The Alabama House General Fund Budget Committee gave favorable reports Tuesday to a series of budget bills, including HB186, the state’s General Fund budget for fiscal year 2026.
HB186 is the main spending bill for non-education state services, covering a broad range of agencies from the Department of Corrections and Medicaid to mental health and environmental management. The bill includes major investments in public safety, infrastructure and health care.
The committee, led by Chairman Rex Reynolds (R-Huntsville), recommended modifications to the governor’s budget, including reducing Medicaid and mental health funding by $5 million each.
“Don’t read anything into that,” Reynolds told committee members. “They absolutely still need the money. We’ll spread that allocation out over 2026 and 2027.”
Reynolds explained the cuts stem from accumulated COVID-related funds, suggesting this could be the last year of such financial rollover.
The committee recommended further modifications, including increasing airport development grants by $7.5 million and boosting Capitol Police funding by $2.5 million. Reynolds noted that the increase in the committee’s budget recommendation from the governor was roughly $6.2 million.
The bill appropriates nearly $941 million to the Alabama Department of Corrections — the largest single agency appropriation in the budget. That includes a conditional $40 million set aside to hire more correctional officers, which would only be released if the department meets quarterly staffing and reporting benchmarks.
The Unified Judicial System is set to receive $226 million, supporting operations, technology upgrades and specialized courts for drug offenses, veterans and mental health cases. Lawmakers also approved nearly $600 million in funding for the Department of Economic and Community Affairs, with money allocated for broadband expansion, food banks, rural emergency response programs and infrastructure planning.
The budget includes funding for the Department of Mental’s crisis response system, detox facilities and opioid recovery programs. Additional appropriations support veterans’ services, domestic violence prevention and rural medical transport.
HB186, the main budget bill, was passed alongside several related appropriations bills. HB185, a supplemental appropriations measure, allocates more than $20 million to the Unified Judicial System and increases debt service funding for transportation infrastructure. HB460 directs $41 million from the Opioid Treatment and Abatement Fund to institutions and agencies involved in prevention, treatment and enforcement efforts.
Lawmakers also advanced HB182, which extends the Emergency Medical Transport Provider Assessment program. The committee approved several other measures, including funding for the Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence (HB184), children’s services and early education (HB183), and infrastructure financing through a reauthorization of the Alabama Building Renovation Finance Authority (HB181). It also passed extensions to both the hospital provider tax (HB312) and the nursing home bed tax (HB405), which help draw down additional Medicaid dollars.
As the meeting adjourned, Reynolds said the full House is expected to take up the General Fund budget bills on Thursday.
“Appreciate your work and for all that have contributed and got us to where we are today,” he said.
Today is the 17th legislative day.
Grace Heim is a state and political reporter for Yellowhammer News. You can follow her on X @graceeheim or email her at [email protected].
