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Mrs. McGriff said, "The 62% pay raise that the legislature gave themselves in 2007 showed me that statesmen were no longer running our government."
On the second day of the regular session the majority Democrats rushed through this huge pay raise. Governor Riley vetoed the raise but on March 20th both houses voted to override his veto and the pay raise went into effect along with a raise each year. Mrs. McGriff said, "This pay raise was the very first item to pass that session. It was well orchestrated between election periods. Even after Governor Riley vetoed it and the overwhelming outpouring of opposition from the people the legislature still overrode his veto and passed it. You can see below the list of how each and every legislator voted. The bottom line is that they thought that we would forget by the time this next election came up. I haven't forgotten and the people I have talked to haven't forgotten. This is for a part-time job." |
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From the Birmingham News Eidtorial Board, May 9, 2009 (read full editorial HERE) Remember, at the very beginning of the first legislative session after their 2006 election (or re-election), lawmakers used a voice vote to approve the $1,900-a-month increase, which boosted their pay an outrageous 62 percent to almost $50,000 a year for a part-time job. Gov. Bob Riley vetoed the measure, forcing House and Senate members into a recorded vote to override his veto. House members voted 57-41 to override, while the Senate voted 20-15 to defeat Riley's veto. |
| SENATE DEMOCRATS VOTING YES | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barron (Fyffe) | Bedford (Russellville) | Coleman (Birmingham) | Denton (Muscle Shoals) | Figures (Mobile) |
| Griffith (Huntsville) | Lindsey (Butler) | Little (Auburn) | Zeb Little (Cullman) | McClain (Midfield) |
| Mitchell (Luverne) | Mitchem (Union Grove) | Penn (Union Springs) | Preuitt (Talladega) | Ross (Montgomery) |
| Sanders (Selma) | Singleton (Greensboro) | Smitherman (Birmingham) | ||
| SENATE REPUBLICANS VOTING YES | |
|---|---|
| Beason (Gardendale) | Glover (Semmes) |
| SENATE DEMOCRATS VOTING NO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benefield (Woodland) | Butler (Madison) | Holley (Elba) | Means (Attalla) | Poole (Moundville) |
| SENATE REPUBLICANS VOTING NO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop (Jasper) | Brooks (Mobile) | Byrne (Montrose) | Dixon (Montgomery) | Erwin (Montevallo) |
| French (Birmingham) | Marsh (Anniston) | Orr (Decatur) | Smith (Slocomb) | Waggoner (Vestavia Hills) |
| HOUSE DEMOCRATS VOTING YES | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bandy (Opelika) | Beasley (Clayton) | Black (Tuscumbia) | Boothe (Troy) | Boyd (Anniston) |
| Buskey (Mobile) | Coleman (Midfield) | Dukes (Decatur) | Dunn (Bessemer) | England (Tuscaloosa) |
| Fite (Jacksonville) | Ford (Gadsden) | Gordon (Saraland) | Graham (Alexander City) | Grantland (Hartselle) |
| Guin (Carbon Hill) | Hall, L. (Huntsville) | Hammett (Andalusia) | Hilliard (Birmingham) | Hinshaw (Meridianville) |
| Howard (Greensboro) | Hurst (Munford) | Jackson (Thomasville) | Keahey (Grove Hill) | Kennedy (Mobile) |
| Knight (Montgomery) | Laird (Roanoke) | Lindsey (Centre) | Martin (Clanton) | McCampbell (Linden) |
| McClammy (Montgomery) | Millican (Hamilton) | Mitchell (Mobile) | Moore (Birmingham) | Morrow (Red Bay) |
| Newton (Birmingham) | Page (Gadsden) | Robinson (Scottsboro) | Robinson (Birmingham) | Rogers (Birmingham) |
| Salaam (Selma) | Schmitz (Toney) | Scott (Fairfield) | Sherer (Jasper) | Spicer (Elba) |
| Taylor (New Hope) | Thomas (Selma) | Vance (Phenix City) | Warren (Tuskegee) | White (Athens) |
| HOUSE REPUBLICANS VOTING YES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Barton (Mobile) | Collier (Bayou La Batre) | Faust (Fairhope) |
| Galliher (Rainbow City) | Gipson (Prattville) | Hill (Columbiana) |
| McClendon (Springville) | ||
| HOUSE DEMOCRATS VOTING NO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baker (Abbeville) | Harper (Aliceville) | Letson (Hillsboro) | Morrison (Cullman) | Newton (Greenville) |
| Thigpen (Fayette) | Todd (Birmingham) | |||
| HOUSE REPUBLICANS VOTING NO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allen (Cottondale) | Baker (Brewton) | Ball (Madison) | Beck (Geneva) | Bentley (Tuscaloosa) |
| Bridges (Valley) | Canfield (Vestavia Hills) | Clouse (Ozark) | Davis (Daphne) | DeMarco (Homewood) |
| Drake (Leeds) | Fincher (Semmes) | Gaston (Mobile) | Greeson (Ider) | Grimes (Montgomery) |
| Hammon (Decatur) | Hubbard (Auburn) | Ison (Mobile) | Johnson (Sylacauga) | Lewis (Dothan) |
| Love (Montgomery) | Mask (Wetumpka) | McClurkin (Pelham) | McCutcheon (Capshaw) | McMillan (Gulf Shores) |
| Oden (Vinemont) | Sanderford (Huntsville) | Shiver (Bay Minette) | Thomas (Oneonta) | Treadaway (Morris) |
| Ward (Alabaster) | Williams (Vestavia Hills) | Wood (Anniston) | Wren (Montgomery) | |
| HOUSE DEMOCRATS NOT VOTING | |
|---|---|
| Holmes (Montgomery) | McDaniel (Albertville) |
| HOUSE DEMOCRATS ABSTAINING | ||
|---|---|---|
| Curtis (Florence) | Irons (Florence) | McLaughlin (Guntersville) |
| HOUSE REPUBLICANS NOT VOTING | |
|---|---|
| Moore (Pleasant Grove) | Payne (Trussville) |