Bentley hints at probe after report on ethics investigation

Montgomery Advertiser (AL)

Jan. 23--Gov. Robert Bentley Monday suggested he may pursue an investigation following a published report that an ethics investigation into his relationship with a former political adviser was nearing an end.

Alabama Political Reporter said Monday that the Alabama Ethics Commission was wrapping up a probe into Bentley and former senior political adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason. Two state officials filed complaints last year over allegations about their personal and professional relationship.

Tom Albritton, director of the Alabama Ethics Commission, declined comment Monday morning, citing the grand jury nature of such proceedings. Bentley, who says he has done nothing wrong, declined comment on the report but questioned why the status of the investigation became public.

"We need to look into this," the governor said. "We need to investigate this. This is something that should never have happened."

Former Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Secretary Spencer Collier in March accused Bentley -- who was divorced from his wife Dianne in 2015 after 50 years of marriage -- of pursuing an affair with Mason while he was married; of using state resources to do so and of attempting to stop Collier cooperating with a criminal investigation of former House Speaker Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn.

Audio of Bentley making suggestive comments on a phone call later surfaced. The governor acknowledged making inappropriate remarks to Mason, but both she and Bentley deny having a "physical affair." Collier's allegations led State Auditor Jim Zeigler and Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow, D-Red Bay, to file ethics complaints against the governor.

Zeigler's complaint -- a report on what had been alleged -- incorporated Collier's accusations, and also raised questions about Mason receiving money from the Alabama Council for Excellent Government (ACEGOV), set up in 2015 by former Bentley aides to promote the governor's agenda. Mason said she received $15,000 from ACEGOV in 2015. Zeigler said in his complaint that Mason should have registered as a lobbyist.

Morrow alleged that Mason used her influence with the governor to kill two local bills for his northwest Alabama district.

Zeigler said in an email Monday he was "hamstrung by a gag directive." Morrow said in a phone interview Monday he had not received any updates from the Ethics Commission about his complaint.

The allegations also led to a House investigation into the possibility of impeaching Bentley. The House Judiciary Committee suspended the investigation late last year at Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange's request. Strange said the committee's work overlapped with work done by his office.

Bentley said Monday he was "aware" of some investigations into his office but maintained that he has done nothing wrong.

"There have been rumors and innuendos and foolishness," Bentley said Monday. "Nobody in my office, past or present, has done anything illegal or unethical. I have never done anything illegal or unethical, and I am eager to say that."

Prisons

Bentley made his comments after speaking to the Alabama Sheriffs Association's Winter Meeting. The governor discussed the possibility of added training for law enforcement to deal with mental illness, and his proposal to replace the state's prisons with new, larger facilities, noting that state prisoners are often housed in local facilities due to overcrowding.

"Overcrowding right now is our worst problem, and we're going to try to remedy that with legislation," he said.

The governor has considered a special session with the regular legislative session -- which begins Feb. 7 -- to push his prison construction proposal. Bentley Monday said he will see what the chances for the legislation are in the regular session before moving to bring legislators into a special session.

The prison construction proposal will be the one Bentley and Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn pushed early last year, envisioning three men's facilities with 4,000 beds each and a smaller women's facility. Bentley said the proposal will also incorporate design-build -- in which a single entity controls design and construction.

That bidding process, along with an $800 million price tag, made many legislators uneasy. An altered version of the proposal failed on the final night of the 2016 legislative session. The governor said "there will be explanations to our legislators" about what the administration says are possible savings from the proposal.

General Fund

Bentley said he was looking forward to the start this year's session, saying the General Fund budget proposal for the 2018 fiscal year was "the best budget I've had in six years."

"We're funding our Medicaid; we're doing some things I will announce in our State of the State address," he said.

Legislators are waiting to see what the Trump administration and Congress will do with federal funding, which Alabama relies on, particularly for Medicaid which plays a critical role in maintaining the health care sector in the state. Congress has discussed the possibility of turning Medicaid into a block-grant program for the states, which could limit funding.

Bentley, who outlined his health care priorities to Congress in a Jan. 13 letter, sounded wary about that approach Monday. The governor said he told members of Congress last week that if Congress approves block grants, the states would need more power to control the program.

"Just saying block grant -- that's kind of a buzz word," he said. "You have to make sure you have enough money."

The governor also wants to maintain intergovernmental transfers and provider taxes, both crucial to Alabama Medicaid's operations.

"I'm not being critical about Congress, but they're not boots on the ground," he said. "They don't manage Medicaid. They pass laws, but we're the ones who put it into effect. We're the ones who deal with it in our states. Congress doesn't do that."

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