MONTGOMERY — Democrats in the Alabama House of Representatives took a dim view of closing out debate on multiple pieces of controversial legislation on Thursday.
The House tackled two very controversial pieces of legislation on Thursday. One dealt with absentee ballot voting, and the other did away with state-funded Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices in Alabama.
Both bills received vehement protest from Democrats in the Senate, House, and their respective committees.
See: Alabama House passes controversial ballot harvesting bill.
See also: Alabama Legislature advances anti-DEI bill.
On the House floor, Democratic lawmakers used debate time to protest both bills for their perceived negative effect on minority communities and the state in general.
During the debate on both bills, House leadership produced a motion to end the discussion, both of which passed across party lines.
While not technically called cloture in the House of Representatives, House Rule 25 allows for members to vote on a motion on the previous question. If the previous question is adopted by a three-fifths majority vote, all debate and discussion on the bill is limited to 10 total minutes before a final vote. The Senate does use the term cloture, and the result is ultimately the same in both houses.
Any member can produce a motion in writing, calling for the precious question.
After the first cloture motion passed Thursday, audible yelling was heard from multiple Democratic lawmakers, leading to House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) hitting his gavel and declaring, "We are going to hold it down and act like professionals."
State Rep. Mary Moore (D-Birmingham) responded by yelling, "We ain't done it all year."
"Guess what, we're going to do it today," Ledbetter retorted.
After the bill passed, The House Democratic Caucus gathered to address the media, disappointed at both bills' passage and the cloture.
While some, like State Rep. Pebblin Warren (D-Tuskeegee), were content to offer a brief description, saying, "It's annoying," others criticized the practice more robustly.
"Ledbetter has led the record in the country of cloture. When the Republicans first got in charge, if you look back at some of your news stories, he's the one that has clotured this body more than any time in the history of this state and many other states. So that's the norm for him."
"By cloturing, it's taking the voice away from the people," said State Rep. Ontario Tillman (D-Birmingham). "This is the reason we're down here. This is counter to representative government. So, by them cloturing us, that's what they're doing. They're silencing our people that we represent in the state of Alabama, which is completely wrong.
Ledbetter responded with the following:
"As legislators, we have difficult conversations daily, but we do so with respect. There comes a point on some issues where debate is no longer constructive, and it's time to vote the legislation up or down so we can continue handling the people's business. I appreciate the professionalism our members bring to the chamber, and I look forward to our continued efforts to move Alabama forward."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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