Retiring Alabama State Senator Tom Butler expects to spend a lot of time mowing grass once his time in Montgomery is done.

But the Madison Republican’s time of focusing on just lawn care will have to wait.

“I still have a year-and-a-half in service to the state,” said Butler, whose final term in office will end after the 2026 elections. “And I intend to make the most of that. I’m not going to be a lame duck.”

Butler, who represents parts of Madison and Limestone counties, said his focus will be on the state’s general fund and education budgets.

“So, the next year-and-a-half I will be focused on what’s in the budgets, what I can cram into the budget in both the education and general fund,” he said.

He won’t be alone in focusing on the budgets. State Rep. Andy Whitt and State Senator Wes Kitchens both mentioned the budgets being the top priority next session.

Whitt said he is concerned about how the federal budgets will impact things on the state level, particularly with the passage of President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”

“I think that’s yet to be known,” Whitt said. “How it will affect the general fund, that’s something we will have to take a look at and make the appropriate corrections.”

Kitchens said lawmakers will have to make sure “we have healthy budgets that are sustainable and make sure that we don’t overextend ourselves.”

“From a budget perspective, we’re going to be looking at numbers,” the senator from Marshall County said. “We’re getting some of those in right now.”

Whitt said he doesn’t believe there will be many controversial issues with the session being during an election year. But he does believe a familiar topic will come up: gaming.

“As far as gaming, we’ve been very clear that it will have to come out of the Senate,” he said. “It did not last year. I don’t know what happened up there.”

State Rep. Parker Moore believes momentum is building to reduce taxes in certain areas.

He believes the overtime tax cut sponsored by Huntsville Rep. Anthony Daniels that this past legislative session let lapse will be revisited.

“We’re going to review that and see where that situation stands,” Moore said.

Moore said legislators will also likely continue to address mental health issues.

“We’re starting to see still a lot of adolescent mental health issues, especially in our school systems,” he said. “A few years ago, we allocated mental health funding for at least one mental health professional in each school district in our state. And I think we need to look at trying to prioritize some more of that funding to increase that to maybe two or three per school district.”

Moore said the additional mental health professionals would not only be beneficial for students, but educators as well.

“We’re hearing from more of our educators that some of these students are showing more and more behavioral issues,” he said. “They need help with trying to cope with how to address those as well.”

Whitt and Kitchens said lawmakers will also be focused on getting bills through the legislature that did not make it to the finish line this past session. That includes a bill sponsored by Kitchens that would reduce some limitations to veterans’ benefits.

And Butler said he would continue to support legislation that would meet the needs of Madison, Limestone and Morgan counties. He also encouraged his colleagues to help recruit potential legislative candidates among high school students in the Huntsville area who are interested in government classes, serving others and are active in church.

“We need new blood to come in and replace us as we retire,” Butler said.