State Rep. McMillan: Passing legislation on prison construction ‘going to be a mountain too high to climb during an election year’

State Rep. Steve McMillan (R-Foley) is not very bullish on the Alabama Legislature getting something done on prisons between now and the end of the quadrennium.

During an appearance on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5’s “The Jeff Poor Show,” McMillan, who earlier this week announced he would not seek reelection to the Alabama House of Representatives after a long tenure in the body dating back to the 1980s, argued some legislators would be reluctant to pass this type of bill with an election ahead of them.

McMillan explained that was part of the House’s natural tendency — to start out earlier in the term with an ambitious approach and wind that down headed into an election season.

“I don’t think between now and the end of this term,” he said. “Like you say, there are moving parts, lots of them, and they’re very complicated. They’re in-state, out-of-state. It is going to be tough. And I’m not sure anyone will take it on in an election year unless they don’t intend on coming back. The lottery is popular, as you well know, but the rest of it creates issues that are going to be difficult to address in an election year.”

“It’s going to take some tough negotiations, and I think it’s going to be a mountain too high to climb during an election year,” McMillan added. “That’s the key. People come up there the first year of the quadrennium, particularly the newly elected ones, and they’ve got all these people when they were campaigning saying, ‘Oh, I’ve got a suggestion about this particular thing,’ or whatever. Well, that freshman particular legislator says, ‘Well, I’ll introduce this bill, pass it, and that will take care of it.’ Well, you and I know it doesn’t work quite that way. And if we have a lot of bills introduced the first year of the quadrennium. But it diminishes as time goes on, and like you said — the fourth year of the quadrennium, it is a big difference in what gets done and what doesn’t.”

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.