Alabama top stories in brief
- The House Health Committee approved HB405, also known as the “What is a Woman Act,” which would create strict definitions of “man” and “woman” for Alabama law. During a public hearing, several activists expressed their concern over the bill and spoke in opposition to it.
- The Alabama Legislature recently passed HB379 that will bar government entities, party members or officials from certain countries owning property within 10 miles of any military installation, critical infrastructure or owning agricultural or forest property. The countries in question are China, Iran, North Korea and Russia. This does not include Taiwan. The bill saw considerable revision after protest and a public hearing where several Chinese Alabamians expressed concerns that the bill was discriminatory and would negatively impact regular citizens in Alabama. The bill has been sent to Gov. Kay Ivey for approval.
- A bill to create the Distressed Higher Education Schools loan program, a loan program for institutions of higher education in financial distress, was passed by the Alabama Legislature last week. While SB278 does not mention Birmingham Southern College, a private university in Birmingham that asked for state assistance in December to keep the school operating, the bill’s sponsors make it clear that they had the university in mind. “It’s a great institution, and this is a bill that hopefully will protect them for the years to come,” said Sen. J.T. Waggoner, R-Shelby. The bill has been sent to Ivey for approval and is set to end in Jan. 2027.
- Rep. Fred Plump, D-Fairfield has agreed to plead guilty after being charged with conspiracy and obstruction of justice by the Department of Justice. The charges against Plump allege that he worked with another legislator, identified as “legislature #1” in the charging documents, to pay kickbacks to “individual #1,” who was legislator #1’s assistant. The funds were directed from a fund meant to support local programs in Jefferson County. Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, has identified himself as Legislator #1, but has denied committing any crimes.
Alabama Legislature gives final approval to the General Fund and Education Trust Fund
After a long night of debate among legislators that stretched into the early hours of the morning, the final versions of Alabama’s General Fund and Education Trust Fund budgets were approved last week and sent to Gov. Kay Ivey.
The total amount allocated out of the Education Trust Fund was $11.5 billion; $2.8 billion of that was the surplus education spending. A total of $3 billion was allocated to the General Fund budget.
One of the biggest changes from some of the earlier budget proposals was how the ETF’s supplemental budget — SB87 — would be spent. Earlier in the year, many legislators had discussed spending the money on one-time tax rebates for all Alabama tax payers. Ivey’s original proposed budget included $400 rebates to individuals, and $800 to couples. That number has changed a few times. The final budget passed set the rebates at $150 for individuals and $300 for couples, costing a total of $393 million.
The additional funds from trimming the rebate were allotted to various other departments, funds and projects.
Among other things, the supplemental budget will give $354 million for the Educational Opportunities Reserve Fund, $179 million for the K-12 Capital Grant Program, $25 million for the Saban Discovery Center, $1.75 million in funds for reconstruction cost of Selma elementary schools damaged by tornadoes this year and gave $360 million for school systems to offset inflationary increases in capital project and equipment costs, along with several other items.
The supplemental budget also included $30 million for the Distressed Higher Education Schools loan program.
Though not included in the budget, the legislature has talked a lot this session about cutting back the grocery tax and the impact it would have on the ETF. HB479 would reduce the grocery tax on foods from 4% to 3.5% starting in September of 2023, and would continue to reduce it by 2% every year until it was down to 2%. The tax would only be reduced if the ETF’s revenue was at least 2% more than the prior fiscal year. A similar bill passed the Senate. Neither bill would eliminate the tax entirely.
The money the state gains from taxing groceries goes into the ETF. It is expected that reducing the tax down to 2% will reduce revenue for the ETF by a total of $300 million a year.
Since Alabama functions with two separate budgets, there can be a lot of back and forth when it comes to deciding what to include under each.
Originally, Montgomery was going to receive economic development money out of the ETF. This drew controversy after concern was expressed by many in the state, including AL.com columnist, Kyle Whitmire, who criticized the funds being taken from the ETF because they would be used to build a whitewater park.
Another item in the ETF budget that had garnered negative attention, the relocation of the Mobile Airport, was removed from the ETF budget, it was then added to the General Fund.
“How do you leave the capital city out of both budgets?” said Sen. Kirk Hatcher, D-Montgomery. “And how do you walk up to me with a smile on your face, knowing what you’ve done?”
Both budget bills have been sent to Ivey for approval.
Our articles you might have missed
- Our latest artist feature covered Pim Jindapon, a local artist who specializes in crocheting useful items out of plastic bags and other plastics. You can read the full article on our website to learn more about Jindapon’s process and how she got started as an independent artist.
Upcoming columns
- We know the news cycle can be exhausting, so why not take a break and relax by reading the newest edition of The Breathing Room, coming out this Wednesday? The Breathing Room is a monthly column by our managing editor Hannah Irvin, where she shares her views on topics like love, friendship, mental health and more. You can read past editions on our website.
- The next edition of The Alabama Ramble comes out this Friday. The Alabama Ramble is a column published every two months by our Alabama travel columnist, Wesley Miller. Wesley travels the state to visit sites both famous and obscure, meet with locals and revel in the many adventures you can have here in Alabama. This month’s ramble took Wesley to the charming town of Elkmont, Alabama. You can read Wesley’s previous ramble on our website.
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