Montgomery, AL – Gov. Bob Riley has blocked a legislative resolution that would have forced the state to pay legal fees to a Montgomery law firm hired to stop the state from proceeding with a $13 million computer contract.
A spokesman for the governor, Todd Stacy, said Riley refused to sign the resolution, which is known as a ``pocket veto'' killing the measure.
The firm of Thomas, Means, Gillis & Seay was hired by the Legislature's Contract Review Committee to represent the panel in a lawsuit seeking to stop the Finance Department's $13 million contract with Paragon Source LLC.
Stacy said taxpayers should not be forced to pay for what he called a ``frivolous'' lawsuit. The chairman of the contract review panel, Democratic Rep. Alvin Holmes of Montgomery, said Riley refused to pay the firm for political reasons.
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