August 2023 Group Watch: International Investment Boosting Job Growth in AL

Job growth tied to international investment in Alabama has been rapidly outpacing the state’s general employment growth rate, according to a report that tracks the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) across the U.S. The Global Business Alliance analysis says employment in Alabama tied to FDI surged 12 percent between 2015 and 2020, compared to overall employment growth of just 1 percent during the same period. Almost 700 international companies have operations in Alabama, and nearly 117,000 jobs in the state stem from international investment. In the past decade, international investment in Alabama has surpassed $25 billion, generating more than 38,000 job commitments in key industries including automotive, aviation and metals manufacturing. Last year, FDI pouring into Alabama topped $5.5 billion, representing more than half the annual total, a record $10.1 billion. These investments come from companies based in India, South Korea, France and Japan.

August 2023 Group Watch: Senator Britt Secures AL Defense Appropriations Priorities

U.S. Senator Katie Britt shared she’s secured nearly $1.1 billion in defense and military funding for Alabama as a member of the Committee on Appropriations. Britt joined her colleagues in advancing the FY2024 Defense Appropriations Act, which provides a total of $831.3 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Defense. According to her office, the funding priorities will supercharge military readiness, combat illegal drug trafficking, modernize the defense industrial base, advance munitions procurement and support service members and their families. The Alabama priorities she promoted include $645 million in funding that directly supports the defense communities in every corner of the state, from research and development in hypersonic to direct energy, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. The funds also include hundreds of millions of dollars for Abrams’ tank restoration at Anniston Army Depot.

August 2023 Group Watch: Speaker Ledbetter Chair-Elect of the Council of State Governments Southern Office

Alabama Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter was unanimously elected to serve as the 2023-2024 chair-elect of the Council of State Governments Southern Office at the Southern Legislative Conference (SLC) in Charleston, South Carolina in July. As chair-elect, Speaker Ledbetter will assist the incoming chair, West Virginia Senate President Craig Blair, in guiding CSG South during the coming year. He will also serve as chair of the 79^th SLC Annual Meeting, to be held in Alabama in the summer of 2025. The purpose of this meeting is to provide Southern state lawmakers with the opportunity to work together to create more effective public policy so their home states are better served. 

August 2023 Group Watch: Bobbie Knight Elected to Alabama Power BOD

A familiar face has just joined Alabama Power’s board of directors: Bobbie Knight, president of Miles College, who retired from Alabama Power in 2016 after 38 years with the company. Knight, prior to being named the first female president of Miles College, held various executive and leadership positions with Alabama Power, including vice president of the Birmingham Division, vice president of Public Relations and general manger of Supply Chain. She was a member of the Miles College Board of Trustees and was also CEO of Bobbie Knight Consulting. She co-chaired Mayor Randall Woodfin’s 2017 transition team and was one of 21 women selected worldwide to take part in the leadership Foundations Fellows Program of the International Women’s Forum, allowing her to study at Harvard University and the Judge School of Business at Cambridge.

August 2023 Group Watch: Innovate  Alabama Awards Millions to AL Small Biz

Innovate Alabama awarded more than $2.1 million to 15 small businesses in its third round of supplemental grants. Entrepreneurs who have received Phase I or Phase II SBIR or STTR grants received up to $250,000 of supplemental funding to support the growth of their small businesses. The businesses selected in this round are in Auburn, Birmingham, Huntsville and Prattville and are: Alveolus Bio, Analytical AI, Archarithms, CFD Research Corp., EngeniusMicro, Fagan Consulting, IERUS Technologies, 3-Tech, Outpost Technologies, Quadrus Advanced Manufacturing, Research in Flight, Summit Information Solutions, SemanticGuard, Xplosion Technology and Zeus Research and Technology. 

August 2023 Group Watch: Trendco USA Creating 292 Jobs at Tuskegee Facility

Columbia, South Carolina-based Trendco has committed to creating 292 jobs over five years at a facility in the new Regional East Alabama Logistics Park (REAL) in Macon County. Trendco plans to invest $43 million to launch a manufacturing operation in the new  REAL Park, a logistics hub in Tuskegee, where it will produce nitrile medical gloves. Once the glove lines are established at the Tuskegee facility, the company plans to expand production into masks and gowns, ensuring a reliable domestic source for these important PPE items to mitigate potential supply chain disruptions.

June 5, 2023 Group Watch: News & Views from the State House

The 2023 regular session of the Alabama Legislature is winding down, with tomorrow as its last day. Many of the bills passed in the last few months could be described with superlative terms, like biggest, record-setting and historic, including the state’s budgets and a new tax cut.

