By Sherri Blevins
The 2023 Legislative Session is almost halfway complete. Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter took the opportunity to update local officials and media on happenings in the House of Representatives. Ledbetter spoke to the group via Zoom on Monday, April 24, 2023.
Ledbetter said, “So far, we have had a really good session, and I have been pleased with how things have gone. Being new in the position of Speaker has been something that has been different to us and a challenge at times, but thank goodness we have a great staff, and our leadership team is topnotch. We started by changing some rules we thought would make the process move smoothly on the floor, and it has without question. We then went into a special session the Governor called. Leading up to that, we have been in contact with her and met with her two or three times per week, trying to get everything organized and our feet on the ground.”
Ledbetter continued, “We were able to move the $1.2 billion in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds out of the House in five days.” He explained that had happened because his team had been able to get in front of the House members and share as much information as possible, let the members have input, and were as transparent as possible. That process seemed to be very helpful. The same approach was used when introducing incentive packages for businesses across the state. Ledbetter said the incentive packages were approved in the House unanimously, a rare occurrence. He added, “Having the ability to use those business incentives with companies all across the state will have a tremendous impact on our state and certainly in our rural area with no exception. Twenty-five percent of the incentives must come from rural Alabama, and we should see some dramatic changes in rural areas with job growth. Alabama is in a position I didn’t ever think I would see us in during my lifetime, with job growth and an improving economy. Alabama is on the edge of becoming one of the top research states in the country.”
The General Fund Budget will be introduced this week – one of the largest in the state’s history. Ledbetter cautioned that legislators must be conservative with spending because the budget will not remain large indefinitely. He said there had been a downturn in receipts the past two months, and that trend may continue.
Ledbetter mentioned the grocery tax cut that has been in the news lately. He indicated that some action is expected in this area, but he didn’t know what the tax cut would look like at this junction because the discussion is fluid. There are a lot of ideas on how to do it and what to do. He added that the rebates the Governor had proposed earlier did not look as promising. Legislators wanted to find a more permanent consumer benefit than a one-time rebate.
The Legislative Session is expected to end around June 1.