Judge hearing suit against Alabama governor

MONTGOMERY -  A budget dispute between Gov. Bob Riley and several legislators is back in court.

Montgomery County Circuit Judge Truman Hobbs Jr. scheduled a hearing at 9 a.m. Friday on the suit filed by members of the Legislature’s Joint Fiscal Committee.

The legislators are challenging Riley’s decision to cut language from this year’s state General Fund budget when it was passed by the Legislature. That language shielded social service and health care agencies from budget cuts.

Riley had asked the Alabama Supreme Court to throw out the suit, but the court refused last month. That decision cleared the way for Hobbs to consider the suit.