Earlier this month, State Finance Director Kelly Butler told Alabama Public Television he did not anticipate proration for either the state’s budgets for this fiscal year.
That trend appears to be a trend that will be able to continue for the time being, according to State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur), who chairs the Senate Education Budget Committee.
Tuesday during an interview with Huntsville radio’s WVNN, Orr explained how the Rolling Reserve Act, passed in 2011, which sets limits on budgeting by the legislature for being able to avoid the worst of possibilities. Had the Rolling Reserve Act not been in place, the outcome might have been different.
“Year-over-year, we’re looking at just slightly positives budgets,” he said. “We passed out of the Senate committee today the state general fund budget with a slight increase. We’re moving forward conservatively and certainly make sure that we have enough resources if the economy does not bounce back. We’ve got provisions to allow for that. Fortunately, back in 2011 when the Republicans took over, we passed the rolling reserve average bill that basically restricts how much spending we can do every year.”
“I can say with certainty that if we were still under the old system that was present under the Democrats, where basically we spent every dollar that we brought in, we would be in a situation of hurt, and maybe even proration in this fiscal year,” Orr continued. “Since that does not occur anymore under the new laws passed, we’re in pretty good shape for the foreseeable future.”
@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 Huntsville’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 2-5 p.m. on WVNN.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.