Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh says lawmakers will pass a General Fund budget, and did not rule out adjourning the session early after the budget is passed.
Marsh says lawmakers will concentrate their final meeting days on bills that could save money or generate some funds for the cash-strapped General Fund budget.
However, the Republican Senate leader cautioned the bills weren't enough to make a "big change" in the budget that faces a $200 million shortfall next fiscal year.
Marsh says senators anticipate voting on the budget tomorrow. That would leave one more meeting day in the 2015 legislative session.
Some legislators have discussed the possibility of adjourning the session after the budget passes. Marsh says that is a possibility, but he wants to see lawmakers stay for the duration.
Governor Robert Bentley has signed the state's nearly $6 billion education budget for the next fiscal year.
The education spending plan includes an additional $10 million to expand the state's prekindergarten program. The increase is projected to enable another 1800 4-year-olds to attend the voluntary public preschool program.
It also provides an additional $13 million for textbooks. However, the budget does not include any new raises for state teachers or other education employees.
Lawmakers are still grappling over what to do with the state's General Fund budget for non-education agencies.
Legislators anticipate a special session after so far failing to agree on how to handle the anticipated $200 million shortfall in the General Fund.
Alabama’s Red Snapper season is underway, and critics say if you blink, you might just miss it.
The season ends a week from today, June 10, for private fishermen and July 14 for charter boats.
That season is far too short according to Chris Blankenship. He’s the Director of Marine Resources for the state of Alabama. He says faulty reporting methods have led to the shorter season.
“We feel like the federal government is underestimating the number of fish that are out there, but overestimating what’s being landed. So those two things together have caused these extremely short seasons. So we implemented the reporting program last year to get a different source of data to see what’s actually being landed in Alabama.”
Blankenship says he is working to change the federal law and put more control in the hands of the states. He says Alabama state waters will be open to fish during the federal red snapper period as well as the entire month of July.
A longtime Lawrence, Kansas manufacturer says it will close its production center later this year and move its operations to Alabama.
Kinedyne, which makes cargo straps and similar products, is moving all of its operations to Prattville, Alabama later this summer.
Lawrence economic development officials say the existing Lawrence plant employs 93 people. The company says 23 production and warehouse positions will be displaced by the closure, and an undisclosed number of office workers will stay in Lawrence until December 2016. After that, those jobs will be shipped south to Alabama as well.
Kinedyne has operated in Lawrence since 1989, when it purchased Aeroquip Corporation.
The company says it will be holding job fairs for current employees and offering some job retraining classes.