Goat Hill Report- Week Ending January 16, 2026

2026 Session Begins

The 2026 Regular Session of the Alabama legislature began at noon on Tuesday, January 13, and later that evening Governor Kay Ivey delivered her State of the State address (details below). With this being an election year session, legislative leaders have consistently remarked that the goal is to deal with priority agenda items (like the budgets) and go home as soon as possible to campaign. Practically speaking, that means that although the law provides the session could end as late as April 28, it is expected they will wrap up in early to mid-April. As part of this expedited legislative schedule this session, the legislature will only take off one week in March for Spring Break (the week of March 23) as opposed to the usual two weeks off, and legislative leaders are increasing the session schedule to 3-day work weeks in January – meaning the two chambers will convene on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with committee meetings scheduled throughout the three days. Typically, the week’s schedule is convening on the floor on Tuesday and Thursday with committee meetings on Wednesday.

Having completed Days 1-3 of the session (out of a maximum of 30 meeting days), the notable news items for this first week are detailed below.

State of the State

On Tuesday, marking the start of the 2026 Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature, Governor Kay Ivey delivered her final State of the State address to a joint session of the legislature highlighting accomplishments and outlining her administration’s priorities for the upcoming session. These priorities include investments in education as well as economic development and job creation.

Regarding education, The Governor highlighted the positive trajectory of K-12 test scores, pointing out that as recently as 2017, in national rankings, Alabama fourth graders ranked dead last (52nd) in math and 49th in reading – today those fourth graders rank 32nd in math and 34th in reading. To continue this momentum, Ivey proposed and additional $100 million for the CHOOSE Act – the state’s new Education Savings Account (ESA) program which allows families to use public money for private and homeschool education. The Governor is also proposing $50 million more for school safety efforts.

Ivey also announced her support for a 2% pay raise for educators and state employees. The education raise comes at a significant cost to the state: each percentage point of a pay raise is expected to cost $50 million. Alabama Education Association (AEA) Executive Director Amy Marlowe remarked afterwards that, while teachers are grateful for any raise, it’s not enough to even keep up with inflation. Senate Education Chairman Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) said he expects a raise for teachers, but on the General Fund side, Senate General Fund Committee Chairman Greg Albritton (R-Range) responded that his priority was addressing increasing health care costs for employees, which would make a pay raise difficult – even though it’s an election year.

On the topic of economic development and job creation, Governor Ivey remarked that since 2017 the state has seen investments totaling $69 billion, creating 100,000 jobs. The Governor added that Alabama consistently ranks among the top 10 states for doing business, and she would continue to prioritize workforce development, guaranteeing site readiness and “remaining steady and reliable for economic growth.”

Governor’s Budgets Introduced

Gov. Ivey’s had her proposed budgets for FY2027 introduced on Tuesday the day after her final State of the State address.

The Governor’s Education Trust Fund (ETF) budget proposed a $10.5 billion education budget for FY27, the largest in state history. The state’s K-12 schools and higher education would each receive a 5.8% increase over the current year, while other education agencies would see a 5.2% increase:

• K-12 schools: $7.1 billion, up from $6.7 billion
• Higher education: $2.7 billion, up from $2.6 billion
• Other agencies: $646 million, up from $615 million

Ivey’s proposal addresses items most often requested: a 2% teacher pay raise costing $99 million, and $210 million toward the teachers’ health insurance fund (PEEHIP) request. That leaves the PEEHIP board to determine how to cover the remaining $170 million if lawmakers keep the proposal intact. One of the largest single increases in the budget is a $100 million appropriation for the CHOOSE Act education savings account program for the 2027 budget year, which covers the first part of the 2027-28 school year. That brings the total CHOOSE funding to $250 million for that school year, when students universally become eligible for the $7,000 voucher for alternative education expense regardless of income level.

The Governor’s General Fund (GF) budget recommended $3.6 billion General Fund budget calls for level funding of all state agencies when it comes to operations and maintenance. The General Fund for FY27 which begins Oct. 1, 2026, reflects a $28.5 million drop from the current year’s $3.71 billion budget. The only increases Ivey proposed for the General Fund are a 2% raise for state employees, expected to cost $16 million, and a $28 million increase to cover rising health insurance costs. The shortfall is due to an expected 4.2% decline in revenue for FY27, mainly reflective of a sharp decline in interest earned on the state’s deposits. With the Federal government shifting more budgetary responsibility to states, budgeting officials warn of even more austere budgets in the future.

2026 Elections – Qualifying Deadline Looms for Big Election Year

There is one week remaining until the January 23 deadline for candidates to qualify for Alabama’s 2026 primary election, which will be held on Tuesday, May 19. The entire Alabama Legislature (140 members in House and Senate) plus all statewide constitutional officers will be on the ballot this spring. From a statewide race level, there are many popular officials who are term limited and either departing public office or seeking another post. Additionally, there will be a hotly contested U.S. Senate race due the departure of Senator Tommy Tuberville, who has opted to depart DC to run for the open Governor’s seat.

Tuberville has effectively cleared the Republican primary field in the Governor’s race and political observers are already turning their attention to his likely general election rematch with former U.S. Senator Doug Jones – whom Tuberville soundly defeated in November 2020. In the Lt. Governor’s race, the top contenders are Wes Allen, the current Secretary of State, and Rick Pate, the Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture & Industries. Secretary Allen has secured recent endorsements from key trade groups such as the Alabama Farmers Federation (ALFA), the Alabama Forestry Association, and the Business Council of Alabama (BCA). Allen is the current front runner – in part due to a surprise decision by former University of Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron’s decision to forgo the race after initially announcing his bid in the fall of 2025.

The most competitive primary for statewide office may well be the race to succeed Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. AG Marshall’s longtime chief counsel, Katherine Robertson, has been barnstorming the state over the last six months and has assembled an impressive coalition of support from law enforcement and grassroots conservative groups like ALFA and Forestry. As a first-time candidate, Robertson started with a slight disadvantage relative to her primary competitor – former Alabama Supreme Court Associate Justice, Jay Mitchell. Mitchell has won two statewide elections and for those reasons had a headstart in fundraising capacity and experience, in addition to an endorsement from BCA. Early polling shows the two in a statistical tie as qualifying ends on January 23rd.

ACIA Legislative Committee to Hold First Call on January 23, 2026

The ACIA has recently established a Legislative Committee to discuss bills of interest to members. The committee will hold its first meeting via Zoom on Friday, January 23, 2026 at 9 am. If you would like to participate on the committee, please email John Sorrell at jsorrell@alconcrete.org

If you have any questions about this report please contact the ACIA staff. The legislature will reconvene on Tuesday, January 20, 2026. To view a list of bills the association is tracking, please click here.