MONTGOMERY — After hours of Democratic lawmakers' pushback, the Alabama House of Representatives passed legislation on Thursday overhauling the governance of the Birmingham Water Works Board (BWWB), sending it to the governor's desk to become law.
For years, the BWWB has been at the center of controversy. Residents and the City of Birmingham's governance have drawn attention to issues with the board's governance, specifically billing issues, kickback accusations, and other criticisms.
In 2022 alone, thousands of customers claimed they had not received bills for months, later receiving much larger or multiple bills all at once.
Other customers claimed their bills were based on inaccurate meter readings. In August 2022, the BWWB accepted the retirements of most of its purchasing department amid accusations of poor practices and kickbacks.
For several years, lawmakers have attempted to address the issues with the BWWB through legislation, but have failed to advance after massive pushback from Democratic lawmakers from the area.
This year, the bill originated very late in the session, clearing the House and Senate in just over two weeks.
Initially, Senate Bill 330, introduced by State Sen. Dan Roberts (R-Mountain Brook), would have reduced the number of board members from nine to five. Under the legislation, the Birmingham mayor, lieutenant governor, Jefferson County Commission president, Blount County Commission and Shelby County Commission would each get one appointment to the board.
Currently, two of the nine BWWB members are appointed by the mayor of Birmingham. The Birmingham City Council appoints four. One is appointed by the Jefferson County Mayors' Association, another by the Shelby County Commission, and one by the Blount County Commission.
The bill was amended during negotiations, creating a version that would add two more appointments. The sixth appointment would be a Jefferson County resident with a "general business background" appointed by the governor. The seventh appointment would be to a Jefferson County resident, appointed by the Birmingham City Council.
Predictably, Democrats from Jefferson County and surrounding counties blasted the bill as a legislative takeover on what should have been a local issue.
State Rep. Jim Carns (R-Vestavia Hills) carried the bill in the House, touting it as a measure to improve the board's functionality so that it can better serve customers.
State Rep.Neil Rafferty (D-Birmingham) criticized the bill as a "fundamental assault on local governance." He also attempted to racialize the bill, without offering much in the way of explaining what the area's racial history had to do with the BWWB.
"We're doing this, but we're not confronting the elephant in the room, the historical context here," Rafferty. "This legislation cannot be separated from Jefferson County's complex history of race relations, integration challenges, white flight and municipal fragmentation."
He continued, "We in the Jefferson County Delegation know, acknowledge and understand the complex historical and racial dynamics at play here. Following the civil rights movement, Jefferson County experienced extraordinary municipal fragmentation as white residents created separate cities with their own governance structures, own school systems and own police departments."
The pushback from the opposition ranged in hostility. Despite that, Carns attempted to highlight the bill's perceived benefits by pointing to the failures and mismanagement of the current board.
Most of those opposed to the bill accused Carns, Roberts and House Rules chairman Joe Lovvorn (R-Auburn) of subverting a local issue with a statewide solution.
However, Carns and others pointed out that the BWWB serves five separate counties and, therefore, could not be addressed with purely local legislation.
Others repeatedly pointed to the quality of the water overseen by the BWWB. Cairns responded that the legislation did not address water quality but rather perceived mismanagement.
During the debate, several lawmakers attempted to amend the bill to change the representation on the BWWB, all of which were voted down by the House body.
Democrats were not alone in trying to alter the board's proposed representation. State Rep. Jim Hill (R-Moody) took issue with the lack of representation from his district in St. Clair County, suggesting a county resident be added to the board. His amendment to rectify that perceived injustice was likewise voted down by lawmakers.
After nearly two hours of railing, the bill ultimately passed with a vote of 66-27 with eight abstentions. The only "no" votes came from Democrats.
Since the bill was not amended in the House, it now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey for her signature to become law.
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