Alabama COVID package should get first votes on Tuesday
The Alabama Legislature should take its first votes Tuesday on a plan to spend $774 million in federal COVID relief funds, mostly on broadband, water and sewer infrastructure and health care.
Both bills moved out of committee on Thursday with little discussion or debate. Legislators had the weekend to review the bill to make any changes. But legislative leaders said Monday morning that they did not expect the bill to change on the floor.
“It looks like this Legislature has figured out how to do special sessions,” said Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund chair Greg Albritton, R-Atmore.
Relief money: Special legislative session on COVID relief money opens with pleas for help
The bill would allocate about 36% of the funds to broadband projects and support services. About 30% would go to water and sewer projects, and 19% would go to health care. The rest would go to restoring the unemployment compensation fund, telemedicine, emergency responders and compensation to counties for housing state prison inmates.
The money is not expected to fully fund all the needs in the state, but it could provide a starting point for some projects.
Republicans in the Legislature seem to be in broad agreement on the use of the funds. House Democratic leaders said last week they would not challenge the current allocation of funds.
“I think people are satisfied, the members are and the constituents around the state,” said House Ways and Means General Fund chair Steve Clouse, R-Ozark. “Based on the breakdown I expect it to move on through.”
Legislators want to get the legislation to Gov. Kay Ivey before Jan. 31. The $79.5 million allocated to the state unemployment fund could bring it to pre-pandemic levels, and bring the tax employers pay to an average tax tax of 1.1%, as opposed to the current average of 1.54%. According to the Alabama Department of Labor, the tax would go up to an average of 1.58% without the funding.
Both Clouse and Albritton said they did not expect legislators to take up any other bills in the special session, which leaders want to wrap up this week.
The state should get $1 billion in additional COVID money later this spring. House Democrats suggested last week there could be more controversy over the spending of that money, and several organizations left out of this round of funding asked legislators last week to consider them in the next.
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Brian Lyman at 334-240-0185 or blyman@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Alabama COVID-19 relief funds package should get first votes Tuesday
