Confirmations committee approves several appointees; dry-cleaning exchange raises ethics question

The Alabama Senate Confirmations Committee approved a slate of board and commission nominees during a meeting that included unanimous votes to confirm six dry-cleaning board appointees en masse and to approve separate nominees to the Sickle Cell Oversight Commission and the Underground and Aboveground Storage Tank Trust Fund Management Board.

A county commissioner who spoke in support of nominees said the group has overseen "about $4,000,000 in the past 20 plus years working on cleanup in the state of Alabama" and that the voluntary board finally has enough people willing to serve. The commissioner asked the panel to move forward with the confirmations.

The session included a brief exchange prompted by a nominee's lighthearted remark that a person named Jim "would clean all your suits for free when you're here in Montgomery." A committee member warned against that kind of arrangement, saying, "It's the quid pro quo thing that's unethical," and the chair said any such offer could not be accepted for ethics reasons.

Members also questioned a representative of the dry-cleaning appointees about consumer complaints. The dry-cleaning board representative said the industry follows Federal Trade Commission guidance on care labels and that outcomes vary by garment construction: "If they're glued on, they're gonna come off. If they're sewn on, they're gonna stay together," the representative said, explaining why some trim and buttons are damaged in cleaning.

Votes at a glance

- Dry-cleaning board appointees (six nominees heard en masse): motion to hear and approve carried, vote recorded 12–0. - Dwayne Jenkins: motion to hear and approve carried by voice vote. - Alabama Sickle Cell Oversight and Regulatory Commission (Dr. Anum): motion to approve carried; second by Senator Smitherman; approved by voice vote. - Alabama Underground and Aboveground Storage Tank Trust Fund Management Board: committee approved an appointment using a previous-role procedure; vote recorded 12–0. A representative noted the vacancy dated to a 2018 appointee who did not attend meetings and that the board pays members no stipend or reimbursement.

The committee also paused for a brief personal introduction when Senator Singleton introduced Miss Miller Windham, a page and the daughter of Commissioner Windham, whom the chair welcomed.

The transcript records the chair asking for any other business; no further items were raised on the record.