Alabama lawmakers have a number of traditions employed with every legislative session.

They traditionally override a resolution meant to ensure that budget legislation takes priority over other measures.

They’ll employ an unrecorded verbal vote to afford plausible deniability on controversial measures.

And when all is said and done, they choose one failed measure to receive the Shroud Award for the session’s “deadest” bill.

That’s been tough in recent years, as so many bills that would have had a positive effect on issues in our state never made headway in legislative sessions that have been overshadowed by distracting matters such as the effort to impeach the governor, the impending trial of the House Speaker on corruption charges, and, of course, the evergreen gambling arguments.

This year, the award went to a measure that sought to regulate and legalize fantasy sports. Previous deadest bills would have allowed small town police to enforce speed limits on interstate highways, legalized medicinal marijuana and established a tax holiday for gun purchases.

Many measures obviously need to die a slow death. But considering the dysfunction of our legislature, the Shroud Award might best be replaced by a new tradition that recognizes strategies and efforts to create a more efficient and productive legislative session.

That would be an award worth winning.

It’s time for a new tradition

Alabama lawmakers have a number of traditions employed with every legislative session.

They traditionally override a resolution meant to ensure that budget legislation takes priority over other measures.

They’ll employ an unrecorded verbal vote to afford plausible deniability on controversial measures.

And when all is said and done, they choose one failed measure to receive The Shroud Award for the session’s “deadest” bill.

That’s been tough in recent years, as so many bills that would have had a positive effect on issues in our state never made headway in legislative sessions that have been overshadowed by distracting matters such as the effort to impeachment the governor, the impending trial of the House Speaker on corruption charges, and, of course, the evergreen gambling arguments.

This year, the award went to a measure that sought to regulate and legalize fantasy sports. Previous deadest bills would have allowed small town police to enforce speed limits on interstate highways, legalized medicinal marijuana and established a tax holiday for gun purchases.

Many measures obviously need to die a slow death. But considering the dysfunction of our legislature, the Shroud Award might best be replaced by a new tradition that recognizes strategies and efforts to create a more efficient and productive legislative session.

That would be an award worth winning.

Online – www.dothaneagle.com