Governor Bentley Expresses Opposition To Legislative Power Grab

Rickey Stokes

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Posted by: RStokes
Date: Feb 17 2013 3:10 PM

By Bill Britt
Alabama Political Reporter

MONTGOMERY—On Thursday, Governor Robert Bentley, once again, expressed his opposition to SB122. “We believe it concentrates a lot of power in twelve individuals,” said the Governor.

SB122, sponsored by Senator Jimmy Holley (R-Elba), is seen by many as a power grab by the republican-controlled legislature to abolish independence and accountability as it applies to public corruption. This is accomplished in the section of the 102-page bill that guts the Department of Public Examiners.

This department has the authority to perform audits of the accounts of all entities receiving or disbursing public funds. In plain english, these are the people who uncover those in government who are cooking the books.

Under existing law, the auditors at the department enjoy the protection of Merit pay but under SB122 that will be removed. “I believe that the public accounts office should be under the merit system and not be beholden unto a group of twelve because they need to be independent,” said Governor Bentley. “They need to feel like they can make judgments independently.”

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