Tom Warne Report, 26 March 2012
Alabama’s House of Representatives this week passed legislation to give the governor and the state transportation department significant new authority in appointing leadership within the agency. Rep. Mac McCutcheon, R-Capshaw, proposed the legislation to give the Director of the Alabama Department of Transportation the power to appoint three deputy directors and delegate their duties within the Department. The appointed deputies could also include a chief engineer, and a separate bill sponsored by McCutcheon would move that position from merit status to appointment.
“These two bills are going to be very important to transportation in the state,” McCutcheon told House members after the vote. “We’ve got a director of transportation and a governor willing to make changes for what this department could be.” The legislation was overwhelmingly approved by the House. The proposal would also allow the ALDOT Director to establish salaries for each of the deputy directors, which would cost the agency approximately $565,000 a year, based on the chief engineer’s current salary.