Key Lawmakers May Delay Votes on Alabama’s Budgets

March 9, 2010

MONTGOMERY – Key legislators said they may delay votes on next year’s state budgets until late this month in hopes of finding out whether Congress will pass more stimulus money that could boost state spending next year by $542 million.

If Congress passes extra stimulus money for the states, Alabama’s budgets for the 2011 fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1, likely would be tight but bearable, lawmakers said.

But if Congress doesn’t approve extra stimulus money, many of Alabama’s non-education agencies would face deep spending cuts and public schools could face layoffs.

"That would be devastating," said Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma, adding that thousands of public school teachers could be laid off next year without the extra federal money.

Gov. Bob Riley
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included the extra federal stimulus money – $197 million for Medicaid and $345 million for education – in his proposed state budgets for next year. The U.S. House of Representatives in December passed a proposed Jobs for Main Street Act that included that money for Alabama as well as aid for other states. But the U.S. Senate has yet to give its approval.

Riley, who met with other governors and President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday, said he was "relatively comfortable" that the $197 million would be approved.

But he said the outlook for the $345 million was less clear. "I would not venture a guess at this point," Riley said, in part because of continued debate in Washington over the best way to fashion another national stimulus plan to boost job creation and retention. Congress passed a $787 billion stimulus package in February 2009.

Not getting the $197 million for Medicaid and the $345 million for education would blow big holes in the 2011 state budgets that Riley proposed in January, which is why lawmakers have paused work on the budgets in a bid to find out what Congress will do.

"I would say, for the next couple of weeks, we’re in a holding pattern, watching the progress on the federal funds," said Rep. Richard Lindsey, D-Centre, who chairs the Education Appropriations Committee of the state House of Representatives.

He and others said they may wait about three more weeks, but likely would start debating and voting on next year’s budgets by the week of March 22, after the Legislature’s spring break, for fear that waiting longer might endanger chances of passing budgets in this session.

This year’s regular legislative session started Jan. 12 and must end by April 26.

Riley said as many as 2,300 public school teachers could lose their jobs next year if the federal money doesn’t come. Sanders put the number at closer to 3,000. Public schools statewide now employ about 48,000 teachers.