Montgomery, AL – Gov. Bob Riley is asking the Alabama Supreme Court to take over a lawsuit challenging the governor's line-item veto power.
Members of the Legislature's Joint Fiscal Committee filed the lawsuit over a line-item veto that Riley used on the state General Fund budget for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1. Montgomery County Circuit Judge Truman Hobbs Jr. has scheduled a hearing on the lawsuit Wednesday, but Riley's move may block that.
Riley is asking the state Supreme Court to rule that the circuit court does not have jurisdiction. Riley argues that the legislators lack legal standing to sue because they have not been harmed by the line-item veto. He also argues that the issue of the line-item veto can't be heard by a court yet because no funding has been affected.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)