Economic Development Incentives
Alabama is a great place to live and work, but we are in an aggressive competition with other states to grow and attract the industry that provides high paying jobs and game-changing investments. To keep our competitive edge requires that the legislature renew our economic development incentive laws and make a few critical enhancements.
■ Renew and update the Alabama Jobs Act that has been in place since 2015, to include renewable energy projects. The impact of this Act to date has been massive, bringing over $17B in new capital investments and 34,000 new job commitments.
■ Increase the incentives cap by $25M for five years to help attract new investments and create more jobs. These investments are transparent to taxpayers and ensure that Alabama receives an adequate return on their investments when working to attract industry.
■ Increase funding for site development by $35M. Alabama currently lacks adequate industrial sites for prospective industries desiring shovel-ready developments. Funds should be allocated equally among the Congressional Districts with local matching requirements.
■ Stimulate the development of Megasites and facilities site preparation with State Industrial Authority grant funding and increase industrial development grants from $2M to $5M.
■ Strengthen Alabama’s innovation economy by making $25M per year available for the Innovating Alabama Tax Credit and allow the transfer of tax credits for tech accelerators and underrepresented businesses to Innovate Alabama.
■ Reauthorize the Alabama Data Processing Center Economic Incentive Act of 2012. This Act provides for data center specific tax abatement on certain taxes if the total capital investment exceeds $400M.
K–12 Education
Thriving public schools are essential to a thriving business community and economy. The Chamber urges the Legislature to prioritize policy and budget allocations that ensure the academic needs, physical safety, and health and well-being of every child to prepare them for long-term success.
Pre-K
We recommend that Pre-K be fully funded in all school systems. Ongoing research shows that graduates of Alabama’s First Class Pre-K program have higher math and reading proficiency levels than their peers, regardless of zip code, demographics, or school. Additional state investments are needed to continue to expand First Class Pre-K. Ninety percent of a child’s brain is developed in the first five years of life. Pre-K learning is essential to preparing students for success in kindergarten and beyond.
K-12
We strongly support efforts to attract and retain talent in our schools to ensure high quality education for our students and long-term success for our region. Recognizing the criticality of highly qualified individuals in the teaching profession, we support funding to ensure ongoing teacher salary increases. School systems need competitive salaries to attract new teachers and fight current levels of teacher attrition due to added responsibilities in the classroom, retirement, and the lure of higher-paying STEM jobs in the corporate sector. Raising teacher salaries to be more commensurate with other respected professions will also help with teacher and school morale and help counter a pervasive loss of respect for the teaching profession.
To address specific shortages with teacher recruitment efforts, we support creative solutions such as signing bonuses for hard-to-fill positions and the use of adjunct teachers, who can bolster the regular profession with their subject-matter expertise, especially in
STEM subjects. To help with teacher recruitment and retention, we support allowing retirees to come back into the teaching profession without compromising their retirement income. We also support efforts that will allow other state retirees to work in our K-12 schools in critical support roles, such as bus drivers, without compromising their retirement earnings.
We support teacher recruitment initiatives, including scholarships, student loan forgiveness, and bonuses for students pursuing education degrees, to rebuild the pipeline of educator talent that is significantly lacking. We understand that the number of teachers leaving the classroom exceeds the number of teachers entering the profession. Students in colleges of education are at dangerously low numbers. Therefore, we also support efforts to ensure individuals relocating here with out-of-state certifications can quickly and easily have reciprocity in Alabama.
As our region experiences significant growth, our schools remain critical to attract, retain, and develop the talent we need today and into the future. Therefore, we support increased capital investment in our schools that enables us to meet the needs of our community and invests in infrastructure that will have long-term benefits. These current investments have the opportunity to provide modern facilities with increased efficiencies that will allow future investment to be focused on students rather than ongoing maintenance and facility expenses. The Chamber also supports the following:
■ Incentives for teachers to seek National Board Certification, including receiving scholarships for certification and recognizing the certification in the salary matrix. We recognize that an effective teacher is the most significant factor in a student’s classroom experience.
