Kay Ivey meets with legislative budget chairs
Gov. Kay Ivey met with legislative leaders on Wednesday to discuss the 2024 budgets and potential 2023 supplemental appropriations. “Today, we had our first meeting of the new term with our legislative budget chairs,” said Gov. Ivey. “How we budget will affect Alabamians for decades to come, and this group of leaders is committed to ensuring we will continue taking a fiscally conservative approach to our budgets.” Republicans have commanding control of Alabama state government, so all of the legislative leaders at Wednesday’s meeting were members of the GOP. They include new Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter, new Chairman of the House Ways and Means General Fund Committee Rex Reynolds, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Education Committee Danny Garrett, Ivey’s Director of Legislative Affairs Drew Harrell, State Finance Director Bill Poole, State Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee Chairman Greg Albritton, State Finance and Taxation Education Committee Chairman Arthur Orr, and Senate Pro Tem. Greg Reed. Legislative Service Agency Fiscal Division Director Kirk Fulford, the Pro Tem.’s chief of staff Derek Trotter, and other staff members were also present. “Yesterday the Leadership of the House and Senate, and the Budget Chairman’s met with Governor Ivey, Director Poole and staff,” Reynolds said on social media. “The Governor engaged the meeting with direct questions related to our economy, our workforce, and the services the state provides to Alabamians.” The big-budget question hanging over the coming legislative session is what to do with the budget surplus. The state had over a billion dollar surplus left over from fiscal year 2022, which ended on September 30 that rolled into fiscal year 2022. Alabama has an arcane budgeting system where education goes into one budget – the education trust fund budget (ETF) for education spending and the state general fund (SGF) for non-education-related expenditures. Last year, the ETF for FY2023 passed by the Legislature was $8.26 billion – $589 million more than FY2022. The SGF for FY2023 passed was $2.74 billion – $53 million more than FY2022. Both are all-time records. The state’s reserve funds are already flush with funds from four straight years of conservative budgeting. With wages rising and the number of workers employed at an all-time high, the state is likely to take in more than the $11 billion the Legislature expected in FY2023 – the current budget year. The Legislature has some hard choices to make when the 2023 regular legislative session begins on March 7. They likely will have significant surplus funds left over for supplemental appropriations in FY2023 – they had over a billion dollars in supplementals in FY2022. Leaders could increase state spending, rebate surplus dollars to the taxpayers in one-time checks, or lower taxes in FY2024. Orr said that the Legislature may rebate up to $500 million back to taxpayers later this year. Another major issue facing the budget committees is what to do with all the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money that the state is getting from the federal government – albeit with many federal strings attached. The second $one billion of that money has to be appropriated. The Governor will formally make her FY2024 budget requests on Tuesday, March 7, when she makes her state of the state address to a joint session of the Alabama Legislature at the historic 1859 Alabama Capitol Building. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Personnel Update: Drew Harrell to serve as Kay Ivey’s Director of Legislative Affairs
On Thursday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced that she is appointing Drew Harrell as director of legislative affairs. “Alabama has some major items to tackle, which will require a bold legislative agenda from my Administration over the next four years, and Drew is the right man to help me accomplish our goals,” Ivey said in an emailed statement shared with Alabama Today. “I am proud to have Drew join our team as we work to ensure Alabama’s best days are yet to come,” said Governor Ivey. “Drew cares deeply for our state, is an incredibly hard worker, and a great family man. We will certainly miss having William, but sure are proud of him as he brings his skills to his alma mater, and we are thrilled to be adding Drew to the Ivey Administration.” Ivey was recently overwhelmingly re-elected Governor Ivey to a second term. The governor’s current director of legislative affairs, William Filmore, is leaving the Administration to serve his alma mater, Troy University, leading their governmental affairs team. Harrell comes from the powerful Business Council of Alabama (BCA), where he is most recently the vice president of governmental affairs. He also served as the executive director of the organization’s political action committee, ProgressPAC. Harrell has held a variety of responsibilities at BCA and was a key figure in advancing the group’s policy for the state of Alabama, including the