AG to head up oil spill litigation

Attorney General Luther Strange said Wednesday that his office has dismissed private attorneys brought in by his predecessor to handle a lawsuit related to the oil spill in the gulf of Mexico and that he will personally head up litigation related to the environmental and economic disaster.
Strange, in his second week in office, said he will be in New Orleans on Friday for a status hearing on the case before federal Judge Carl Barbier. He said the judge has the case on a fast track.
"We don't want to delay and we don't think BP wants to delay," Strange said.
The attorney general contends Alabama suffered more economic damage than other states due to the loss of tourism and related business on the coast and said the oil spill is his top personal priority.
"I think we've suffered significant damage," he said.
Strange said the case is being brought "in house" and that there are extremely well-qualified attorneys to handle it. The plaintiffs in the case include the federal government, the state of Alabama, businesses and others who have filed suit for damages to them.
Alabama is the only state that has filed a lawsuit against BP and other companies that are considered responsible for the oil spill.
While Strange, along with former Gov. Bob Riley, were early critics of the lawsuit filed by former Attorney General Troy King, Strange said Wednesday that it places Alabama "in a leadership role already."
"That was then. Now, I'm glad we're in court," Strange said.
Strange said BP has said they want to make the situation right.
"We're gonna hold them to that," he said.
Strange said they have not established how much Alabama lost due to the spill. He said they are working on those numbers.
"I think they're significant," Strange said.
Corey Maze, the special attorney general assigned to the oil spill, said there was an attorney in New Orleans on Wednesday taking depositions. In Alabama, they are working on the damages here, he said.
"Our job is to have our numbers ready," Maze said.
He said those numbers need to be ready in case BP wants to negotiate or in the event the case goes to trial.
"We will be prepared for a trial," Maze said.
When asked about a settlement, Maze questioned whether the defendants would want "to face an Alabama jury after what they did to Alabama."
Strange said he met with Kenneth Feinberg, who is administering the claims process, last week. He said he told Feinberg he was not happy with the situation and thought the claims process lacked transparency.
"I'm still very concerned about how he's handling himself," Strange said.
Strange said he hopes that it sends an important signal to the judge that this is a top priority for the state and its attorney general.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Strange says no to casino raids

Early morning casino raids appear to be a thing of the past.

In one of his first acts as governor, Robert Bentley, abolished former Gov. Bob Riley’s task force on illegal gambling and reassigned gaming cases to the attorney general’s office.

Riley was able to use the task force and the threat of raids to shutdown and keep closed non-Indian electronic bingo operators in the state. He established the task force during the last year of his second term after he disagreed with former Attorney General Troy King about the legality of so-called bingo machines.

But new Attorney General Luther Strange said that he has no plans to raid electronic bingo facilities, even though he has the resources to do so if they begin re-opening their doors.

Strange said his office will take a different approach to the gaming issue and work with local law enforcement agents to make sure that everyone is following the law when it comes to gaming. A familiar face, however, is handling the gaming cases. Sonny Reagan, former legal advisor to Riley, has returned to the attorney general’s office under Strange and is working on the gaming issue.

Strange said he has been in contact with representatives from Greenetrack, Country Crossing and VictoryLand about getting cases before judges so the issue can be resolved once and for all. There is a hearing in the Greenetrack case today.

“We’re offering them an opportunity to make their case in court,” Strange said in a special meeting with the press Wednesday. “Our position is that these machines are illegal and they don’t fit the definition of bingo.”

Strange said he wants the operators of the machines to allow them to be seized so that forfeiture hearings could take place. He said the machines could be seized “in place” so that they don’t have to be removed from the facilities.
Strange said that if the state wins in court, and he believes it would, the machines would be destroyed.

Strange said he doesn’t expect any currently closed bingo operations to re-open, but if they did, his office would follow standard law enforcement procedures to shut them back down.

But one thing Strange said he is not willing to do is allow the issue of determining whether so-called electronic bingo machines are actually illegal slot machines consume his office.

“I’m trying to put bingo in a box like any other legal issue,” he said. “There has been too much focus on it.”

