State Sen. Albritton: Ivey prison plan financing, Medicaid expansion among possible FY2022 general fund budget challenges

Earlier this month, the Alabama House of Representatives passed a record $2.4 billion general fund budget.

Following the passage, House Ways and Means General Fund Committee chairman State Rep. Steve Clouse (R-Ozark) said he expected things to “go smoothly.” However, his Senate counterpart State Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Atmore), the Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee chairman, is not as confident.

During an appearance on Mobile radio’s FM Talk 106.5, Albritton said challenges lie ahead, and he named Gov. Kay Ivey’s lease-build prison plan proposal and the possible expansion on Medicaid as two of those challenges.

“[W]e’ve got some difficulties facing us here,” he said. “For instance, we’ve got the prison building matter that has got to come up, and there’s nothing in the budget set aside or planning on that. That is kind of where I’m going to be looking for — trying to find that path.”

Albritton acknowledged Ivey had the legal authority to enter into the agreement, but it would still require funds appropriated by the Alabama Legislature to meet any shortfall.

“She has the legal authority to enter into these contracts, yes,” Albritton explained. “But no money can be spent without being appropriated by the legislature — none. And every year, it has to be appropriated, every single year. So there’s a role for us here. The difficulty is, you would think if she is going to do this herself that she would have the money herself. But she doesn’t. That’s still got to go through this same process. So that’s an additional $3 billion that we’ve got to find — about $95 to $100 million every year that we’re going to have to find that is not in the budget now. So we’ve got to figure that out.”

“That’s where we are,” he continued. “We’ve been discussing this for a number of years. And there’s no doubt, Jeff, that we’ve got to have construction. We’ve got to rebuild the facilities that are simply deteriorated. The question is, how much is it going to cost, and how is it done? The Governor has made the decision that she is moving forward with this. There is the financial closing date on June 1 that is supposed to take place. After that, it is all over but the crying and the paying. And that is what I’m trying to find and gauge for.”

Albritton also mentioned buzz about the possibility of expanding Medicaid eligibility, something Democrats have supported, and Republicans have resisted in Alabama.

“There is a big push, and let me rephrase that with capital letters — a BIG push to expand Medicaid,” he said. “And the report is something like 300,000 people. I’m not sure that is accurate. But that is going to cost just in state dollars close to $300 million or more extra money we have to pay, and we don’t have that either. So, we’re talking about spending $400 [million] additional state dollars, and there’s nothing, nothing of any indication of that we’re going to have that in another two years to do, or one year, or three years, or whenever. I don’t see that growth occurring.”

The Escambia County lawmaker said with the trend of the federal government expanding its role in the economy, that trend seemed to include Medicaid expansion, which would require a buy-in by the state.

“Yes, it is — very different,” Albritton replied. “Because of the federal money coming in again through the CARES [Act] money, billions of dollars are being flowed through the state and agencies themselves. I can’t say this completely. I’m not in the know on this, but it appears this is the direction — expand Medicaid, do this and do it now. And we’ll give you all this extra money. They always talk about how much we’re going to get, but they never tell you how much we’ve got to pay to get it.”

Albritton dismissed the possibility of a new revenue source to meet those matching obligations.

“Do you think we’re going to have after the gasoline tax that we’ve done, do you think we’re going to pass another tax in the next few years? I don’t see that happening,” he stated. “All I can tell you is we have the circumstances. We’ve got to figure out how we’re going to deal with it.”

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.