Life and Liberty in Alabama

After the chilling sound of chains dragging against the stone floor of the massive U.S. Federal Courtroom, ten of eleven defendants, their movement restricted by handcuffs and shackles, were escorted to their seats by U.S. Marshals.

Two casino bosses, four Alabama senators and a handful of the state’s most powerful lobbyists were among those named in the 39-count indictment for “roles in wide-ranging conspiracy to influence and corrupt votes related to electronic bingo legislation.” (U.S. Dept. of Justice news release)

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Monday’s status hearing came near the end. Following the reading of each count of the indictment, nine of the 10 defendants present were released on bond and escorted out of the courtroom by U.S. Marshals. Milton McGregor was the only defendant required to stay behind for further proceedings.

U.S. prosecutors told U.S. Magistrate Judge Terry Moorer that there was additional  information surrounding Mr. McGregor’s arrest that should be taken into consideration prior to his release.

According to the prosecutor, McGregor had some harsh words for the FBI agents who came to his house around 7:00 a.m. Monday to apprehend him.

“You’re making a big mistake,” McGregor allegedly told FBI Special Agent Keith Baker. “You’re making the biggest mistake of your life.”

After FBI Special Agent Baker was sworn in to testify, he was questioned by Judge Moorer and U.S. prosecutors. He was also cross examined by McGregor attorney Joe Espy.

Baker testified that upon arrival at the McGregor residence, he, along with 3 other FBI agents, was first told by McGregor’s armed security guards that McGregor was not present and that he was hunting in Macon County. After determining that McGregor was present inside the home, federal agents proceeded inside with an arrest warrant where they met McGregor coming down the stairs.

Baker said that he identified himself as a federal agent and was wearing a clearly-marked FBI navy blue rain jacket. According to his testimony, Baker said Milton proceeded to single him out and tell him that he was “making a big mistake.” McGregor reiterated this comment to federal agents after he was in custody and on the way to the federal courthouse, according to Baker.

McGregor attorney Joe Espy noted to the court that his client had offered to turn himself in voluntarily if notified by federal agents and that the armed security guards were in place to protect the McGregor family.

“All (the federal agents) had to do was notify his security or me and he would have turned himself in,” Espy said.

Veteran civil rights attorney Fred Gray, also representing McGregor, offered an apology to the federal agents.

“I am sorry to Mr. Baker that he felt threatened,” Gray said as he went on to explain that he has represented McGregor since 1983 and that McGregor “would not threaten a law enforcement officer.”

Judge Moorer ordered that McGregor wear an electronic monitoring device as part of his bond agreement and, upon agreement, McGregor was subsequently released on a $500,000 security bond.

Ala. Sen. Quinton Ross (left) stands alongside his attorney for a brief address to media gathered outside the Federal Courthouse in Montgomery after a status hearing on the 39-count indictment

After getting the procedural business out of the way for the past two days, the Alabama Legislature is set to begin debating the Jefferson County Occupational Tax today.

Yesterday the House Jefferson County Local Delegation committee approved two bills, one dealing with the occupational tax and the other creating a comptroller position for the county and reinforcing the hiring of a county manager, known as the Jefferson County Commission Accountability Act. Copies of both bills passed out of committee can be found at the Caputo Report.

As mentioned last week, there’s reason to believe that little will get done in the way of passing the tax and accountability bills through both bodies of the legislature.

Rep. Cam Ward offers his synopsis of the special session on Monday over at Doc’s Political Parlor.

Ward also said that he’s “not real optimistic about this (special) session” on his Twitter page this morning.

Rick Journey from FOX6 in Birmingham mentions via Twitter that JeffCo House members tell him that the tax and accountability bills should both pass out of the House today, but the Senate vote is a big question mark.

(UPDATE)

• Occupational Tax (HB 13) passed the House on a 17-15 vote. This bill now heads to the Senate.
• JeffCo Commission Accountability Act (HB 16) passed the House on a 25-1 vote. This bill now heads to the Senate.

There’s reason to believe that little progress will be made in terms of the occupational tax bill, even if the governor calls a special session to deal with it. Legislators on both sides of the aisle, in the House and Senate, seem to be saying that they don’t agree with the proposed bill. Even those who voted “aye” at the Jefferson County delegation meeting have said that they’re likely to oppose the occupational tax in a special session. More on the local delegation’s stance in this Birmingham News article.

In addition to the shaky foundation the local delegation is standing on, legislators from surrounding areas have also voiced opposition for the bill, according to this Birmingham News article.

*Here’s a good backgrounder by Rep. Greg Canfield on the occupational tax

Update: According to an article from myFoxAL.com, the version of the occupational tax bill has three changes from the version voted on by lawmakers yesterday:

1) Tax rate lowered from 0.5 percent to 0.45 percent.
2) Everyone taxed at gross income, including professionals
3) Tax, if signed into law, would be retroactive back to the date when a judge struck down the previous occupational tax so the county could use the tax money collected since that date that is now sitting in an escrow account.

FOX6 News has also obtained a copy of the bill released from the governor’s office, viewable here.

Update (8/7/09): County attorney says the proposed bill may violate the state’s constitution – Birmingham News

Alabama is fourth in the nation, in public corruption (Birmingham News). This probably doesn’t come as a huge surprise, but it’s still embarrassing. Obviously the corrupt public officials are to blame, but how much can we blame on the voting public? I would argue that voters are full-fledged enablers in this case.

Given the promiscuous nature of politics, we should be more inclined to pay attention to what our elected officials are doing. But no, we put them in office and forget about them. Giving them free reign to run amuck and destroy any chance we may have at competing with our sister states in economic development and education.

U.S. Rep. Artur Davis is undergoing a background check for a possible apppointment to Obama’s cabinet (al.com). I think his close ties to Obama may hurt him in a 2010 Alabama gubernatorial race considering Alabama voted for McCain 60.4-to-38.8.

The Air Force contract awarded to the Northrop Grumman Corporation in partnership with EADS North America will have a monumental effect on economic development in Alabama.

Northrop Grumman and EADS North America plan to assemble and modify tankers at the Brookley Field Industrial Complex in Mobile, Ala. The $40 billion contract is one the single largest defense contracts in U.S. history and the deal includes 179 KC-45 planes to be delivered over the next 15 years.

This means approximately 2,000 jobs will be added to the state’s workforce in Mobile.

Generally I cringe when I see “Worst of” state polls because there was a time when Alabama ranked on most of them. Not this one showcased on CNN.com that outlines the “Worst States for Job Hunting.”

The rankings are determined based on a state’s unemployment rate. The worst state for job hunting is Michigan, with an unemployment rate of 7.6 percent. Number 10 on the list is Kentucky with an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent.

I don’t know where good ole’ Alabam would rank on the list, but our unemployment rate is 3.5 percent.

I am confident that Alabama has seen her last days at the bottom of the barrel. Thanks in a large part to the Riley administration for bringing industry and jobs to the state.

Senator Who Threw Punch Has Epiphany; Drops Suit – Decatur Daily

Thank goodness to Sen. Bishop and the wonderful person(s) who advised him to do this.

I still find it very interesting that Senate Minority Leader Jabo Waggoner (R-Vestavia) has given up his seat on the powerful, daily agenda-setting Rules Committee to his colleague, Sen. Bishop, who was stripped of his committee assignments on Opening Day.