Amid lawmaker shoutouts and multiple mentions of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, Gov. Kay Ivey made a peculiar declaration during her State of the State address on Tuesday.
"In Alabama, we don't exactly follow the rule of never asking a lady her age — and that's OK. So, while we're on my age, I'll share one of its many benefits: MeeMaw will tell you exactly like it is!" she said emphatically.
The remarks drew applause and chuckles from those in attendance, and we're no doubt inspired by questions about Ivey's wellness and ability to perform her gubernatorial duties in recent weeks.
She also subtly put to rest speculation that she would not fulfill the last two years of her term and cede the Governor's office to Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth.
"There is nothing, I mean nothing, an Alabamian cannot achieve, and it remains the highest honor of my life to serve our people as governor these next two years," she said earlier in her address.
So much for the Ivey-Ainsworth "deal" rumor mill.
Beyond those questions, is she really telling us "exactly like it is"?
Perhaps it is a little easier when the grand total of long-form interviews over the past two years is three "Capitol Journal" appearances on Alabama Public Television.
(If I am missing one, feel free to let me know.)
However, there was at least one instance in which we were not getting it "exactly like it is!"
If you were paying attention, Ivey laid down the gauntlet on the state's budgets near the end of Tuesday's State of State address.
"Let's pass responsible budgets that do not grow government," she said.
Who disagrees with that?
Governor Kay Ivey, apparently.
On Wednesday, Ivey's state finance director Bill Poole presented the Governor's budget to the legislature.
Ivey proposed a record-breaking $9.9 billion education budget for fiscal year 2026, a $600 million increase over the current 2025 budget. She also proposed a $3.7 billion general fund budget spending for FY 2026, a $300 million increase over the current 2025 budget.
Why? Inflation? Increased cost of goods and services? The remnants of the Biden economy?
Any of those might be applicable if this were just a one-off year for budgeting.
But it is not.
Every year since she took office in 2017, the legislature has passed record budgets under Ivey's leadership.
Indeed, the Republican supermajority bears some of the blame for those budgets.
However, assuming Ivey means what she says, as we would expect from someone who tells it "exactly like it is," and she stays governor through 2026, the combined annual total of both budgets will be on the verge of doubling from the time she took office through the time she leaves office.
The Education Trust Fund budget for FY 2018 was $6.4 billion. Combined with that year's $1.8 billion general fund budget, lawmakers appropriated roughly $8.2 billion in 2018.
Compare that to the proposed $13.6 billion in budget spending if the Ivey administration has its way for FY 2026, a 66% increase from FY 2018.
Who knows what FY 2027 has in store, as Ivey is on the verge of leaving office?
If the November 2024 presidential election is an indicator, the country is not in the mood for more government that is more expensive than ever.
The same would seem to apply to a state with Republicans in every constitutional office and a supermajority in its legislative branch.
Yet, here we are — sitting around in the State Capitol on a Tuesday night, applauding all the virtuous deeds of an ever-expanding state government and offering praise for a proactive Trump administration working toward reducing government while we're not even discussing reducing government in Alabama.
Jeff Poor is the editor in chief of 1819 News and host of "The Jeff Poor Show," heard Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon on Mobile's FM Talk 106.5. To connect or comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com or follow him on Twitter @jeff_poor.
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