-- posted by Markeshia Ricks

Bentley signs order creating commission intended to improve government

Gov. Robert Bentley, in his second week in office, signed an executive order creating the Alabama Commission on Improving State Government, which is tasked with analyzing and exploring new ways to reduce government spending with little or no effect on services.
In the order, agencies, departments and commissions are expected to evaluate the effectiveness and need for their current spending levels. Bentley wants to find duplicated, outdated, unnecessary and ineffective services and wants to redirect any savings to more essential state government functions. The commission will also examine the work of similar commissions across the nation and talk to business leaders here about ways to make state government more effective.
"The Alabama Commission on Improving State Government will take an in-depth look at the current cost structure of every state agency and look for new and effective ways to cut costs without cutting essential services," the governor said in a statement.
The commission will deliver a preliminary report to Bentley by June 1.
Bentley is "looking at a number of qualified people to lead the Alabama Commission on Improving State Government, and to serve on the commission," his communications director, Rebekah Mason, wrote in an e-mail. "We expect him to make those announcements in the next few days."
The executive order is the fourth of Bentley's administration.
His first executive order dissolved the Task Force on Illegal Gambling created by his predecessor, Gov. Bob Riley.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Bentley disbands gambling task force

In his first order as governor, Robert Bentley on Tuesday disbanded the Task Force on Illegal Gambling created by his predecessor.
Bentley, the Republican governor in his first full day in office, signed two executive orders including one dismantling the task force. He promised during the campaign to do away with the task force.
Bentley has handed over legal issues and cases related to gaming in the state to Attorney General Luther Strange.
Gov. Bob Riley created the task force, which essentially shut down all non-Indian gaming facilities in the state, after repeatedly disagreeing with then-Attorney General Troy King on legal issues related to gaming.
When asked if he thought dismantling the task force was a sign for the casinos to reopen, Bentley said "on my part it is not a sign and on the attorney general's part it is not a sign."
Bentley had expressed concerns about the use of state troopers to raid the facilities.
Bentley and Strange were sworn into office on Monday.
Riley said he was simply enforcing the laws of the state.
Bentley signed another order directing all state agencies, commissions and departments to include job creation as an objective.
People can comment below on the dismantling of the task force.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Gov.-Elect Bentley Appoints Faulkner, former Rep. Gipson and Keeps DHR's Buckner

Gov.-elect Robert Bentley is closer to filling in all the slots in his cabinet after making the following appointments Friday:

Art Faulkner, who is currently serving as director of the Alabama Department of Homeland Security, will head up the state Emergency Management Agency. Faulkner has over 22 years experience in local and state government. He served as police chief of Coosada for three years and as Elmore County’s 9-1-1 director and assistant EMA director for three years before moving to the state EMA in 1996 as head of the state 9-1-1 program. He will replace Riley appointee Brock Long.

“Art Faulkner is a dedicated public servant who brings over 20 years experience in local and state government. He understands emergency management and we are indeed fortunate that he will direct our EMA program," Bentley said in a press release Friday.

Faulkner also served as director of operations at EMA during 2002-2003 overseeing the day-to-day operations of the agency. In 2003 he joined the newly created State Department of Homeland Security. Faulkner continued to serve as state 9-1-1 coordinator as well as assistant to the director until being appointed director of the department.


Former State Rep. Mac Gipson, R-Prattville, will be the new administrator of the state Alcohol and Beverage Control Board. Gipson served four terms in the Alabama House of Representatives representing Autauga and Elmore counties before he was unseated during the 2010 election cycle. He will replace former Montgomery Mayor Emory Folmar, who was appointed by Riley.

“I have worked with Mac Gipson for the last eight years in the Alabama Legislature and I am confident he will provide the steady hand and the leadership we need for the ABC Board," Bentley said.

While a state legislator, Gipson served on the Travel and Tourism Committee and helped craft the state education budget as a member of the House Education Appropriations Committee.


Nancy Buckner will be re-appointed commissioner of the state Department of Human Resources.
She will continue to serve as commissioner until the seven-member DHR board, which includes Bentley as its chairman, confirms the appointment. Buckner has served as commissioner of the Department since September 2008. She has over 37 years experience in the human resources field including service at the Talladega County Department of Human Resources and as legislative liaison for the state DHR.

