Posted by 
State Senators are on a storm watch today. Sen. Phil Poole (D – Moundville) is said to be unhappy that a bill from Sen. Jabo Waggoner (R – Birmingham) which would regulate the transportation of steel coils over state highways passed the Senate 27-0 on Tuesday. Poole has particularly targeted this bill for defeat in the past but was not present on Tuesday. Senators are on alert for the return of the one-man Philibuster.
Update: Sen. Poole started reading an ethics complaint, he indicated he wouldn’t let up, and the Senate adjourned at about 12:45 until Tuesday.
Related Articles:
And it has begun…
oh yes, poole is ready to roll. just wish his voice wasn’t so disturbing, hard to listen.
Any bets on who he is talking about?
that would be an easy bet since he has so much as said “waggoner” 3 times.
Was Poole absent because he couldn’t get his ego thru the door?
well now it is an easy bet, he had not said the name at the time…
he stopped short a time or 2. but got out “wagg…oops i need to watch that.”
and adjournment. phil poole shuts senate down for 2 out of 6 days, with many more to come. class act.
man is a douchebag
I wish Phil Poole could be arrested. It’s one thing to stick up for the people you represent; it’s another thing to continually keep the entire State of Alabama from legislative progress. Maybe he’ll catch that flu that is going around so that the rest of the Senate can be productive.
If they wanted to, Folsom and Barron could stop this.
Y’know you wonder if who is pulling Poole’s strings or arranging matters so he filibusters.
Actually, Walt, I don’t think there’s any rhyme or reason. I think the guy is just crazy.
You’re right, #11. Folsom, Barron, whoever of the Dem senators is in charge — certainly not Smitherman — could put a stop to it at any time by filing a motion to cut off debate and voting cloture on Poole. But they won’t do it. They like it when he slows everything down. That way, they don’t have to vote on anything like ethics reform or PAC-to-PAC transfers.
Actually, under the Senate Rules as they now stand, Folsom cannot stop it unless he ignors the Rules (which a lot of people on here criticized him for last year when he broke a filibuster to get the budgets in a position to pass). He cannot file a motion to cut off debate, cannot vote cloture, and can only use influence behind the scenes to bring things to a close. That may very well be why Wendell Mitchell was in the chair during Poole’s antics today so that Folsom could be elsewhere bending arms to get Senators to stand up to Poole – I don’t know that, but it is a likely scenario.
I say let him filibuster his little crooked heart away. If he wasnt filibustering we’d be seeing one stupid piece of legislation after another being passed. Such as bills letting us eat roadkill, coondogs and lord knows what else.
Poole is a loose cannon. You never know when he will show up. You never know what he will do. Can anyone else say term limits?????
does the AL Constitution allow for expulsion of a senator by a 2/3 vote?
You’d have to check Senate rules.
From Senate Rules:
(23) That pursuant to the provisions of Section 53 of Article IV of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, there is created a Senate Ethics and Conduct Committee whose responsibility shall be to consider and, when necessary, act upon complaints of misconduct brought against an individual Senator during his or her participation in a session of the Senate or his or her participation in a standing or interim committee. The committee shall be composed of five members of the Senate elected by the Senate at the earliest possible time after the convening of the first regular session of the quadrennium as designated by the President Pro Tempore and the members shall serve without compensation. Of the five members of this committee one member shall be elected from the Senate Minority Caucus and at least one member shall be elected from the Alabama Senate Black Caucus. Members shall serve for a quadrennium. The procedure for the election of members to the committee shall be as herein provided. At the appointed time of election to be determined by the President of the Senate there shall be a call of districts. When his or her district is called, each Senator desiring to vote shall deliver to the Secretary of the Senate a list of five names of persons for whom the Senator votes. After each Senator who wishes to do so has submitted a list of five names, the Secretary shall receive the names for counting. The results of the election shall be tabulated by the Secretary under the supervision of a committee of three Senators appointed by the President of the Senate for that purpose. The Secretary shall certify to the Presiding Officer the names of the five Senators receiving the most votes. In the event of a tie vote, a second election shall be held in the same manner as the initial election was held. Senators shall vote for only the number of names that equals the number of positions on the committee to be filled. No ballot shall be counted if it contains a number of names greater than the number required to be elected. Any vacancy on the committee shall be filled in the same manner as the original members were elected. A chair and vice chair of the committee shall be elected from among the membership of the committee. If a complaint is brought against a member of the committee, that member shall not participate as a member of the committee in considering the complaint. The President of the Senate shall appoint a temporary replacement for that member to participate in the review of the complaint. The temporary member shall possess the same powers as other members of the committee. The committee shall receive complaints of misconduct against an individual Senator and recommend such action as it deems necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of the committee.
