Earlier this week, the State Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee passed a bill that would change the State Board of Veterans Affairs and how the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs commissioner is appointed by a 5-2 margin.
State Sens. Josh Carnley (R-Ino) and Keith Kelley (R-Anniston) voted against the bill, and State Sen. Sam Givhan (R-Huntsville) abstained.
Despite having the backing of Gov. Kay Ivey, getting through the Senate may not be as easy.
During his weekly appearance on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show," State Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Josephine) expressed his disapproval of the proposal and suggested the legislation may not meet the vote requirement to overcome the Budget Isolation Resolution (BIR) procedural hurdle.
"Yeah, it's not something I'm in favor of. It's not something I intend to vote for — or as a student of the legislature, you know, not something I intend to vote on the budget isolation resolution for either," he explained. "And so the numbers start getting really interesting on that to see how does this move? And, how does the governor, you know, flex with members to get them to do something that frankly, in my opinion, I do not think is in their political interest, right?"
Elliott cited opposition from constituents and veterans groups as the reason for his objection to the proposal.
"[I] 've certainly heard from veterans that I know and trust and have known for a long time, long before I, you know, the decade I've spent in politics now," he added. "And that, this is not something that they think is a good idea. They see it as very detrimental to veterans. And so I trust these guys and ladies, too. And I'm not inclined to support something that I think that my veterans that I represent and the veterans that I know well are telling me is not good for veterans. So that's an easy call for me. And I think, you know, a tough push for the governor, right? Listen, she's got a narrative, but at the end of the day, it's really hard to tell folks back home that are adamantly against this, that, you know, I'm going to vote against you because I need to vote for the governor. That's just, that's a tough thing."
Jeff Poor is the editor in chief of 1819 News and host of "The Jeff Poor Show," heard Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon on Mobile's FM Talk 106.5. To connect or comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com or follow him on Twitter @jeff_poor.
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