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What Others Say Work together, Senators Dangle a 62 percent pay hike in front of most Alabama workers, and chances are the work would be close to commensurate with the pay. Hand it over to the Alabama Senate, and what do its members do? Quit working. Inaction is plaguing the flow of bills in the state Senate in a parliamentary showdown aimed at forcing a change in operational rules in that chamber. A minority coalition of 12 Republican and five Democratic senators is deliberately stalling bills in the Senate in protest of rules that they say guarantee power only for the majority even though it is a majority of only one more senator. The majority has adopted rules that took away the right of a group of six senators to mandate a roll call vote on certain measures. That rule makes it easier to employ a voice vote on a controversial matter, like the legislative pay raise. And it, in essence, helps hide from the constituency how an official specifically voted. Another point of contention is lowering from 21 to 18 - which happens to be the exact number of the majority coalition - the amount of votes needed to stop debate and force votes, keeping the power in the hands of the 18. It is a shameless power grab that is keeping the Senate from doing what it was elected to do, regardless of political or philosophical affiliation. The Senate was elected to represent the people of this state, and that means a sharing of power, not a monopoly on it. We renew our plea: Come to the bargaining table and negotiate rules that give a voice to all, not just a razor-thin majority. Until then, Alabama taxpayers will be footing the bill for a job not very well done. It is time to stop the self-serving, tug-of-war over power and use that energy to benefit this state. The Daily Home
Talladega
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