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February 22, 2007 Governor Riley Urges Support for Economic Growth Plan HUNTSVILLE – While visiting the site where Verizon Wireless is building its high-tech state headquarters and locating up to 1,300 new jobs, Governor Bob Riley said Alabama will see more new industries coming to the state if his economic growth plan is approved by legislators next week and by the people in June. The Legislature begins meeting Monday in special session to consider the Governor’s economic growth plan. Earlier this week, Governor Riley and more than a dozen economic developers from across the state met at the Mercedes-Benz plant’s worker training facility in Vance to encourage legislative support for the economic growth plan. “If we want Alabama to win more major economic projects like Mercedes, like Verizon – and we certainly do – then we must put our economic growth plan into place as quickly as possible,” Governor Riley said. “Alabama is competing for 10,000 new jobs right now and these companies will soon be making their decisions on whether to come here or go someplace else. Our pursuit of these jobs has to go into overdrive, but that can’t happen without the support of the Legislature next week and the support of the people in June.” The Governor was referring to the requirement that – if approved next week by the Legislature – the economic growth plan will have to be approved by voters. With a special session next week, that vote by the people can take place in June. However, without a special session, no vote by the people could take place until mid-September because of the constitution’s requirement that no constitutional amendment can be considered until 90 days after the end of the legislative session in which it was passed by legislators. The economic growth plan is a constitutional amendment to increase the bonding authority of the state’s economic development trust fund. When created seven years ago, that trust fund’s bonding authority was capped at $350 million. The Governor’s plan would increase that cap to $750 million. Also to be considered in the special session is a proposal to create two trust funds to pay for the health care costs of retired educators and state employees. Such action will help the state maintain a good bond rating, which will keep interest payments down on money the state borrows. For more information about the proposals in next week’s special session, please visit the “Special Session” section of the Governor’s website, www.governor.alabama.gov/. | |
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