The Alabama Legislature has given Lincoln officials welcome potential to add property that may sprout as many as 1,000 homes to the city limits. The Legislature this week sent a bill to annex the area planned as a subdivision named "The Cliffs" to be signed by Gov. Bob Riley.Lincoln Mayor Lew Watson welcomed the passage of the bill and anticipates the property will eventually allow the city to meet its demand for housing. The city has experienced outstanding growth during the past several years and developers completed 10 subdivisions in 2005 alone.
The City Council alone couldn’t annex the property because it is not adjacent to existing city limits. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Ron Johnson, R-Sylacauga, was pushed through the House by area Reps. Barbara Boyd, D-Anniston, and Steve Hurst, D-Munford, and got help in the Senate by Sen. Jim Preuitt, D-Talladega.
In an otherwise quiet week, Johnson expects a bill he sponsored to stiffen penalties for exposing children to methamphetamine labs to face little opposition when it reaches the floor. Johnson has submitted the legislation before but has higher hopes of the bill passing this session.
Johnson said he was glad a bill to allow property owners to use deadly force to prevent attackers from entering their home passed "rather handily" but didn’t think the legislation was necessary.
"The entire delegation supported that," he said. "If you’re in my house after hours and uninvited and your intent is to do something, I have that right. I don’t see why we need it. It reinforces the basic right to protect one’s self."
O Rep. Randy Wood, R-Anniston, and Preuitt worked together to pass the "Good Samaritan" bill through the House and Senate, which would give civil immunity to engineers, architects, surveyors and engineers who offer their services without cost.
Wood expects his bill to prohibit machines that infuse alcohol vapors into users to face little opposition as it awaits debate on the House floor.
"I feel sure with that bill," he said. "We’ve got lots of people on board. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board is against the machines. It’s really dangerous for young people."
Wood said he has not heard reports of the machines showing up in the state yet, but said authorities may have come in contact with them without knowing what they were.
Another bill Wood sponsored to stiffen fines on illegal gambling activities is currently in committee in the House.
"(The bill) makes fines so high on folks gambling illegally that it will inhibit the practice," Wood said. "It would raise the fine where it won’t be profitable to operate. Now, the fine is so minute, (operators of illegal gambling outfits) just consider it a cost of operating a business.
"If a guy’s doing it legally, I don’t care if I’m for it or against it, it’s none of my affair," he said. "This is to cut down on illegal gambling."
O Rep. Jim McClendon’s (R-Springville) bill to ban drivers 17 and under from using cell phones while driving remains in the house of origin, but the lawmaker is hopeful for its passage.
"The teen cell phone bill is stuck in committee," he said. "I’m having a time wedging it out. It had opposition in committee, (primarily because it was a) primary offense."
McClendon said allowing authorities to stop drivers when they see them breaking the law would put more teeth in it.
"When mandatory seatbelt laws were first activated in Alabama, it wasn’t a primary offense and it didn’t work. We’ll just see if I can get it to the House floor and I’ll be a happy camper."
The Legislature worked three days this week, but Gov. Bob Riley adjourned the Senate Tuesday for a lack of quorum. Preuitt said he thought Riley acted too soon with the adjournment.
"There were so many committee meetings going on. I just got out of the Rules Committee and I was trying to get it resolved," Prueitt said. "I was just 30 seconds away from the floor when it was gaveled out."
Lawmakers will be in session two days this week.