■ Fully funding the salary and benefits of elementary instructional coaches, both reading and math, recognizing the foundational impact of reading and math for longterm student success.
■ Increased funding, such as TEAMS, for in-demand subjects and specialties, to include special education, engineering, high-need career technical education, and STEM teachers, to ensure recruitment and retention in these critical areas.
■ Increased funding for fine arts programs to ensure our community prepares students for future careers in growing local industries, including music and the arts, aligned to our region’s economic development focus areas.
■ Researching and implementing creative solutions to secure and retain substitute teachers. Currently, there is a shortage and difficulty in finding substitutes for teachers when they need to be out of the school. We are seeing additional reduction in teacher numbers due to substitutes being hired as teachers for much-needed, open teacher positions.
■ Lowering the divisors in classrooms for grades 4 through 6 to match the grade 7 and 8 divisor so that grades 4-8 all have a divisor under 20. This lower divisor is necessary to support increased staffing needs to meet literacy and numeracy instructional demands.
■ Adding additional leave days to current teacher contracts to allow much-needed time for professional development for teachers, who like all professionals, need a vehicle for growth, learning new industry methods, and networking opportunities among peers.
■ Revisiting the allocation and division of funds from the online sales tax or simplified sellers use tax (SSUT). The growth of the SSUT has exceeded expectations and has resulted in a drop in local sales tax, negatively affecting local school revenue.
■ Funding a line item for school safety expenditures. The safety of our students, teachers, and staff is of utmost importance.
■ Fully funded interventions with additional resources to continue remediation from the impacts of COVID. This is a critical focus area as current funding provided by the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) ends in 2024, and the programs supported by these funds have seen positive impact on student achievement. Examples include before- and after-school tutoring, reading specialists, and summer school for all students not reading on grade level, including transportation to attend.
2023 STATE AGENDA 3 Renew & Enhance our
■ Increased at-risk funding to better reflect the intensive instructional needs of at-risk students – students who are high poverty, high academic need, or both.
■ Efforts to ensure that all students graduate college and/or are career ready, and support funding the necessary efforts to provide the courses, certifications, and programs for all students to achieve these indicators.
■ Having fully funded nurses in every school, as current levels are not sufficient.
■ Increased funding levels for transportation.
■ Additional mental health services for students, including a fully funded mental health counselor and assistant principal to provide the necessary student support for long-term success. Current funding is insufficient, and mental health in our schools will be a long-term issue that we cannot ignore or leave untreated.
■ Increased funding to hire professionally trained staff to support technology in the schools. Current funding levels do not allow school systems to be competitive in hiring and to support existing technology systems.
■ Increased funding for school-based gifted and robotics programs. We recognize that science, technology, engineering, and math are critical to our future workforce and our economy.
■ A more efficient and faster response time to plan approval of construction and needed building renovations, and funding for school construction projects to offset the rising costs of construction.
■ Local control for school calendars, including start and end dates and breaks that meet the required number of school days.
■ State funds being distributed in advance of the school year.
Workforce Development
Career Awareness / Workforce Development Enhancement
A skilled, available workforce is critical to the ongoing success of the north Alabama region. The Chamber will seek additional support for proven strategies to attract students into high-growth, high-demand careers; upskill and engage displaced workers; and increase the labor participation rate across the region.
Workforce Recruitment
Recruiting talent from across the country continues to be a high priority for the Chamber to meet the current and future workforce needs of regional employers. The Chamber’s ASmartPlace campaign was expanded in 2022 with local funds and will continue to be a focus area of investment to meet regional demands. The Chamber will seek State support to complement the local and regional recruitment activities.
