House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter and Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger are already looking toward the 2027 Legislature as Alabama prepares for a new governor, new statewide officials and a new State House.
Speaking separately with Alabama Public Television’s Capitol Journal at the Business Council of Alabama’s Governmental Affairs Conference in Point Clear, the two legislative leaders offered an early look at how they expect the next quadrennium to begin.
Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) said lawmakers are likely to continue focusing on crime, career and technical education and improving student performance.
“We got to continue to work on crime. I think that’s a priority that we’ll continue work on,” Ledbetter said, pointing to the possibility of expanding the state’s Metro Area Crime Suppression, or MACS, initiative.
He also said lawmakers are beginning to see results from education policies enacted over the past several years, including literacy, numeracy and school leadership initiatives.
“We’re a year or two away from seeing a real impact on that,” Ledbetter said. “We’ve already seen it.”
Workforce development will remain closely connected to that effort. Ledbetter said expanding career-tech opportunities is particularly important when only about 36% of Alabama students go on to college.
Ledbetter offered a recent example involving Eli Lilly, which is developing a major manufacturing presence in Alabama. He said a company representative told him at the conference, “We want to talk to you about what we need in career tech so we can bring those kids to our plant to put them to work.”
He also said Commerce Secretary Ellen McNair recently told lawmakers that more than 200 businesses are currently looking at Alabama, making the state’s ability to develop workers increasingly important.
Ledbetter said he expects to work with the next governor on additional priorities. Republican nominee U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville will face Democratic nominee former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones in November.
Gudger (R-Cullman), meanwhile, focused on the unusually large transition awaiting Montgomery.
Alabama will enter 2027 with a new governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and several other statewide officials and cabinet members. Gudger argued that the House and Senate will therefore provide a significant degree of institutional stability.
Even with some retirements and election losses, Gudger said turnover in the House and Senate will be unusually low, describing it as “probably the lowest number we’ve ever had” in both chambers. That, he argued, will leave legislative leadership as a source of continuity while much of the executive branch changes hands.
“Really the only two staples that are going to be really stable is the Legislature, which is the speaker and myself and our bodies,” Gudger said.
He said he and Ledbetter are working closely together as the transition approaches.
“We’re really going to be a driving force of what we want to pass and what we don’t want to pass because we hear there’s a lot of different agendas out there,” Gudger said. “But the key is it still has to go through the Legislature.”
Gudger also said maintaining communication across party and geographic lines will be important in the new quadrennium, arguing that Alabama should avoid the partisan dysfunction that has increasingly defined Washington.
The next Legislature will also begin work in Alabama’s new State House, which Gudger described as another fresh start for lawmakers and the public.
The Alabama Legislature will convene for an organizational session Jan. 12 before the 2027 regular session begins Feb. 2.
Sawyer Knowles is a state and political reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].
