2024 Legislative Session Begins; Governor Ivey Delivers State of State Address

The House and Senate gaveled in on Tuesday, February 6, to officially begin the 2024 legislative session. A total of 242 bills have been introduced in both chambers, with 157 in the House and 85 in the Senate.

Governor Kay Ivey opened the session by delivering the State of the State Address where she outlined her administration’s legislative priorities. Gov. Ivey’s top agenda item this session focuses on one of her greatest passions – improving Alabama’s education system. She urged lawmakers to pass the CHOOSE Act to provide up to $7,000 for families to spend on educational expenses. Additional priorities of hers include workforce development, infrastructural improvement and ballot harvesting or vote tampering.

February 6 also marked the Business Council of Alabama's (BCA) first issues briefing of the 2024 legislative session. Governor Kay Ivey attended and spoke on the impactful work that has been done to grow our economy and the importance of protecting jobs and businesses in Alabama. Governor Ivey discussed the success of the economic incentives package ‘The Game Plan’ which was enacted last year; the preservation of the historic fiscal position in both state budgets; and tackling the state’s low labor force participation rate.

The Business Council of Alabama (BCA) will maintain an active list of bills they are following throughout the session on their website. BCA issues briefings will be held every Tuesday at 9 a.m. during the 2024 legislative session and broadcasted live on BCA’s Facebook account. On February 13, Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth will discuss the recent findings and recommendations of his 21st Century Workforce Commission among his top legislative issues for the session.