Ways and Means subcommittee amends General Fund budget; shifts dollars to ports, airports and Capitol Police while trimming some health lines

The Ways and Means General Fund Subcommittee reviewed and amended the governor—s proposed budget, increasing allocations for port and airport development and for Capitol Police while reducing several one-time appropriations and trimming Medicaid and mental-health line items, the committee chairman said.

The changes were presented as a substitute to the governor—s recommendation and were adopted by the subcommittee. Committee members discussed individual line-item changes, one-time appropriations that have been removed from the governor—s supplemental request, and the longer-term need to prioritize recurring funding.

The chairman summarized the major adjustments that the substitute would make. The top-line changes included a reduction of $1,500,000 for conservation tied to the Rickwood Caverns project; an increase for the Port of Mobile described in the packet as a $2,000,000 up‑shift resulting in roughly $3,000,000 overall; and a roughly $7,500,000 increase in airport development grants, bringing that program to about $15,000,000 in total, the chairman said. The logging-efficiency grant program was increased by $1,000,000.

Human resources funding was reduced by…