As House members got the state’s General Fund budget closer to a vote on Wednesday, leadership in the two chambers seemed to be moving in different directions on what other bills could pass.
Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said shortly before his chamber adjourned on Wednesday that he planned to meet with House leadership to see if they would allow votes on legislation outside of the budgets and local legislation, widely expected to be the focus of an abbreviated session.
The Senate leader postponed votes on general bills, including one from Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, that would effectively prevent lawsuits over activities during the outbreak unless a plaintiff could prove “wanton, reckless, willful, or intentional misconduct.” Should such a claim succeed, a party could collect compensatory but not punitive damages.
“To show good faith, I think we would be ill-advised to move down this path without further discussion,” Marsh said Wednesday morning.
House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, made a rare address on the floor of the House on Tuesday in which he appeared to say that he would limit bills in his chamber to budgets and local legislation.
“We’re going to do our job and we’re going to do our job based on the commitments we made and agreed upon,” he said.
McCutcheon has previously said he is uncomfortable with moving any general bills for the rest of the session. With concerns about the spread of the virus, officials have restricted public access to the Alabama State House to legislators, staffers, and journalists. Public input on legislation is also limited. In addition, nearly every Democrat in the House has stayed from the current session, citing health concerns and uncertainty about the budgets.
House Ways and Means General Fund committee chair Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, sounded reluctant Wednesday to move beyond the limited schedule.
“We start opening the door there for one or two bills – they may be great bills, but we’ve got a lot of bills that have been lost by the wayside because of the situation,” he said. “I think it’s obvious we’re coming back in special session, and we can bring those bills back in special session.”
The General Fund budget approved by the House Ways and Means General Fund Committee on Wednesday hews close to the version that passed the Senate on Tuesday. The overall increase is about $168 million (7.5%). It includes a $94.4 million (13%) increase in state funding for the Alabama Medicaid Agency. Medicaid provides coverage to about 1 million people in Alabama, mostly children, the elderly, and the disabled.
The budget also includes a $26 million increase for the Department of Mental Health (a 20% bump) and a $35.3 million increase for the Alabama Department of Public Health (50%), chiefly to pay for increases in the state’s share of funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which provides a sliding scale of health insurance to children living households making up to 312% of the poverty level ($67,766 a year for a household of 3).
More: Legislators advance education, General Fund budgets amid coronavirus outbreak
The Alabama Department of Corrections will get a $23.2 million increase (4.4%), down from $41.8 million proposed by Gov. Kay Ivey. The budget does not include 2% pay raises for state employees.
The House committee also bumped up the allocations to the state auditor’s office from $500,000 to about $853,000. Allies of State Auditor Jim Zeigler accused legislators of targeting his office as retribution for Zeigler speaking out on issues like a bridge over Mobile Bay. The House allocation reduces the cut though it does not eliminate it.
The House committee also authorized Gov. Kay Ivey to spend up to $600 million in federal money allocated to address coronavirus expenses. Clouse said the funding could go to medical equipment and helping hospitals and care facilities with losses. He said the rest of the $1.8 billion sent to the state would likely have to be spent in a special session.
A bill giving district attorneys an additional $4.5 million in this year’s budget also passed. State prosecutors get a large portion of their budgets from court fees, and the closing of courts amid the pandemic has hit their bottom lines hard.
The House is expected to vote on the General Fund and the $7.2 billion Education Trust Fund budget on Thursday.
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Brian Lyman at 334-240-0185 or blyman@gannett.com.
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General Fund advances in House; leaders may discuss scope of session - Montgomery Advertiser
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