Gov. Kay Ivey has signed into law Alabama’s largest ever education and General Fund budgets, along with two supplemental spending bills for budget surpluses.

The Legislature worked past midnight last Thursday to pass both spending plans and send them to Ivey’s desk. The governor signed them Thursday. The budgets are for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.

The education budget will allocate $8.8 billion from the Education Trust Fund. That amount is $537 million, or 6.5%, more than this year. The education supplemental bill will allocate another $2.8 billion. The supplemental is the result of a surplus that was available because tax revenues exceeded expenditures last year.

“I am proud to officially put my signature on yet another historic investment in our students, teachers and schools,” Ivey said in a press release. “Alabama is serious about changing the trajectory of student outcomes, and our steady progress in the classroom and this record-setting education budget prove that to be the Gospel Truth. We are expanding our award-winning pre-K program into some of our highest poverty areas. We are supporting the implementation of the critical Literacy and Numeracy Acts. We are, once again, increasing teacher pay, giving us even more of a competitive edge to recruit and retain the educators of today and tomorrow. We are investing in our two-year and four-year colleges. And thanks to the work of the Alabama Legislature, we continue making these wise investments while paying down debts, adding to our savings and returning the working people of Alabama’s money back to them through tax rebates. I have said it before, and I will say it again: Our students’ education is the single-most important issue facing our state, and Alabamians can rest assured that it will continue to be my top priority.”

The General Fund budget will allocate $3 billion for non-education state programs, such as Medicaid, prisons, courts, law enforcement, mental health, and others. The budget is 6% higher than the current year. The supplemental allocates another $208 million from the General Fund for state and local programs and projects.

“As I said in my State of State address, we can be proud of that fact that during my time as governor, we have not once used the word proration, nor have we spent beyond our means,” Ivey said. “I am equally proud to announce today that with my signature on the 2024 General Fund that positive trend will continue. Alabama’s record-setting $3 billion General Fund is generational money which makes possible greater investments in vital public services while also significantly paying down debt to reduce the impact of future economic downturns. This landmark budget is historic for Alabama. It will positively affect many agency operations from State Troopers protecting our highways to mental health professionals. It expands support for their important missions while rewarding their hard work with a much-needed pay raise. This budget’s robust commitment to our citizens is equally matched by our legislators’ strong bipartisanship to swiftly deliver it to my desk. I am pleased to sign it into law.”