She was also St. Clair County Child Welfare Administrator and Calhoun County DHR Interim Director. In both positions, she directed the revamping of each county’s child welfare program.

“Nancy Buckner has done an outstanding job as Commissioner of DHR. Her 37 years of experience in human resources and her ability to achieve remarkable results managing our state DHR program convinced me we needed her continued leadership at DHR,” Bentley said.


-- Markeshia Ricks

Riley deputy will be top staffer for new speaker

Josh Blades, deputy chief of staff for Gov. Bob Riley, will finish his term with the governor before moving Jan. 18 to work as chief of staff for new House Speaker Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn.
Hubbard said Blades has "already been working and helping and preparing and that sort of thing."
"He's going to be great," Hubbard said. "He's a sharp young man."
Jeff Woodard, who was the chief of staff for former Speaker Seth Hammett, will be moving into another role in the House, Hubbard said.
Hubbard said he is expanding the number of employees in the speaker's office from four to six, but will keep the budget essentially the same because those working for him will be paid less.
Other hires by Hubbard include legislative analyst Sommer Vaughn, legislative counsel Jason Isbell, policy analyst Boone Kinard, and executive assistant Erica McLain.
Hubbard said he has yet to hire a communications director.
Vaughn is assistant to Riley’s chief of staff Dave Stewart. Hubbard said she worked for the Republican Party before going to work for Stewart.
Isbell is an attorney and has worked with the Legislative Fiscal Office for eight years so "he brings a great deal of knowledge about the budgets and policy," Hubbard said.
Kinard has worked in constituent services in the governor's office and McLain works in the governor's scheduling office.
The speaker said he hopes to revamp the office where more services and resources are available to House members and there is less dependence on information from lobbyists.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Bentley to assign gambling task force to new AG

Gov.-elect Robert Bentley announced in a statement sent out Wednesday by incoming Attorney General Luther Strange that he would assign the work of the Governor's Task Force on Illegal Gambling to Strange when they both take office on Jan. 17.
"By assigning all pending cases and investigative authority to the Attorney General's office, I have transferred the primary responsibility for ensuring that Alabama's gambling laws are enforced statewide to Attorney General-Elect Luther Strange," Bentley said. "I will fully support Attorney General Luther Strange in his efforts to enforce the laws of Alabama, including laws against illegal gambling. Attorney General Strange will follow the law on gambling and he will have my full support."
Strange vowed not to back down from enforcing the state's gaming laws.
The task force has been controversial under Gov. Bob Riley, who created the force that answered to him after disagreements with current Attorney General Troy King over the interpretation and enforcement of gaming laws in Alabama.
The task force, led first by former Jefferson County District Attorney David Barber and now by Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson, raided or attempted to raid several gaming establishments in the state including VictoryLand in Shorter and Country Crossing near Dothan.
The task force, with the help of local law enforcement, has shut down all electronic gaming in the state at casinos not operated by the Poarch Band of Creeks Indians, which have facilities in Montgomery, Wetumpka and Atmore.
Strange and Bentley, in their joint statement, said the casinos that are currently closed because of the threat of a raid by the task force should not mistake the announcement as an invitation to reopen. The announcement, they said, means that the attorney general will be the statewide officer with the "primary responsibility for investigating and prosecuting those that own, operate or house illegal gambling machines."
Some proponents of electronic gaming have accused Riley of killing jobs at casinos that have been open for years during tough economic times.
He said he is simply enforcing the law.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Riley applauds historic ethics overhaul

Gov. Bob Riley said Alabama now has the strictest ethics laws in the nation after the passage of seven bills he pushed during a special session he called to revamp laws here.
"Passing any one of these reforms would have meant a tremendous, positive change for the way the people's business is conducted in Montgomery. Passing all seven of these reforms represents a sea change of historic proportions and will make Alabama the new standard for ethical government in the United States," he said in a statement sent out by his office about 3:45 a.m. Thursday. "In just one week Alabama has gone from having some of the weakest ethics laws in the country to having some of the strongest. The passage of these bills will usher in a new era of transparent, accountable and responsive government in Alabama that can begin the work of restoring the public's trust."

