Wednesday, June 13, 2007
THE ISSUE: The angry Moundville Democrat killed some good legislation on the session's final day just to get back at Republicans.
State Sen. Phil Poole sure showed those mean old Republicans.
Angry at House Republicans for helping hold up Gov. Bob Riley's line-item veto of $1 million for road projects in Poole's district (see above editorial), the Moundville Democrat turned vindictive.
As the session was winding down last Thursday night with many bills clinging to life, Poole singled out House Republicans' bills for death, regardless of the merits of the legislation.
The bills already had passed the House and were on the Senate's special order calendar for debate, but Poole and Democratic allies voted to carry over those bills, effectively killing them on the session's last day.
Here are some bills that died because of Poole's petulance:
A bill sponsored by Rep. Paul DeMarco, R-Homewood, would have increased penalties for truckers who don't adequately secure steel coils - a recurring problem on Birmingham interstates. Sen. Jabo Waggoner, who was shepherding DeMarco's bill through the Senate, got into a shouting match with Poole. Waggoner said that if Poole killed the bill, the next death caused by a steel coil rolling off a truck would be Poole's fault. If that bothered Poole, he didn't show it; Poole and Democratic allies killed the bill.
Poole and allies also managed to kill two DeMarco bills rewriting sections of the Alabama Constitution and his bill requiring ethics training for public officials.
A bill sponsored by Rep. Greg Wren, R-Montgomery, would have created a "rainy-day" fund that would cover shortfalls in the General Fund budget during years in which tax collections lagged.
A bill sponsored by Rep. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, would have greatly limited Alabama inmates' ability to profit from their crimes. The so-called "murderabilia" bill was championed by Mary Kate Gach, whose 21-year-old daughter Stephanie was murdered in 1992. Stephanie Gach's killer has drawn macabre sketches that have been for sale on the Internet.
"These are people down there who don't have any compassion," Gach said last week after the bill died.
They don't have any compassion, but plenty of pettiness. Poole put himself and his anger above the people of Alabama. As a result, good bills died for no good reason. Voters in his district ought to punish Poole accordingly the next election cycle.
© 2007 The Birmingham News
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