During her State of the State speech last week, Gov. Kay Ivey put forward what she’s calling “The Game Plan,” which, she said, is Alabama’s “playbook for economic success.”
The plan includes renewing and expanding the Alabama Jobs Act and the Growing Alabama Act. It also adds incentives to “spur innovation by stimulating the creation of high-tech jobs, sparking growth in rural areas and supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses,” she said.
Other bills Ivey wants passed as a part of the plan include the Advancing Alabama Economic Progress Act, the Seeds Act, Innovation and Small Business Act, and the Enhancing Transparency Act.
Wednesday on WVNN’s “The Yaffee Program,” State Rep. Matt Woods (R-Jasper) said he fully supports Ivey’s plan to grow the economy of the Yellowhammer State.
“Gov. Ivey has come out with a plan that she is calling ‘The Game Plan,’ and I think that’s going to be a fantastic thing for the state of Alabama,” Woods said. “We all already know that Alabama is one of the best states to live and work. But we’re in an aggressive competition against other neighboring states for high-paying jobs and game-changing investments that will help our families and communities; and I believe that our game plan that Gov. Ivey is putting forward will do that.”
The lawmaker said the Alabama Jobs Act has already secured many benefits for the state and he wants to see that continue.
“The impact to date has been massive with those incentives bringing in over $22 billion in new capital investment, and creating 40,000 new jobs commitments for the state.” he said. “It will serve our state’s rural areas, which is very important to me.”
While touting the success of the state’s economic incentive packages, Woods admitted more work needs to be done.
“Alabama’s current lack of large industrial sites is a real challenge,” he said. “And to keep Alabama competitive among our neighboring states, we need to reinvest in industrial site development and attract those new potential high-paying jobs to this area.”
Woods also discussed his support for legislation he believes will help grow small businesses across Alabama.
“The Innovation and Small Business Act enables us to expand entrepreneurship, drive economic growth, and transform our state into a hub of technology and innovation,” he said. “That piece of legislation will strengthen the state’s innovation economy.”
The legislator said the bills have a good chance of passing this session.
“I believe so,” he said. “Initial conversations have been positive that I’ve had. The state of Alabama represents folks from all different walks of life with different needs in their communities, and all of us can agree that we want better jobs, high paying jobs, better diversity of those jobs across the state, and I’m no different on that.
“So far, the conversations have been positive.”
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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