The Alabama Senate has passed a state budget for next year that would boost funding for prisons and cover the cost of a pay raise for state employees.
The Senate today agreed with changes the House made to the 2019 General Fund budget, sending it to Gov. Kay Ivey.
If it becomes law, the plan would allocate $2 billion from the General Fund for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. That's $167 million more than this year's budget.
Lawmakers are still working on the education budget. It's headed to a conference committee to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions.
In the General Fund budget, the Department of Corrections would get $472 million, $56 million more than this year. The Legislature passed a separate bill that gives prisons a $30 million supplement to this year's budget.
The DOC requested the increases to expand mental health services and hire more correctional officers, among other needs. The DOC is working to improve mental health care and expand its security staff in response to a federal court ruling that mental health care was "horrendously inadequate."
The budget covers the cost of a 3 percent cost of living raise for state employees, their first in 10 years.
The budget provides a $9 million increase for the Department of Mental Health, bringing its General Fund appropriation to $118 million. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency would get a $3.2 million increase, up to $52 million, to hire 30 additional state troopers.
Medicaid would receive the largest share of the General Fund, $755 million. That's up from $701 million this year. But Medicaid also received $105 million in one-time funds from a BP oil spill settlement this year, so next year's total would be less.
This story was edited at 11:13 a.m. to correct the amount the budget would be increased over this year.