2023 Alabama Legislative Guide

Pack a bag, download your favorite podcast and pick up your go-to road trip snacks. We’re loading up for the 2023 Alabama Legislative Session.  

2023 marks the start of a new quadrennium (four-year legislative cycle), and we return to bring you Peritus PR’s Annual Alabama Legislative Session Guide. Each year when our state legislators gather in Montgomery to introduce, debate and vote on public policy, it’s important to watch closely for bills that impact how we live, work and play.  

U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama

 

If you haven’t been down this road before, Peritus equips Alabama voters with a themed guide to bring the legislative session to life, and this year’s journey highlighting iconic Alabama landmarks is no different. We hope our road map will help you navigate all things #ALPolitics, because engaging in the legislative process doesn’t have to be rocket science. 

Fame Studios, Muscle Shoals, Alabama

For key takeaways from the winding road that led us here, take a look in the rearview mirror with our 2019-2022 quadrennium recap. Over the next four years, we hope you will join us in Peritus’ Ode to Alabama, to celebrate a different facet of Alabama culture each legislative session. From the Shoals to the shore, we’re embarking on a 2023 Alabama road trip fit for Southern Living. Regardless of your mileage in public policy, this resource is intended to build your confidence in engaging with and discussing issues shaping Alabama in the board room, by the water cooler or at the dinner table. It’s Fame Studios music to our ears when we hear folks of all strokes talking about Alabama’s most pressing issues. 

Now buckle up, friends. Siri is “starting route to the Alabama Legislative Session…”

LEGISLATIVE DRIVERS

After the 2022 midterm elections, the State House will welcome 37 new legislators when the session begins on Tuesday, March 7. What does this mean? Well, in combination with 2023 being the first year of the quadrennium, we can expect to see some big swings. 

Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama

Bryant Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

 

Imagine you’re at Jordan-Hare or Bryant Denny Stadium, and it’s the opening game. This is the time for players to set the tone for the rest of the season, but the stakes are lower than they are for the Iron Bowl. Since lawmakers are not up for reelection until 2026, they’re more likely to take the road less traveled and go zero to 60 on more controversial priorities like how to allocate federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. 

LANDMARK ISSUES

As we map anticipated issues for the upcoming session, consider taking “The Scenic Route” where, with some extra digging, you can find all sorts of treasure — like Unclaimed Baggage. We also encourage you to utilize our #ALPolitics Guide to learn more about legislative leadership (including a new speaker of the house), media on the policy beat and Waze (ha, get it?) for you to make your voice heard. 

 

Unclaimed Baggage, Scottsboro, Alabama

Education

Education is to the legislative session as Vulcan is to Birmingham — it’s a monument you can guarantee will always be on the itinerary. As one of only two bills required to pass by the Alabama Constitution, the Education Trust Fund (ETF) budget is sure to hit the agenda faster than a race car rounding the Talladega Superspeedway. The other constitutionally required bill is the General Fund budget, which usually rings in at less than half of the ETF. 

This year, we can expect to see some familiar educational issues like school choice and critical race theory. We’ll also see how lawmakers choose to allocate a $2.7 billion ETF surplus, which the chair of the House Ways and Means on Education Committee, Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville), called “unprecedented.”  

Now, let’s hear from Friend of Peritus and president of A+ Education Partnership Mark Dixon.

 

Vulcan Park & Museum, Birmingham, Alabama

Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln, Alabama

 
 

Mark Dixon, President, A+ Education Partnership

"If the 2022 election was an indicator, school choice will be a hot topic, from expanding public charter schools to considering school vouchers. Another priority will be supporting the implementation of the Alabama Literacy Act and Alabama Numeracy Act to give our students the fundamental skills they need. New this year, you may see efforts to ensure every school has a highly-effective principal, along with growing interest in modernizing our school funding formula." 

The Scenic Route: Learn more about education with these additional resources.

Health Care

Our next pit stop is health care, where issues range from Medicaid expansion to LGBTQ rights. Three years after COVID reached Alabama, the ups and downs of the pandemic are still rolling like the hills of Cheaha State Park. According to a recent report commissioned by the Alabama Hospital Association, there has been a $1.5 billion drop in hospital income since the start of the pandemic.   

Alabama is one of only 11 states that have not expanded Medicaid (at the time of this blog’s publication). According to a Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama report, Medicaid expansion would bode well for uninsured Alabamians and the state’s economy. However, conservative lawmakers are still pumping the brakes on accepting federal dollars to close the coverage gap. The end of the national public health emergency is on the horizon, and with it an end to increased incentives to expand Medicaid. Expansion advocates may have to get more creative than Frank Lloyd Wright’s Rosenbaum House. 

