State Sen. Greg Reed (R-Jasper) said the Alabama Legislature will be able to accomplish a lot when lawmakers reconvene in Montgomery on February 6, now just over one month out.
Reed discussed the upcoming session Friday on Capitol Journal.
“It’s going to be a very busy session with a lot going on right from the get-go,” Reed said.
The Alabama Senate Pro Tem said there will be more time to address certain areas this session that they were just unable to work on last year.
“I was pleased to have some discussions with the majority leader and others talking about our planning has been sooner this year,” he explained. “You know, if you think back to the first year of the quadrennium, last year, we had the elections, inauguration, and organizational session. A lot of things going on, then wow, we were ready for the first session of the new quadrennium. I think you’re going to see some legislation that’s been well thought out.”
Reed is hoping they’ll be able to tackle some of the more “controversial issues” that are important to many of the lawmakers.
“We’ve been able to plan some more, and I think that’s wise,” he argued. “I think there are going to be several elements here. There may be some elements that were very important to legislators that we did not deal with last year that may in some ways be deemed controversial. Some topics associated with elections, issues associated with school choice. Some of those issues we may hear about again.”
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The senate leader also thinks Alabama’s strong economy will create some new opportunities for lawmakers.
“We’ve got a great economy in Alabama,” he said. “That’s yielded great budget receipts. So, we’re going to have some additional surpluses and carry-forwards in the budget. We’re going to have to decide what to do with those. That’s going to be real important. It’s going to be a very busy session with a lot going on right from the get-go.”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
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