The justices, ruling unanimously, overturned the order of Circuit Judge Tom Young, who had held that Gambling Task Force Commander John Tyson did not have the authority to conduct raids without the consent of local officials.

Tyson did not say when the task force might attempt to raid Victoryland.  But he said the task force would take “immediate action” to stop illegal gambling “wherever it exists in Alabama, including Macon County.”

Governor Riley contends the machines in private casinos are illegal slots and said the Supreme Court decision means “no longer can local elected officials protect gambling bosses from enforcement of the law.”

Victoryland owner Milton McGregor could not immediately be reached for comment, but his attorney, Mark White, said the Supreme Court order decimates the three branches of government, giving the governor “unchecked power” to take actions over the objections of local officials.

White says “they decided that the governor is in essence the king of Alabama.”

The task force earlier this month shut down the Greenetrack electronic bingo casino at Eutaw in Greene County and confiscated more than 800 electronic bingo machines.

“If you are going to take jobs away, you’ve got to replace those jobs,” Rogers says of the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling.

The task force arrested 16 people, including fellow caucus member Sen. Bobby Singleton (D-Greensboro), this morning during a prolonged raid of Greenetrack.

While wearing hand cuffs and sitting on a white Department of Corrections bus, Singleton called the arrest “symbolic” in a telephone interview live on FOX6 WBRC Good Day Alabama.

Rogers says he’s “outraged” by the actions of “two bullies picking on the little people of this state.”

Those bullies, Rogers says, are Gov. Bob Riley and his task force commander, John Tyson.

Greene county unemployment is 13.2%

The state unemployment is currently 10.8%.

Rogers and fellow caucus members plan to call for increased efforts by the governor for economic development in Greene county following the loss of jobs from the raid of Greenetrack.

Rogers says Riley is spending time fighting for jobs lost due to the BP gusher on the Gulf Coast.

“He should be fighting for them everywhere in the state.”

The caucus news conference takes place at 1pm at Greenetrack.

Read more of Rick Journey’s blogs here.

The issue that dominated this legislative session died in the House of Representatives and thus will never receive a vote of the people. The lead sponsor of BINGO legislation in the House, Marcel Black (D), addressed the House on Wednesday afternoon. Black assured the body that a vote to pass the bill would change absolutely nothing until the people vote on it in November. Black also reminded the members that gambling in the state remains untaxed, unregulated, and undefined. “It’s been a long long session with this bill. My goal has been and remains to let the people vote.” said Black.  Before calling for the House to vote to carry over senate bill 380, Black apologized to the senate sponsor of the legislation. “I want to apologize to Senator Bedford for my apparent inability to convince 62 other folks (House members) to pass this bill.” stated Black.

Here is a full report from Wednesday’s BINGO developments.

BREAKING: Legislators discussed bills other than BINGO this session. Here are some that died.

Charter Schools: While Governor Riley and State Superintendent Joe Morton pushed heavily for charter schools, a block by the influential Alabama Education Association all but insured a dire fate for this legislation. Senator Steve French (R) and Representative Mary Sue McClurkin (R) sponsored the bill in both houses but neither garnered enough committee support to make its way to the floor.  There is the potential that the Governor could call a special session for charter schools, we will just have to wait and see.

Grocery Tax: House Bill #1 was none other than Representative John Knight’s (D)  legislation that would remove the sales tax on groceries. As was the case last year, this legislation never gained support from the republicans and inevitably failed to receive its budget isolation resolution and died on the House floor.

PAC to PAC transfers: For 10 years in a row Representative Jeff McLaughlin (D) has proposed legislation that would ban political action committees (PACs) from transferring money between themselves. These transfers make it nearly impossible to know who contributed to an individual campaign and cloud the process. The House passed McLaughlin’s legislation on the 3^rd day of this legislative session and with 27 legislative days remaining the senate never even voted on the bill in committee. Governor Riley may potentially call a special session to solve this lingering and plaguing issue.  

Smoking Ban: Senator Vivian Figures (D) said she was trying a new angle this year with her Smoking Ban legislation, only limiting the ban to restaurants. The bill shockingly came up late in the 30 day legislative session. After passing the senate with ease, the bill met opposition with the Alabama Restaurant Association in House committee. After passing out of committee the bill failed to get on the calendar for a vote in the House.

Two classes of students, two classes of universities….

When senate bill 162 by Senator Ted Little (D) went to a conference committee last week, no one expected the bill to come out in quite the condition that it did. The bill went to conference committee with a cap on tuition for ALL schools and came out with a cap on tuition for all schools EXCEPT for Auburn University and The University of Alabama. To say this caused a stir would be an unbelievable understatement. The bill passed the senate with little debate but caused a stall in the House. Representatives John Knight (D), Yvonne Kennedy (D), Laura Hall (D), and Alvin Holmes (D) filibustered concurrence with the conference committee report until 9:00 pm on Wednesday. Once the House concurred with the committee’s report, members of Save Alabama PACT gave their representatives a standing ovation.

