ALABAMA: State Prepares To Move Forward With DMV Closures Despite Strict Voter ID Law

Last month we learned that Alabama was set to close 45 of its 49 driver’s license bureaus despite a strict voter ID law. The number of planned office closures has since been reduced to 33 and the state is preparing to make that move. Via Montgomery’s NBC affiliate:

Governor Robert Bentley is moving ahead with plans to close some driver’s license offices, Alabama National Guard Armories, and – potentially – some state parks. The governor made the statement while speaking briefly with reporters Monday on a trip to Birmingham. There is a list of 33 possible driver’s license offices operated by the Alabama Department of Motor Vehicles that could close. Bentley is scheduled to meet with Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Director Spencer Collier to discuss those offices. “He’ll give me the definite number and which ones will be closed this afternoon,” the governor said. Bentley asked the Alabama Supreme Court Friday for an opinion on whether language in portions of the General Fund Appropriations Act are constitutional. He believes some parts of the budget he signed illegally “encroach on the authority of the Executive Branch…”‘ after the Legislature limited, prohibited, or even mandated certain actions of state agencies that the governor says fall within the Executive Branch’s control. Ardis said the governor would likely roll out the closures regardless of what the Alabama Supreme Court says. That move could set the stage for potential lawsuits.

RELATED: Earlier this week Bentley’s divorce from his wife of 33 years was finalized amid accusations that Bentley, a sanctity of marriage advocate, had an affair with a much younger staffer.