Child Care
Affordable, quality child care is an issue across the state, with demand exceeding supply by nearly 50 percent in north Alabama. The Alabama Workforce Council has identified child care as a top barrier to achieving our state’s goal of adding 500,000 highly skilled employees to its workforce by 2025. Quality child care helps prepare students for Pre-K and Kindergarten, and helps parents go to work knowing their children are safe. In 2022, state lawmakers approved a historic investment in Alabama’s Quality Stars program for child care. We encourage additional investments to support child care quality; expand access and affordability for families; and strengthen the early childhood workforce. We support efforts to promote and enhance a star-based quality system while providing subsidies and support for child care centers to make the necessary improvements to meet the higher standards. We also support tax credits for parents, child care programs and staff, and tax credits for businesses that provide child care benefits to their employees.
Health Insurance Coverage Expansion
Expanding health insurance coverage in Alabama provides an opportunity to meet the basic healthcare needs of more than 300,000 individuals, most of who are currently working but cannot afford insurance. The Federal government covers 90 percent of the cost of expansion, with the State’s share limited to 10 percent. This represents a $28B boost for Alabama’s economy and is estimated to create 20,000 jobs statewide. The economic stimulus from the new Federal spending more than covers the State’s 10 percent share of the cost.
Medicaid provides health insurance for low-income children, pregnant women, the elderly, and the disabled. Alabama has one of the most restrictive eligibility thresholds in the country, with zero non-disabled, childless adults enrolled in Alabama Medicaid. Adults in a family of three earning more than $312 per month currently cannot qualify. The health insurance provided by Alabama Medicaid covers a bare minimum of services. The cost per enrollee is the third lowest in the country and administrative costs are less than 3 percent.
The newly covered population can receive care in a lower cost environment (a doctor’s office as opposed to an emergency department), and the burden of shifting uncompensated care to the commercially insured population declines. Many patients with mental health and substance abuse issues would be able to receive care before landing in an emergency department. States that have already expanded have generated a significant body of research demonstrating the positive impact on health outcomes (lower infant mortality, better cancer diagnosis).
Rural hospitals in Alabama are experiencing a funding crisis. Unable to absorb the burden of uncompensated care in their communities and recovering from the unprecedented impact of the COVID pandemic, 13 hospitals have closed since 2010. These closures eliminate jobs and force patients to travel to urban areas for care. Hospital emergency departments function as the nation’s healthcare safety net – the provider of last resort for patients who cannot pay for their healthcare – and these closures consolidate uncompensated care. In order to remain viable, hospitals pass along the burden of this uncompensated care to commercially insured patients, raising healthcare costs for employers and individuals who purchase their own coverage.
Alabama Medicaid is funded with approximately 30 percent state dollars and 70 percent federal matching dollars. Of that 30 percent, only 10 percent comes from the General Fund, with the remaining 20 percent coming from healthcare provider assessments and other funding sources. Alabama’s Medicaid budget has grown at a slower rate than the national rate of medical inflation.
Invest in Higher Education: Workforce is Critical
The workforce needs in Huntsville and Madison County are huge, and addressing these needs is crucial to our national security and leadership. Although our workforce needs cover a broad spectrum of jobs, the success of north Alabama’s knowledge-based economy is highly dependent on advanced workforce development. Research universities are crucial to the region’s continued success and to its growth. To better meet the advanced workforce needs of the Redstone Arsenal, Cummings Research Park, and their surrounding region, we respectfully request increased state appropriations for The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) and Alabama A&M University (AAMU).
UAH IT Infrastructure Enhancement
UAH requests the State’s continued support to build and develop the IT infrastructure on campus. Improved big data and IT infrastructure would provide advanced research capabilities and enhance UAH collaboration with the U.S. Army, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, and Cummings Research Park. In particular, UAH will enhance its efforts in the area of cybersecurity which will be of increasing importance in all sectors including defense, transportation, commerce, etc. The development of UAH’s IT and cybersecurity capabilities are a top priority.