Now, let’s hear from Friend of Peritus and Vice President of External Affairs for the Women’s Foundation of Alabama, Rachel Bunning.

Cheaha State Park, Delta, Alabama

Rosenbaum House Museum, Florence, Alabama

 

Rachel Bunning, Vice President, External Affairs, Women’s Foundation of Alabama

"Women are the very backbone of families and communities and are the most likely to be underemployed, underpaid and lacking adequate work supports such as child care, paid leave and health care. Improving access to health care for women is vital, and that means closing the coverage gap, which would cover an additional 152,000 women in Alabama, removing a significant barrier to economic opportunity. While this issue has been a hot topic for many years, expect to see some movement in 2023."

The Scenic Route: Learn more about health care with these additional resources.

Economic Development

The Alabama Jobs Act and Growing Alabama Act are approaching sunset like the canvas-worthy pink and orange skies over the Gulf of Mexico. The incentive programs are up for renewal this year and with bipartisan support are likely to pass through without any roadblocks. 

A potential end to occupational taxes will reappear this year as Sen. Andrew Jones (R-Centre) seeks to get his bill to phase these taxes out over the finish line. Opponents argue workers who pay the occupational tax are direct beneficiaries of the infrastructure and services they provide. 

Tax rebates paid by the state revenue surplus also are likely to make an appearance. And an end to state taxes on overtime pay would have some celebrating like it’s Mardi Gras all over again.  

Now, let’s hear from Friend of Peritus and former Congressman Bradley Byrne, President and CEO of the Mobile Chamber of Commerce.

 

Alabama Beaches, Gulf Shores & Orange Beach, Alabama

America’s Original Mardi Gras, Mobile, Alabama

 

Former Congressman Bradley Byrne, President and CEO, Mobile Chamber of Commerce

“Alabama, as well as Mobile, continues to be recognized nationally for a commitment to facilitating economic growth and job creation. Much of this success is due to proven economic development incentives and tax credits, including the Alabama Jobs Act, the Growing Alabama Tax Credit and the Historic Tax Credit, and their reauthorization and extension are crucial to maintaining our competitive edge. With this unprecedented economic growth, Alabama must ensure its current and future workforce is prepared to fill the needs of our industry partners, and the legislature should continue to focus on workforce development, which is vital to Alabama’s continued economic success.” 

The Scenic Route: Learn more about economic development with these additional resources.

Innovation

Are we there yet? One final stop before we bring it on home. Across the public and private sectors, the state of Alabama is collaborating to help innovators grow roots here. In 2021, Gov. Ivey formed Innovate Alabama to steward policy recommendations made by the Alabama Innovation Commission to ensure the state remains competitive in a 21st century economy. The commission’s report is bigger than the grand prize billfish at the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo on Dauphin Island, full of opportunities to help drive innovation and entrepreneurship in the state. 

The state’s technology and entrepreneurial ecosystem has rallied behind Innovate Alabama, so we’re likely to see movement on innovation policy this year. For instance, Innovate Alabama will seek to amend qualifications to expand eligibility for the Innovate Alabama Supplemental Grant program, which provides qualifying small businesses with capital that fuels them to go further than a Buc-ee’s pit stop. Additionally, they will advocate for the creation of an Innovate Alabama Tax Credit to support accelerators and underserved businesses. 

Now, let’s hear from Friend of Peritus and EdFarm CEO Waymond Jackson.

 

Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo, Dauphin Island, Alabama

Buc-ee’s, Foley, Alabama

 

Waymond Jackson, CEO, EdFarm

"Innovation in education and providing access to high-quality digital skills learning continue to be top priorities in the state of Alabama, as well as top priorities for EdFarm. Our mission is to equip educators in schools and communities with innovative tools and strategies that support active learning for all students. Our team is eager to support efforts in policy that further this mission for the state of Alabama."

The Scenic Route: Learn more about innovation with these additional resources.

Our Published by Peritus Takeaway is this…

State public policy shapes our communities, our organizations and our lives. In return, we all have the right and privilege to shape public policy. The driver’s seat has your name on it. 

With this map in hand, it’s your turn to take the wheel. Our public affairs team has created a handy-dandy #ALPolitics Guide to identify and contact your local representatives, explore media resources to keep you informed throughout the session and bridge the gap between policymakers and your community. 

 

Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, Alabama

You can also follow along with our Instagram Friday Five blog series in which we break down the biggest news out of the State House each week during the session. 

Peritus’ Public Affairs Department specializes in issue advocacy, stakeholder engagement, government affairs and strategic consulting. Let’s connect if you are interested in learning more about how state policy affects your mission and bottom line. 

Peritus TeamLegislative Blog