Profiles in Courage: SB 16 Version

There are quite a few “Profiles in Courage” to be distributed today in the Senate. SB 16, the bill to allow local jurisdictions to decide if local community standards would support local sales of alcohol on Sundays died a coward’s death without receiving a vote in the Senate Regulated Industries Committee.

Unlike last week, when the committee failed to meet for lack of a quorum, there were 11 of 13 committee members present when the meeting was gaveled to order. Chairman David Shafer called SB 16 for the first agenda item and announced that Senator Seth Harp would have some final comments on the bill and then there would be a vote. Instead, Senator Harp withdrew the bill, without any advance notice to the committee members.

Two Senators were absent from the meeting. Senator Ed Harbison was excused for family matters. But Senator Eric Johnson, still a co-sponsor of the bill despite rumors (and the assurance to Pat Tippett and Kay Godwin of the newly formed “Conservatives in Action”) that he would remove his co-sponsorship, was absent.

It could have hardly been more convenient for Senator Johnson to have attended the meeting, as he had attended the Senate Rules Committee meeting immediately prior to the Regulated Industries Committee meeting, held in the SAME ROOM.

Harp complained to media outside the room of his inability to get a vote, but Chairman Shafer told Senator Harp during the meeting that his withdrawal of the bill did not preclude the committee’s action. Harp insisted there be no vote.

While Shafer (who I am on record as supporting in the Lt. Gov’s race) is taking heat for there being no vote, Shafer had called the bill for a vote, and in fact, the bill passed through Shafer’s committee before it was stopped in Rules last year. With Rules Chairman Don Balfour as a co-sponsor this year, getting a successful vote from Regulated Industries would have meant that the bill had a better than average chance of reaching the Senate floor.

But Senator Johnson, who co-sponsored this bill, couldn’t risk support in the Lt. Governor’s race if that happened. So he took a walk. Casey Cagle has continued to play Hamlet with the issue, finally issuing the bold statement that he “wouldn’t stand in the way” of the bill, but hasn’t seemed terribly interested in getting his Senators to show up for votes. And Senator Harp himself, while feigning frustration with his inability to get a vote, withdrew the bill with no warning. Harp is believed to be supporting Johnson in the Lt. Gov’s race, and the withdrawal of the bill seems to be designed to make it appear that Shafer would not grant a vote, while protecting co-sponsor Johnson who wouldn’t appear to put himself on the record.

Further complicating matters is Governor Perdue, who has previously stated that he would veto the bill if passed, but has been mostly quiet as both the House and the Senate go through their ritualized torture of trying to move this legislation.

At the end of the day, it is another high profile failure for the Senate. There has been a distinct lack of leadership by the man who would be Governor, with one who would be Lt. Gov being AWOL. Senator Harp owes all of us an explanation of his decision to pull this bill, and if there was pressure from the Lt. Governor or Senator Johnson to do so. I doubt this answer is forthcoming.

This is supposed to be the non-election year cycle, where things actually get done. If we’re going to play election year politics like this now, the 2010 legislative session promises to be absolutely excruciating.