Lawmakers concluded their work about 3 a.m. Thursday after a seven-day special session.

Riley's office will undergo legal review before he signs them into law.

The proposals passed this week would:

Cap lobbyist spending on public officials and public employees

Ban pass through pork

Give subpoena power to the Alabama Ethics Commission

Ban transfers of money between political action committees

End the so-called practice of double dipping in which legislators also hold another job in state government

Require mandatory ethics training for elected officials and public employees at all levels of government

Require those who lobby the executive branch to register as lobbyists with the Alabama Ethics Commission

Stop the state from collecting dues from state pay checks for groups that are politically active including the Alabama Education Association and the Alabama State Employees Association

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Legislature passes bill that could hurt AEA, ASEA

The Alabama Senate, unlike the House of Representatives, quickly passed a bill that could hurt organizations that represent educators and state employees on Wednesday.
The bill, which would stop the state from taking dues out of checks for organizations like the Alabama Education Association and the Alabama State Employees Association, now goes to Gov. Bob Riley for his signature.
Senate Republicans quickly shut down debate, taking a vote 45 minutes after convening. The House spent 15 hours debating the bill on Tuesday and early Wednesday.
The Alabama House of Representatives passed the bill 52-49 at about 3 a.m. Wednesday.
The bill would stop the state from deducting dues or funds for political action committees from state pay checks for organizations that are politically active including the AEA and the ASEA.
Republicans have said that state resources should not be used to collect dues for organizations that are politically active.
Democrats believe the bill is politically motivated and aimed to hurt the AEA, which typically supports Democratic candidates. The association is a force in state politics and the bill could hurt its financial resources.
Senate Minority Leader Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, said the bill is targeted at the AEA because that organization supported Robert Bentley in the Republican primary instead of Riley's candidate of choice, Bradley Byrne. He said it is one of the most political bills he has seen since he was first elected to the Legislature in 1982.
Paul Hubbert, head of the AEA, agrees with Bedford and believes the bill is retaliation. The AEA traditionally supports Democratic candidates for the Legislature and other state offices including governor.
Hubbert and legislative Democrats are concerned that, if these organizations are not able to automatically withdraw dues from state checks, that it could cut the number of employees who are members and hurt the representation those groups have at the State House. They have said some members of these groups, such as custodians and bus drivers, might not have checking accounts and be able to send in their dues.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Senate fights over Riley appointments

The state Senate started fighting late Tuesday over appointments recommended by Gov. Bob Riley to serve on boards, commissions and other state panels.
The Senate shut down and eventually adjourned after getting bogged down late Tuesday over the appointments.
Senate Minority Leader Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, said Riley has had eight years to make appointments and that he is trying to push through political appointments in the last hours of his administration. He said there are about 60 pending confirmations.
"The truth is Governor Riley's term is over," Bedford said, before commending Riley for some of his work in the last eight years.
Even though he has friends who are on the list of appointees, Bedford said the appointments should be made by Gov.-elect Robert Bentley, a Republican. He said the new governor is able to "make his mark" through his appointments. Riley is also a Republican.
"Bob Riley is the governor until Jan. 17," said Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur.
Orr said the appointments to the Alabama A&M Board of Trustees "hang in the balance."
Bedford also argued that those appointments, which require confirmation by the Senate, did not belong in a special session about ethics.
"This has nothing to do with ethics," Bedford said.
Orr said they need to appoint a fifth member to the Alabama Ethics Commission to ensure there is a full panel.
Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said the Republicans have the votes to move forward with the confirmations, but had offered to move forward with just some of those appointments agreed on by the Democrats.
"The votes are there to approve all of them, but we want to compromise," Marsh said.
Orr added: "the olive branch was extended and it was rejected."
Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, said the appointments process has not always reflected the diversity of the state.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Senate cuts key parts of Riley ethics overhaul

