Riley backs Byrne ban plan
on legislators' double dipping
MONTGOMERY – Gov. Bob Riley today backed Chancellor Bradley Byrne's recommendations to end the practice of Alabama's elected officials working for the two-year college system.
“It all comes down to this: are we going to defend the status quo or are we going to make the fundamental changes that are absolutely necessary to improve the two-year system?” asked Riley.
“This (a ban) is going to make a fundamental difference in the operation of the two-year system and set up a firewall to prevent some of the abuses that we’ve seen of the system,”
Riley said.
Earlier this year, Riley proposed policies to the State Board of Education that would prohibit statewide elected officials and members of the Legislature from working in the two-year college system, limit the use of leave time by employees of the two-year system for work as elected officials, and prevent elected officials from having consulting contracts with two-year colleges.
The governor and Byrne Wednesday discussed the chancellor's recommendations to the State Board of Education on the matter of double-dipping.
The board will discuss the issue at its next meeting Monday, Aug. 6.
Byrne’s recommended policies would prohibit the two-year college system from employing any elected state official after the 2010 elections; prohibit elected state officials currently in the system from receiving promotions or non-statutory pay increases; end contracts between elected state officials and the two-year system; and limit two-year college employees to taking no more than 10 unpaid days off from work in one year.
