The Alabama House of Representatives passed the state’s General Fund budget today, a proposal that would boost annual spending to slightly more than $3 billion, a 6 percent increase over this year.

The budget passed by a vote of 105-0 after a short discussion led by the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Rex Reynolds, a Republican from Huntsville. The bill moves to the Senate.

The General Fund is for non-education state programs. The largest ones include Medicaid, prisons, mental health, the court system, the Department of Human Resources, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, and Pardons and Paroles.

The budget, which is for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1, includes a 2 percent raise for state employees, a cost-of-living adjustment that would be in addition to merit raises that individual employees can receive. The budget on the House floor is a revised version of the recommendation Gov. Kay Ivey presented in March.

The Senate is expected to work on the education budget this week. Ivey’s recommended education budget calls for spending a record $8.8 billion from the Education Trust Fund in fiscal year 2024, a 6.5 percent increase over this year.

The budget the House will debate today would increase the General Fund appropriation for some of the largest state agencies:

• Alabama Medicaid Agency, $863 million from, a 9 percent increase.
• Alabama Department of Corrections, $662 million, a 10 percent increase.
• Alabama Department of Mental Health, $209 million, an 8 percent increase.
• Alabama Department of Human Resources, $122 million, a 13 percent increase.
• Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, $112 million, a 35 percent increase. (The budget ends a policy of diverting money from the state road and bridge fund to ALEA, and $29 million of the agency’s increase is to offset the loss of those funds.)
• Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, $88 million, a 6 percent increase.

Go here to see a budget spreadsheet from the Legislative Services Agency. In addition to the main bill for the 2024 budget, the House will consider a supplement to the 2023 budget that would allocate $202 million from the General Fund. Those expenditures include:

• $50 million to a General Fund reserve account.
• $40 million for debt service.
• $39 million to the Department of Mental Health. That includes $23 million for construction at the Taylor Hardin Secure Medical Facility; $8 million to reopen Pickens County Hospital, including renovations for child and psychiatric services; and $8 million for East Alabama Medical Center for child and psychiatric services.
• $5.7 million for the Military Department for Huntsville Armory construction.
• $5.5 million for the Alabama Department of Corrections for an offender management program
• $4.8 million for the Department of Forensic Sciences, including $4 million for equipment at the Huntsville lab and $800,000 for equipment at the new Dothan lab.
• $8.5 million to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, including $8 million for the Computerized Criminal History (CCH) System, and $430,000 for the ABC Board for vaping enforcement support.
• $8 million for the Department of Finance for upgrades to elevators at the State Capitol.
• $2 million to the Governor’s Mansion Authority for the roof and repairs at the Hill House
• $12 million to Alabama Forestry Commission, including $2 million to replace firefighting equipment and aging equipment, and $10 million for grants to volunteer fire departments and rescue squads.