Governor Bentley to Veto General Fund Budget

MONTGOMERY—Governor Robert Bentley on Thursday announced his decision to veto the General Fund Budget that passed the Alabama Legislature Wednesday.

“The General Fund Budget is unacceptable because it lacks adequate funding for essential government services,” Governor Robert Bentley said. “The proposed appropriation falls short of what the Medicaid Agency will require to provide services for the over one million Alabamians, most of them children, covered by Medicaid.  In addition, the Medicaid reform measures put into place in 2013 by the Alabama Legislature will be unsustainable under the budget passed this week. The state has already made great progress to remodel and streamline the Medicaid model to a regional managed-care system. That progress will be lost without adequate funding from the General Fund.”

“The Department of Corrections must also be adequately funded in order to address the prison crisis long-term. We have made strong reforms in the prison system; however, insufficient funding hinders the department’s efforts for further reform. We have witnessed the dangerous conditions inside our state-operated prisons, and the Alabama Legislature must prioritize prison system safety with adequate appropriations.”

“Within this General Fund budget, the Alabama Legislature is using millions in BP settlement funds to pay for recurring annual expenses. It is fiscally irresponsible and shortsighted to use one-time money for recurring annual expenses.

“Because of these concerns, I will veto the General Fund Budget and send it back to the Legislature on April 5^th when they return.  I am committed to working with the Legislature to address our General Fund budget challenges.”