The Alabama Senate, led by Republican Sen. Scott Beason, replaced the ethics overhaul supported by Gov. Bob Riley and replaced it with a simplified version that stops all lobbyist spending on public officials. But, it does not stop those who the lobbyists work for from spending on those officials.
The sponsor of the original bill, Sen. Bryan Taylor of Prattville, expressed his concerns that the bill was opening a “huge loophole.” He said it will not stop the wining and dining of public officials, only changing who pays for it.
"Fundamentally, this doesn't change anything about the system in Montgomery or back home," Taylor said. " ... I'm afraid that it will end up being window dressing."
Taylor's proposal capped, with some exceptions, the spending of lobbyists and others with interests before public officials at $25 a day and $100 a year. Also, his proposal would have stopped universities from giving lawmakers football tickets, but that would be allowed under the Beason version.
Riley called legislators into a special session to overhaul ethics laws in the state. They could pass a variety of bills by Tuesday.
Taylor said he knows that some of his colleagues were concerned because they were confused by some portions of his bill.
Beason, R-Gardendale, said his version was simpler, avoids unintended consequences, and addresses the sometimes corrupting cozy relationship between legislators and lobbyists. If the changes are passed, a lobbyist could not buy an official a cup of coffee, he said.
Beason does not believe the changes weaken the bill. If other problems arise, he said the Legislature will address those at that time.
"The problem was all of the questions weren’t answered," he said of the comprehensive Taylor proposal.
Taylor said the lobbyists and special interests are working very hard "to get us all addicted to the good ol' boy system that has been in place for too long."
Nothing in the altered bill would stop legislators from being taken on a purely social trip, from going on other travel, or being taken golfing, Taylor said.
Taylor's bill would have required online reporting of all lobbyist spending on public officials and public employees, but since all lobbyist spending would be prohibited that is not in the Beason version.
Beason's version also asked the Alabama Ethics Commission to, by the fifth day of the legislative session that begins in March, submit a report on what other states have successfully enacted to improve ethics there.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Bentley to keep some members of Riley Cabinet

Gov.-elect Robert Bentley said Wednesday that his team would announce two Cabinet appointments by the end of the day and that they have reached decisions in some of the major areas. He would not be specific about the positions or who was being named to those key posts.
Bentley talked to lawmakers at legislative orientation in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday.
After leaving Tuscaloosa, Bentley said he had interviews with potential staff later Wednesday and said he is interviewing several members of the administration of Gov. Bob Riley who were interested in continuing to serve in his administration.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Bentley not involved in crafting ethics bills, warns lawmakers about unintended consequences

TUSCALOOSA -- Gov.-elect Robert Bentley said he was not consulted or involved in crafting the legislation that lawmakers began considering Wednesday as part of a special session to overhaul ethics in Alabama
He did warn lawmakers, in his first address to them since being elected Nov. 2, to remember the consequences of the bills they pass.
Gov. Bob Riley, who will be in office until mid-January, decided to call lawmakers into a special session that begins today to address ethics after sweeping Republican wins in November.
Bentley had said he would call a special session to address ethics reform at the beginning of the next regular session and that, if Riley did call a special session, he would not stand on the sidelines. He said he would be leading the fight.
But, on Wednesday, he said "I have decided to let the Legislature do its job."
Bentley, a Republican, said he was briefed by legislative leadership on the proposals. He said he had not studied the bills in depth, but had looked at outlines.
Bentley said he would not be critical of the legislation and would not point to any bills he did or did not want included in the proposals lawmakers are considering. He has previously expressed concerns about legislation that would ban lawmakers from holding another state job.
"We have to be fair. We have to make sure everyone is treated fairly," Bentley said Wednesday. "You can go too far. You always have to be careful about the ramifications."
But, Bentley told lawmakers at their legislative orientation at the University of Alabama school of law, "If you don't clean it up and you don't do it right, we're going to work on it again March 1," which is the beginning of the next regular legislative session.
Bentley said he is a simple man and suggested, when addressing ethics, "simplicity is better."
"The people of Alabama want total transparency. They want to know where the money comes from, where it's going to, who gave it to you," Bentley said to applause from lawmakers. " … You can make things simple or you can make things complicated. I'm leaving that up to y'all. But I have faith you can do things and I have faith you can do things right."
Bentley told lawmakers he hopes they can deal with ethics so that they can move on to other issues and work with him on creating jobs.
"Thank you for getting this out of the way," he said of ethics. "Hopefully, we won't have to talk about it on March 1."

