Fred Palmer, a 76-year-old Tuscaloosa man who says he's an original Tide Pride member, argues that because Alabama states all season tickets are sold through Tide Pride except for students, faculty and staff, public officials are receiving free booster-club membership.
"It's not fair for the people that can't get tickets," Palmer said. "The legislators work for us. They're no better than we are. There are 28,000 people on a waiting list who can't join Tide Pride unless they pay $25,000 per seat to jump the line, and 100 legislators get the tickets." ...
"It's not an ethics issue," said Jim Sumner, director of the Alabama Ethics Commission. "The commission couldn't do anything even if they wanted to. This is an issue for the universities to determine. If they want public officials to purchase tickets outside the booster program, that is not an issue for the commission." -- Read the whole story --> Alabama booster files ethics complaint over public officials buying football tickets without donations | al.com
Secretary of State Beth Chapman this morning demonstrated the state's new computerized campaign finance filing system designed to bring Alabama out of the disclosure dark ages.
The electronic system will replace the paper forms that for decades have been hand filed and then scanned at the secretary of state?s office. Candidates, beginning in the 2014 election cycle, will file reports electronically and the public will be able to run searches on the data.
"This gives us 24-7 transparency in campaign finance filings in Alabama. We are real excited about this. It's something the people have called for for a long time," Chapman said. -- Read the whole story --> State debuts new electronic, searchable campaign finance filing system | al.com
The Senate and House of Representatives voted tonight to pass a compromise version of SB445 by Sen. Bryan Taylor, R-Prattville.
The bill goes to Gov. Robert Bentley, who could sign it into law.
It would repeal the $500 cap on campaign donations by corporations. Proponents of that change have said the cap is meaningless because corporations can legally skirt it. -- Read the whole story --> Legislature approves bill to change campaign finance law, repeal cap on corporate contributions | al.com
"We're broke, broke, broke," Worley told the party's Executive Board in a special called meeting Frida.
How broke is broke? Worley didn't sugar coat the answer.
"This is my 18th day as chair and thirty minutes after I took over on April 22nd the landlord of the building where our party headquarters are came in and said he wanted us out, that the rent was overdue and was always overdue," said Worley. -- Read the whole article --> The Alabama Democratic Party: "We're broke, broke, broke." | al.com
The bill returns to the Senate, which could agree to changes or send the bill to a conference committee.
Rep. Mike Ball, R-Madison, chairman of the House Ethics and Campaign Finance Committee, said it was time to do away with the ?pretend? cap because corporations have been allowed to legally skirt the limits for decades by routing money through large numbers of political action committees.
Ball?s committee added the repeal of the corporate cap in a substitute to SB445 by Sen. Bryan Taylor, R-Prattville. -- Read the whole article --> Campaign finance law revisions pass House; headed back to Senate | al.com
The chairman of the House Ethics and Campaign Finance Committee said Wednesday that it was time to do away with the "pretend" cap since corporations have been allowed to legally skirt the limits for decades by routing money through large numbers of political action committees.
"It?s stupid. It's just stupid. The $500 corporate contribution cap is a pretend cap," Rep. Mike Ball, R-Madison, said.
Senate Bill 445, which makes many changes to campaign finance law, is expected to come before the House today. The House Ethics and Campaign Finance Committee approved a substitute bill that included a repeal of the cap.-- Read the whole story --> Bill before House today repeal state limit on corporate campaign contributions; Lawmaker says it's a 'pretend' cap | al.com
Officials of the Alabama Secretary of State's office say they'll launch a searchable online database of campaign donations by the end of May -- replacing the office's old system of paper filings and scanned-in documents.
State officials say the changes should make it easier for average voters to figure out who's accepting money from whom. -- Read the whole story --> Anniston Star - Alabama campaign finance reports soon to go online
The Journey for Justice Gala at the Cahaba Grand Conference Center will also include the premier of the 27-minute documentary "Preserving Justice," which relates the story of the critical roles lawyers, both black and white, played in the civil rights movement. ...
Clarence B. Jones, former personal counsel, adviser, draft speech writer and close friend of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., will deliver the keynote address at the gala. ...
Jones also is among the legal pioneers, living or dead, being honored at tonight's gala.
The others are: Oscar W. Adams Jr.; Norman Amaker; James K. Baker; Abe Berkowitz; Orzell Billingsley; Harvey Burg; U.W. Clemon; Jerome "Buddy" Cooper; J. Mason Davis; Edward Friend Jr.; Peter A. Hall; Charles Hamilton Houston: Frank M. Johnson; Paul Johnston; Tom King Sr.; Thurgood Marshall; Nina Miglionico; Chuck Morgan; Constance Baker Motley; Demetrius Newton; Vernon Patrick; J. Richmond Pearson; Arthur D. Shores; C. Erskine Smith; Robert Vance; David Vann; and W.L. Williams Jr. -- Read the whole story --> Event honors 28 legal pioneers for their contributions to the civil rights movement in Birmingham | al.com
Now, Hubbard is striking back with a glossy, high-production quality direct mail piece that insists he is a "conservative leader" who "works for us." The irony should be lost on no one that Craftmaster Printers appears to have printing the flyer, and the Craftmaster postal permit was used to pay postal costs. The printed address for the Friends of Mike Hubbard campaign committee uses is, naturally, the headquarters of his other lucrative business, Auburn Network Inc.
It seems in keeping with Hubbard's usual business practices that he would use his personal business interests to support campaign activities. Hubbard delivers to constituents a high-quality--and likely high-priced political mailer, paid for with donations to his campaign committee. And then he pays his own companies to print and deliver the propaganda. It's Diamond Mike at his best.
