AL Hombrew Bill Passed!! On to the Governor! (Montgomery, Mobile: 2013, credit)

[LCTMadison]

HB9 PASSED the Senate yesterday! On to Governor Bentley for signing and homebrew will be LEGAL in AL.

Per Bill Holtzclaw

Al.com article.....http://blog.al.com/wire/2013/05/sena..._river_default

[BMW Dave]

Yay!

[FAL50]

[Reactionary]

Passing the Homebrew Bill is one more positive effect of electing Republicans to run the Alabama legislature!

Remember that Free the Hops wasn't able to pass bills until the legislature went GOP a few years ago - and remember that it was the Huntsville area that flipped from Democratic Party legislators to Republican legislators like Bill Holtzclaw that made the difference...

I expect Governor Bentley to sign the bill, however, sending an email or calling his office to express your support is helpful:

State of Alabama: Office of Governor Robert Bentley

[LCTMadison]

Originally Posted by Reactionary

Passing the Homebrew Bill is one more positive effect of electing Republicans to run the Alabama legislature!

Remember that Free the Hops wasn't able to pass bills until the legislature went GOP a few years ago - and remember that it was the Huntsville area that flipped from Democratic Party legislators to Republican legislators like Bill Holtzclaw that made the difference...

I expect Governor Bentley to sign the bill, however, sending an email or calling his office to express your support is helpful:

State of Alabama: Office of Governor Robert Bentley

That and all the AL Democrats typically end up in prison

I know Bill Holtzclaw personally, he's a GOOD man....and has really been pushing the Homebrew bill.

[ttownfeen]

Originally Posted by Reactionary

Passing the Homebrew Bill is one more positive effect of electing Republicans to run the Alabama legislature!

Remember that Free the Hops wasn't able to pass bills until the legislature went GOP a few years ago - and remember that it was the Huntsville area that flipped from Democratic Party legislators to Republican legislators like Bill Holtzclaw that made the difference...

I expect Governor Bentley to sign the bill, however, sending an email or calling his office to express your support is helpful:

State of Alabama: Office of Governor Robert Bentley

These same Republicans want to micromanage the state Board of Education because they are so afraid of anything that might get the support of a Democratic admistration, so it's a wash to me.

As long as we get more progressive, common sense people in Montgomery, I don't care about the letter beside their name.

[deesonic]

Originally Posted by Reactionary

Passing the Homebrew Bill is one more positive effect of electing Republicans to run the Alabama legislature!

Remember that Free the Hops wasn't able to pass bills until the legislature went GOP a few years ago - and remember that it was the Huntsville area that flipped from Democratic Party legislators to Republican legislators like Bill Holtzclaw that made the difference...

State of Alabama: Office of Governor Robert Bentley

Oh, Reactionary. I know you personally and consider you a friend. But I gotta call BS on giving the GOP all the credit for this. Let's be fair. If you want to give the GOP the credit for this, then they deserve equally as much blame for making sure the Right to Brew (and other Free the Hops related bills) died pitifully year after year. FTH bills floundered for years with a Democratic majority in the legislature AND Dem sponsorship of our bills while Republicans like Senator Hank Erwin filibustered away and gave the bills little chance of coming up for vote year after year. Of course, there were the Lairds and Holmes' from the Democrat side who were to blame as well. But in those days prior to the 2011 session, the majority of Republican legislators voted against our bills time after time while Democrats overwhelmingly supported our efforts.

Why is that?

Now the balance of government has shifted overwhelmingly right and for strategic reasons we choose GOP sponsors if we can find advocates among them. So now, and only now, are the majority of GOP legislators supporting our bills. Free the Hops and Right to Brew lost a lot of Democratic supporters in the "great turnover" of 2010. Most North Alabama Dems who lost their jobs in 2010 WERE supporters. To be fair, we did gain many forward thinking GOP allies, as those elected that year appear to be a fresher breed of conservatives that don't have the religious right fervor of the old guard GOP. I guess my point is partisanship in government, as usual, trumps common sense no matter where the balance of power lies.

Don't get me wrong. I am ultra-pleased by the vote in the Senate yesterday and glad to see a little common sense prevail for a change. But this doesn't change the fact that the GOP stood adamantly in the way of our bills for a very long time and I'm not prepared to give them ALL the credit on getting this bill through now. It just seems to me they are more inclined to favor our bills now that they've been asked to sponsor, and not Democrats. I have nothing but high praise for GOP legislators like Mac McCutcheon and Mike Ball who helped us get this through. They have been strong supporters of our bills even when the majority of their party fought us tooth and nail. Thanks to ALL who have supported our bills over the years, regardless of party affiliation. And screw the the Dems who jumped ship now that it was no longer their fight. And thanks even to nutbag Democrat Alvin Holmes, a naysayer for years and a filibusterer again this year and yet...a Y vote. That guy is ridiculous.

