Lawmakers approve general fund budget with funding flat

Published 9:45 am Friday, May 12, 2017

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers have approved a general fund budget that holds back money in anticipation of tougher fiscal times ahead.

The House of Representatives on Thursday voted 93-6 to accept mostly minor Senate changes to the bill. It now goes to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey for her signature.

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The $1.8 billion spending plan keeps funding level at most state agencies for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.

House Ways and Means General Fund Committee Chairman Steve Clouse said the budget keeps about $93 million unspent.

Clouse says the hefty reserve is needed because the state will soon exhaust $105 million in BP oil spill settlement funds that propped up the state’s Medicaid budget. There is also uncertainty about what changes the Trump administration might make to Medicaid.