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Montgomery Chamber hosts virtual Alabama update with Gov. Ivey
Montgomery Chamber hosts virtual Alabama update with Gov. Ivey By WSFA Staff | February 11, 2021 at 8:23 PM CST - Updated February 11 at 8:23 PM
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Gov. Kay Ivey joined the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce virtually for the chamberâs annual Alabama update event Thursday.
Ivey addressed several issues, including the Revive Alabama grant program that kept many of the stateâs small businesses afloat.
âThis is a very powerful piece of legislation that is going to really set the foundation for tremendous growth long term in Alabama. When youâre competing for jobs and and being able to attract industry and axing industry to relocate to a certain area, you got to have some tools in your tool belt to make it attractive. And this is just a tremendous tool that we have here in Alabama, to help us with long term growth,â Ivey said.
“I know I speak for every elected leader throughout the state when I say we all owe the people of Alabama a debt of gratitude for their willingness to work with us as we have navigated one of the most challenging years in our state’s history,” Ivey said. “Make no mistake, this time last year things were different, much different.”
The governor made few major proposals outside the pay raise, which she said was a way of expressing thanks for the dedication of educators and state employees during the pandemic. The teacher pay raise would cost $88 million; the state employee pay raise would cost about $13 million. Legislators have not ruled raises out. But with modest growth expected in the budgets, the proposals will have to compete with other ones, including investments in early math and reading programs.
Gov. Kay Ivey proposes teacher, state employee pay raises; defends prison plan
The Montgomery Advertiser 2/3/2021 Brian Lyman, Montgomery Advertiser
Gov. Kay Ivey Tuesday called for a 2% pay raise for teachers and state employees in a State of the State address that set goals for 2021 under the long shadow of 2020.
The COVID pandemic was evident in the text of the 25-minute speech, in which the governor reviewed her administration’s response; in a more modest agenda than one outlined last year, and in the setting. Traditionally delivered in the Old House Chamber of the Alabama State Capitol, Ivey gave her speech Tuesday via a live-streamed video, out of public health concerns.