By Sherri Blevins
RAINSVILLE – Jonathan Colvin, Chairman of the Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce, welcomed a room full of interested individuals and area leaders to the State of the State Address held at Northeast Alabama Community College (NACC) on February 23, 2024.
NACC presented the annual event in partnership with the Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce and Rainsville, Fort Payne, and Henagar Chambers of Commerce. Members of the Jackson and DeKalb County Legislative Delegations delivered the State of the State Address, highlighting progress made during 2023 and offering a preview of upcoming legislative topics for the 2024 Legislative Session. The session starts on February 6, 2024, in Montgomery.
Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter spoke first, reviewing legislation that has benefitted North Alabama in 2023. Ledbetter said, “It is an exciting time for our home, from infrastructure to workforce development to education. We are making great progress here. In the last two years, the state delegation has secured $25 million for our public schools.” Ledbetter said the money has funded such projects as the new gymnasiums at Collinsville and Ider and science laboratories at Sylvania, Pisgah, and Plainview. He added that $100 million has been invested in road projects across the district through Rebuild Alabama funds, and a lot of progress has been made in broadband expansion benefitting our public schools and businesses.
Ledbetter then gave a preview of some of the important legislation to be covered in the new Legislative Session. He said, “We’re all excited to roll last year’s momentum into 2024, and I think the stage has been set for another productive session. The proposed legislation will benefit Jackson and DeKalb counties as well as the entire state.” The Speaker said that last year, the legislature passed the Game Plan, which was pro-business legislation that gives the economic developers the tools needed to compete on the national and international stage. Money was allocated for the first time for economic development to continue to make Alabama successful. Alabama ranks second in automobile production, first in commercial airlines, and in the top five in shipbuilding. Money was also provided to help the local government purchase land for industrial sites to keep Alabama’s economy growing.
Ledbetter said that the unemployment rate will be one of the top issues the legislature tackles this year. Even though Alabama has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation, that statistic is misleading. Ledbetter said that our workforce participation rate tells a different story. “There are too many Alabamians sitting on the sideline,” Ledbetter said. He then praised the work NACC is doing with its workforce development center in training workers for needed jobs in the area. He said NACC was setting a great example for other communities across the state. Ledbetter indicated that another strategy for increasing workforce participation is providing help with childcare expenses. The legislature will look at passing a childcare tax credit to help lower childcare costs, and it will strive to pass legislation making transportation and housing more available.
Education is another area, Ledbetter said, that would be a focus for legislators. “School Choice” will be a topic for discussion. He said, “The upcoming session will have a strong focus on creating better educational outcomes for Alabama students, and one way we’re going to do that is by enhancing school choice in our state.” Ledbetter added, “I can give you my word – we are going to continue to fund public education and continue to grow public education like we always have.”
Other issues that will be on the table are improving healthcare and passing solid budgets.
Senate Majority Leader Steve Livingston spoke next, offering a sincere thank you to all the local power companies that kept the power on during the recent ice storm. Majority Leader Livingston and Representative Mike Kirkland presented a PowerPoint presentation outlining last year’s accomplishments and upcoming legislative topics. The video of the event may be viewed on Mountain Valley News’s Facebook page.