The Alabama Education Association has filed a lawsuit and petition for a temporary restraining order to prevent Governor Bentley from being able to sign the GOP’s landmark education reform bill as planned on Tuesday.
Democrats have been threatening to file suit since the moment the Accountability Act of 2013 made it to the Senate floor, so this is hardly a surprise.
But it’s clearer now that it’s ever been: the AEA will do absolutely anything to regain their power and control in Montgomery, even if it means forcing children to stay in failing schools, some of which have graduation rates below 50%.
Here’s what we’ve heard as of right now:
1. The AEA has launched a hail mary attempt to stop conservative reform and signed up a who’s who of far leftwing lawyers to represent them
According to Montgomery County Circuit Court records, the AEA late last night filed a complaint and petition for a temporary restraining order. The attorneys currently involved include the following:
James Anderson:
Anderson is a well-known liberal trial lawyer who has represented the Democrat Party and has been heavily involved in bingo proceedings. He was the Democrat Party’s nominee for Attorney General in 2010 against Republican Luther Strange.
Bobby Segall:
Segall is well-known to Yellowhammer readers as one of the AEA’s go-to hired guns. He’s one of the state’s top trial lawyers and has long been an attorney for the uber-liberal ACLU.
William Patty:
Patty is James Anderson’s law partner and has represented the AEA numerous times in the past.
Edward Still:
Still was general counsel to the Alabama Democrat Party for six years. In the past he represented former Democrat Attorney General Bill Baxley and numerous other Democrat elected officials. He has worked literally hundreds of cases under the voting rights act.
2. Parties named in the complaint are as follows:
Plaintiff: Lynn Pettway
Pettway is a Montgomery area AEA UniServ Director.
Defendants: Sen. Del Mash, Rep. Chad Fincher, Sen. Gerald Dial, Rep. Jay Love, Speaker Mike Hubbard, Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey, Clerk of the House Jeff Woodard, and Gov. Robert Bentley
The Clerk of the House is named because they are seeking a restraining order to keep him from sending the bill to the Governor for his signature. The rest of the defendants are named because the suit claims they either violated open meetings laws or the rules of the legislature.
3. Here’s what the AEA has cooked up in their lawsuit:
Count 1: Unannounced Private Meeting of a Quorum of the Conference Committee
This count claims the four Republicans on the conference committee met in private during a Senate recess to discuss HB84 and therefore broke open meetings laws.
Count 2: Violation of Rule 21 Requirements Governing Appropriation Bills
Without getting too down in the weeds, this count claims House Speaker Mike Hubbard and Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey broke legislative rules in the way they presided over the votes on the bills.
Count 3: Invalidating the Adoption of HB84
This count seeks to invalidate the Accountability Act of 2013 based on the allegations above.
UPDATES:
11:13
Judge granted the temporary restraining order and has blocked the Clerk of the House from transmitting the bill to the Governor for his signature.
Judge has granted the temporary restraining order preventing Bentley from signing Ed Reform bill into law. #alpolitics
— Yellowhammer (@YHPolitics) March 5, 2013
This is truly ludicrous. Judge can’t tell the legislature & Gov. what bill they can pass/sign. Who is this clown? #alpolitics
— Yellowhammer (@YHPolitics) March 5, 2013
TRO needs proof that changes would be immediate and irreversible. Tell me how this meets that threshold? #alpolitics
— Yellowhammer (@YHPolitics) March 5, 2013
11:25
House Speaker Mike Hubbard just released this statement:
“Union boss Henry Mabry will use whatever tactic, no matter how frivolous, to preserve the broken status quo that has failed our state for decades. An effort to ensure a quality education for every children is something that deserves support, but Mabry’s misguided priorities have led him to believe failing schools are acceptable. This is a lawsuit against every Alabama student and parent who wishes for a better future and a better public education.”
The AEA has finally jumped the shark & gone into full #WarOnChildren mode @mattmurphyshow @thedalejackson @ftwes @flashpointblog #alpolitics
— Yellowhammer (@YHPolitics) March 5, 2013
Yellowhammer Founder Cliff Sims interviewed by Matt Murphy this morning on the AEA Lawsuit
4:12
Senator Del Marsh just released the following statement:
“Unfortunately union bosses are attempting to disrupt the legislative process in order to serve their own selfish interests – to the detriment of every child trapped in a failing school.
“While this judicial hail mary may delay the process today, it will not deter our commitment to providing parents and children in failing schools with better educational options. These stalling tactics are a sham by the same special interest elite that have held our state back for far too long.
“We are very confident that the passage of this bill was consistent with both the House and Senate’s governing rules. We look forward to standing with Governor Bentley as he signs the Alabama Accountability Act into law – marking a day when no child has to be stuck in failing schools without options for a better education and a brighter future.”
