Hank Sanders: Senate Sketches #1469: Special session questions

  What shall we do? That is the question every Alabama legislator is asking. What will they do? That is the question many Alabama citizens are asking about Alabama legislators. The central question is: What? What? What?

  Legislators returned to a special session of the Alabama Legislature Monday. Governor Robert Bentley hastily called this special session for July 13. The legislature came into session on the day specified and hastily adjourned to August 3. What impelled Alabama’s governor to quickly call a special session of the Alabama Legislature without consulting legislative leaders? I can’t answer that “what.” What impelled the Alabama Legislature to hastily adjourn to August 3? I can’t really answer that “what” either. It’s just: What? What? What?

Gary Palmer: Interior Department shouldn’t ignore Carcieri in Patchak decision

  While attention is focused on the pending decision from the U.S. Supreme Court on Obamacare, the Court will issue another decision that could have major ramifications for the state of Alabama.

  Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians v. Patchak (Patchak) could substantially impact tribes such as the Poarch Creek Indians. Patchak deals with whether or not local residents have standing to challenge the U.S. Department of Interior when they take land into trust for Indian tribes that were not recognized by the federal government prior to 1934.

  David Patchak filed suit in federal court in Michigan after the Interior Department agreed to put land purchased by the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Indians into protective federal trust. At that time, the Indians claimed that they had no plans to use the land for a casino. Apparently, they changed their plans shortly after the land was placed into trust.