But exactly how Friends of Mike Hubbard paid for the mailer and postage costs is unclear. State campaign finance laws require political communications state clearly who pays the costs. The mailer states that is was paid for Paid for by Friends of Mike Hubbard. Yet, Secretary of State records show that Friends of Mike Hubbard as only having $607 dollars in its account as of January 31, 2013. Keep in mind that it is illegal for him to raise or transfer money until June, after the legislative session ends. -- Read the whole story --> The Graftmaster Cometh: Hubbard Strikes Back at Critics
Attorneys for the Conecuh County seat requested the postponement, citing a need for more time by a special master appointed to oversee the balloting. U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade agreed, ordering the June 18 vote, with a runoff on July 30 if needed.
John Tanner, an attorney for three black residents who sued the city over the way it redrew council districts after the 2010 census, said the delay is the result of city officials? failure to include the plaintiffs' representative in discussions with the special master. But he said another postponement probably could not be avoided. ...
The plaintiffs alleged that the city illegally gerrymandered the five districts in order to maintain a white majority on the council despite the fact that Evergreen’s population now is 62 percent black. Granade in March ordered a new political map based largely on the one that the plaintiffs had proposed. It creates three districts with large black majorities. -- Read the whole story --> Judge postpones Evergreen election again; voting with redrawn political map set for June | al.com
]]>Former campaign staffer, Rhonda Jill Johnson, was also arrested.
Attorney General Luther Strange's Special Prosecutions Division presented evidence to a DeKalb County grand jury, resulting in the indictment of Barron and Johnson on April 19.
Barron and Johnson face six total counts of Ethics Law violations and violations of the Fair Campaign Practices Act. -- Read the whole story --> Former state senator Lowell Barron indicted on campaign finance, ethics charges | al.com
A press release from the AG's office describes the charges:
Count 1 charges Lowell Barron and Jill Johnson with violating State Ethics law by converting a $2,000 check written on the Barron for Senate campaign account to Jill Johnson, to personal use;
Count 2 charges Barron and Johnson with violating State Ethics law by converting a $50,000 check written on the Barron for Senate campaign account to Jill Johnson, to personal use;
Count 3 charges Barron and Johnson with violating the Fair Campaign Practices Act for improper use of excess campaign contributions for a $2,000 check written on the Barron for Senate campaign account, to Jill Johnson for non-campaign purposes;
Count 4 charges Barron and Johnson with violating the Fair Campaign Practices Act for improper use of excess campaign contributions for a $50,000 check written on the Barron for Senate campaign account, to Jill Johnson for non-campaign purposes;
Count 5 charges Barron and Johnson with violating the Fair Campaign Practices Act for improperly transferring campaign property, a 2007 Toyota Camry, to Jill Johnson for non-campaign purposes; and
Count 6 charges Barron and Johnson with violating the Fair Campaign Practices Act for improper use of excess campaign contributions for a $6,000 check written on the Barron for Senate campaign account, to Jill Johnson for non-campaign purposes.
The bill, by Sen. Bryan Taylor, R-Prattville, would say that any person who had raised or spent more than $1,000 toward election to any state or local office would be considered a candidate under the Fair Campaign Practices Act.
That Fair Campaign Practices Act requires candidates to file reports listing their campaign donors and expenditures.
Current law has a tiered set of thresholds: $25,000 for statewide office; $10,000 for the state Senate; $5,000 for the state House of Representatives; $5,000 for a state office covering one circuit or district; and $1,000 for a local office. -- Read the whole story --> Bill to lower campaign reporting threshold clears Alabama Senate committee | al.com
The bill is viewable below:
Alabama Senate Bill 445 with committee amendments
With over a year to go before the 2014 election heats up, someone is firing a big gun across Marsh's bow. Cited in the mailer are stories concerning Marsh's solicitation of $350,000 from the Poarch Creek Indians, as well as how the money flowed back in to Senate campaigns.
When reports of Marsh?s solicitation broke months ago, it was rumored that Marsh has begged the tribe to say he didn?t ask for the money. Not only did Marsh make the trips to Atmore to ask for the tribe's money, he wanted the PCI to cover it up. Marsh must have believed that such a campaign would be forthcoming.
When the Alabama Political Reporter published the story, Marsh was given ample time to respond. However, the only response we received were in the form of threats from Phillip Bryan, Marsh?s Chief of Staff. -- Read the whole story --> Push Card Hits Marsh with Hard Facts
The mailer features Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard as "The Graftmaster." Hubbard is currently under a grand jury investigation for campaign-finance-related issues, some dealing with his printing company Craftmasters. Obviously "Graftmaster" is an ironic play-of-words on one of Mr. Hubbard most prized businesses.
A study of campaign finance records for the 2010 election cycle shows that Hubbard?s business interests were paid over $1,000,000 in campaign expenditures from at least 18 GOP candidates and at least 4 political action committees (PAC). This does not include the almost $800,000 spent with Majority Strategies for GOP printing that was sub-contracted to Hubbard's Craftmasters as reported by AL.com. Craftmaster is just one of Hubbard?s businesses that grew out of his relationship with Auburn University.-- Read the whole story --> New Campaign Targets Hubbard as "Graftmaster"
]]>The bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Ball, R-Madison, passed the House Constitution, Campaigns and Elections committee on a voice vote.
Currently, if no candidate receives a majority of the vote in a party primary, a runoff is held. Ball?s bill would change that to allow candidates that win at least 35 percent of the vote to receive their party's nomination, with no run-off.
Ball told the committee Thursday morning that Alabama was one of only a handful of states that continue to maintain primary run-offs, a practice he called expensive and generally redundant. -- Read the whole story --> House committee approves bill that could limit primary run-offs | The Montgomery Advertiser | montgomeryadvertiser.com
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