Judge upholds ban on ‘double-dipping’ Alabama legislators holding two govt. jobs

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May 22, 2015

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A ban on so-called “double-dipping,” passed by the newly-elected Republican state legislature in 2010, has been upheld by a circuit judge in Montgomery.

Senator Jabo Waggoner (R-Vestavia Hills), the chairman of the powerful Rules Committee who originally sponsored the law as part of a broad package of ethics reforms soon after Republicans held power in the state legislature for the first time in 136 years.

“Holding two state jobs at the same time can lead to corruption, which is why we took action to stop the practice when Republicans won the majority in 2010,” said Senator Jabo Waggoner. “The judge upholding our double-dipping ban today is a win for taxpayers and those who want honest government.”

Filing suit against the law was Dexter Grimsley (D-Newville), a Henry County probation officer for almost 20 years who was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 2010, giving him two government jobs. As a result of the new law, he would have to choose which job he would keep.

Grimsley’s lawsuit claimed the double-dipping ban is unconstitutional because, in part, it places unreasonable restrictions on state employees who want to participate in politics; prohibits some of them from being gainfully employed; and makes exceptions for some state jobs while not others.

During the court case defenders of the law argued that no one is prohibited from serving in the legislature because of the ban, it only requires lawmakers to choose between accepting their legislative position or continuing state employment.

“When placed in charge of the state legislature, we made it our first priority to clean up corruption and remove conflicts of interest,” said Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh (R-Anniston) when the decision was handed down. “The double-dipping ban is just one of the ways we addressed some systemic problems with the way things used to be done in the legislature.”

Alabama’s double-dipping ban has an analogous federal statute, the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from holding their job even while running for office or engaging in certain political activities.