In addition to these “big” bills becoming law, last week, Governor Ivey also signed two headline-making bills, one banning several foreign governments from owning certain property in Alabama and another banning men from women’s sports. 

Find more details on this activity and other #alpolitics topics below.

The House and Senate return on Tuesday, June 6 at 1:30 p.m. for the 30^th 
and final day of the session.

June 5, 2023 Group Watch: Tweet of the Week

@GovernorKayIvey
June 2
It was a pleasure to welcome @alboysstate delegates to Montgomery this morning! We live in the greatest country in the world. And I have no doubt these young men are up to the task to uphold that fact for generations to come. #alpolitics

June 5, 2023 Group Watch: Day-by-Day, Play-by-Play

On Wednesday (28th day of of regular session):

• The House Insurance Committee approved a Senate-passed bill to further provide for the exceptions to the Mandatory Liability Act for inoperable or stored motor vehicles.
• The House Ways and Means General Fund Committee approved a Senate-passed bill to further provide for the number of exempt service employees allowable in each department. 
• The House Ethics and Campaign Finance Committee approved a Senate-passed bill to establish procedures for requesting and obtaining public records. 
• The House State Government Committee approved a Senate-passed bill to provide for the inspection of certain dams and reservoirs by an engineer and require emergency action plans. 
• The full House approved a number of bills of local application only and Senate-passed bills to provide for the crime of retail theft in various degrees; to prohibit governmental entities from entering into certain contracts with companies that boycott businesses because the business engages in certain sectors or does not meet certain governance standards; to require local boards of education to install, maintain and operate video cameras in certain self-contained classrooms providing special education services; to provide for the procurement of certain professional service contracts based on competitive, qualification-based policies and procedures; to require the State Ethics Commission to provide an alleged violator with exculpatory evidence; and to change the terms “failing” school and “nonfailing” school and “qualifying” school and to expand scholarship opportunities for eligible students. 
• The Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee approved House-passed bills to establish the Preceptor Tax Incentive Program to provide income tax credit incentives for certain medical students who train in rural and underserved areas of the state, and to exclude hours worked above 40 in any given week from gross income 
• The Senate County and Municipal Government Committee approved a House-passed bill to allow for the payment of uncontested claims on an expedited basis for the Board of Adjustment. 
• The Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee approved a House-passed bill to require certain manufacturers of Internet-enabled devices to activate existing filters to restrict access to certain material. 
• The full Senate approved general bills to increase the estimated payments for state sales tax liability; to change the appointment process for the Alabama Public Charter School Commission; to authorize public institutions of higher education that employ campus police officers to also employ reserve police officers; and to establish legislative findings relating to the fundamental rights of parents. 

On Thursday (29th day of of regular session):

• The House approved a long list of bills of local application only, and Senate-passed general bills to provide for the inspection of certain dams and reservoirs by an engineer and to provide for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to serve as a public repository for dam related documents; to further provide for the number of exempt service employees allowable to each department or agency; to require state agencies to take certain measures to prevent fraud before paying benefits to recipients; to establish sunset dates for tax incentive programs; and to enhance penalties for any criminal activity that benefits, promotes or furthers the interest of a criminal enterprise. 
• The Senate passed a number of House-passed general bills to define “food” and begin reducing the state sales and use tax on food on September 1, 2023; to provide a one-time income tax rebate for the promotion of the general welfare of state taxpayers; to provide for the surrender of an infant to an emergency medical services provider or hospital; to further provide for the duties and membership of the Alabama Literacy Task Force; to further provide for the requirements of the alternative teacher preparation program; to allow for the payment of uncontested claims on an expedited basis for the Board of Adjustment; and to exclude hours worked above 40 in any given week from gross income.

June 5, 2023 Group Watch: Governor Ivey Signs Record-Setting State Budgets

Last week, Governor Kay Ivey signed the state’s largest-ever Education Trust Fund and General Fund budgets, as well as two supplemental spending bills. The budgets are set to govern for the fiscal year starting October 1. The education budget will channel $ 8.8 billion from the Education Trust Fund, marking an increase of 6.5% over the current year. An additional $2.8 billion will be allocated through the education supplemental bill, a surplus result due to exceeding tax revenues. The General Fund budget, marking a 6% increase from the current year, will appropriate $3 billion for non-education state programs including Medicaid, law enforcement, prisons, mental health and courts. The supplemental, with an additional allocation of $208 million from the General Fund, will support various state and local programs and projects. The 2024 budget promises a 2% raise for K-12 and community college educators. The final allocation designates $5.9 billion to K-12 learning, $2.4 billion to higher education and $195 million to early childhood education.