MONTGOMERY – The Alabama Legislative Council has announced that securing the funding for a new, updated statehouse building is a top priority for our state’s leaders.
As a solution to this state-wide problem and promise for a stronger Alabama, the state has entered into a unique agreement with the Retirement System of Alabama to build and finance the new Alabama State House. This agreement protects taxpayers and allows Alabama to stand strong against Washington and other states seeking to influence the direction of our country.
“At a time when Washington has lost its way, Alabamians are counting on their state leaders to protect our core values and our way of life,” stated Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed. “A new State House isn’t just a building; it’s the foundation of a stronger Alabama, for the people of Alabama. If state legislatures are the laboratories for democracy, then Alabamians deserve a State House that will allow as many citizens into the lab as possible. The Alabama State House should be a place where citizens from every corner of our great state can actively engage in the democratic process, not a building that restricts their participation and limits access to their government.”
The current State House, over six decades old, is a patchwork of rooms and floors left over and haphazardly repurposed from the generations-old Department of Transportation building. It lacks proper meeting space and fails to offer necessary public access to the building. The state also faces more than $80 million in deferred maintenance costs if it chooses to keep the building up and running.
“Thousands of Alabama school children are counting on us to provide access to the people’s statehouse so that they can learn first-hand about the legislative process and the role of government in an updated and accommodating building,” Reed added. “Future generations of Alabamians deserve to be proud of the work their state is doing.”
