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 $1,400,000, the chairman said, noting that the item represented a one-time appropriation that was removed. The subcommittee also moved $3,000,000 of previously proposed economic-development —seeds— funding into the conditional section at the back of the budget and reduced another $2,000,000 from the same line.

"That's the leadership's vision of expanding Aaliyah's ability to do more patrolling in the Downtown Montgomery area when the sessions [are] in session and then also increase some hours here within the Statehouse and moving into the new Statehouse as well," the chairman said when describing a $2,500,000 increase for the Capitol Police. The packet describes the increase as intended to expand Capitol Police patrols and Statehouse coverage.

Medicaid and mental-health appropriations were each trimmed by $5,000,000 compared with the governor's submission. The chairman cautioned members not to "read anything into that," saying, "They absolutely still need the money," and explaining the reductions reflect multi-year rollovers of federal COVID-related funds that agencies have been carrying for several years. The chairman said the subcommittee expects to restore funding levels in the 2027 budget cycle as the temporary federal funds are exhausted.

The National Guard top-line was increased by $1,000,000 to reflect a new contracting officer position and annual armory maintenance, the chairman said. The chairman also reported a miscellaneous $37,000,500 located in the back of the budget related to statehouse construction; that amount should be split between the general fund and the ETF, he said. The substitute bill, the chairman said, yields a net increase of approximately $6,252,600 compared with the governor's recommendation when measured against recurring-line adjustments and back-of-budget conditional items.

Representative Campbell and other members pressed staff on differences between the subcommittee spreadsheet and the governor's packet. The chairman said some differences reflect one-time reapportionment plus-ups (a $300,000 Senate pro tem office increase was cited) and removed one-time appropriations that appeared in the prior year's budget. The chairman described the panel—s approach as seeking to move away from routine one-time addbacks and toward prioritized, recurring funding.

Members also questioned the Medicaid figures. The chairman acknowledged conversations with the Medicaid commissioner and staff and cited projected inflation pressures (roughly 2–2.5 percent for 2026, as discussed in the meeting) and a recent reduction in caseload that one participant described as "a little less than 300,000" off the rolls. The chairman said the subcommittee and the agency met in multiple sessions to vet the Medicaid request and believed the adopted amount was appropriate to avoid harm to rural health-care providers and nursing homes.

A technical amendment offered by Ms. Hall to change language on page 52, line 1476, to list both the Rosa Parks and Helen Keller monuments was accepted without recorded opposition. Following adoption of the amendment and the substitute, the subcommittee voted to give HB 186 (the budget substitute) a favorable report.

The chairman closed by urging departments to plan now for a future with lower interest income on state deposits and fewer one-time appropriations, describing the subcommittee—s work as an effort to tighten recurring budgets where possible.

The subcommittee then proceeded to consider other supplemental and authorization bills (these were taken up separately).