UAH Advanced Workforce Programs to Support Redstone Arsenal & Companies within Cummings Research Park
Strategic investments and direct support of programs that are important to units on Redstone Arsenal (U.S. Army, NASA, FBI, Space Command, etc.) will help us support these organizations,
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but are also crucial to producing graduates who will stay in north Alabama and work on the arsenal. Areas such as hypersonics, directed energy, cybersecurity, terrorist detection, space exploration, and others are critically important to organizations in this region. Our ability to achieve a critical mass of researchers and educators in key areas of importance to the future mission needs of Redstone Arsenal will allow for continued prosperity in our region. In addition to offering innovative research to federal agencies to overcome technological challenges, such an investment would provide additional benefits to the future Redstone workforce as a result of UAH students gaining experience as well as clearances with federal agencies at Redstone Arsenal. This is crucial for Huntsville’s advance workforce pipeline and retention for Redstone’s aging workforce, particularly engineers.
AAMU IT Services and Broadband Infrastructure
Alabama A&M University requests support for our Office of Information Technology (OIT). Delivering secure technology services, applications, and hi-speed broadband internet, for students, faculty, and staff, is a top priority for the university. AAMU asks for continued support from the State to update and improve broadband and cybersecurity capabilities across the main AAMU campus, the Winfred Thomas Research Station, and the Alabama A&M Agribition Center. Updating the network infrastructure (residential and academic buildings), enhancing WiFi (indoor and outdoor), increasing HyFlex learning spaces, and protecting data and the network are all top priorities of AAMU’s IT department. AAMU is committed to strengthening its information security program, through access controls, authentication and encryption as mandated by the recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Safeguards Rule. Enhanced online learning resources and updated broadband internet are critical elements of a successful college experience and are key to building strong research partnerships with entities such as The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Cummings Research Park companies, and National Research Labs across the country. AAMU is primed to expand its global reach through partnerships with international universities and research MOUs.
AAMU General Science Building & Teaching Facility
AAMU seeks support from the State for a new General Science and Teaching Facility which will provide state-of-the-art laboratories and classrooms for faculty and students allowing for advanced science education. This cutting-edge and innovative facility will serve as the hub for all general science majors including biology, physics, and chemistry. The facility’s technological advancements will allow for collaborative learning with our local, regional, and national partners. As an active-learning environment, the facility will be an addition to AAMU’s growing science program by creating more research opportunities, attracting new majors, and producing well-equipped students for the competitive science workforce.
AAMU Deferred Maintenance & Road Infrastructure
Deferred maintenance is a particularly problematic issue for HBCUs. In 2025, AAMU will be 150 years old as an institution with several historic buildings continuing to be used on a full-time basis. Deferred maintenance is, in essence, the postponement of necessary maintenance and repairs of institutional infrastructure in the institution’s normal budget cycle due to a lack of requisite funding. Whether academic buildings, residence halls or laboratories for research and development (R&D) work, the AAMU Deferred Maintenance Project will replace aging materials to meet current and future infrastructure capacity demand. These improvements will add to our student experience and confirm the needed resources for a conducive learning environment.
Alabama Community College System
The Alabama Community College System (ACCS) supports our community and business and industry partners through the development of education and workforce development programs that closely align with regional workforce development needs. The ACCS is a key cog in Gov. Ivey’s “Strong Start, Strong Finish” education and workforce development initiative to produce 500,000 newly credentialed individuals into Alabama’s workforce by 2025. The ACCS has requested increased funding from the Education Trust Fund for Fiscal Year
2024 for various programs and services, and the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber supports legislative consideration of increased appropriations for the following purposes:
■ Expansion of dual enrollment programs at local community colleges. Thousands of local high school students in Huntsville, Madison County, and surrounding areas have the opportunity to take college coursework from Calhoun Community College and Drake State Community and Technical College while in high school, achieving credits towards associate degrees as well as business and industry certifications. Additional funding will allow an even greater number of interested students the ability to obtain dual enrollment scholarships.
