MONTGOMERY — Governor Kay Ivey held a press conference with leaders from the Alabama House of Representatives after the Rebuild Alabama Act passed the chamber Friday afternoon, with the governor hailing the 84-20 vote and proclaiming, “[Y]ou’re going to see for the first time in a long, long time what a bipartisan effort can do to bring success for the people of Alabama.”
Ivey speaking now pic.twitter.com/i2ZMTayJID
— Sean Ross (@sean_yhn) March 8, 2019
Ivey praised Speaker Mac McCutcheon (R-Monrovia) for the statesmanlike way he presided over the House during the special session. She also had extensive praise for State Rep. Bill Poole (R-Tuscaloosa), the sponsor of the legislative package in the House who was given a standing ovation after its passage.
The governor called the Rebuild Alabama Act a “reasonable increase in our infrastructure funding [that] also has strong accountability so that all the monies raised will indeed go straight to infrastructure.”
“Y’all, this is a great day,” Ivey said.
She added, “I especially want to ask you to salute to Minority Leader Anthony Daniels. His leadership with the minority caucus is phenomenal.”
HB 1, HB 2 and HB 3 received their first readings in the Senate after passage in the House Friday. The bills are in line for a public hearing at 1:00 p.m. Monday, which would likely be followed by a committee vote and second reading the same day, with a possible third reading and final vote before the full Senate to come Tuesday.
“My goal and hope is [sic] we take this momentum that the House of Representatives has given us today, take it to the Senate and let’s finish this job for the people of Alabama,” Ivey emphasized. “Because this is a job well done in a class-act way as a result of team effort, [along] with facts and passion and commitment. This is leadership for the people of Alabama.”
Overcoming ‘[lies] by the groups that were trying to destroy this effort’
The speaker was up next to speak, first thanking the governor for her leadership before the many other supporters of the legislation.
“[A]ll across this state, people stepped up because they saw the need,” McCutcheon said. “They saw the need. I told the members in the House today as we were getting ready to go into session: 27 years. 27 years since this issue’s been addressed. I said, ‘We will make history today. And our children will see the benefits of what we’ve done today.'”
“[I]t did not come easy,” the speaker advised. “Because there was a lot of pressure involved in this.”
.@MacDistrict25 speaking now. Mentions overcoming people who have spread misinformation and lies about the legislation. pic.twitter.com/LlPOZUKwTi
— Sean Ross (@sean_yhn) March 8, 2019
“I hope, I really hope, that as the debate went on today on the floor of the House, I hope that the people of Alabama were listening. Because many of the facts, many of the things in this bill that had been disputed and had been lied about by the groups that were trying to destroy this effort, those things were refuted. The facts came out and people could understand what we were truly, really trying to do,” McCutcheon stressed.
The speaker praised Ways and Means General Fund Committee Chairman Steve Clouse (R-Ozark) for his leadership in helping solidify support for the legislation
McCutcheon then moved onto lauding Poole, reiterating that Poole’s opening statement to the House the Transportation, Utilities and Infrastructure Committee Thursday was the best he had ever heard.
“And I want to say, too, when the move came down today, as we have spent all week working with Leader Daniels and the minority caucus, Chairman Poole and myself, we’ve been meeting with the minority caucus, making sure that everybody was onboard, every legislator. It was not a Democrat or Republican, they were a legislator and a member of the House of Representatives. That’s the way we approached things,” McCutcheon outlined.
He concluded, “This was a group effort, this was a group effort. And, I think being Speaker of the House of Representatives, I think this is one of the proudest moments that I’ve had… It’s a great day, a great day for Alabama.”
‘This is just the beginning’
House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville) spoke after the speaker, beginning by echoing the gracious sentiments of Ivey and McCutcheon and thanking the people who made overwhelming passage come to fruition.
“We started out in one place and we ended up where we all needed to go,” Daniels said.
He singled out Poole for accepting constructive feedback from all members of the body into the Rebuild Alabama Act.
“Thank you for your leadership, and for moving forward and being transparent and open from the very beginning, bringing us to the table to have input. Thank you for accepting the amendment that we agreed upon beforehand, that provided an additional layer of oversight and transparency, which is what is needed,” the minority leader told Poole. “You really worked with our caucus on making certain that there was language in there to open opportunities up and to make certain that the small businesses in Alabama … have an opportunity to be able to compete for the work [funded by the infrastructure revenue].”
“This was truly a group effort,” Daniels advised.
He added, “This is just the beginning of what’s going to be an extremely exciting four years of bipartisanship. We’ve dealt with infrastructure today, we’ll be dealing with human infrastructure tomorrow.”
Minority Leader @AnthonyDaniels speaking now, calls this truly a joint effort.
The governor and speaker both praised Daniels for his bipartisanship and leadership. pic.twitter.com/d7uxYNhwaC
— Sean Ross (@sean_yhn) March 8, 2019
Clouse, next up, quickly thanked Ivey, McCutcheon, Daniels and Poole for their leadership.
Clouse specifically highlighted Poole’s “cool, calm demeanor” that helped him work with all the members to reach an 84-20 final margin.
.@Repsteveclouse with some quick remarks appreciating other leaders pic.twitter.com/opXTNHq8pc
— Sean Ross (@sean_yhn) March 8, 2019
‘I am proud to be an Alabamian’
Poole then took to the podium, commenting, “I’m excited about today.”
After a heartfelt show of appreciation for the previous speakers and “all of the legislators in the body,” Poole said, “This was an important day and a difficult issue that brought a lot of passion. But there’s a lot of support around the state.”
“Our citizens know that we have to do something to address our infrastructure in Alabama. We have to build that infrastructure out for our future, for our children, for our prosperity and our opportunity to compete across the southeast, across the United States and across the entire world,” he emphasized. “And today we’ve moved forward with a plan that I think is effective, it’s fair, it’s transparent, it assures accountability, and I’m very pleased.”
Poole: “The return is generational” on infrastructure investment, which he called again the best kind legislators can make with tax dollars
— Sean Ross (@sean_yhn) March 8, 2019
“I’m excited about this day, I’m excited that the body stood together, firmly committed on this issue, showed leadership on the issue. And I think it demonstrates that when Alabamians – and I’m just proud to be an Alabamian,” Poole concluded. “I am proud to be an Alabamian. I always have been, I always am every day. But I am certainly proud today as we commit ourselves to invest in our future… I look forward to the days ahead for Alabama.”
Ivey took to the podium once more to conclude the statements.
“Remember, this is [a] historic day – a great day – and [a] historic act that has shown today that we can work together as a bipartisan group to put the people’s needs and the people’s benefit ahead of self,” the governor emphasized. “Y’all, this is monumental. And I am so proud to be a part of it.”
You can watch the full press conference here.
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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