Before he took off for Europe to cement new ties between Alabama and Airbus, Gov. Robert Bentley already had started stumping for a referendum facing Alabama voters this fall. Vote yes, he warns, or face even deeper cuts in state services.
Meanwhile, residents keep encountering new fallout from the pinchpenny budget.
Alabama Department of Environmental Management Director Lance LeFleur has warned state businesses that if it doesn’t have the funds to perform tests, it could lose its federal permissions to issue permits and handle inspections, leaving state industry in the hands of the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
One major bright spot on the budget front—state officials reviewing state finances from October to June predict that the state Education Trust Fund will bring in enough tax revenue to avoid proration of school budgets.
By Nedra Bloom