■ Expansion of rapid training programs in a variety of industry sectors offered through the ACCS Innovation Center. The ACCS Innovation Center creates curriculum and training programs for business and industry to rapidly train workers for a variety of in-demand occupations. Programs developed by the Center can be completed in just a couple of weeks and participants can start a program whenever it is convenient. Courses are taken online with a hands-on lab completed in person at colleges or other various locations across the state. In addition, a physical location for the Innovation Center is currently being constructed in neighboring downtown Decatur, which will allow local business and industry to utilize customized training programs to meet their needs, as well as help attract new businesses to locate in north Alabama.
■ Expansion of career coaches to provide greater support to community college students, including connecting students with business and industry representatives and hiring managers, setting up industry tours, and assisting with career exploration events.
■ Expansion of apprenticeships and other work-based learning opportunities. All 24 community and technical colleges now offer at least one registered apprenticeship providing opportunities for students to earn-as-you-learn. However, we need even more partnerships between community colleges and business and industry to provide hands-on opportunities to students to meet the workforce challenges in north Alabama and across the state.
■ Funding to allow community colleges to align advanced manufacturing training curriculum to the future needs for electric vehicle manufacturing, which is very important to MazdaToyota Manufacturing (MTM) and other automotive suppliers in our region.
■ Funding to support expansion of community college training programs for the ever-growing aerospace and aviation sector.
The ACCS has also requested additional funds for one-time capital improvement projects at Alabama’s community colleges, and we support these efforts to secure additional dollars to build new and upgrade existing training facilities and equipment at our local community colleges. These investments will allow Drake State and Calhoun to provide quality instruction and workforce training through the construction of new state-of-the-art workforce training facilities, as well as several other workforce training facilities planned at other community colleges in north Alabama. Additional funds provided by the Legislature will help ACCS cover the increased construction costs necessary to complete these facilities.
Infrastructure
The continued growth of Huntsville and Madison County necessitates significant investments in our infrastructure. While the area’s issues with traffic remain far below the levels experienced by other growing cities in the southeastern region, major upgrades to federal routes in the area will be necessary to keep the flow of traffic manageable for local commuters, including the many thousands of workers who drive to Redstone Arsenal each day. Local leaders are entering into an agreement with the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) to expedite the construction of seven major projects, all of which involve or connect to federal highways and interstates. We continue to work closely with the members of our congressional delegation to help procure funds for these projects which will improve the lives of citizens across north Alabama.
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Roads
All infrastructure road projects on this list are considered high-priority roads and are projects that involve a route with a federal designation. They are not listed in ranking order. All listed projects are listed on the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP).
■ Extending I-565 eastward towards Gurley and Scottsboro US Highway 72 East (Corridor V) – This project will provide an extension of I-565 to include service roads and new interchanges at Moores Mill Road and Shields Road which will add approximately 2.3 miles along I-565 through a congested area which continues to grow. In 2015 one additional lane westbound from Shields Road and one additional turn lane at Moores Mill Road were added as a temporary fix for the congestion, however very little benefit was had since the area continues to outgrow the previous temporary improvements.
An earlier version of this project was originally funded with federal Appalachian Regional Commission funds. During that period an environmental document was completed. Currently, the design is nearly finished. Acquisition was previously started in 2013, but was forced to stop due to a change in funding priorities by the federal government. To date, new residential and commercial developments as well as new job centers continue to be established within the eastern side of our region. The extension of I-565 through this urban corridor would significantly improve traffic flow along US Highway 72 from adjacent regions.
■ Overhauling the interchange between I-565 and Memorial Parkway in the heart of Huntsville – I-565 / US Highway 231 Interchange Modifications – This is the only interchange in our region in which an Interstate and US Highway intersects directly within our urban core. The current interchange serves approximately 190,000 vehicles per day through the center of the region. A corridor study has been completed showing all turning movements are at functional failure due to continued growth and the interchange not capable to safely and efficiently handing current traffic volumes. We are seeking funding to move this project forward to design and construction.
