Tag: Alabama Legislature
Senate Passes General Fund Budget, Stakes Domain Over Coronavirus Funds
The Alabama Senate on Tuesday passed a General Fund budget totaling $2.389 billion. It includes modest increases for mental health, public health and state prisons, but no state employee pay raises that were expected earlier this year.
The fiscal year 2021 budget, which pays for non-education state agencies and services, contains $167 million more than the budget for the current fiscal year, but less than the record levels projected before the coronavirus outbreak impacted the state’s economy.
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Change Proposed in State Funding for Students in Growing School Systems
A bill in the Alabama Senate would change the per-student funding model for growing K-12 schools, taking some burden off of local systems to pay for additional students, advocates say.
Currently, systems receive a per-pupil allocation from the state based on prior year enrollments.
Senate Bill 316 would change the funding formula to account for enrollment increases, projecting growth based on the previous two years’ enrollment growth.
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Bill Would Change Rules for States of Emergency, Public Health Orders
Some state senators want more say in extended emergency orders like the ones put in place in response to the coronavirus.
Current law says the Alabama governor can issue a state of emergency for up to 60 days. A bill filed Monday in the State House would limit that to 14 days and then require legislative approval for an extension.
Senate Bill 334 also says that no public health order issued by the state health officer will take effect until it is signed by the governor and delivered to the secretary of state. Current orders, like the late March order that closed many Alabama businesses and limited public gatherings, are signed by Public Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris alone.
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Lawmakers Return to Changed Legislative Session
MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Legislature resumed Monday a legislative session that looks much different from when it began three months ago.
Wearing masks and sitting apart, lawmakers gathered without lobbyists in the hallways or members of the public in the galleries, kept out of the State House over coronavirus health concerns. In the House, many Democrats stayed home Monday in protest, saying lawmakers shouldn’t be meeting or passing budgets yet.
While passing the General Fund and education budgets are the stated purpose of resuming the session that must end by May 18, they’re not the only bills in play. The Alabama Senate on Monday considered local bills and formal resolutions but also passed Gov. Kay Ivey’s bond issue proposal borrowing $1.25 billion for school construction and capital improvements.
Senators on Tuesday could consider legislation giving them and their House colleagues significant say in how the state’s nearly $1.8 billion in federal coronavirus relief money, and future funds, are spent. Read more.
Senate Passes $1.25 Billion Bond Issue for Schools
MONTGOMERY — The Alabama State Senate on Monday passed legislation to authorize a $1.25 billion bond issue to fund school construction and other capital improvement projects.
Senate Bill 242 passed 29-0 in the Senate and now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration. First proposed by Gov. Kay Ivey in her State of the State address, the bond issue would help K-12 schools and state colleges pay for capital improvements, from construction projects to technology upgrades. Read more.
State House Preview: Lawmakers Want Say in Spending of Federal Coronavirus Funds
The Alabama Senate this week will consider legislation giving it and the House significant say in how the state’s nearly $1.8 billion in federal coronavirus relief money, and future funds, are spent.
The Senate General Fund budget committee last week amended an existing bill, Senate Bill 161 related to supplemental appropriations, to create a three-person panel of the governor and the Legislature’s two General Fund budget chairmen to make decisions about that money.
“This is almost equal to the General Fund budget; we believe it makes sense that we have a voice,” Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Range, told Alabama Daily News.
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DAs Look to Legislature for Funding Help After COVID-19
MONTGOMERY — Several district attorneys in Alabama say the coronavirus pandemic has reduced funding for their offices and they’re looking to the Legislature for help.
At least two DAs have already cut staffing or salaries because of the drop in revenue, they said.
District attorneys receive about 30% of their funding from the state’s General Fund budget. The other 70% comes from court fees and fines.
“To collect that 70%, three things have to be working,” Morgan County DA Scott Anderson recently said. “The economy, law enforcement writing tickets and making arrests and the courts holding court. All three of those things came to a halt with the coronavirus.” Read more.
Senate Committee OKs $2.38B General Fund Budget
MONTGOMERY — An Alabama Senate committee on Tuesday approved a proposed 2021 General Fund Budget of $2.38 billion, an increase from the current fiscal year funding but less than what was expected before the coronavirus outbreak cut into tax revenues.
The funding increases were primarily for four agencies: Medicaid, mental health, corrections and public health. Raises that were anticipated earlier in the year for state employees aren’t in the budget. Read more.
Coronavirus-adjusted General Fund Budget in Committee Tuesday
The Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee is expected to debate and vote on the 2021 General Fund budget on Tuesday.
Legislative leaders late last week said their session, on pause since mid-March because of the coronavirus, would resume May 4.
But Senate budget committee chairman Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Range, said that lawmakers need to set an example for the rest of the state.
Read more.
Long List of Issues Fall by the Wayside as Virus Upends Session
MONTGOMERY — Less than three months ago, medical marijuana, education reform and a state lottery were expected to be headlining issues of 2020 legislative session. Projections for increased tax revenue meant larger General Fund and education budgets for 2021 and raises for state employees and teachers were anticipated.
But when the new coronavirus interrupted daily life, it also upended the state’s economy and this year’s regular legislative session. Read more.
