MONTGOMERY, Ala. —Both chambers of the Alabama Legislature adopted the $9.3 billion 2025 education budget Thursday after hours’ worth of negotiations on legislation that could have legalized gambling in the state, legislation that ultimately failed to secure enough support before both chambers adjourned.
In the House, the first spending bill to come up for a vote was House Bill 144, a $681.2 million supplemental spending package for the current fiscal year. Among the bill’s largest expenditures include $109 million for local boards of education, $22 million for school nurse salary increases, and $17 million for Career & College Readiness grants.
Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, the chair of the House education budget committee, explained changes in the bill, including $5 million that the Senate originally allocated for the state employee retiree trust fund being split among several different items, such as $1.1 million to the Alabama Historical Commission for grants, or $1.1 million to the Alabama Arts Council.
Several bills were filed late this session to give cost-of-living adjustments for state retirees, but none advanced. House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, told Garrett he was “very disappointed” that lawmakers were unable to secure any raises for state retirees.
Garrett said it was simply a matter of numbers, and that that state could not afford to do so this year.
“What I think what the retirees want is a true COLA, I think that’s what they really want, and I’m going to go through the numbers and just show you how that really is not something we can afford to do,” Garrett said.
“Now we’re trying to address some of their concerns, but let me just give you some facts.”
Garrett said that the Retirement Systems of Alabama Trust Fund is currently 67% funded, and has a $14 billion deficit, $2 million of which he directly attributed to COLAs adopted in the early-to-mid 2000s.
“We all want to help retirees, we’re understanding of that, but we cannot afford a COLA.” Garrett said. “A 1% COLA is $200 million. What we don’t have is a source of revenue to feed that money.”
“I hear you, but there are a lot of things that we’re funding that I don’t see us getting a return on,” Daniels responded.
“These people put their health and their lives on the line for all these years, and we’re not showing appreciation. I’m sick and tired of us flirting with them every year, telling them that we’re going to do something for them next year.”
Rep. Chris Blackshear, R-Phenix City, who sponsored one of the gambling bills that passed out of the House but stalled in the Senate, pressed Garrett on why the Senate even bothered to allocate $5 million to the retirees trust fund, something he argued “would not benefit anyone at this time.”
“I believe that they wanted to let retirees know they’re not forgotten, that we’re thinking about them,” Garrett explained.
“Fine, but I don’t think this gesture of $5 million, which would get a 25-year retiree theoretically $50, is doing anything. I think it’s an insult to be honest.”
Circling back to his gambling legislation, Blackshear said the Senate’s failure to pass his gambling bill directly hurt state retirees, who with the gambling proceeds, potentially could have seen significant raises.
Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, also spoke against the Senate for its failure to pass the gambling legislation, specifically on its impact on state retirees.
“We are spending $200 million across the street on a new State Capitol; we just spent a billion dollars on a prison that still hasn’t been built,” Givan said.
“There are many avenues that we can take in the state of Alabama that we could have allowed for the citizens who have served this state, our state employees and educators, to reap the benefits of seeing some type of cost-of-living raise.”
Several more lawmakers spoke on the bill, using their time to criticize the Senate for killing gambling and its revenues for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, House members voted to concur on the supplemental spending bill in a vote of 98-1, with Givan being the lone dissenting vote.
Also approved was House Bill 145, the $9.3 billion education budget.
“They really didn’t change anything substantial from the House budget, they did not delete anything that we had submitted,” Garrett said when introducing the bill.
The bill has minor, inconsequential changes made to it when it came out of conference committee earlier this week, such as moving $1.5 million for school safety mapping from the Education Department to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
Another change Garrett highlighted was $14.9 million for a proposed teachers’ compensation for teachers, which was contingent on a bill that ultimately failed, reverting to education operating expenses.
“I think this is a good education budget with the exception of raises for the retirees, but I guess I’m a little bit frustrated here on this last day,” said Rep. Barabara Drummond, D-Mobile.
“We have been talking and talking about education, and we had an opportunity. I applaud all of those who voted for gaming, but was particularly gratified because of the money that would have been generated for education.”
The education budget ultimately passed the House unanimously, and was later concurred with by the Senate, sending it off to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk for final approval.
House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, shared in the disappointment of some of his members that the gambling legislation had failed this year. House members overwhelmingly thanked Ledbetter for his efforts, however, and gave him a standing ovation before voting to adjourn for the year.
Alabama Daily News later asked Ledbetter what he considered to be the highlights of the budgets lawmakers adopted Thursday.
“You’ve got to be excited about the budgets,” he said.
“Giving teacher pay raises is a big deal, giving state employees pay raises is a big deal. This is the fourth year in a row that we’ve been able to give pay raises, which I think is probably as long of a run as the state’s had.”