That being said... I freakin' hate the current state of politics. Time for some 3rd party upheaval.

[LCTMadison]

Originally Posted by deesonic

That being said... I freakin' hate the current state of politics. Time for some 3rd party upheaval.

I think we have more in Montgomery now that have the view that government controls TOO MUCH. Now if we could only get them to do something about a lottery so that AL residents aren't funding the schools of the surrounding states....

[Reactionary]

LCTMadison - the GOP doesn't care about a lottery - the issue won't be brought up.

deesonic - your post will require a detailed response (which I'll try to get to later). Suffice to say, the politics of beer in Alabama is complex. Beer legislation has been gaining support over time (IMO as younger people get elected). Legislative supporters of beer include most urban black women, some urban black men, most urban / suburban whites; opponents are mostly rural and some Mobile area legislators (regardless of race or sex); there are exceptions.

What is clear is that the new North Alabama Republicans vote in favor of beer (for the most part) - more importantly, the Republican majority elevated established beer-friendly legislators like Del Marsh, Mike Ball, and Mac McCutcheon to influential positions.

deesonic = "FTH bills floundered for years with a Democratic majority in the legislature AND Dem sponsorship of our bills... while Democrats overwhelmingly supported our efforts."

Hmmm. "Democrats overwhelmingly supported" Free the Hops beer laws with a "Democratic majority", yet somehow the bills didn't pass? How can that be? The Democratic majority was able to pass any bill they wanted to pass (just as now the GOP majority can pass any bill they want to pass).

I hasten to add that the Democratic majority did in fact pass the 2009 Gourmet Beer Bill, which was then signed by Governor Riley. IMO the special elections that year (in which several Republicans were elected - e.g., Phil Williams and Paul Sanford) changed the tone of the GOP legislators. Many GOP opponents of the beer law were persuaded not to oppose the bill as actively as before (for example IIRC the afore-mentioned Hank Erwin didn't vote on the bill at all).

The 2010 elections gave the GOP a legislative majority and the new GOP leadership is not hostile to beer laws. Even the election of Governor Bentley changed the dynamic - as a representative Bentley was a powerful opponent of the beer laws - as Governor he has signed beer laws (as he promised - giving deference to bills passed by the legislature).

[deesonic]

Originally Posted by Reactionary

deesonic = "FTH bills floundered for years with a Democratic majority in the legislature AND Dem sponsorship of our bills... while Democrats overwhelmingly supported our efforts."

Hmmm. "Democrats overwhelmingly supported" Free the Hops beer laws with a "Democratic majority", yet somehow the bills didn't pass? How can that be? The Democratic majority was able to pass any bill they wanted to pass (just as now the GOP majority can pass any bill they want to pass).

I hasten to add that the Democratic majority did in fact pass the 2009 Gourmet Beer Bill, which was then signed by Governor Riley. IMO the special elections that year (in which several Republicans were elected - e.g., Phil Williams and Paul Sanford) changed the tone of the GOP legislators. Many GOP opponents of the beer law were persuaded not to oppose the bill as actively as before (for example IIRC the afore-mentioned Hank Erwin didn't vote on the bill at all).

Let's go waaaay back to 2009. I did a count of the vote breakdown for HB373 (Gourmet Beer Bill) which ultimately was passed into law. In the House, the vote passed (yay 49, nay 37, ab 18). The Senate then went on and passed the House bill (yay 19, nay 9, ab 4). Here is the breakdown by party:

House
Dem: yay 34, nay 10, ab 12
GOP: yay 15, nay 26, ab 6
Ind: nay 1

Senate
Dem: yay 15, nay 3, ab 2
GOP: yay 5, nay 5, ab 2
Ind: nay 1

Can't argue with those numbers. I seem to recall they pulled the bill up when they knew Erwin was out of the room. And as I also recall, Williams and Sanford (who I voted for by the way) defeated Democrats Larry Means and Laura Hall, both FTH supporters and yay votes on HB373 in 2009. I suppose you can spin it how you like. Doesn't really matter to me so long as it passed. I'm happy the new GOP legislators are more forward thinking on these issues and all. I am truly a party pooper and don't support either one. And I'll just leave it at that.

Kudos to Gov Bentley for signing the homebrew bill into law today. We are felons and scofflaws no more!