Associated Press
MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- A public hearing on a bill to crack down on illegal immigration drew an overflow crowd to the Alabama Statehouse Wednesday. But most of the senators who were scheduled to listen to the comments skipped the meeting.
More than 150 people squeezed into a public hearing held by the Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Accountability Committee. But only six of the 11 committee members attended at least part of the meeting. When it came time to vote, only five were present, and Chairman Ted Little, D-Auburn, said that was short of the six members needed to take a legal vote.
“It’s a disgrace,” said Huntsville talk show host Dale Jackson, who organized a rally in support of the bill. The rally was held on the Statehouse steps an hour before the committee met
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, said opponents of the bill encouraged senators not to attend because that would stall the bill with the 2008 legislative session now one-third complete.
Besides Little and Beason, senators attending all the public hearing were Ben Brooks, R-Mobile, and Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills. Sen. Wendell Mitchell, D-Luverne, attended most of the public hearing, but left before the end. Sen. Bobby Singleton,
D-Greensboro, missed the first part of the public hearing, but arrived before the end.
Absent were: Kim Benefield, D-Woodland; Linda Coleman, D-Birmingham; Parker Griffith, D-Huntsville; Myron Penn, D-Union Springs; and Zeb Little, D-Cullman.