controversial 2019 Rebuild Alabama Act, which raised fuel taxes on the people of Alabama to fund road projects. That initiative was championed by Gov. Ivey. “I am deeply honored to be joining Governor Ivey’s Administration and thankful to her for the opportunity to serve as director of legislative affairs,” said Harrell. “I am excited about helping Governor Ivey advance policies that will move Alabama ahead. I am grateful for the years I have spent at BCA, which have more than prepared me for this new challenge.” Harrell is a former athlete, lettering in football and baseball at Huntingdon College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree. Harrell has a Master of Business Administration from Auburn University. He serves as vice president of Huntingdon College’s National Alumni Board of Directors. Filmore will continue serving in the Ivey Administration through the end of November. “Working for Governor Kay Ivey has been the honor of a lifetime,” Fillmore stated. “She is a proven leader who works as hard as anyone in Montgomery. Governor Ivey personally cares about Alabama’s citizens and our future, which is why – through her strong relationship with the Legislature – she has succeeded in improving our infrastructure, education, mental health care, economic development, and broadband, among many other accomplishments. I am confident our state will continue to prosper, and more progress will be made through the leadership of Governor Ivey and her team in the next four years.” Harrell joins Parker Harris and Michele Brown in the Legislative Affairs Office beginning December 1. Ivey still has to fill the senate liaison role, which was made vacated when Brooks McClendon was promoted to serve as Ivey’s deputy chief of staff. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Katie Britt promotes three talented leaders at BCA
Three employees with The Business Council of Alabama (BCA) have recently been promoted. Helena Duncan has been promoted to senior vice president of operations and investor relations. Susan Carothers will serve as the vice president of investor relations, and Drew Harrell has been promoted to vice president of governmental affairs. President and CEO of BCA Katie Boyd Britt commented, “Helena, Susan, and Drew have played an instrumental role in the success of BCA, bringing a wealth of knowledge in their respective areas of expertise. I am thrilled to promote each of them into a new leadership role, and I look forward to watching them lead and grow their departments, along with our organization. These talented individuals are a part of a highly skilled team who will continue to work each day to ensure that Alabama is a great place to live, work and do business.” Helena Duncan started working with BCA in January 2020 as the director of strategic operations and growth. With her 30 years of experience in the financial industry, she has worked hard to strengthen partnerships within the business community. In her new role with BCA, Helena will oversee membership, finance, and human resources but will also assume leadership of investor relations, communications, marketing, and events. “Working for BCA has been the most rewarding experience,” stated Helena. “We are consistently laser-focused on serving the businesses of Alabama at the highest level. Although we faced unprecedented times in 2020, our commitment never wavered, and our focus never changed. I’m extremely proud to work for this organization and serve the businesses of Alabama.” Susan Carothers has been a part of BCA as the manager of events and special projects since 2005 and quickly became an expert in many areas. She has managed projects, planned and executed major BCA events, and in 2012 even launched her own company. However, she has remained on contract as the main event planner for BCA. In her new role, she will continue to oversee events and also take over communications and marketing. Drew Harrell is taking the vice president of governmental affairs position Molly Cagle recently vacated. He came to BCA in 2011 as executive assistant to the president and later took on the roles of executive assistant and strategic operations coordinator. His most recent role has been the director of governmental and regulatory affairs, where he also serves as executive director of the Alliance for Alabama’s Infrastructure. “Being a part of this BCA team and seeing firsthand the value this organization brings to its members, as well as to our state, has been a true blessing,” Drew stated. “I am extremely honored and humbled by this opportunity to serve this great organization in this capacity, and I look forward to building on its successes through collective efforts with our BCA members.” Drew has always played a role in implementing BCA’s legislative agenda, and he will continue this role as vice president of governmental affairs. The Business Council of Alabama is Alabama’s foremost voice for business and is a non-partisan business association in Alabama. The BCA is Alabama’s exclusive affiliate to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers
