MONTGOMERY — “The best part of this session was adjourning sine die last night and stopping the Republicans from doing even more damage to the people of our state,” Senate Minority Leader Roger Bedford (D-Russellville) said Friday. 

“To borrow a question that Ronald Reagan asked, ‘Are you better off today than you were six months ago?’  After this session in which Republicans unraveled more than 20 years of gains our state had made in education, economic development, health care, senior care, children’s insurance, job creation and more, the people of Alabama can say, “No, we are not better off.  We are worse off.’” said Bedford.  “Alabama is not better off when Republicans refuse to close tax loopholes that let some corporations pay zero in taxes while giving teachers a $1,200 pay cut and firing 1200 teachers.”

Just a few months ago, the GOP Super Majority moved to shut out the public from access to the State House.  Public outrage forced them to renege on their plan, but they still do everything they can to shut the people from the process.

 “They don’t return e-mails and calls,” Bedford said. “They pass horrible legislation affecting the lives of millions of Alabamians while allowing virtually no debate or discussion.  There have been well over 40 cloture petitions filed and passed by the Super Majority in this one session alone – more than all passed in every previous session combined.  All this is designed to block public input into the process and public awareness of what is going on in Montgomery. This is not accountability.  This is not transparency.  Don’t just watch what they say.  Watch what they do – and don’t do.” 

“I am here to tell you the people will not be fooled by the Republicans’ tricks,” said Sen. Bobby Singleton (D-Greensboro). “This is all smoke and mirrors, which the GOP uses to try to fool the people of Alabama into thinking it is fire. You cannot introduce a congressional redistricting plan that no Democrat or no member of the public has even laid eyes on, much less read, and then turn around and pass it in three minutes. The people will see through their three-minute plan and the Republican schemes for what they are.”

Sen. Priscilla Dunn (D-Birmingham) said, “This quadrennium began with the vindictive Republican Majority singling out teachers, public employees, working families and more for punishment in a Special Session, and this same mindset and strategy have prevailed throughout the Regular Session.  There is no accountability when they work around the clock to cut education and increase class sizes and try to give $300 million in tax incentives while refusing to close corporate loopholes that allow some businesses to pay zero in taxes in our state.”

Singleton added, “The Republican Super Majority loves to talk about their ‘Handshake with Alabama.’  Whose hands are they shaking?  The only hands the Republicans are shaking are steering multi-state, multi-million and billion dollar corporations. Republicans are not shaking hands with the working families of Alabama.  Instead, their handshake is really a sleight of hand to shake down teachers, working families, seniors, children, women, education workers, state workers and more.  While they try to shake one hand, their other hand is taking money out of the pockets of working families and killing jobs across Alabama.”

This session Sen. Phil Williams (R-Rainbow City) and the Republican leadership pushed a bill to create a legislative pay commission. 

“That was just more Republican smoke and mirrors,” Bedford said. “The Republican Super Majority ran on their so-called ‘Handshake with Alabama,’ which included their ‘firm’ promise to immediately repeal the legislative pay raise as soon as they took office. They had the votes to repeal it at any time, but their actions speak louder than anything that comes out of their mouths.” 

Bedford added, “If they’d wanted to put their money where their mouths have been, the Republican Super Majority would have repealed the pay raise. It never happened. Instead, some Republicans even chose to move into the State House and live there during session. They have been living in the same building they wanted to block the public from visiting. Talk about a double standard.”

Sen. Dunn said, “The Republican Super Majority has done nothing to help hard working families in Alabama. They aren’t creating jobs for working people in our state. I am a very, very sad person. And I am angry. We had a chance last night to help Jefferson County combat the 2,000 expected layoffs.  People’s livelihoods depended on this local legislation, and one person, Sen. Scott Beason, blocked it from coming up for a vote. All we asked was for a straight up or down vote on the local bill, and one person killed the bill. This bill’s failure will be devastating to Jefferson County and surrounding areas.  This is yet another storm we are going to have to try and recover from.”

“The people needed a vote and they deserved a vote,” said Dunn. “We were sent to Montgomery so our constituents would have a voice. It is a sad day when the Super Majority literally cares about NO voice but their own. Unfortunately, that is every day in the Alabama Senate under the Super Republican Majority Rule. There has been less public debate, less public input, and less discussion of legislation this session than ever in the history of Alabama.  Every piece of legislation changes people’s lives, and this Super Majority both rushes through and kills major legislation, working behind closed doors and in the dark of night to prevent the public from seeing what is going on.” 

Bedford said, “Tough times mean you have to make touch decisions.  They do not mean you make things tougher on working families who already struggling to get by.”