Wednesday 8/22/2007 DAILY NEWS DIGEST

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

Birmingham News – Governor predicts that State Board of Education will adopt proposed policies that will prohibit legislators from holding jobs in community college system.

Birmingham News – Federal appeals court rejects challenge to Alabama’s death penalty, execution expected to take place on Thursday.

Birmingham News – U.S. Attorney recommends no prison time for former Siegelman aide who testified for the prosecution.

Birmingham News – Alabama’s rate of home foreclosure ranked 38th among states.

Birmingham News – The Birmingham News argues that state’s voters “shouldn’t confuse the Bobo verdict with their ability to demand better from their government.”

Mobile Press-Register – First meeting of the Permanent Joint Legislative Committee on Energy draws big crowd.

Mobile Press-Register – State Medicaid Agency awards contract to controversial firm days after firm hired former Riley chief of staff to lobby on their behalf.

Mobile Press-Register – New federal limits on SCHIP won’t impact Alabama’s AllKids program.

Huntsville Times – Proposal to require Department of Transportation to allocate revenues to counties based on tax collections has fans in Madison County delegation.

Huntsville Times – Huntsville program faces $100,000 cut from DHR.

Huntsville Times – Albertville voters narrowly approve tax hike for schools.

Huntsville Times – David Prather’s commentary on the trend toward allowing developers to impose a “user fee” – basically an increase in sales taxes – to pay for retail development.

Tuscaloosa News – The Tuscaloosa News urges Congress to reauthorize and expand SCHIP.

Anniston Star – The Anniston Star blasts Bush administration for threats to veto SCHIP expansion.

Decatur Daily – The Decatur Daily calls for State Board of Education to adopt policy to end ‘double-dipping’ by legislators.

Decatur Daily – The Decatur Daily urges Congressional committee review of Siegelman prosecution to determine whether “there are White House links to Mr. Siegelman’s imprisonment, if not for the former governor, then for the integrity of the judicial system.”

FROM TODAY’S ANNISTON STAR:

Riley speaks out against all double-dippers

BIRMINGHAM — Gov. Bob Riley said at a press conference Tuesday that if he’d had his way during the last legislative session, even Republican Party chair and state Rep. Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, would have to give up contracts with Auburn University — not that Hubbard has any.

The Alabama Education Association and the state Democratic Party have called the governor’s support of policies banning legislators from working in the state’s two-year college system a partisan attempt to snatch back control of the Legislature and discriminate against educators.

Democrats control both chambers of the state Legislature. Of the 13 legislators who would be affected, all but two are Democrats.

The State Board of Education will vote on whether to adopt policies that force legislators to choose between their jobs and their elected positions at its regular meeting Thursday.

Riley said if Democrats had allowed his legislation on double-dipping to see daylight during the last session there would already be a statewide ban in place.

“Last year we tried to pass legislation that would stop double-dipping across the board,” he said. “But the vice president of the Democratic Party killed it in committee.”

Riley said being a state legislator and a state employee is a conflict of interest because of the opportunity for abuse, and the known abuses by legislators who have worked for the two-year college system.

He said continuing to allow such an arrangement gives anyone in government a chance to use their office for personal gain.

“It’s not any more appropriate for Mike Hubbard, or Bob Riley, or anyone to use their influence to get contracts,” he said. “You can’t serve in the Legislature and have all these contracts.”

Hubbard says he doesn’t have any contracts with Auburn University. When he did have a contract, Hubbard said his company was paying the university—not the other way around.

Back in 1990 Hubbard owned Auburn Network, which held the rights to produce radio and television for Auburn University sporting events. Hubbard sold those rights to Winston-Salem, N.C.-based International Sports Properties in 2003. Hubbard ran for the Legislature in 1998.

“I did not get paid by the university with taxpayer dollars and my company held the contract before I became a legislator,” said Hubbard, who supports banning double-dipping legislators and wants to see it expanded to four-year institutions.

“The AEA and the Democratic Party are comparing apples and oranges.”

Mike Hubbard, along with Riley and new chancellor of post secondary education Bradley Byrne, has become a favorite target of the Alabama Education Association, which has vowed to fight the policies.

Attempts to reach AEA leader Paul Hubbert Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Jesse McDaniel, communication director for the Democratic Party, said Democrats support reforming the two-year college system, but an outright ban goes too far.

“We are not in favor of banning a whole profession of people from the Legislature,” he said. “Voters know best how to choose who should serve them in the Legislature, and Bob Riley shouldn’t dictate to them who is best by forcing people to chose between their livelihood and their office.”

Riley held his press conference at the division three office of the Alabama Department of Transportation in Birmingham to drive home a point.

Employees of ALDOT are prevented from serving in government by the Hatch Act, which restricts the political activities of people who work for agencies that receive federal funding.

The act impacts various other state agencies such as the Department of Public Health, the Department of Human Resources, the Department of Industrial Relations and the Department of Homeland Security.

Riley said employees who work for agencies covered under the act knew and accepted these restrictions when they took their jobs. He said things shouldn’t be any different for two-year employees who want to serve in the Legislature.

“The federal government has banned double-dipping for 70 years (because) there are just certain inherent conflicts of interest when a person has the ability to appropriate money to go into a certain agency that he or she works for,” he said.

Riley has always maintained that the two-year college system is a place to start if the state is going to eliminate double-dipping. He said he would like to see similar policies for the K-12 and four-year systems too.

Glen Browder, professor emeritus of political science at Jacksonville State University, says he believes something has to be done to reform the two-year college system. But he’s not certain an out right ban is the way to go.

Browder taught at JSU for 11 years before winning a seat in the Legislature in 1982. He went on to be elected Secretary of State in 1987, and eventually won a seat in the U.S. Congress, representing Alabama’s third district in 1989.

Though he preferred not to comment on the current controversy, he said in an e-mail that in his own case he made arrangements with his employer to be able to do both.

“When I was elected to the state Legislature, we rearranged my schedule and salary from a 12-month teaching load/contract to a nine-month teaching load/contract, thereby allowing me to serve and take care of my educational responsibilities,” he said. “When I was elected Secretary of State, I was granted leave without pay by the board of trustees, and this continued through Congress.

“In other words, the first elected position was considered part-time and we adjusted my schedule and pay accordingly; but when I was elected to a full-time elective position, I effectively resigned, although the Board of Trustees voted to maintain our relationship whereby I could come back to JSU whenever my political career was over.”