Impeachment Press Conference

Alabama Rep. Ed Henry discusses, flanked left to right by Rep. Mike Ball, Rep. Craig Ford and Rep. David Standridge, the documentation filed to impeach Gov. Robert Bentley Tuesday, April 5, 2016, during a press conference in Montgomery, Ala. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

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A resolution setting up a procedure to review impeachment articles against Gov. Robert Bentley was approved by the House of Representatives today.

The House added a rule that will require 10 more lawmakers to support the effort to impeach Bentley before it can advance.

The resolution setting up the impeachment procedure, by Rep. Matt Fridy, R-Montevallo, would refer impeachment resolutions to the House Judiciary Committee for investigation.

The House approved it by a vote of 79-14.

Before passing it, the House added two amendments that raised the bar required to pursue impeachment.

The sponsor of the impeachment resolution against Bentley said one of the amendments was designed to kill his resolution.

It requires at least 21 signatures by House members to present impeachment articles to the Judiciary Committee.

Earlier this month, Rep. Ed Henry, R-Hartselle, introduced a resolution to impeach Bentley for willful neglect of duty, corruption in office, incompetency and offenses of moral turpitude.

Ten House members signed on as co-sponsors.

But the House had no procedure in place to deal with impeachment, which is authorized in the Section 173 of the state Constitution but has not been tried in a century.

Fridy has said his resolution is not aimed specifically at Bentley but to put a procedure in place for impeachment.

Bentley has said there are no grounds for impeachment and has called the effort political grandstanding.

The governor also said he did not oppose the House putting a procedure in place.

Rep. Mac McCutcheon, R-Capshaw, offered the amendment to require 21 House members to sign an impeachment resolution.

Fridy's resolution initially required 10 signatures.

"I feel like the more signatures we have the more credible the impeachment resolution will be," McCutcheon said.

Henry spoke against McCutcheon's resolution and accused him of trying to stall the impeachment effort.

"I have to believe his only intention was to stall, and prolong and eventually prevent the impeachment of Gov. Robert Bentley," Henry said.

"It essentially undoes everything we've been working on," Henry said.

McCutcheon disputed Henry's assertion that he was trying to stall the impeachment effort during what became a heated exchange between the two on the House floor.

For one thing, McCutcheon said the amendment was not specifically based on the effort to impeach Bentley, but to set up an impeachment process in general.

The House adopted McCutcheon's resolution on a 79-10 vote.

Henry said he would try to get 21 signatures on an impeachment resolution but said it would be difficult, partly because fewer members are coming to the State House as the session winds down. Four days remain after today.

Rep. Paul Beckman, R-Prattville, offered an amendment to require 63 votes in the 105-member House to consider impeachment if recommended by the Judiciary Committee after its investigation. That's a three-fifths vote, the same margin required for a constitutional amendment.

Beckman's resolution was adopted by a vote of 72-19.

Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, denounced the effort to impeach Bentley, which stems from allegations about the governor's relationship with a former top female aide.

"There's no law against having a girlfriend," Holmes said.

The governor has denied having an affair.

Holmes, who has been in the House since 1974, went on to say he could name 11 House members who were married and had girlfriends.

"I know what every person has done and what they have not done," Holmes said.

Rep. Alan Boothe, R-Troy, said Holmes was violating a House rule against making derogatory comments about House members.

Holmes said he had not violated the rule because he did not give any names.

Holmes added that he was not a supporter of Bentley because he said Bentley has not appointed enough blacks to jobs.

The resolution passed today was a change from what Fridy and others had suggested earlier, which was to create a 15-member committee of House members to review impeachment articles and decide whether to refer them to the full House.

Under the state Constitution, if the House voted to impeach the governor, the state Senate would hold a trial on whether to remove him from office, with Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court presiding.

Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey, who presides over the Senate, would become governor if Bentley was removed.

Bentley is battling accusations made about his relationship with his former top political adviser, Rebekah Mason, and his decision to fire Alabama Law Enforcement Secretary Spencer Collier.

Bentley apologized for inappropriate remarks to Mason after the release of audio tapes of his sexually suggestive comments. The governor and Mason denied having an affair. Mason resigned.

Collier, who made allegations about the governor's relationship with Mason on the day Bentley fired him, has sued for wrongful termination and defamation.

Collier says Bentley fired him for refusing to lie to the attorney general's office about an investigation related to the ethics case against House Speaker Mike Hubbard.

The governor said Collier was fired after an internal investigation indicated possible misuse of public funds at the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

Collier denied any wrongdoing and said he would welcome an investigation.

The state Department of Examiners of Public Accounts released an audit in February that found no issues with ALEA.

The audit covered a six-year period that ended Sept. 30, 2015.