Governor Kay Ivey spoke at the Business Council of Alabama (BCA) this morning, outlining fundamental priorities ahead of the annual State of the State address tonight when the Alabama Legislature begins its 2024 session.

Ivey highlighted successes in 2023, including maintaining historic budget positions in both the general and education budgets and policies passed with Alabama's goals of future economic growth in mind. .

Ivey particularly thanked former Senate Majority Leader Clay Schofield for his contributions and credited the past year's accomplishments to a collaborative effort. She praised the passage of a game plan to strengthen Alabama's jobs strategy as a key accomplishment of the past year.

Governor Ivey's full remarks and video of the event:

“I always enjoy gatherings like this when a new legislative session begins. I see it as a pep rally to set the tone for a productive four months ahead. I would like.

Friends, we cannot look forward without looking back.

By all accounts, 2023 was a success. I completed two special sessions and a regular session. We enacted historic and prudent spending levels for the General and Education Trust Funds, laying a solid foundation for investment in Alabama's future economic growth.

I give full credit to former Senate Majority Leader Clay Schofield, but I have to admit that this was a team effort. By the way, I would like to welcome Clay to BCA again. Looking back, many, especially the BCA, can salute the many monumental votes during 2023, especially the passage of the “Game Plan.” The bipartisan development and final approval was remarkable. Thanks to your efforts, Alabama's tried-and-tested recruiting strategy remains on solid footing. That is what governance is all about.

In 2024, we will write a new chapter in Alabama's history. Looking at the calendar, legislative work has started almost a month earlier than last year. That's a good thing because the people's jobs don't wait. I am excited about the opportunity to make further progress in the future.

I have made it no secret that in my second term as governor, I am focused on two complementary goals: Redoubling Alabama’s proven economic development efforts;Promoting academic advancement opportunities for all Alabama students

I am optimistic because we are already witnessing the successful implementation of programs that increase local employment and improve classroom performance. In the six months following last year's regular session, we visited all 15 of our turnaround schools, breaking new ground in broadband connectivity across once-remote communities in Alabama.

I could spend all of my remarks detailing the new ground we are breaking in the infrastructure sector alone. Time will not allow it, but let me say that the momentum of this progress is accelerating.

Last Friday, I was working on a life-saving telehealth digital access project at Fort Payne. Yesterday, I was in Wilcox County announcing the completion of Middle Mile broadband access in historically underserved Blackbelt areas. These announcements limit similar visits in recent months to rural Walker, Cullman, Escambia and Pike counties.

Since 2018, we have invested approximately $82 million in grants to support more than 100 broadband expansion projects. Once completed, it will connect more than 72,000 homes in Alabama that did not already have broadband access.

In addition, the state has already invested a total of $352 million in broadband expansion through the Alabama Middle Mile and Anchor Institute Middle Mile programs.

But we're just getting started. Alabama is a large state and there is still a lot of distance to cover. Last week, I announced $40 million in the first round of funding in 2024 for 26 new road and bridge projects across the state. This is in addition to more than $170 million donated to local road and bridge funds since the Rebuild Alabama program began in 2019.

To date, Rebuild Alabama has funded nearly 250 new road and bridge projects and repaved more than 400 miles of roadway. In addition to paving the way for more jobs and economic expansion, these investments are turning Alabama into the fifth-best state to live in by car, according to Wallet Hub.

I can't say it enough, but thanks to Rebuilding Alabama, the state of Alabama is literally changing beneath our feet. And her BCA, a key supporter of the program, deserves tremendous credit for this achievement.

Not only is Alabama leading the way in upgrading and expanding roads, bridges and digital connectivity, but it's also making news about our waterways. Just last week, we announced that Rebuild Alabama's investment in the Port of Alabama in Mobile is paying off in a big way.

Last year, the port generated more than $98 billion in economic impact. The port, which Forbes magazine recently recognized as America's second-fastest growing, supports one in seven jobs statewide.

But our commitment to growing Alabama and protecting jobs is far from over. Recently, some people outside the state have taken notice of Alabama's successful and innovative approach to attracting new industry and good jobs and want to join us in the action.

Some of the drivers using our safe roads are large organized labor groups from the north. They set their sights on Alabama's growing auto industry.

As you all know, about 30 years ago, Alabama's economy shifted dramatically toward automobile manufacturing. And we have never looked back in the rearview mirror. Since 1995, our annual vehicle production capacity has accelerated from zero to 1.3 million vehicles. Alabama autoworkers assemble 15 types of cars, SUVs and trucks, including three state-of-the-art all-electric vehicles, generating more than $9 billion in exports annually.

Alabama is a national leader in automobile manufacturing, ranking third in automobile exports and fifth in total automobile production.

And all of this was accomplished without unionization. But big workers finally turned to Alabama's model of economic success: hard workers.

Don't get me wrong. The UAW is an out-of-state special interest group, and its special interests do not include Alabama or the men and women who pursue careers in the Alabama auto industry. Rather, Big Labor seeks to profit from the hard work of Alabamians and capitalize on our economic success. I can't stand this.

I would like to add my voice to BCA President Helena Duncan, who recently asked if we wanted to give our state a large workforce, just like the people of Alabama did to Detroit. Rather than allowing out-of-state special interests to take advantage of Alabama jobs, we will increase our state's competitiveness by putting more Alabamians to work while gaining higher-paying jobs. We will continue to focus on increasing our

Last summer, we hit the lowest unemployment rate in state history at 2.1%. As we celebrate that milestone, we also realize that too many Alabama businesses still have signs posted at their front desks asking for help. In fact, in July 2023, I wrote an op-ed pointing out the need to shift the focus to labor force participation. Alabama's workforce development system has evolved and improved over the years. In particular, major reforms were implemented in 2015.

But it's always possible to do things better, and it's time to hone our efforts. I am excited to bring a new approach to the Ivey Administration to better serve Alabama's employers and job seekers.

We can do more to ensure our systems are efficient and effective, and we intend to do so in the upcoming Congress. We hire the world's best employers. Now we must ensure all talented Alabamians can take full advantage of the high-paying careers we have to offer. I'm proud of the $48 billion invested in Alabama's economy during my time as governor, and all the jobs that come with it.

Finally, I look forward to continuing our important work to improve the quality of education for all children in Alabama.

Although we are beginning to reach a turning point, we must not slow down our efforts to improve the basic skills of our students. I share the view with many of you that all options are on the table, including expanding the ability of parents to choose alternative paths for their children's education.

While I don't want to talk about specifics yet, I'm excited about my team's joint efforts with legislators to develop new ideas to expand school choice. You can hear more about my ideas for tonight's new session in my State of the Union address.

It’s 2024, we have a new Congress, and it’s time to get back to work!”

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Grayson Everett is the state and politics editor for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @Grayson270