Anyone who enjoys watching the TV game show “Deal or No Deal” would have surely enjoyed the activity on the 5th floor of the statehouse last Thursday. At stake is control of about 100 million in school construction money from the proposed state bond issue. There is general agreement about the distribution of most of the remaining 1 billion dollars.

Under previous bond issues, the funds that are the center of attention have been placed under the control of the “Public School Construction Authority”. The PSCA consists of the Governor, the Finance Director, and the Superintendent of Education. As far as I can tell this has been the arrangement for decades. It was the mechanism that was in place during the last major bond issue, Gov. Siegleman’s move to eliminate portable classrooms. I don’t remember hearing about the legislative leadership having a problem with the Governor controlling those funds back then.

The new proposal is to give control of those funds to a council which adds the Sen. Hank Sanders, Rep. Richard Lindsey, and Lt.Gov. Folsom to the members of the PSCA. You can rest assured the Superintendent will be reluctant to cross those who control his budget. The legislative leadership will have control over the funds and Gov. Riley will have virtually none.

Last Thursday, there was a scramble by the House leadership to get the 3/5 majority to get the bond issue to the floor. The “Deal or No Deal” game was played like this: Every member has a vote. Some members committed a “yes” vote with no promise for anything for their district. Some members committed a “no” vote with no promise for anything for their district. It doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t get anything for their district, it just means they didn’t trade their vote for it.

During the scramble to get votes, undecided legislators were able to privately receive substantial (in the 6 and 7-digit range) committments for their district in exchange for a “yes” vote. The BIR passed by 2 votes. Immediately after the BIR vote in the House, Governor Riley called a press conference with the minority senators and dug in.

The bond issue then became bogged down and debate will continue Tuesday. Hopefully, an agreement can be reached and the funds can be equitably distributed. If not, it’s gonna be a long, hot summer of special sessions. Deal or No Deal?