On the final legislative day, Governor Riley decided he was not ready to close the book on the issue of PACT. Just hours before legislators left Montgomery, Riley placed an executive amendment on the bill. The amendment corrected what the administration called a flaw that would threaten the tax exempt status of the Public School and College Authority. Seeing resistance in both houses, Riley made a trip over to the state house to urge members to pass the legislation. Just after 5:00 the House concurred with Riley’s executive amendment and the Governor signed the bill into law that evening.

 You don’t have to leave but you can’t stay here

SINE DIE, HAPPY TRAILS, the Alabama House and Senate completed their 30 day 2010 general session on Thursday. This session sticks a fork in the quadrennium that began in 2006. While BINGO and PACT dominated the entire session, both houses managed to pass the Education Trust Fund and General Fund budgets. There is always the potential for a special session this summer or fall but we will just have to wait and see what Governor Riley decides to do.

King just advised Gov. Bob Riley and his gambling task force to consider a 3-step plan to address electronic bingo.  He calls the task force actions “questionable and expose our state to devastating liability.”  Read here.

Last night Gov. Riley’s spokesman said King lacked credibility on this issue.

Just released, a statement from Victoryland. In part, it states “the Governor and Mr. Tyson should follow the advice given to them by the State’s Attorney General and remove our property and our citizens from their lawless threats of arrest and destruction.”

It goes on to read “if the Governor and Mr. Tyson reject the advice… the citizens will know they are acting against the best interests of our State.”

“General King will then have to decide if he will do his job….stepping in and taking over the legal process which is clearly his right under the Constitution.”

During the news conference, King said he was not setting a timeline for the governor to respond to his comments.

Read more of Rick Journey’s blogs here.

The 7-2 decision in the Alabama Supreme Court gives the governor’s task force on illegal gambling a clear edge in the legal battle over electronic bingo.

The court’s decision Thursday (view here)  led Gov. Bob Riley and his task force commander, John Tyson, to declare raids will continue. Watch Riley and Tyson comments here.

Track 2: Legislative

Birmingham Southern College political science professor Natalie Davis says the legal fight will only intensify the legislative battle.

“That is pressing forward and we may see more of that…  lots of money is on the table and it is an election year,” Davis says.

Still, Rep. John Rogers (D-Birmingham), who is sponsoring one of those gambling bills this session, does not believe it can pass.

Track 3: Perception

Davis says the battle for the “hearts and minds” of the people has become complicated because of the discussion of jobs and revenue in counties depending on these bingo facilities.

“People are conflicted. They love Bob Riley…. there is some evidence they don’t like the raids.”

If a constitutional amendment were to clear the legislature and go to the people, Davis dismisses claims from anti-gambling activists that they won’t have enough money to compete with pro-gaming powers in a campaign cycle.

“I think everybody will have enough to play.”

Watch the Natalie Davis interview here.

Rick Journey

The Mobile Republican is campaigning on his jobs plan in the Birmingham metro today.

Still, he admits the current electronic bingo debate is a dominant topic on the trail.

This morning on FOX6 News Good Day Alabama, Byrne declared “gaming is not the answer to our economic development.” He dismisses the jobs argument electronic bingo supporters are currently using in the legal dispute with the Riley administration.

“In truth, there’s a net loss in jobs from the gaming industry because that money does not turn back over in the economy.”

Gov. Riley finds himself defending his Task Force raid attempts. Wednesday, Riley said he acted when the Attorney General and some district attorneys failed to enforce the law. Read  Phil Rawls AP story here. The governor is also featured in a new TV spot from the anti-gambling group Citizens for a Better Alabama.

“He (Riley) has taken, in most regards in my judgement, a responsible way of trying to go out there and deal with it, “Byrne says about Riley, “I wouldn’t sit idly by… we know these are illegal.”

Byrne also discusses this week’s campaign finance reports. Republican rival Tim James reports the most money raised with $4.1 million. A large part, $2.7 million, came from loans both by James and three associates. Byrne leads the field with contributions, $2.6 million.

Byrne says he can be a true reformer in Alabama even with large contributions from individuals and PACs.

“If you are going to really reform Montgomery, you must take on the number one special interest and that is Paul Hubbert and the AEA. If you notice, none of that money is coming into the Bradley Byrne campaign.”

Read the full interview here.

For campaign finance reports, click on the candidate below.

Republicans:
Robert Bentley
Bradley Byrne
Kay Ivey
Tim James 2009, 2010
Bill Johnson
Roy Moore
James Potts (no report filed)

Democrats:
Artur Davis
Ron Sparks

Rick Journey

House member Billy Beasley of Clayton weighs in on the gambling debate with this release:

_______________________

Rep. Billy Beasley (D-Clayton) speaks at Macon County Rally for Victoryland

Rep. Beasley makes similar remarks at the microphone in the House of Representatives as a point of personal privilege 

First and foremost the issue at hand is the people who count on legal establishments for their jobs. Victoryland is a constitutionally established place of business that over 1,700 people in Macon County rely on to feed their families, buy clothing, and keep their lights and heat on.  

