1 DRAFT

8 HR ______ ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT AGAINST GOVERNOR BENTLEY.

10 WHEREAS, in 2010, Governor Robert Bentley was

11 elected the 53rd Governor of the State of Alabama and was

12 reelected to a second term in 2014; and

13 WHEREAS, Section 173 of the Constitution of Alabama

14 of 1901 provides that the Governor and other constitutional

15 officers of this state may be impeached upon the adoption of

16 articles of impeachment by this body and upon trial by the

17 Senate, acting as a court of impeachment; and

18 WHEREAS, at least two formal complaints have been

19 filed with the Alabama Ethics Commission to determine whether

20 Governor Bentley violated state ethics laws by misusing state

21 property; and

22 WHEREAS, it is alleged that Governor Bentley

23 violated campaign finance law by failing to timely disclose a

24 $50,000 loan he made to his campaign committee, exceeding the

25 two business day reporting requirement by approximately two

26 months; and

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1 WHEREAS, it is alleged that, on January 3, 2016,

2 Governor Bentley also violated campaign finance laws by paying

3 legal fees incurred by a former staff member from excess

4 campaign funds; and

5 WHEREAS, it is alleged that the Republican Governors

6 Association reimbursed expenses of the Governor during a time

7 period in which it was unlawful to accept contributions; and

8 WHEREAS, it is alleged that payments from excess

9 campaign funds totalling more than $38,000 were also paid to a

10 consulting company owned by the former staff member during

11 2016; and

12 WHEREAS, the Governor has failed to faithfully

13 execute the laws of this state by refusing to call a special

14 election to fill the vacancy left by United States Senator

15 Jeff Sessions as required by law; and

16 WHEREAS, in recognition of the gravity of the

17 adoption of these articles of impeachment and upon findings

18 that Governor Bentley has violated the public trust, this body

19 concludes Governor Bentley should be impeached for cause; now

20 therefore,

21 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF

22 THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA, That Governor Bentley is impeached

23 for cause and that the following articles of impeachment,

24 based upon the findings in this resolution, be transmitted to

25 the Senate for trial as provided in Section 173 of the

26 Constitution of Alabama of 1901:

27 ARTICLE I.

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1 Willful Neglect of Duty.

2 Credible evidence exists to create probable cause to

3 believe that, in his conduct while Governor of the State of

4 Alabama, he willfully neglected his duty as Governor by

5 failing to faithfully execute the laws of this state and by

6 refusing to perform his constitutional and statutory duties.

7 ARTICLE II.

8 Corruption in Office.

9 Credible evidence exists to create probable cause to

10 believe that, in his conduct while Governor of the State of

11 Alabama, he unlawfully misused state property, misappropriated

12 state resources, and consistently acted in violation of law to

13 promote his own personal agenda.

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