It's been just over two weeks since the Legislature recessed, but I believe Alabamians should be proud of the work their lawmakers have accomplished over the past three months.

There is always more work ahead of us, but when we evaluate the productivity and success of a session, we ask ourselves, “Did we improve the lives of Alabamians?”

When I look back at what we’ve accomplished and how it’s impacted Alabamians, the answer to that question is a resounding “yes.”

Recognizing that the rising cost of child care makes it financially impossible for many Alabama parents to work, we passed the Child Care Tax Credit bill. This bill provides a tax credit to employers, both large and small, for providing child care services to their employees, helping parents, especially single parents, return to or stay in the workplace and provide for their families.

Many of Alabama's high-paying jobs can be found in cities like Huntsville, Birmingham and Mobile, but what these cities have in common is a lack of affordable housing, which leaves many qualified workers unable to find work. Taking a similar approach to child care, we passed a housing tax credit, an excellent proposal from State Representative Cynthia Almond, that will go a long way to helping put people back to work.

Another bill that will positively impact Alabamians is the cap on property tax increases proposed by State Representative Philip Pettus. In some parts of Alabama, annual reassessments have resulted in property taxes increasing as much as 68% year over year, resulting in many families literally being taxed out of homeownership. I am proud that the Legislature has ended this trend by passing a bill capping property tax increases at 7% annually. Homeownership is and will continue to be a key component of the American Dream, and we are committed to protecting it in Alabama.

In Alabama, we've seen great results from investing in providing career-skill training in our K-12 schools, so we're taking it a step further by creating a diploma program for students who want job training instead of a four-year course. Rep. Kelvin Lawrence's Career Pathways Act gives students the opportunity to choose a career-skill path rather than college prep and get training for the job they want after graduation.

Thanks to ETF Chairman Danny Garrett's leadership, we've invested a record $9.3 billion in our public schools, community colleges and four-year universities. Alabama teachers are also receiving a well-deserved pay increase for the fifth year in a row. Starting pay for classroom teachers is now $47,600, the highest among our neighboring states.

Working with Governor Ivey, I was proud to co-sponsor the CHOOSE Act, which will ensure that every student has access to a quality education, regardless of their zip code. With its passage, Alabama has made a record investment in our public schools while solidifying its position as one of the most school choice states in the nation.

As Alabamians prepare to head to the polls in November to select our next president, we have taken additional steps to protect the integrity of our elections by prohibiting ballot harvesting and ranked choice voting.

The Legislature also continued the trend of supporting Alabama’s active duty military and veterans. Rep. Chip Brown passed a bill that paves the way for Alabama’s first comprehensive veterans mental health care plan. The Alabama Department of Mental Health and the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs will develop a plan to address issues such as substance abuse recovery, traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder in the veteran population.

Before we began the meeting, I told members I would be asking them to take some difficult votes, and I am proud of how they voted with the highest level of professionalism and treated one another with respect.

After all, we passed a number of strong bills this session that will go a long way to making Alabama a better place to live.

To me, that defines a successful session and I look forward to continuing this momentum through the summer as we prepare for another productive session in 2025.

Nathaniel Leadbetter is the Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives and represents the residents of the 24th District.