■ Widening Highway 53 to six lanes out of NW Huntsville towards Harvest –Highway 53 Widening (Jeff Road to Old RR Bed) – As growth in northwest Madison County has continued, this critical artery is becoming increasingly dangerous. What was once a sleepy agriculture community is now filled with vibrant subdivisions and retail. This project would widen Highway 53 to six lanes from Jeff Road to Old Railroad Bed Road.
■ Widening Highway 72 West towards and through Madison – US Highway 72 West Widening – This 5.5 miles of widening through multiple jurisdictions will provide six lanes to improve overall traffic flow, critical capacity and safety improvements along this urban principal east-west arterial with average daily traffic volumes ranging near 50,000 vehicles per day. This project is currently in design and due the project size and duration, we understand there is consideration for two project phases in order to move it forward more quickly. Phase 1 is anticipated to be between Providence Main and Jeff Road. Highway 72 has become a major throughput and safety concern for the greater Huntsville community.
■ Widening the last four lane section of I-565 between I-65 and downtown Huntsville – Interstate 565 Widening (CLR to Wall-Triana) – This has been a top priority for the community as new jobs and investment continue to come to the region. We are grateful for the recent completion of six lanes on I-565 between I-65 and County Line Road. We understand that the next segment between County Line Road and Wall Triana Highway is currently under design. We are seeking a continued commitment to move this project towards construction to complete all six lanes along I-565 through our growing community.
■ Construction of a Redstone Arsenal focused interchange on I-565 near Resolute Way – Resolute Way Interchange at I-565 – With this project drivers on Madison Boulevard would be connected to Redstone Arsenal at Gate 9. This new interchange would improve safety and efficiency directly west of the existing I-565 and Research Park Boulevard (SR 255) interchange that leads directly into Gate 9. This is a heavily traveled roadway with 75,000 vehicles per day connecting Redstone Arsenal to the Northern Bypass. A new interchange is needed to reduce congestion and improve safety at this location. An environmental assessment is currently being performed by Redstone Arsenal and we are seeking funds to move this project forward into design and construction to benefit the region.
■ Creation of a connecting road between I-565 and Redstone Arsenal Gate 10 –Redstone Arsenal East Connector – This roadway will provide direct access from I-565 to Redstone Arsenal Gate 10 at Patton Road which consists of 2.5 miles of new four-lane divided limited access highway. This project is needed to divert Interstate traffic directly to the eastern side of Redstone Arsenal to its City Center for direct access to new jobs and buildings that are associated with existing and proposed employment centers and infrastructure on base. Additional funding is needed to improve gate access inside Redstone Arsenal. The corridor study is currently underway, and we are seeking funding to move the project towards design and construction.
Support for the Huntsville International Airport –
Fully Fund the “Alabama Airport Economic & Infrastructure Program” at $25M
Airports are one of the most fundamental components of business and community infrastructure because they facilitate continuous economic growth for contiguous economic regions. Airports also provide monumental economic benefits and economic impacts for their respective regions within the State. Recent economic impact assessments show a total impact of $4.9B statewide annual economic activity. In addition, the one study details that Alabama Airports contribute a combined $267.6M annually to state and local tax revenues. Of that amount, approximately $55M is going directly into the General Fund for the State of Alabama. Investments in airports have a tremendous return on investment. One recent study indicated that a $1 investment in airport core business, from any funding source, can generate $5 in additional income for the community.
Over the past 10 years, all Alabama airports combined have received between $45M and $70M annually from the federal government, but over half of that has been discretionary funding. With discretionary funding less likely moving forward, ALDOT Aeronautics Bureau states that there is $59.3M in airport pavement funding needed annually just to maintain the current pavement at Alabama airports.
