Alabama senator’s bill didn’t cover Legislature

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - A powerful state senator who proposed
legislation banning no-bid contracts only covered the executive
branch when he introduced his bill.
    Democratic state Sen. Lowell Barron of Fyffe said he didn’t
catch the error in the bill and it will be changed to apply to all
state programs, including the Legislature.
    Barron proposed the ban legislation last week after criticizing
Republican Gov. Bob Riley for his contracts that weren’t bid.
    Riley’s press secretary, Todd Stacy, said he might believe
Barron’s remarks if Democrat legislators hadn’t made a habit of
writing themselves out of other government accountability bills.