Support Strong for Governor’s Costly Legal Battles
There are a few issues that have come up again and again around the 2016 elections, and Governor Robert Bentley has recently gotten in the middle of them—namely through the legal system. And that can be expensive for the already cash-strapped state. But are Alabamians willing to go along for the potentially costly ride?
Ask just about any conservative: defunding Planned Parenthood and banning Syrian refugees is a no-brainer. Governor Robert Bentley is fighting even the possibility of Syrian refugees resettling in Alabama.
“I agree to an extent,” 24-year-old Blake Holcomb says. He lives in Calera and works at a deer processing plant.
“I mean I don’t think that we should build a wall to keep immigrants from coming in, but at the same time, with the way stuff is right now, I could kind of understand why we wouldn’t let Syrian refugees into the country,” he says. “I mean, I don’t think it’s very safe.”
Safety was Bentley’s number one concern when he sued the federal government earlier this month. The lawsuit aims to block the placement of Syrian refugees in Alabama. And to Holcomb, it’s a fight worth fighting.
“I’d say at any cost honestly,” he says, “but that’s just me.”
It’s not just him. Vincent resident Don Driggers says he feels strongly about Syrian refugees.
“I don’t believe that they should be able to come here at just free will. So I think that if we have to have 200 lawyers, go for it,” he says.
Driggers went so far as to say if Bentley asked him for some money to “buy a lawyer”, he’d do it. It’s not clear at this point how much the lawsuit will cost the state. The governor’s office didn’t respond to repeated requests for details surrounding legal fees in the case.
Valerie Ramey, economics professor at the University of California San Diego, says there are a few things to remember.
“Well first of all, this is typically a very small part of government spending,” Ramey says.
Take the legal battle between Bentley and Planned Parenthood. Last year Bentley moved to stop Medicaid dollars from going to that organization The state had to settle that lawsuit, and pay $51,000. The state’s general fund budget is about $1.8 billion.
“But there’s the separate issue of, does that spending reflect the values of the citizens of the country?” Ramey says.
Or in this case, the state. And, as you could imagine, that depends on who you ask. Ollie Davison of Hoover doesn’t consider himself a conservative. He says these lawsuits the state is provoking are a waste of taxpayer dollars.
“We’re suing the federal government and losing cases, and we’re paying out millions of dollars that we don’t have,” Davison says.
And Davison says that’s especially worrisome as the Alabama legislature kicks off another session Tuesday with more budget cuts on the horizon.
This nation has the fastest rising rate of cancer cases — and deaths — in the world
According to a new report, cancer rates are skyrocketing in this tiny country. What's causing this to happen? And what steps can be taken to turn the tide?
Iceland reports the presence of mosquitoes for the first time, as climate warms
The discovery of three Culiseta annulata mosquitoes was confirmed this week by the Natural Science Institute of Iceland, which said the mosquitoes likely arrived by freight.
Alabama board seeks to ban books that ‘positively’ depict trans themes from library youth sections
The Alabama Public Library Service Board of Directors is considering a proposed rule change that expands the existing requirement for youth sections to be free of “material deemed inappropriate for children.” The new proposal said that includes any material that “positively depicts transgender procedures, gender ideology, or the concept of more than two biological genders.”
After months of the same songs on the Hot 100, ‘Billboard’ tweaks its rules
Billboard has revised its system of removing songs from the Hot 100 singles chart once they've gotten too old to qualify as contemporary hits.
Greetings from an Indian Railways coach, with spectacular views from Mumbai to Goa
Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.
Alabama inmate asks to meet with governor ahead of execution
Anthony Boyd is scheduled to be executed Thursday evening by nitrogen gas at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility. A jury convicted Boyd of capital murder for the 1993 burning death of Gregory Huguley in Talladega County.