For the purposes of this Rule, misconduct means any of the following:
(1) Any conduct constituting a legal wrong that materially impairs the ability of the member to perform the duties of his or her office or substantially impairs public confidence in the Legislature.
(2) Any conduct by a Senator which intentionally violates any Senate Rule in the conduct of Senate business, whether official or unofficial business.
(3) Any conduct by a Senator which, during his or her term of office, sexually harasses any other person of either sex including but not limited to Senate Pages. For purposes of this resolution, unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when a.) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment, b.) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual, or c.) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. In determining whether alleged conduct constitutes sexual harassment, the committee will look at the record as a whole and the totality of the circumstances, such as the nature of the sexual advances and the context in which the alleged incidents occurred. The determination of the legality of a particular action will be made from the facts, on a case by case basis.
(4) Any conduct by a Senator which violates any provision of the State Ethics Law, Chapter 25 of Title 36 of the Code of Alabama 1975.
(5) Any conduct prohibited by the Constitution of Alabama of 1901.
(6) The intentional filing of a false complaint with the committee or the filing of a complaint in reckless disregard of the truth.
The procedure to be followed by the committee is as follows:
(1) Only a member of the Senate may file a written complaint with the committee. The complaint shall include all of the following information:
(a) The name of the Senator alleged to have committed the violation.
(b) The name of the Senator filing the complaint.
(c) The nature of the alleged violation.
(d) Facts that support the complaint.
(e) The date of the alleged violation.
The complaint shall be in writing, signed by the Senator filing the complaint, and specify in detail the conduct in question. No complaint alleging a violation shall be filed more than one year after the date the alleged violation occurred. The Senator against whom the complaint has been brought shall be notified in writing by the committee and provided a copy of the complaint. Within 15 days after receipt of the complaint, the Senator may file a written answer to the complaint with the committee. Failure to file a written answer shall not be deemed to be an admission or create an inference or presumption that the complaint is true.
(2) At all times during any proceeding conducted pursuant to this resolution, the Senator accused of misconduct shall be given such notice and hearing as is requisite to due process of law guaranteed under the United States Constitution and the Constitution of Alabama. Prior to taking any action, the committee shall notify the Senator accused of misconduct and shall grant the Senator an opportunity to respond at a hearing on the complaint. Since, by the very nature of a hearing on a complaint filed pursuant to this resolution, the character or good name of a woman or man will be involved in the hearing, the filing of the complaint shall be confidential and the committee shall meet in executive session for purposes of hearing and deciding complaints filed.
(3) After thorough investigation, by a majority vote, the committee may determine that no misconduct has occurred.
(4) The committee, in executive session, may address the accused Senator by issuing a warning.
(5) The committee by a four-fifths vote may recommend to the Senate as a whole that further action against the accused Senator be initiated. The committee may adopt rules of procedure, not inconsistent with this resolution, for the orderly conduct of its affairs, investigations, hearings, and meetings.
SECTION 53
Rules of proceedings of both houses; punishment for contempt or disorderly behavior; enforcement of process; protection of members from violence, bribes, etc.; expulsion of members.
Each house shall have power to determine the rules of its proceedings and to punish its members and other persons, for contempt or disorderly behavior in its presence; to enforce obedience to its processes; to protect its members against violence, or offers of bribes or corrupt solicitation; and with the concurrence of two-thirds of the house, to expel a member, but not a second time for the same offense; and the two houses shall have all the powers necessary for the legislature of a free state.
This crowd has proven they don’t care what the rules say. Like I said, if Folsom and Barron wanted him to stop, they would get him to stop.
They only care about the rules if they can be used to their advantage. So far, the “powers that be” in the senate (and I don’t mean Barron or Folsom) haven’t put enough heat on the leadership to make anything happen. Just wait – there are some corporate folks who have been paying lobbyists for several years with no results on their legislation. Money will talk as the session progresses.