Alabama lawmakers have approved a plan to spend $772 million in federal pandemic relief dollars on the expansion of high-speed Internet access, water and sewer projects, health care needs, and for other purposes.
The House and Senate approved identical bills this morning, wrapping up a five-day special session called to appropriate the money.
The House passed the bill 100-0, and the Senate passed it 26-0. The legislation goes to Gov. Kay Ivey, who can sign it into law.
“I am pleased Alabama will use these one-time federal dollars wisely thanks to the strong work by our Legislature,” Ivey said in a press release. “I commend our legislators for their efficient work in directing these funds to meet some of Alabama’s toughest challenges. We are making smart investments to increase statewide broadband connectivity, improve our water and sewer infrastructure, as well as health care infrastructure.
“We are also addressing measures to reduce employment taxes paid by Alabama businesses as they continue to rebound from the pandemic. This was an overwhelmingly bipartisan effort by the men and women of the Alabama Legislature, and I am proud of their good work in dealing with the task the federal government dealt us.”
Today’s overwhelming support for the bills did not come as a surprise.
The plan, developed by legislators and the governor’s office, received support from the Republican majority and the Democratic minority in both chambers.
“We had a bipartisan effort from the minute we started on all of this for the good of the people of Alabama and I am proud of the work that we’ve done,” Senate President Pro-Tem Greg Reed, R-Jasper, said.
The legislation allocates what remains of Alabama’s first portion of funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, approved by Congress and the Biden administration in March 2021.
“We spent a lot of hours preparing for this before we even called a special session,” House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, said. “And I think the dollars that we’ve appropriated are going to be very beneficial to the state in areas that it’s needed, such as trying to help us expand our broadband capabilities, water, fresh drinking water and sewer issues that we have around the state.”
Lawmakers voted last year to spend $400 million in ARPA funds to help build two prisons and provide $80 million to hospitals and nursing homes.
Alabama will receive the second portion of its ARPA funds, $1.06 billion, in May or June. Legislators have not yet made decisions on using that money.
The Legislature resumes its regular session next week. That was put on hold for the special session to pass the ARPA funds.
Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, sponsor of the legislation and chair of the Senate’s General Fund committee, said he hopes lawmakers can pass the General Fund and education annual budgets before turning to the subject of the second round of ARPA funds.
The plan approved today expected allocates:
$277 million for broadband expansion.
$225 million for water and sewer infrastructure projects.
$80 million for hospitals and nursing homes.
$79.5 million for Alabama’s unemployment compensation trust fund to restore it to near the level of January 2020.
$37 million for health care services through assisted living facilities, mental health, rehabilitative services, and other entities.
$30 million for rural hospitals.
$20 million for emergency medical responders, including $10 million for volunteer fire departments.
$11 million for counties to help pay for state inmates held in county jails because of the pandemic.
$7.8 million for the cost of the reporting and auditing requirements for using the money.
$5 million for telemedicine.