Thanks to a bill passed by the Alabama Legislature last session, students in grades 6-12 across the state will be educated on the dangers of fentanyl. The law is in reaction to the staggering statistic that fentanyl was involved in 84 percent of all teen overdose deaths in 2021. Read more here.
Interests on state deposits continue to fuel the state’s General Fund revenue increases, though that growth is slowing and a possible interest rate cut looms. Ten months into the fiscal year, the General Fund revenues are up 7.6 percent to $2.7 billion. Most of that growth is because of interest earnings on money in savings accounts, including yet-to-be-spent federal COVID-19 money. State budget leaders have warned that decade-high interest rates will eventually drop, and those COVID-19 funds will be spent in the next two years. In the Education Trust Fund, which supports K-12 and higher education, receipts were up 1.49 percent in July, compared to July 2023, and up 1.66% for the year to $8.4 billion.
Construction of the new Alabama State House in downtown Montgomery is in progress. The $350 project will give lawmakers a much-needed new home, as the current building, constructed in the 1960s, is no longer meeting the needs of legislators and their constituents. Read more here.
It’s still unknown when construction will start and how long it will take to construct a second massive men’s prison, the Escambia Men’s Facility. It was pledged in 2021 legislation, but state leaders continue to seek more funding. The new Escambia County prison will be in Senator Greg Albritton’s district, and the chair of the Senate General Fund committee says the state must move forward with the 4,000-bed facility. Portions of Holman Prison were closed in recent years due to disrepair. Fountain Prison is nearly 100 years old. Both are also in Albritton’s district. The U.S. Department of Justice has an ongoing lawsuit with the state over the violence in the crowded existing prisons, and thanks to recent meetings in which families of inmates recounted gruesome details of abuse in prisons, public pressure is also mounting.
In 2019, the Alabama Legislature passed the Literacy Act, which requires students to meet specific reading-related goals before advancing to the next grade. The enforcement of this bill was delayed until this year due to COVID-19. As a result of the law’s implementation, more than 1,800 Alabama students are repeating third grade this school year after failing to meet the required benchmarks. However, under the “good cause” provision of the act, some students may still be promoted to fourth grade. Standardized test scores from the spring indicated that 4,808 students did not meet the required score. These students were offered the opportunity to attend summer reading camps and retake the test. The final numbers are expected to be available by mid-September.
Grants Awarded To Coastal AL Projects
More than $30 million for 25 coastal Alabama projects related to outreach and environmental education, sewer and stormwater infrastructure, water quality improvements and recreational access improvements were recently announced by Governor Ivey. The projects are supported by funds from the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GoMESA) of 2006, which created a revenue-sharing model for oil- and gas-producing gulf states. GoMESA projects, totaling $30,399,911, were awarded as follows:
The heat of legislative politics has cooled off for summer, but it’s the only thing not burning up. The outside temps and the state’s business climate are high, with new companies coming to Alabama, existing companies continuing to expand and state government awarding grants to aid communities in adding the local business infrastructure they need to compete.
The drama surrounding Alabama’s medical cannabis industry is also still a hot topic, with the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals giving the green light to a lawsuit challenging the licensing process.
Find more details and info on other important #alpolitics news below.
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Alabama Always, one of the firms denied a license in three attempts, can now proceed with its lawsuit challenging Alabama’s medical cannabis licensing process, according to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. The judges unanimously denied a request from the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission to overturn the Montgomery Circuit Court order. The commission first awarded licenses in June of last year, but scoring inconsistencies led the commission to void the awards and reevaluate the applications. A lawsuit alleging the commission violated the Open Meetings Act stalled the process again in August. That prompted the commission to rescind the awards again and negotiate with litigants. Although licenses for cultivators, processors and transporter have been issued, doctors can not recommend medical cannabis until dispensary licenses are issued.
3M’s work on its plant in Decatur now tops $35 million invested in two years after a building permit was issued last week for the facility off the Tennessee River. The newest project is a $10 million alteration at the plant, and is the site’s third project since 2022. The multiple capital upgrade projects at 3M’s two-million-square-foot Decatur site — originally built in 1961 — include upgrades to facility and utility infrastructure, safety improvements, ventilation system improvements and process upgrades. These investments contribute to the facility’s safe working environment while supporting its ability to serve its customers with the products the plant provides. Previous expansions included work on the plant’s wastewater treatment facility to help the company reach its goal of reducing water usage globally by 25 percent by 2030, and also to return higher quality water to the environment after it is used in manufacturing operations. The facility in Decatur’s industrial park employs 859 and produces two-thirds of the company’s products.
