Filibuster ended: Senate passing bills
The Senate filibuster was ended abruptly this week, to some controversy. The senate has now started passing bills, but we have no date for either of our bills to get on the calendar.
All we can do at present is hope that the rules committee will allow our bills on the floor.
Let's Try Again
Tomorrow afternoon, 2pm. The Senate goes another round.
We'll be listening.
Deal or No Deal
Still deadlocked over gambling.
There have been two separate deals in the past couple of weeks that almost cleared things up, but didn't. Danny at Doc's Political Parlor outlines one: Strange Bedfellows in the Senate
I don't even know the details of the other deal, but I heard prior to the Senate convening Thursday morning that the bingo bill would be carried over and they would move on to other matters, and from listening to the web audio that day, it was clear some people were making a valiant effort at exactly that. But the bill's sponsor would have none of it, and they adjourned without breaking through.
So here we go again. Another week, and the session is getting very close to ending. We need to see some action on our bills very, very soon.
We'll keep you updated.
10:00
The Senate will convene yet again today at 10:00 am.
Hope springs eternal. Well, it springs at least until the end of the session...
Frustration
Yet again, the senate continued arguing about bingo in Macon county.
There is a large amount of legislation just waiting in the wings to happen, Gourmet Beer and Homebrewing being two of these bills.
It is immensely frustrating that our multi-year effort is hanging in the balance because of an issue that has nothing whatsoever to do with the merits of either of our bills. All we can do is wait and hope.
Charlie Brown
Lately I've felt like Charlie Brown to the Alabama Senate's Lucy. They're holding the football and FTH keeps running up to kick it, but they pull it away at the last second. We keep getting our hopes up that they are going to get moving and pass some bills, but still nothing yet. Last Thursday was more of the same.
David White of the Birmingham News has the most detailed rundown of the situation I've seen yet: Gambling bill causing logjam in Alabama Senate
I've heard a rumor that there may, may be a deal on the table that could end the stalemate. But it's just a rumor. I'll believe it when I see it. We'll keep you posted.
The Senate will reconvene tomorrow at 10am.
Nope
Some people got their hopes up yesterday when they heard the House rejected a bingo bill, thinking perhaps that was what was needed to get the Legislature moving.
Nope. Different bill. This year the Legislature has looked at a lot of gambling bills. The only bill holding up the Legislature is in the Senate, and they made no progress yesterday. The stalemate remains.
The Senate will convene again today at 10am. Wish them luck...
Still Waiting
These days every time I run into someone who knows about Free The Hops the first thing out of their mouth is "So when is your bill going to pass?" Right now my answer is always the same "We're still waiting on the Senate to get moving."
If you haven't been watching the Senate's activities (or lack thereof) as closely as I have, this article will get you up to speed: Senate remains tied up with bingo legislation
Not surprisingly, the reality is more complex than the article lets on. The bingo legislation in question is not a matter of legalizing or prohibiting gambling, with the pro-gambling lobby on one side and the moralists on the other. Rather, it's a matter of restructuring an existing gambling operation, and there are gambling proponents on each side of the issue representing different gaming interests. Millions of dollars are at stake, so it's not too surprising that the bills' sponsors are fighting so hard.
FTH has no position on the bill. All we want is for the matter to be resolved one way or another so the flood gates can open and the huge backlog of Senate bills can finally start to be addressed. If and when they get moving the Senate can pass dozens of bills every day they meet for the rest of the session.
The Alabama Legislature has 30 meeting days each session, usually spread out in the form of 2 meeting days per week. This week they are working 3 days, though, which means both the House and Senate are convening today. It will be day 21 of 30. As you can see, we are approaching the final stretch.
We'll keep you updated on how things are moving. Several of us have gotten in the habit of tuning into the Senate internet audio feed to play in the background while at work. If you want to watch sausage being made, as they say, you can find the audio feed at the Legislature's website: http://alisondb.legislature.state.al.us/acas/acasloginFire.asp There is a link on the left side of the page for Chamber Audio. Today the Senate will convene at 3pm.
Will today be the day they finally move past the Bingo bills, after spending several weeks debating them? Tune in to find out...