There is no issue as important right now as jobs – that is why we need to stop all of the nonsense, raids by the governor are putting people out of work – during the worst financial crisis of our lifetime! 

I believe that in this country, we solve our problems at the ballot box, and through the courts – not through midnight raids upon legal establishments. The right to vote is the foundation – for too long many politicians have tried to block the people’s right to vote on issues.  As the sponsor of legislation of that will allow Alabamians to vote on a highway construction program that will generate 30,000 jobs, I believe in giving the people the right to vote.  The same is true for electronic bingo.   

I want to make it clear that what Governor Riley and his Commander John Tyson are doing to shutdown legal gaming and entertainment is wrong and it must be stopped.  Their actions are a misuse and abuse of taxpayer dollars and state resources.  Even worse their actions are intended to protect gambling interest in Mississippi.   

We need to be fighting to create and protect Alabama’s jobs.  That is why I strongly support the Sweet Home Alabama Plan, which will clear the air once and for all on the issue of electronic bingo by letting the people vote.  If approved, the bill will make the laws on bingo clear and consistent across the state, it will create a tax on bingo operators that will generate almost $400 million to better fund our schools and Medicaid.  

The Sweet Home Alabama Plan will also create a statewide gaming commission – which will insure that all people are treated fairly. This is a good plan.  It creates jobs and revenue for the state.  The people deserve the right to vote on the Sweet Home Alabama plan.

Democratic candidate Ron Sparks campaign released a statement calling the attempted task force raid “an outrageous waste” of state resources to “kill thousands of jobs for working Alabamians.”

The Artur Davis campaign says in part “midnight raids… are not the answer.” Davis stands by a statewide vote to resolve the issue with each county deciding whether to approve gaming.

This morning in Birmingam, long-time anti-gambling activist Eric Johnston says a vote is not needed.

“The Supreme Court needs to decide the issue,” Johnston tells me today.

He is part of Citizens for a Better Alabama. The group has launched a new TV spot opposing gaming legislation in Montgomery. Watch it here on YouTube.

He says court rulings on current law shows “these machines are unlawful. We don’t need to vote up and down on them.”

Johnston also claims a statewide vote would be a hard battle for anti-gambling activists.

“The amount of money would be overwhelming… there’s no way we can compete financially” with the electronic bingo backers, he says.

McGregor released a statement earlier this morning, again calling on Gov. Bob Riley to end, what McGregor calls the “hypocrisy” in his war with electronic bingo. Read the statement here.

The head of Riley’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling, Mobile DA John Tyson, says the task force is still working to “enforce the rule of law in Alabama.” Watch his news conference at the State Judicial Building here.

Rick Journey

This morning on FOX6 News Good Day Alabama, council members Jay Roberson and Kim Rafferty pointed at the growing worries about economic development in the city.

“Regionally, we’ve got to cooperate on certain projects to create jobs,” Roberson said.

“We need opportunities for investment and bringing businesses into Birmingham,” Rafferty said, “in the past, the city stagnated in developing those opportunities.” Watch the full interview here.

Concerns about stalled economic development in Birmingham have been a topic for lawmakers, too. Rep. John Rogers (D) says the governor must focus on development this year. Rogers still appears to be hurting from the decision to keep Bryce Mental Hospital and its jobs in Tuscaloosa. Since then, he has taken part in a leadership meeting to determine new projects for the city.  Rogers even threatens to stall legislation if Birmingham doesn’t get its due.

Candidates for governor have been talking up jobs creation in Birmingham, particularly Republican Tim James. Last week, he again floated his plan of opening an office in the city to have a presence and coordinate economic development. Read his plan here and watch the news conference here.

James particularly targeted life sciences and a renewed focus on UAB’s strength as a regional research university in his plan. He’s the latest in a growing list of politicians and business leaders touching on that theme.

Last week, Birmingham metro job growth received a boost from SurModics, a spin-off of Southern Research Institute. During the announcement, Gov. Bob Riley pointed to the potential, calling SurModics “a great example of a successful business model we need to see replicated.”

Rick Journey

“He’s typically optimistic, very Reaganesque,” says the Birmingham Southern College professor of political science.

A little posturing may have been playing into the speech as well as the governor suggested to the Alabama legislature that the “doom and gloom” of state finances came from lobbyists and gambling interests trying to grease the rails for electronic bingo legislation.

“A bunch of bull,” is the way Riley referred to those “doom and gloom” claims.

“I have no idea what he’s talking about,” Rep. John Knight (D-Montgomery) told the Montgomery Advertiser following Tuesday night’s speech. Read here.

Lawmakers, Republican and Democrat alike, already see a prorated education budget and Legislative Fiscal Office forecasts of a $600-million dollar shortfall for the General Fund.

So….”bunch of bull.” Really?

Sen. Scott Beason (R-Gardendale) says Riley’s message appears to be “don’t do anything drastic.”

“He is a good salesman and has an ability to put an optimistic spin on it,” Sen. Beason tells me, agreeing that this is part of Riley’s argument against gambling legislation.