MONTGOMERY — Members of the Alabama Senate passed rules changes on Thursday.
The rules changes passed by the Senate unanimously on Thursday limit some of the appointing and administrative authority of the lieutenant governor and requires Senators to remain at their podium on the floor if asking for a bill to be read at length.
“There was a little bit of sentiment, Republicans and Democrats, about separation of powers,” State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) told reporters on Thursday. “The House doesn’t have this issue where you have an executive branch person presiding over their chamber. There was a little bit of a desire to have more control on the legislative side of the legislative process and let legislators, in this case Senators, control the process more than somebody from the executive branch.”
He continued, “There was just a desire for Senators to control things in the Senate as best as they could.”
“Now, we appreciate certainly the job that Lt. Gov. Ainsworth has done for us. Done an excellent job. No criticisms there. No worries about the future and future lieutenant governors. There is a sense that senators need to control the process as best they can,” Orr added.
The new rules take effect immediately.
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