The governor’s own statements certainly imply that current law doesn’t require such disclosure and registration. And I just received a press release from his office that again trashes the legislature for failing to pass any ethics reform, ignoring the fact that the legislature voted overwhelmingly for a bill that addresses the very issue he claimed was so important.

So again I ask, why didn’t Riley speak up about his big problem with this bill back when it unanimously passed the House? I really want to know the answer; his lashing out at the entire legislature now seems like an over-the-top reaction from someone who is usually a reasonable guy. (If he’s angry because he believes his family was unfairly maligned, I understand that completely, but his response doesn’t appear to be aimed at Zeb Little.)

“James Sumner Jr., executive director of the Alabama Ethics Commission, agreed with the governor’s office that the bill was redundant and poorly drafted.

“‘The beginning of the story for me is that we were never asked to comment on it (the bill) or offer any advice regarding whether or not it would be useful,’ he said.”

“Jim Sumner, executive director of the State Ethics Commission, said Tuesday legislators developed the bill without consulting the commission. If they had, he said he would have explained that it was “far broader than they realized” and could have affected thousands of people doing business with the state.”

and. . .

“Sumner said that if the bill had become law, doctors, lawyers, architects, engineers and many others getting routine state contracts would have had to register with the Ethics Commission. Sumner estimated the impact would have been in the thousands.

“It was extremely broad,” he said.”

And I see in the Huntsville Times article that Rep. Black, the bill’s sponsor, says he hasn’t heard anything from the governor’s office about the bill since he got generally positive feedback early in the session. Again, I ask why Riley’s office didn’t question the bill much earlier, given its level of support.