On Wednesday, the Alabama Big Ten Mayors hosted legislative leaders at a breakfast on the Sixth Floor of RSA Plaza. The mayors thanked the legislators for their service and asked them to support their 2023 legislative agenda.
Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed said, “There are a lot of great things happening in this city and across Alabama.”
“We had a record year in economic development in the city,” Reed said. “It could not have happened without great help from the state of Alabama and our elected representation.”
Reed said that the new $90 million waterpark would be an “economic lynchpin” for the city.
“Gen Z picks the place and then picks the job,” Reed said. “That is a little bit different from what I was used to. We found the job and then went to the city where it was.”
Reed said the water park would feature whitewater rafting next to a walking trail on the Alabama River and Maxwell Air Force Base. “It will definitely be a destination,” Reed stated.
Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson is the Chairman of the Big Ten Mayors.
“This started in 2014 as the big 5,” Stimpson said. “We started meeting on a quarterly basis. We found out that we had the same problems.”
“That morphed into the Big 10 Mayors in 2019,” Stimpson. “Rebuild Alabama was our first focus. Rebuild Alabama has been great for the state.”
Stimpson said that the mayors next got involved in Anaiah’s Law.
“There was a repeat offender who had already shot a couple of people,” Stimpson said. “We asked the judge: Don’t let him out. The judge said: I have to. If you don’t like it, change the constitution.”
The Mayors then got behind Anaiah’s law, which was sponsored by State Rep. Chip Brown. That amendment to the Alabama Constitution passed the Legislature and was ratified by the voters in the 2020 election.
Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox said that the Mayors are urging the Legislature to pass the Simplified Sellers Use Tax.
“Small business is the heart of our cities,” Maddox said. “We know it is not easy, but these are the people borrowing the money and taking the risk to build our communities, and they are the heart of our downtowns.”
Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth said, “The big ten mayors play a big role in our state. Thank you for your support of our incentives package.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Reed said, “We will be looking at a four bill incentives package,”
“We have had great success in Alabama with incentives,” Reed said. “We have created tens of thousands of jobs.”
Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter said, “Our state is growing at a pace that I have not seen in my lifetime.”
Ledbetter credited the incentives package for contributing to this growth.
“The incentives have led to $40 billion in investment in the state and created 60,000 jobs,” Ledbetter said. “Rebuild Alabama has changed Alabama’s economy. All over the state, you see (road construction) barrels wherever you go. It used to not be that way.”
“Ports are hugely important,” Ledbetter said. “We are expanding our port and building a new one in Montgomery.”
Stimpson said, “75% of the people in Alabama live in the state’s metropolitan areas, and most of the economic growth occurs in the metropolitan areas.”
The Alabama Big 10 Mayors include Auburn Mayor Ron Anders, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling, Dothan Mayor Mark Saliba, Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Madison Mayor Paul Finley, Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed, and Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox.
Wednesday will be day 8 of the 2023 Alabama Regular Legislative Session. The Alabama Constitution limits the regular session to no more than thirty legislative days during a regular session.
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