SB418 Alabama 2010 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Steve French

Republican

Co-Sponsor

Arthur Orr

Session

Regular Session 2010

Title

Highways and other roads, Alabama Trust Fund, $100 million transferred annually in 2010 to 2019, inclusive, distrib. of portion after appropriation to Transportation Department, distrib. of portion to counties and municipalities for transportation purposes, const. amend.

Summary

SB418 would amend the Alabama Constitution to create a 10-year road and bridge program funded from the Alabama Trust Fund and to transfer funds to local government capital improvement funds.

What This Bill Does

If passed, it would authorize annual appropriations from the Alabama Trust Fund from 2011 to 2020, limited to either $100 million or the previous year's net oil and gas payments, whichever is smaller. At least 25% of the funds would go to maintenance and repairs, while 75% would go to the Department of Transportation for state roads, highways, bridges, and other transportation needs, with specific allocations to a shortline railroad fund, counties by population, and a rule requiring Alabama-based firms and residents. The remaining 25% would go to counties and municipalities for new construction and maintenance, distributed among counties and municipalities by a set mix of equal shares and population-based shares, with a requirement that funds go only to Alabama-based firms employing Alabama residents. The bill also imposes a disbursement cap to protect the Alabama Trust Fund balance, requires DBE compliance, assigns a local hiring rule for funded contracts, includes additional transfers to local improvement funds to offset lost interest earnings, and requires an election and ballot language for voter approval.

Who It Affects

• State and local governments (especially the Department of Transportation, counties, and municipalities) by directing how funds from the Alabama Trust Fund are distributed for state and local transportation projects and maintenance.
• Construction contractors and job seekers in Alabama by imposing a requirement that funded projects hire a majority of new workers from Alabama unemployment rolls and ensure those workers meet the specified eligibility criteria, and by restricting fund disbursement to Alabama-based firms employing Alabama residents.

Key Provisions

• Ten-year road and bridge construction program funded from the Alabama Trust Fund for fiscal years 2011–2020, with annual appropriation limited to the lesser of $100,000,000 or net oil and gas capital payments from the previous year.
• At least 25% of the appropriation must be used for maintenance and repairs; 75% goes to the Department of Transportation for state highways, roads, bridges, and other transportation purposes, including $1,000,000 to the Alabama Shortline Railroad Infrastructure Rehabilitation Fund with a 20% matching requirement.
• Funds allocated to counties must follow population-based distribution with a 10% variance allowed; portion to be used only for Alabama-based firms employing Alabama residents.
• Remaining 25% to counties and municipalities for new construction and maintenance, allocated 45% equally among counties, 55% by county population, and 10% of county totals to be distributed to municipalities within the county by municipal population; non-Alabama-based firms are prohibited from receiving funds.
• Section 2 requires compliance with the US DOT Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program for funds expended under the act.
• Section 3 imposes a cap so no appropriation can be allotted if the Alabama Trust Fund balance falls below $2 billion; funding suspends until the balance recovers.
• Section 4 requires contractors funded by these funds to hire 50% of new employees from state unemployment rolls, with new hires being on the rolls for at least 26 weeks and added to payroll within 60 days of project funding.
• Section 5 adds automatic transfers from the Alabama Trust Fund to the Municipal and County Capital Improvement Funds each year (1% of appropriated amounts from FY2011 through FY2020) to offset reduced local interest earnings.
• Section 6–7 create and describe the election to approve the constitutional amendment and related ballot language.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 25, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Constitutional Amendments