A bill by state Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Josephine) that would reorganize the Alabama Department of Archives and History's board of directors is headed for a vote on the House floor, but it made significant changes in committee Wednesday. It has not yet reached the point where it can be done.
SB77 has changed considerably since Elliott introduced the bill. Initially, it called for board members to be appointed by only four people: the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the House of Representatives, and president pro tempore of the Senate.
The bill underwent several changes before it was passed by the Senate, but none are as meaningful as the amendments approved Wednesday by the House Board of Governors and Government Agencies and Commissions Committee on a 5-4 vote. There wasn't.
State Rep. Kelvin Lawrence (D-Lounds) called for the bill to be amended based on the language requested by ADAH leadership. In addition to significantly changing the way appointments are made, the proposed amendments would protect directors by requiring appointing authorities to provide “just cause” for removing directors.
“You can't just arbitrarily remove them because they do something you don't like,” Lawrence said. “They have to show good cause.”
State Rep. Jamie Keel (R-Russellville) opposed the amendment, saying it would “significantly rewrite” a bill already approved by the Senate.
“I don't think it's acceptable to rewrite the bill at this point, so I don't consider this a friendly amendment,” Keil said.
The committee debated whether the amendment could actually erode the stability of the board by giving the governor 14 of the 20 appointments, but Lawrence said “for good reason.” He said the clause prevents the governor from firing all 14 people on a whim.
The previously proposed structure would have divided appointments more evenly between the appointing authorities, with all appointees elected at large. The new structure will ensure greater geographic diversity on the board by requiring the governor to appoint two commissioners from each congressional district.
The provision provides for two at-large appointments each from the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate, and one at-large appointment each from the House and Senate minority leaders.
Rep. Kelly Underwood (R-Tuscumbia) asked for clarification on what “good cause” meant, saying it could extend to “a program or something that[the appointing authority]doesn't like.” I asked if there was one.
“If you say it's not historical, I think you could argue that the program is not historical. If you say this is not historical and your job is archives and history. , I think that could be the reason,” said Republican Vice Chairman Ben Robbins of Sylacauga. . “But it becomes, 'What is history?'” So at that point you're down the rabbit hole. ”
The question is a reminder of the push behind the bill, which came in response to ADAH hosting an hour-long brown bag show discussing LGBTQ+ history that upset Elliott and other lawmakers. It was done. Elliott said on the Senate floor that he doesn't believe the show is about history, but about “who did someone have sex with last night?”
Republican Reps. Parker Moore, R-Hartselle, Donna Givens, R-Baldwin, and Bill Lamb, R-Tuscaloosa, joined Democrats Lawrence and Napoleon Bracy, D-Pritchard, in supporting the amendment. .
