The Business Council of Alabama has announced a four-year initiative plan to improve the business climate in the state.
“Renew Alabama,” is a list of legislative priorities the BCA says aim to make the state a national leader in innovation, workforce development, health care and economic growth.
“Alabama can be a national model of economic growth and success. From the Gulf Coast to the Tennessee Valley, you’ll find small businesses to large corporations primed to succeed and expand,” BCA President and CEO Helena Duncan said in a written statement. “This is the path to economic prosperity that our hardworking citizens deserve. The Business Council of Alabama is here to make it happen.”
A key component of the plan is supporting Gov. Kay Ivey’s “The Game Plan” to renew economic development incentives, which BCA says play a vital role in Alabama’s current and future economic success.
Earlier this month, Ivey said in her state of the state speech “The Game Plan” to renew and modernize the economic development incentives in the Alabama Jobs Act and the Growing Alabama Act. The governor and legislative leadership have voiced strong support for expanding economic incentive programs.
The Alabama Jobs Act reauthorization passed in 2015 expires on July 31, 2023, making renewal an immediate priority of BCA in the current legislative session. That legislation has not yet been filed.
BCA says broadband infrastructure is necessary in a modern economy and critical to providing access to adequate health care, particularly in the state’s rural areas. The plan outlines the promotion and encouragement of policy that prioritizes this piece of infrastructure.
Workforce development is another concern of BCA members and a legislative focus for the council. BCA says there is a clear need for more trainable workers to backfill existing jobs and has promised to help lawmakers find new and proactive solutions to prepare Alabama’s workforce further to fill the jobs of tomorrow.
Other agenda items include: funding working programs, protecting employer-sponsored health care, fighting for free-market competition and blocking government mandates.