March 13, 2023 Group Watch: Governor’s Regular & Special Sessions Priorities
Regular Session
- Provide a one-time tax rebate of $400 for working individuals and $800 for working families.
- Cut by 25 percent over the next two years red tape affecting businesses. This will be done by executive order.
- Invest more into locally owned businesses through a $200 million grant program known as our Main Street Program.
- Prioritize funding for Pre-K classrooms in the most challenged areas of our state.
- Require all children to complete kindergarten before entering the first grade.
- Increased funding for more reading and math coaches in K-12.
- Double the funding for computer science education in Alabama.
- A two percent pay raise for K-12 teachers.
- Provide startup funds for Charter Schools and reform the governance of the Charter School Commission.
- Establish a new healthcare high school in Demopolis, offering an innovative curriculum for 9th through 12th graders, exposing them to a diversity of STEM and healthcare opportunities.
- Direct state law enforcement to make traffickers of fentanyl their top priority.
Special Session
The Special Session is dedicated to allocating Alabama’s remaining ARPA funds. In her state of the State speech, Governor Ivey called for Alabama lawmakers to “invest these federal monies to overcome some of our biggest challenges while also paying off our debts,” The largest categories for the money are $339 million for healthcare related to the pandemic, $260 million for expansion of broadband internet access, and $400 million for improving access to clean water through water sewer infrastructure projects. The healthcare cost breakdown is as follows:
- $100 million to reimburse hospitals for eligible expenses.
- $100 million to reimburse nursing homes for eligible expenses.
- $5 million to reimburse state veterans homes for eligible expenses.
- $40 million to reimburse the Public Education Employees Health Insurance Board for eligible expenses.
- $25 million to support mental health services.
- $9 million to facilitate the expansion and use of telemedicine.
- $20 million for a voluntary clinical trial and healthcare research program to enable greater access to personalized medicine.
- $175,000 to reimburse expenses related to coronavirus voucher programs for public university students.
