Governor Delivers State Of The State Address
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Today was the first day of the legislative session and the governor addressed Alabamians in the state of the state.
He is promising bold changes this year.
Some of his speech we heard last week with his tax plan to cover the general fund budget shortfall.
But both democrats and republicans walked away with a positive take on his remarks.
Governor Robert Bentley took to the podium to deliver his 5th state of the state tonight.
One of the biggest topics we’ll continue to see is the need for more money.
“Now, as we look to the future, we must take the steps necessary to help get our state out of debt and find secure financial footing. Revenue must increase,” said Governor Bentley.
While some democrats were excited to hear that the governor was proposing some of their ideas, Representative Dario Melton wanted more specifics.
“I think the governor should have went more into filling this gap in the budget. He alluded to some of the things he’s going to do. For instance, the tobacco tax is something that I think he’s going to be considering. That’s something democrats have been pursuing for years,” said Rep. Melton.
Another big topic was jobs. The governor announced a five bill package designed to keep industry coming into the state.
“This year we must pass new legislation that will make sure Alabama remains a leader in recruiting new industry and in helping our existing businesses, both large and small,” said Bentley.
There were other measures the governor highlighted, like ways to improve the state’s medicaid system. He’s creating a new task force to look into the topic.
Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard had a front row seat for the evening. He says that he’s still looking at the governor’s proposals, but he and other republicans are on board so far.
“We’ll be working with our caucus and with the democrats and in the senate as well to find out what we can do. At the end of the day we’ll come up with a solution. But I agree with the governor, we have to be bold, we have to say we’re not going to continue to do things the way we have done them in the past,” said Speaker Hubbard.
The governor also called for continuing expansion of the state’s pre-kindergarten program, which he told the state is one of only five in the country that met all the quality benchmarks set out by federal early education officials.
