MONTGOMERY — State Sen. Pro-Tem Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman) and House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) participated in the annual Yellowhammer News Legislative Preview event Tuesday evening, moderated by Grayson Everett.
The duo tackled issues such as Ivey’s legacy, workforce development, gambling, the Alabama Rural Roadmap, and more.
The evening started with former State Senator and current Secretary of the Department of Workforce Development Greg Reed speaking about his first year.
“I'm one of, like, some of you; I was lucky enough not to be in the state house today,” he began, to laughter around the room, before noting changes to the agency, including rebranding and a new mission.
"We increased the number of trained workers in the state of Alabama in the year 2025 by 25,000 people," Reed said. "You know, much has been accomplished, but much to be done. So we're off to the races."
Reed then noted the standing-room crowd before introducing the two speakers.
"These two men have unbelievable responsibilities. They're making sacrifices that the people of Alabama will never know about. That many of you are never going to know about," Reed said.
As the two bantered back and forth about the various hot topics, Ledbetter stressed one specific area that was important to leaders across the state.
"My thing is this, you know, we have talked about workforce, workforce participation for a long time. And I’ve thought about this in the past. I really believe there's a generation of kids who we failed. I really believe that," he said.
"You think about it, we are all time trying to push them to go to college, which we've got to have college graduates. We’ve got to have the professionals. But 66% of their kids are not going to college. They don't give any college degrees. So, what do we do? And we're doing the same thing we've always done, because it's what we've only done."
He then went on to discuss the available options and how workforce training can change lives and fill jobs that cannot be automated in the future.
The pair continued the discussion before fielding a question about ready-to-drink cocktails.
"I do think there is headway this year in building momentum to handle this situation, one way or the other, in the Alabama Senate. And with Alabama, ABC, stepping in with an email the other day for the first time, I thought that was very interesting, and now they're taking a stance," Gudger explained.
"We're having really not just two options, but really three that we're looking at. We want to do what's best for Alabama. We want to make sure that we have control, and at the same time, if we're going to have more access, then we're going to be able to prosper from it, from the benefit of not only enforcing it, but also having revenue streams coming in.”
The event closed looking ahead at what the duo thought would be priorities under Tuberville. Both agreed, echoing sentiments that Tuberville has already stressed, that he would make recruitment of business and economic development the center.
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