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| Volume 7, Issue 5, May 2008 |
| Dang… I guess miracles do happen |
| Copyright © Capital City Free Press - Use of Capcityfreepress.com and its related sites signifies your agreement to the terms of service. The article "Dang… I guess miracles do happen" is copyrighted by Loretta Nall and is published here with permission. |
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| Loretta Nall Special to the Free Press I just got back from the State House where I spent the morning in committee meetings tracking bills that I have either been supporting or am trying very hard to kill. Something happened in the State House today that I have never encountered before. The committees voted how I had asked them to on every single bill. HB738 - Rep. Cam Ward's (R-Alabaster) bill that would lower signature requirements for ballot access by half passed UNANIMOUSLY out of the Constitution and Elections Committee! Yes... that's what I said. UNANIMOUSLY! I was in Judiciary Committee meeting at the time and did not get to witness this earth-shattering event. I very much regret that. I understand Rep. Ward was going to use my 2006 run for governor as an example. This still has to pass the House but getting it out of committee is a huge first step. Getting it out of committee unanimously is a very favorable sign. I want to take a second here and extend my heartfelt thanks to Rep. Cam Ward. Over the last few years I have developed a good relationship with him. He's a brave guy, because he isn't afraid to communicate with me, be seen in the State House talking to me, isn't afraid to support controversial stuff that I support and isn't afraid to use my let's say, untraditional run for governor as an example of why the ballot access law needs to be changed. While I don't agree with him on everything, he and I do tend to agree on most issues. He always responds to my communications with him. I've watched him work in the Judiciary Committee on many different issues and he is always the guy who vocalizes concerns about possible Constitutional violations with proposed legislation. If he's your representative, then consider yourself fortunate. And a HUGE thanks is in order to all of you who called, faxed and emailed the members of the Constitution and Elections Committee yesterday. You did it! Thank you! HB683 - Rep. Chris England's (D-Tuscaloosa) bill that would allow for expungement of certain criminal records under certain conditions. For example, I was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession. I was not convicted. My case was dismissed without prejudice on April 20 (4/20) of last year. However, my fingerprints and mug shot are still in the Alabama criminal database. When I cross borders, the charge comes up on the computers but not the fact that the case was dismissed. When I travel to Canada an additional $1000 cost is incurred because a Canadian Immigration lawyer has to be retained to draw up paperwork saying that I can enter the country. That sort of thing on someone’s record can prevent them from getting a job, funding for college education and can result in denial of public services. I told this to the Judiciary Committee members in an email yesterday. Today when this bill was being debated, Rep. Charles Newton (R-Greenville) mentioned that he had gotten an email from 'someone who supports this bill' and then he began relaying what happens to me when I travel to Canada. That was really neat. And it is proof positive that they do read your communications with them and sometimes respond accordingly. Rep. Spencer Collier (R-Mobile) (http://nallforgovernor.blogspot.com/2008/02/state-rep-spencer-collier-has-ear.html) wasn't really in favor of this bill. It’s no big surprise really as he opposes anything that can be construed as humane, compassionate or fair. He kept saying he didn't understand the need for this bill because there was already a board of pardons that people could apply to in order be pardoned. It was pretty obvious that he had not even bothered to read this bill or else it might have occurred to him that a person who has never been convicted of a crime wouldn't be helped much by petitioning the board of pardons and paroles because there is nothing to pardon them for. After Rep. Collier repeated the pardons and paroles line a few times I wanted to say, "Rep. Collier, I thought you got your ear bit off in that fight... not your eyes scratched out... read the fucking bill." The ear looks good, by the way. You can just barely see what appear to be teeth marks. And the bill passed out of committee with only a couple of 'Nay' votes from the resident law and order Nazis Collier and Rep. Paul DeMarco (R-Homewood). HB601 - A bill by Rep. Steve Hurst (D-Munford) that would require a permit to carry a taser. There was some rambling by Rep. Hurst about amendments he had made since the last committee meeting and about how he had talked to the NRA (what do they have to do with tasers and stun guns?) and some others involved with the bill, and they had no problem with the new bill… and how he wasn't lying about that either. I think he faced strong opposition last week. I noted at the beginning of the committee meeting that Rep. Marcel Black (D-Tuscumbia) said that debate was one of the finest he had seen. There was no vote taken on HB601 today that I saw. I believe it has been tabled for the time being. Tabling it didn't stop the hilarious smarmy remarks about 'stun gun parties' after Rep. Hurst left the room. So, HB601 progressed no further today. Yay! And finally HB12 - A bill by Rep. John Rogers (D-Birmingham) that would repeal the sex toy ban in Alabama. I've been anxiously anticipating this bill for months and really trying to get out the word in the last week. At the beginning of the committee meeting Rep. Rogers, who is probably the most colorful and hysterical character in the legislature, and Rep. Black were looking over the agenda. Rep. Rogers had two bills in play in the Judiciary Committee meeting today. Rep. Black said he had to go to a different committee meeting but was coming back for HB12 because he simply wasn't going to miss it. "Uh-oh," I thought, "This is about to get good." HB12 was the very last bill on the agenda. Rep. Rogers was in a different committee meeting when it was called, so Rep. Marcel Black sent out someone to locate him and made the rest of the committee wait until he could get down there. Rep. Rogers wore a very conservative suit today, I might add. A nice, simple gray, one made of regular cloth and not the bright red one made of leather. My friend Steve said it was probably best that Rep. Rogers not look like a pimp while pushing a sex toy bill. How can you argue with that? Rep. Rogers walked up to the mic and in his 'mouth-stuffed-full-of-greasy-pork-chop-voice' said, "Well I thank dis here be one uh duh best bills I evah inn duce," and the whole room exploded into laughter. God I love John Rogers! When things settled down Rep. Rogers was about to say more when Rep. Laura Hall (D-Hunstville), who was laughing so hard she could barely speak, moved to pass the bill without discussion. They all promptly vote and passed it UNANIMOUSLY out of committee still laughing like loons. Then they jumped up and vacated the room. Boy, talk about an anti-climax! I caught Rep. Hall on the way out and asked her why she stopped debate on that bill. I had been looking forward to it for months and she said, "The less he says about it the better." I guess... but I sure wanted to see Rep. Rogers in action on the sex toy bill. Maybe I'll get my chance if it gets to the floor. I thought I might see Troy King and Dan Ireland (executive director of the Alabama Citizens Action Program) there to lobby against the passage of HB12. Funny, neither of them showed up today. So folks, I got everything I wanted today as far as the bills passing or failing in committee. My sincerest gratitude to all of you who took action and helped make this happen. Keep it up! |
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