Williams pledges to dramatically decrease his own power if elected Alabama House Speaker

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Paul Ryan and Republicans in Congress are soaking up all the media attention this week, but the Alabama House of Representatives has its own emerging battle over who will be Speaker during the next legislative session. State Rep. Phil Williams (R-Huntsville) is challenging current House Speaker Mike Hubbard (R-Auburn) for the gavel, and he’s pledging to dramatically decrease his own power if his colleagues elect him.

In an email to House Republicans Tuesday night, Williams laid out a plan to “completely change the way (House Republicans) operate” by instituting what he called a “member-based system” that decentralizes legislative power.

“Over the years we as a body have allowed for a tremendous amount of power to be concentrated in the position we call ‘Mr. Speaker,’ regardless of who is sitting in the Chair,” Williams explained. “This model has led to one person having most all of the power to move bills, make committee assignments and shape legislation… When one person has full discretion over committee assignments, committee chairs, legislation to be debated, daily schedules, etc., any casual observer of the legislature knows that there is really only one person that they need influence and that is the person sitting in the Speaker’s chair… What I am proposing is wholesale change in how we operate the House and a complete break with the power based politics of the past.”

The primary change Williams detailed in his letter was an overhaul of how committees are formed. Under the current system, the Speaker makes committee assignments, giving his office significant leverage over rank-and-file members.

“We will immediately revise how committees assignments are made by allowing members to select their own committees,” Williams pledged. “Every member will serve on two committees, and the Speaker will no longer make these assignments. For the first committee, the most senior members will get first choice for their assignment. Next the newest members will get first choice at the second committee assignment. This empowers all members and will better match up the talents and expertise that all members bring to the House. Selecting committees on this basis removes power from the Speaker and my focus will be to simply ensure the process is fair and leads to committees that work effectively.”

Williams went on to explain that he would further dilute the power of the Speaker by allowing committee members to select their own chairman, rather than the Speaker appointing each one.

“This will ensure that the Chair is responsible to the committee and not responsible to the Speaker,” he explained. “This further empowers each committee member and gives him or her a real voice in how the committees operate.”

Conservatives in the U.S. House have been advocating for a new Speaker who takes a more bottom-up approach and empowers other members, rather than the top-down approach and strict disciplinarian tactics they associate with the speakership of John Boehner. Williams clearly believes Alabama House Republicans are anxious for similar changes.

“We must change the way we run the House and return real power to the members,” he concluded. “The approach I describe will pull us all into a team like never before. This is a dramatic departure from the past top down structure that has prevailed in Montgomery for years and the time for change is now.”

A request for comment from House Speaker Mike Hubbard’s office was not immediately returned Tuesday evening.