President's Message
- Volume 51, Number 2 - 2007
Despite "The Veto," ACCA had a pretty good Legislative Session.
Every Association president is remembered for something, I guess. If that’s the case, just call me Rhondel “Veto” Rhone.
No one can remember the last time an Association-sponsored piece of legislation was vetoed by the governor. But, that record was broken this year when Gov. Bob Riley intentionally returned one of our bills to the House of Representatives just before the session ended, effectively vetoing the legislation and preventing our supporters from overriding his objections so the bill could become law anyway.
The legislation wasn’t controversial, or at least we didn’t think it was controversial. As introduced, it made three technical changes in Alabama’s bid law. The only change that could have raised even a small eyebrow was the increasing of the local bid preference granted to in-county companies from 3 to 5 percent. But, this change is so insignificant, in the big picture, that one hopes that Gov. Riley did not veto the bill because of misplaced concern about abuse.
This small increase in the local preference was designed to help local governments purchase goods from the local businesses that employ local taxpayers. On a $20,000 automobile, the current local preference is $600, which means a local government can make the purchase from the local merchant if the bid price is within $600 of the lowest bidder. Had the bill been signed into law, the preference would have increased by $400, in this example.
Sponsored by Rep. Pebblin Warren (D-District 82) and Sen. Bobby Denton (D-Distict 1), the bill was passed without a dissenting vote in either the House of Representatives or the State Senate. In most cases, whenever a bill passes without controversy, it is signed into law by the governor at that time.
No indications were given that the governor’s office had any concern about the contents of the legislation – and the governor had the entire session to voice any concerns the legislation might have raised in his mind. He chose not to do so, and that is certainly his right as governor.
Under the procedures of the Alabama Legislature, the bill was returned to the House just before the work day ended on the final night of the session. By using this procedure, Gov. Riley was able to ensure the bill’s death, because it was in the possession of the House – and not the governor – when the session ended.
So, I’m getting ready for all those “veto” jokes that are sure to come my way in the next few years. But, I’ll take those in stride because other than one slip up, it was an outstanding year for our Association.
Please read on page 10 about our other legislative accomplishments this year – enactment of the first of several bills aimed at updating the code sections that outline the powers of county government, the establishment of a certification program and state salary subsidy for emergency management directors, and additional funding for our very important 911 programs.
It is important to point out that these accomplishments were possible, in part, because of the growing role of our affiliate organizations. Our Association invests a great deal of
time and money in our affiliate groups. Together, we are having a very positive impact on county government and the services we provide to our citizens.
Our work on the Association’s next long-range plan, this one designed to take us through 2015, took shape this past year. Although the adoption of the plan will be in the hands of our next president, Jerold Dean of Conecuh County, I want to thank those who participated in this process all the way back to the membership survey from last year’s district meetings.
This plan will be important to our Association in the coming years. I encourage your support of this plan, and I appreciate the insight of those who have served on the 2015 Task Force.
Together we’ve also laid the foundation for the enactment of legislation to fund road and bridge construction throughout our state.
As we learned during the promotion of the county bridge bond issue a few years ago, this kind of initiative is not one that can be completed in a single year. We must educate the public, communicate with our legislators, and then begin the process of actually moving legislation through the House and Senate.
This year we focused on “education,” but I know the other – more visible – signs of work on this important matter are around the corner.
I’ve heard many of our former presidents say how quickly the year past as they served as the Association’s leader. They are right. Our year together has moved very quickly.
In just a few days we’ll gather at our annual convention. There we will elect a new president, and we’ll put old “Veto” out to pasture. I’m not leaving, but I am going to let someone else see if they can get that bid law legislation actually passed into law.
The theme of this year’s convention, “County to County,” really characterizes the past year and what we are about as county officials and as friends. We’ve worked together. We’ve reached across county lines to help each other. We’ve taken care of each other. We’ve grown together.
And, except for that one tradition about never having a bill vetoed, we’ve continued all the traditions of this important Association.
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