Riley's speech gets mixed reaction By Dana Beyerle Published: Wednesday, February 4, 2009 at 3:30 a.m. Legislative reaction to Gov. Bob Riley's 2009 legislative proposals Tuesday was mostly positive, with the sharpest divisions over gambling and tax issues. "It was a speech of hope in desperate times," said state Rep. John Knight, D-Montgomery. In his State of the State speech, Riley called for sweeping ethics reform, protection of basic school programs such as the Reading Initiative, a state economic recovery plan that offers job creation tax benefits, and opposition to electronic bingo taxes. "Let us find common ground and work for the common good," Riley said in calling for bipartisan support in the legislative session that began at noon Tuesday. "Because if there ever was a time that called for united action, it is now." The sharpest criticism of Riley's proposed ethics law rewrite came from House Majority Leader Ken Guin, D-Carbon Hill. "He is absolutely the slickest politician we've seen in years," Guin said. "Two years ago, we passed tough ethics reform laws and the governor vetoed it, and we ought to start out from that point." The ethics bill Riley vetoed was aimed at his cabinet. Many legislators supported his concepts but Democrats criticized his opposition to proposed electronic bingo taxes that some see as the only revenue source available for a shrinking education budget. "The governor has always made excellent speeches, but this is short on details," said Rep. Richard Lindsey, chairman of the House Education Appropriations Committee and a Democrat from Centre. Lindsey said he supports efforts to pass electronic bingo taxes. "I would say gambling has been in the state for years, and he's been in office for (six) years and he has never done anything about gambling," Lindsey said. "It's here and let's get revenue from it." Saying it's the Legislature that has been paralyzed by gambling, Riley said a bingo tax would produce only 1 percent of the state's combined $12 billion budget. "Gambling is not a way to build a stronger state," he said. On the other hand, Rep. Marcel Black, D-Tuscumbia, a lawyer like Guin with a small practice, said he liked Riley's business tax credits. But he said the state might as well get money from bingo. "We've attempted to ban it and regulate it and taxing it is something we should do," Black said. In addition to opposing bingo taxes, Riley appointed a special prosecutor to seek criminal or civil suit against electronic bingo in an effort to eradicate it in Alabama. Rep. Robert Bentley, of Tuscaloosa, a Republican, said he was encouraged to hear Riley push for a rewrite of the state ethics law to give the ethics commission subpoena power. "And I liked what he said about what we are doing for job creation," said Bentley, a physician with a small business. Riley said Alabama can offer modest tax credits to businesses that create jobs and hire the unemployed as a way to stimulate the economy. He said a federal economic stimulus is coming but he told legislators not to count on it until it's here. Guin said Riley's tax credits are too small to help little businesses like his own and he urged support for the Democrats' plan to cut state taxes on groceries. "If you (pass the grocery tax cut) ... my five employees can save more and spend it and that will stimulate the economy," he said. Rep. Mike Curtis, D-Florence, said he hopes the federal plan works. "We need the federal recovery plan real bad," Curtis said. Rep. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, who represents Bibb County, supported Riley's call for an ethics rewrite. It would require complete disclosure of conflicts of interest by legislators, ban some lobbyist spending on lawmakers and require lobbyists to list other spending. "Ethics, ethics, ethics," Ward said. "We're the last state in the country where the ethics commission has no subpoena power." Rep. Jody Letson, D-Moulton, seemed to sum up many legislators' feelings about a proposed tax on electronic bingo. "Gambling is not going to pass, so there's no reason to bring it up," Letson said.
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