State Sen. Greg Albritton addressed the Business Council of Alabama in Montgomery on Tuesday morning, sharing his perspective on the 2024 session, which is now in its home stretch, and his outlook on the 2025 general fund budget, which he oversees in the Alabama Senate.

Last week, the Alabama Senate authorized a general fund budget for FY2025 totaling $3.3 billion.

“I try to work and do work with the Governor’s office and the finance director prior to matters and we discuss what issues are coming up and what the future may hold because you can never budget for one year,” said Albritton (R-Atmore). “You try to look further out.”

“But then you start looking at the plans. Where are we going to move from here? Where have we failed and where do we need to improve and those types of things?”

Albritton said leaders are considerate of all general fund revenues and expenses, and that his counterpart over the general fund budget in the Alabama House, State Rep. Rex Reynolds (R-Huntsville), is a strong ally in that process.

“Some of the budget comes over. I go through every line item. I go through every single line,” he said. “I’ll look through these I call and talk to most department heads and other members of agencies to find out the whys and wheres and who’s and the other matters that go on along this line. It’s a bit of overkill. It’s a bit tedious and it is not fun. But in that process, I get a better feel for which agency is performing and who isn’t.”

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“So what do we do with inflation eating things away? Now it looks like the revenue is beginning to level out, but the needs continue to increase and population continues to increase. What do we do? We move money around. We shift. That’s the only thing you can do. You shift around just like you do in your house and you have to find ways and patterns to move things around.”

He also made clear that the process of review from top to bottom is not “fun” work. “And it’s not that easy,” he said.

“Sometimes it changes, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes I get overwritten by the House. Sometimes I don’t.

“There’s nothing fun or exciting about handling other peoples money. That’s serious.”

Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.