As expected, lawmakers overrode the gubernatorial veto of the state's education budget and a six percent pay raise for education employees on the final day of the 2005 regular session.  Lawmakers did not get to the General Fund budget, which means a special session will be necessary before the end of the fiscal year.

In the final hours of the regular session, the Good Samaritan Bill for the construction industry was pushed to the top of the Senate’s special order calendar for a final vote.  However, a prolonged filibuster, internal political strife in the Senate and discontent between the two legislative chambers kept the Good Sam bill along with most of the 1,237 pieces of legislation introduced in the 2005 regular session from getting a proper hearing, much less achieving passage.

Thanks in part to the gridlock in the Senate, the engineering profession came through the session without any bruises.  The most harmful bill was an amendment to the state competitive bid law requiring goods and services to be bid using a reverse auction method of procurement.  The bill, meeting its demise in the political fall out, was negotiated with the sponsoring agency in the early days of session to exempt engineering, architectural, land surveying and other related professional services.

The biggest casualty of the Senate legislative inaction was the state’s $1.5 billion general operating budget, which lawmakers will have to return to Montgomery to address before Oct. 1.  Their return may be imminent – a matter of days, rather than months – based on comments made Tuesday by the governor’s spokesman. Key to that timing is the failure of the Legislature to take up the general fund supplemental appropriations bill by Rep. John Knight, D-Montgomery, which provided for various supplemental appropriations, most notably some $63.7 million in debt service payments on state bonds.

The greatest victory for economical development for our state, came with passage of an $80 million appropriation to upgrade the state port in Mobile. The Senate on a 32-3 vote, gave final approval to an $80 million appropriation from the Alabama Capital Improvement Trust Fund to the Alabama State Port Authority for construction of a much-needed container port at the Alabama State Docks in Mobile.

Following the final day of the session, Governor Riley has ten days to sign or pocket veto any bill or resolution submitted to him.  This means at midnight on Thursday, May 26th, all bills and resolutions must be signed into law or they are considered vetoed.

An appeal has been made to the governor’slegal counsel for Governor Riley to consider placing the Good Samaritan bill in his call for the upcoming special session of the state legislature.

Ten percent of the legislation introduced this session, or 124 bills were tracked on the behalf of your profession.  A complete list of the bills that were tracked for the engineering profession can be found at the ACEC/Alabama website, at www.aceca.org.  A list of the bills that were monitored on behalf of the industry and passed in the 2005 regular legislative session follows:
 

S 330	Mobile Co.; Fowl River Planning & Land Use Bd.	Tanner	GovSigned 4/19	05-075
H 291	Sunset: Home Builders Licensure Board	Sanderford	Gov Signed3/18	05-062
H 296	Sunset: Elevator Safety Review Board	Sherer	Gov Signed 4/19	05-069
H 297	Sunset: AL Manufactured Housing Commission	Sherer	Gov Signed4/19	05-070
H 420	Elmore Co.; Estab. Unit Sys. Road Maintenance	Brewbaker	GovSigned 5/05	05-094
H 622	Wetumpka City Limits	Brewbaker	Pending Gov 5/16
H 664	Bay Minette City Limits	Albritton	Gov Signed 5/10	05-117
H 696	Daphne City Limits	Davis	Gov Signed 5/05	05-113
H 709	Marshall Co; Prohib Water Transf Tenn Riv Basin	McLaughlin	Pending Gov 5/05
H 710	Albertville Utilities Board; Operating Procedures	McDaniel	Gov Signed 5/13	05-141
H 762	Conecuh Co; Create Conecuh Co Reservoir Auth	Albritton	GovSigned 5/10	05-118
H 770	Foley City Limits	McMillan	Gov Signed 5/13	05-153
H 771	Foley City Limits - Amelia Woods	McMillan	Gov Signed 5/13	05-154
H 772	Foley City Limits	McMillan	Gov Signed 5/13	05-155
H 776	Trussville City Limits	McClendon	Gov Signed 5/13	05-157
H 780	CA: Tuscaloosa Co; Fire/Garb. Disp. Dist; Munci	Allen	GovSigned 5/05	05-107
H 787	Daphne & Spanish Fort City Limits	Davis	Gov Signed 5/13	05-158
H 789	Lauderdale Co.; Fd. Promoting Industrial Dev.	Greer	Gov Signed5/13	05-160
H 804	Odenville City Limits	McClendon	Gov Signed 5/13	05-166
H 807	Springville City Limits	McClendon	Gov Signed 5/13	05-167
H 812	Cullman City Limits	Oden	Pending Gov 5/16

Renee A. Casillas, Executive Director
American Council of Engineering Companies of Alabama (ACEC/Alabama) &
Joint Engineers Council of Alabama (JECA)

660 Adams Avenue, Suite 333 | Montgomery, Alabama 36104
PH 334.264.1500 | FAX 334.264.0099 | MOBILE 334.546.8178
Visit us on the web at: www.aceca.org or www.jeca.org