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Requested Actions:
Fully Fund the “Alabama Airport Economic and Infrastructure Program,” at $25M which would allow Alabama airports the funding needed to meet infrastructure demands. The proposed legislation would provide Alabama airports $25M each fiscal year; $15M of this would be allocated for commercial service airports based on each airport’s pro rata share of entitlement funds received by the airport under the federal Airport Improvement Program for the preceding fiscal year, and $10M would be disbursed to general aviation airports as determined by ALDOT.
Broadband
Coming out of the global pandemic, broadband has been elevated as a national imperative. As a result, more than $100B of Federal, State, and Local funding is currently available to build out our nation’s critical broadband infrastructure. On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) into law, which provides $60B in funding for broadband infrastructure. From this funding, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will be allocating over $1B to the State of Alabama for the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) to distribute in the form of broadband grants, with a priority for fiber broadband projects to connect the State’s unserved communities. This funding is incremental to the broadband funding that is currently available from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the $10B in Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Re-Connect broadband funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service, the Rural Deployment and Opportunity Fund (RDOF) broadband funding from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and over a hundred other Federal broadband funding programs. In short, this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Alabama to completely build its critical fiber-optic broadband infrastructure and connect every citizen, school, business, and anchor institution, providing high-speed broadband and the infrastructure for smart grid modernization, 5G wireless services, public safety, Quantum Networking, and fuel Alabama’s innovation for the future.
Connecting every Alabama citizen with broadband will provide the opportunity for jobs, economic development, access to education and healthcare, and will benefit generations to come. Our State must seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity now, as the window for this historical level of broadband funding will not last long.
The Huntsville/Madison County Chamber supports broadband policies that promote: (1) increased access to affordable broadband for all Alabamians; (2) the efficient deployment of advanced technologies, including small cells and 5G; (3) continued investment and innovation to enhance deployment across north Alabama; and (4) competition and choice for Alabama’s businesses and residents.
Redstone Arsenal
The Army is in the process of completing the 100 percent design of a new Primary Substation on Redstone and is expected to award the construction of the Substation in FY24 (approx. 18 to 24 months to construct). As part of this project, the Army will be installing a 161 line from the Substation to Redstone’s Southeast perimeter. Redstone will need a third feed brought to that location from off Redstone. This will enhance Redstone’s electrical power resiliency/reliability. This is important to existing tenants but also to our future growth, including anticipated USSPACECOM demand.
The Chamber also supports exempting events held for the benefit of the Department of Defense from any conflicting state laws regarding health requirements.
Cyber
Huntsville is planning on developing a Regional Cyber Lab with a mission to provide the greater Tennessee Valley region with coordinated cybersecurity awareness through collaborative access to tools, intelligence, and a trained and capable workforce. This lab is envisioned to be a nexus of a state-of-the-art physical space with a virtual cyber playground where cybersecurity experts, academics, local CEOs, and public officials work together to
enhance cybersecurity resilience through timely sharing of information and analysis, while also offering specialized training with safe environments to simulate and defend against cyberattacks. Included in this collaborative physical space would be the following three key areas:
■ Free Cyber Range that provides the broader community with a collaborative, cloudbased platform for training, development and testing of cybersecurity tools in a safe and controlled environment.
■ Cyber Gaming Range is the cybersecurity equivalent of a flight simulator: cyber practitioners of all levels can develop real-world skills in a game-like virtual environment.
■ Cyber Incident Simulator is a cloud-based simulator specifically designed for small and medium-sized (SMB) organizations to help them proactively manage their cyber risk. This is of special importance to the many SMBs in the Defense Industrial Base community in Huntsville and Montgomery.
Biosciences
Alabama’s bioscience industry is making scientific discoveries, generating quality jobs, and producing a significant economic impact for the state. Much of this success can be traced to the Human Genome Project, which achieved the bold goal of sequencing an entire human genome. In the two decades since this groundbreaking achievement, advancements have transformed humanity’s ability to treat and diagnose pediatric diseases, cancer, and infectious disease; accelerate drug development; and improve agricultural practices to feed and fuel a growing population. Alabamians played a key role in the Human Genome Project and today are working on the most challenging problems in human health and agriculture.
