MONTGOMERY — On Tuesday, Gov. Kay Ivey delivered her budget recommendations for the Education Trust Fund (ETF) and the Alabama General Fund (GF) to the legislature as it resumed its regular session.
The budgets are for the Fiscal year 2024, which begins in October 2023 and runs to September 2024. Both funds are currently operating in a surplus.
Ivey's proposed GF budget recommendation, which encompasses all non-education spending, includes a total requested amount of $2.9 billion. That's over $230 million more than in 2022 and consists of a nearly 7% increase in spending for the executive branch.
The proposed GF budget would include a 9% increase in Medicaid spending, totaling nearly $863 million.
It would also include a nearly 10% increase in spending to the Alabama Department of Corrections, bringing the total to over $661 million. The increase would not be enough to cover the proposed $300 million additionally needed to complete the construction of the new prison in Elmore County.
The proposed $2.7 billion ETF budget would increase by 6.5%, bringing the total to $8.8 billion, which would provide a 2% pay raise for teachers, among other things.
The ETF budget also contains Ivey's recommended $400 tax rebate she announced in her state of the state address earlier this month, which would transfer over $966 million to the Department of Revenue into the "tax rebate fund." The proposal references an unfiled bill, which will need to be voted on independently to approve the rebates.
"Alabama, especially considering the state of the nation's economy, is on sound footing," Ivey said in a statement. "Our budgets are strong, and that is, no doubt, because of the fiscally conservative approach we have taken and continue to take. Just as every Alabama family budgets to invest, pay their debts and increase their savings, my budget proposals do just that for our state. From returning our taxpayers' hard-earned dollars back to them to making historic investments in our students' education, these budgets will help foster a strong Alabama today and a stronger Alabama tomorrow."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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