Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn and several other Republican legislators today unveiled the ‘Alabama Future Workforce Initiative,” a bill aimed at boosting the number of high school students participating in career-tech dual enrollment programs around the state.

The initiative creates a $10 million scholarship program for high school students participating in the programs. With the cost of tax credits reaching no more than $5 million annually, Republicans say the bill results in a “2 to 1 return on investment for the state.”

Here’s what you need to know about the initiative:

• Individuals and businesses that donate to the scholarship program will receive a state income tax credit of up to 50% of their total contribution.
• The tax credit cannot exceed 50% of the contributor’s total Alabama income tax liability and cannot be more than $500,000 per tax year.
• Up to 80% of any contribution can be directed by a donor to a specific career-technical dual enrollment program or course at any 2-year institution.
• The remaining 20% can be allocated at the discretion of the Department of Postsecondary Education, as long as the funds are directly related to career-technical dual enrollment program costs to students, which Republicans say ensures that all dual-enrollment students benefit from the Initiative.

Only 2,100 students participated in Alabama’s career-tech dual enrollment scholarship program last year. That amounted to 6.7% of the 31,500 eligible students. Republicans believe the additional $10 million in scholarship funds would allow 9,542 new students to participate in the program.

“It’s no secret that Alabama is on its way to being the most business friendly state in the nation,” House Speaker Mike Hubbard said in a statement. “Our hard work over the past three years has yielded tremendous results when it comes to recruiting new industries and helping existing industries to expand. If our job creation success is going to continue, we must ensure that our students graduate with the skills to fill the high-paying, 21st century jobs that we are working to recruit.”

Rep. Mac Buttram, R-Cullman, the bill’s sponsor, said he believes the initiative is important because it will help prepare students to go to work for Alabama businesses that are currently having a hard time finding qualified workers.

“It is a fact that there are high-paying, highly skilled jobs available in our state that businesses are unable to find qualified workers to fill,” said Buttram. “The Alabama Future Workforce Initiative is an investment in our workforce, an investment in our economic development efforts, and an investment in the young men and women of today who will comprise our future workforce of tomorrow.”

The Alabama Future Workforce Initiative will be up for debate in the House Education Budget Committee Wednesday morning.

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