STATE OF ALABAMA

Office of the Governor


BOB RILEY
Governor
 

Press Office

March 26, 2008

Governor Riley Issues Statement on Committee Vote on HB 326

MONTGOMERY-Governor Bob Riley issued the following statement today regarding a House committee’s vote on HB 326:

“What a majority of the committee said today is that Exxon can take our natural gas and pay the state nothing. Corporations that remove our natural resources should have to compensate Alabama and pay a fair price.

A majority of the committee made a very poor decision that takes 41 million dollars out of the budget and gives it to Exxon and, going forward, lets Exxon have Alabama’s natural gas without paying the state for it. Rather than vote to fund vital services, these committee members chose to line the pockets of big oil companies. They’ve exacerbated what is already a difficult budget year, and I don’t know what responsible alternative they will propose to fill the 41 million dollar hole they’ve now created. I know some legislators want to expand gambling and believe that by creating a budget crisis they can justify it. But the people don’t want an expansion of gambling, so I don’t know where the Legislature will turn to fix the problem created by the committee’s vote today.

I want to thank those members of the committee who took the time to understand this issue and voted for the bill. I also want to thank the bipartisan leaders who support the bill: Lieutenant Governor Folsom, Speaker Hammett, Senate Minority Leader Waggoner and House Minority Leader Hubbard.”