According to a new report from the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, Alabama’s recent years of big tax revenue – and big spending on projects – is likely coming to an end.

The annual report on the patterns in revenue supporting the state government was published in November.

During the 2023 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, revenue that supported the state’s General Fund increased significantly, while revenue that supports the Education Trust Fund stayed essentially steady as compared to the previous year.

“We’ve seen several years of unusual growth in both budgets, but that appears to be moderating,” said Thomas Spencer, a senior research associate at PARCA, in an interview.

Increasing interest rates and the lingering stockpile of COVID relief aid helped the General Fund, but the bump won’t continue into future years.

The Education Trust Fund was affected by lower income tax collections, changes to the state grocery tax and changes to the state’s rolling reserve act.

PARCA cautions that in the upcoming years, revenue growth in both budgets is probably going to slow down; “phenomenal growth,” Spencer said, is at an end.

“While the state has enjoyed record amounts of funding in recent years, more challenging days are in the future,” said Ryan Hankins, the executive director of PARCA, in a news release. “Lawmakers will once again be faced with needs that outpace revenues.”

Read the full report here.