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Riley sets special session for Dec. 8

Gov. Bob Riley announced Wednesday that he is calling a special session to tackle ethics reform and it will begin Dec. 8.
Riley wants lawmakers to stop the transfer of money between political action committees, to ban legislators from holding any state job, education or otherwise, and to give subpoena power to the Alabama Ethics Commission. The package also includes bills requiring those who lobby the executive branch to register as lobbyists and severely curtailing what an elected official or public employee can accept from almost anyone.
Riley has had lawmakers introduce similar bills in previous sessions, but blames Democrats for killing those proposals.
Now, after the Nov. 2 election, Republicans have taken the majority in the House and in the Senate, and Riley wants to move quickly to enact these reforms, even before Gov.-elect Robert Bentley takes office next month.
The governor determines which issues are addressed in a special session, keeping other issues from drowning out those he considers more important. Legislators cannot bring up other issues without approval of a supermajority of lawmakers.
And someone who knows a lot about the kinds of reforms that Riley has been pushing for the last eight years, has been tapped by the new Republican legislative leadership to help shepherd the effort.
Sen. Bryan Taylor, R-Prattville, said if the package of bills that would be up for consideration during the special session is passed, Alabama would once again have the strongest ethics laws in the country.
Taylor served as policy director and legal counsel for Riley before he decided to run for the Alabama Senate, and he had a hand in crafting the legislation that the governor had tried unsuccessfully to get passed.
This time around not only is he helping to craft the bills, he'll be inside the Alabama Legislature working to get his fellow lawmakers to pass them.
Highlights of the legislative package include the proposed ban on transfers between political action committees that Taylor said is stronger than the original bill carried by former state Rep. Jeff McLaughlin, D-Guntersville. Moving money between political action committees helps hides the original source of the contribution.
"It's the kind of rule that someone would think twice about before disobeying it," Taylor said of the provision regarding spending.

-- posted by Markeshia Ricks and Sebastian Kitchen

Riley expected to call special session on ethics Wednesday

Gov. Bob Riley is expected to call a special session to address ethics reform during a press conference Wednesday at the Capitol.
"The governor has been speaking with legislative leaders and other legislators since the Nov. 2 election about whether to have a special session to pass anti-corruption reforms that Governor Riley and others have tried to pass for years but were always killed by the Democratic majority in the Legislature," according to a release from Riley's office. "Some of those reforms they tried to pass include a ban on PAC-to-PAC transfers, full disclosure of lobbyist spending, and subpoena power for the Alabama Ethics Commission."
Republicans took control of the Alabama House and Senate in the Nov. 2 election for the first time in more than 130 years. Since then, Riley has talked about calling a special session before Gov.-elect Robert Bentley takes office in January.
"To deal with ethics and deal with it right off the bat is the right thing to do," said state Rep. Mike Hubbard, who would likely be voted speaker of the House during that special session. He said Tuesday, during a swearing in ceremony for state Rep. Paul Beckman of Prattville that he expects Riley to call a special session Wednesday on ethics.
Hubbard, an Auburn Republican, said state Sen. Bryan Taylor of Prattville, who was elected Nov. 2, was not at the swearing in for Beckman on Tuesday because he was "dispatched to Birmingham to get ready for a special session."
Taylor was policy director for Riley before stepping down to run for office.
Hubbard said Alabama has become known for corruption after the investigations into the state's two-year college system and into gambling. But, he said, the "vast majority (of public officials) are honest and serve for the right reasons."
"We have developed this reputation," Hubbard said.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Taylor takes oath of office

