational courses for students from every walk of life in Alabama, regardless of where you live. This is an opportunity that many students in Alabama public schools would not enjoy if it were not for this distance learning program. Many schools cannot afford to teach some of the courses necessary for college admission such as advanced chemistry, physics, calculus, and other AP electives. Through technology Alabama has found a way to engage every part of our state in 21st century education opportunities.

Often the national media concentrates a lot on the negative image Alabama has held over the years. While we ended the recent session with a black eye, thanks to innovative thinking and a smart long term investment it is nice to know we are still producing some good ideas right here at home.

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The story that Siegelman may have been the target of a Republican plot is beginning to get wider play. Today the Los Angeles Times had a story.

I had a longer post on this earlier today that got lost in one of those computer headaches, so for now it will suffice simply to point you toward the article, perhaps lifting out a couple of points. You can imagine for yourself the brilliance of the lost post.

One of the interesting points that I have not previously seen elsewhere: “at least one influential Republican” is “questioning whether politics may have played a role in the case.”

“Congressional committees ought to investigate what in the world went on in this case,” said Grant Woods, a Republican former attorney general of Arizona. Woods, who still tries high-profile cases as a special prosecutor, has reviewed the charges against Siegelman as a former colleague and friend.

“From start to finish, this case has been riddled with irregularities. It does not pass the smell test,” Woods said.

I have mentioned a point before (and so has Flashpoint in the last paragraph of this post) that the article also makes.

The controversy in part reflects the loss of credibility suffered by the Bush Justice Department in the wake of evidence that Rove and members of his staff played a role in the firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year. In several of those cases, U.S. attorneys targeted for removal had been criticized by Bush officials for not being sufficiently attentive to GOP political priorities.

The sentencing hearing for Siegelman and Richard Scrushy began today.

The old Gray Lady came out with a story of her own this evening.

L. A. Times:

To support their call for the lengthy prison term for Siegelman, federal prosecutors gave Fuller a list of additional alleged illegal activities, including material from the counts on which the former governor had been acquitted by the jury.

Adding such “relevant conduct” to sentencing memos is sometimes done in federal cases.

New York Times:

“The government is asking that he be penalized for every single thing he was charged with, whether he was acquitted or not,” said Susan James, a Siegelman lawyer. “The government drastically lost the case,” she said. “We strongly object to the court considering acquitted conduct.”

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• On Siegelman, DoJ, and a Lesson from Dad

Birmingham News - Two-years college presidents take on ethics commission chief over comment that “it would be hard to find” an administrator not tainted by ongoing criminal investigation.

Birmingham News - The Birmingham News contends that if the action of legislators sending $1 milllion to two-year colleges employing them or their relatives is not an ethics violation, it “certainly isn’t right.”

Birmingham News - The Birmingham News finds that Riley’s action in vetoing bill to require those lobbying for “no bid” contracts to be appropriate.

Mobile Press-Register - Following reports of nineteen legislators sending $1 million in discretionary funds to colleges for whom they work, Press-Register concedes that “it helps to have a lawmaker on the payroll.”

Huntsville Times - Union tells workers that Delphi plant will close in 2009.

Huntsville Times - The Huntsville Times finds that history doesn’t support prison time for convicted former governor.

Daily Home - The Daily Home calls for  resolution to the lawmaker-community college employee conflict in order to restore confidence in postsecondary system.

Gadsden Times - Former governor, businessman face sentencing today.

Gadsden Times - Siegelman’s children ask judge for leniency.

Montgomery Advertiser - Riley urges insurance board to reject attempt by Senate to gain health insurance benefits.

Montgomery Advertiser - The Montgomery Advertiser agrees that 30 year sentence for former governor is excessive, “some prison time is appropriate.”

Decatur Daily - Insurance board reports it has received no applications from senators for coverage under state plan.

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