The Chamber is grateful to the State for prioritizing the biosciences in the areas of research, education, medicine, and economic development. Continued support of the biosciences is a sound investment for Alabama as the economic impact from this industry generates over $7B annually. Huntsville/Madison County contributes to the state’s growth of the biosciences both in human health and in agriculture. Various academic and business entities as well as HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology employ hundreds of people in high quality jobs.
The Chamber supports further investment into basic and applied research at the state’s exceptional colleges, universities, and research institutions. The Chamber encourages additional investment in bioscience workforce, recruitment, and entrepreneurship programs, through policies and incentives. The Chamber supports the renewal of economic development incentives that include the biosciences. The Chamber applauds and encourages further inventive approaches to entrepreneur- and recruitment-based economic development like the Growing Alabama Tax Credit Program, which prioritizes innovative industries and technology-focused jobs. Additionally, the Chamber supports legislation such as the Alabama Innovation Act, which created the Alabama Research and Development Enhancement Fund (ARDEF), encouraging collaborative approaches to research and development leading to increased opportunities for employment and products. The Chamber also supports Innovate Alabama, which is tasked with fostering an innovation economy throughout the state.
With the state’s continued interest and support, the bioscience industry can continue to grow and flourish in Alabama. The results will be additional new jobs and capital investment driving discoveries and applications, improving healthcare and agriculture in Alabama and beyond.
Support Appointed Superintendent & Boards of Education
Only 78 out of 15,000 Education Superintendents are elected to their position. All 14,900+ other school systems select their Superintendents by appointment by their School Boards. Nearly half – 37 of these 78 elected superintendents – are in Alabama. Only 22 local Boards of Education are elected in Alabama. Examples of elected superintendents and elected school board members working at cross-purposes are not hard to find. Electing both School Boards and
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Superintendents presents a dysfunctional governance model to the detriment of the school system. The board must set the policy and have the authority to effectively manage the superintendent to carry out those policy decisions. The Chamber supports legislation that will require all K-12 superintendents to be appointed by the locally elected or appointed school board. Additionally, the Chamber supports local decision making about appointing or electing their boards of education. This allows for a broader selection process that is not restricted to a local constituency, and positions the appointed superintendent to work for, and be responsible to, the board.
Stop Predatory Lending
The Chamber supports meaningful reform of Alabama laws regulating predatory lending practices that include, but are not limited to payday and title loans. Predatory lenders in Alabama are legally allowed to charge extremely high interest rates and fees on short-term, small dollar loans, creating a cycle of debt that hurts Alabama families and drives more citizens into a downward spiral of poverty. We advocate for fair and equitable access to credit for Alabamians and we strongly support legislation to curb predatory practices that cause economic hardship for working families and drain resources from communities.
Support the Alabama National Guard Armory Project in Huntsville
The Alabama National Guard is planning to open a readiness center in Madison County that will stockpile resources for disaster assistance and deployment needs. This center will train and employ a significant number of local personnel.
ALABAMA STATE GOVERNMENT
Governor Kay Ivey (R)
Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth (R)
ALABAMA SENATE (Madison County Legislative Delegation)
Tom Butler (R), District 2
Arthur Orr (R), District 3
Sam Givhan (R), District 7
Steve Livingston (R), District 8
Clay Scofield (R), District 9
ALABAMA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (Madison County Legislative Delegation)
Parker Moore (R), District 4
Andy Whitt (R), District 6
David Cole (R), District 10
Laura Hall (D), District 19
James Lomax (R), District 20
Rex Reynolds (R), District 21
Ritchie Whorton (R), District 22
Phillip Rigsby (R), District 25
Anthony Daniels (D), District 53
Madison County Legislative Office 726 Madison Street, Huntsville, AL 35801
phone: 256-539-5441 | fax: 256-539-5444
madcoleg@knology.net
For more about the Chamber, visit us at hsvchamber.org
