A Joint Interim Committees meeting Thursday heard sharp questions about the use of Smith Warren Management Services to administer several professional licensing boards, and members said they would hold related contracts pending further review.

Wendy Darling, chair of the Interpreters and Translators Board, told the committee her board contracts with Smith Warren Management Services Inc. to administer licensing for sign language interpreters and translators. "They administer what our board does, which is grant licenses and permits to interpreters to be able to provide services to people who are deaf or hard of hearing," Darling said.

A committee member who identified themselves on the record as a legislator raised a detailed objection, saying a Board of Adjustment recently considered and denied a claim for more than $170,000 to Smith Warren from the Electrical Contractors Board. "Coming back after the fact to try to take another $170,000 from that board gives me some significant consternation," the legislator said, and they announced, "I'm going to hold these contracts until we can have further conversations with the Department of Finance, the comptroller, and the governor's office." The comment referenced a broader set of contracts the member said total roughly $552,000 across three vendor relationships.

Deborah Davis, who spoke for the Alabama Security Regulatory Board, presented a proposed $450,000 contract with Smith Warren and said she had been on the board for nine years. Committee members asked whether state personnel had considered hiring in‑house staff instead of renewing outside contracts; Davis said she was not aware of such discussions.

Legislative Services staff later confirmed several items would be held at the request of committee members. Joel Blankenship and Michael Harper said their extension with the vendor International Roll Call would be held, and the chair acknowledged other holds as well.

The holds are procedural: the committee paused consideration of the contracts to allow follow‑up with state finance officials and other oversight bodies. No formal vote tallies were recorded in the transcript for the holds during the meeting.

What happens next

Committee members said they will confer with the Department of Finance, the state comptroller and the governor's office before returning the items to the committee. The transcript records no final determination or vote on the contracts during the session.