Autauga County Probate Judge Al Booth said he and other Republicans there were "giddy" after their first meeting with Bryan Taylor.
"We knew we had a candidate we could get behind and who could win," Booth said.
Taylor, the former policy director for Gov. Bob Riley, did win, convincingly defeating a seven-term Democratic senator.
On Thursday, Booth and other officials from the six counties that Taylor now represents watched in the historic chambers of the House of Representatives at the Capitol as Riley issued the oath of office to Taylor.
Jessica, Taylor's wife, held the Bible during the oath. They are expecting their first child by the end of the year.
Booth called Taylor, 34, and his wife "the future of politics."
Taylor was one of several Republicans who unseated Democrats to take control of the Alabama Senate and the Alabama House. He said he was proud to be part of a "new class of leadership in Montgomery."
Taylor, and many of his Republican colleagues, have vowed sweeping ethics reform to end corruption in Montgomery.
"That's why I got into this race," he said. Taylor believes the election was a "wake-up call," that the people are watching, and asked the dozens present for his oath to "hold my feet to the fire."
He is hoping to achieve many of his campaign goals during a special session that most lawmakers are expecting Riley to call by the end of the year to address ethics reform.
Riley said Taylor first joined him as an aid, traveling with him throughout the state. Later in his time in the administration, Taylor also helped lead the fight against what they believe is illegal gaming in the state.
Riley said he considered Taylor one of the foundations of his administration.
The governor advised Taylor to "come home' if he ever considered acting for political reasons, ever worried about a decision costing him the next election, or just worried about trying to build a consensus.
"Now is when the testing comes," Riley told him. He said too many people worry about their reelection.
Others who attended the event included several members of the Riley administration who served with Taylor including Tom Surtees, director of the Department of Industrial Relations; Art Faulkner, the newly appointed director of the Alabama Department of Homeland Security; and Judge Jim Main of the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, who served as state finance director. Other legislators there included Reps. Paul Beckman, R-Prattville and Alan Boothe, D-Troy, and Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale.
District 30 includes all or part of Autauga, Butler, Crenshaw, Elmore, Lowndes, and Pike counties.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Riley continues to fill Cabinet positions

Even though Robert Bentley will be governor in two months, current Gov. Bob Riley continues to fill the positions left by his departing appointees.
Bentley, a Republican, can replace those Cabinet-level positions when he takes office in January.
On Tuesday, Riley's office announced the appointment of Robert D. Church Jr. as Medicaid director and Art Faulkner as director of the Alabama Department of Homeland Security. Both men were already top officials in those departments and were likely candidates.
Church, the chief financial officer at the agency, replaces Carol Steckel, who resigned earlier this month to become the executive director of health care reform for the state of Louisiana. He served as assistant deputy administrator for audit and recovery with the Mississippi Medicaid program before joining Alabama's agency in 2009. Prior to that, he worked as a Certified Public Accountant for 30 years.
Faulkner, the state's 9-1-1 coordinator, replaces Jim Walker, who left to pursue a job in the private sector.
Riley previously appointed Linda Swann as director of the Alabama Development Office, replacing Neal Wade, who left to pursue a job in Florida with his previous employer.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Troy King to Riley: "I told you so"

Attorney General Troy King has lashed out at Gov. Bob Riley again in their ongoing dispute over whether King should have filed a lawsuit against BP and other companies alleged to be responsible for the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Riley has been critical of the third party claims system set up by the federal government and BP and administered by Kenneth Feinberg. Riley has said the claims process amounts to "extortion."

"Governor Riley's statement is an admission of what I have told the governor and the public for months; that BP and their multimillion dollar shill, Ken Feinberg, have intended from day one to deceive and exploit Alabamians who have been victimized in order to protect BP and their partners from accountability for their actions," King said in a statement. "If the governor wants to find the real culprit, the person who ran interference for BP, who enabled and encouraged BP and Feinberg in their exploitation and extortion, he need look no further than the nearest mirror. I said it before, and I will say it again; BP easily used Alabama's governor at the expense of Alabama's citizens. Any right thinking person can no longer question that. The only question left unanswered, is why did the governor allow it?"

King sued BP and the other companies. Riley has criticized the move and said the state should negotiate and try to secure as much money as possible, and then sue if the payouts are not sufficient.

Riley and BP officials have said the lawsuit has hindered negotiations.

King has repeatedly said BP is not negotiating in good faith.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Governor Riley responds to Obama's speech

Gov. Bob Riley responded on Wednesday to President Barack Obama's speech about the withdrawal from Iraq. You can watch the video below:




-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Photos from Southern Governors' Association V

Photos from Southern Governors' Association in Hoover, August 2010



Photo of Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to President Obama, addressing Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, North Carolina Bev Perdue, and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen