State Rep. Tim Wadsworth, R-Jasper, said he would be against any school choice bill in the coming legislative session if it takes funds from local schools.
Wadsworth spoke in advance of the 2024 Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature, which begins today. Gov. Kay Ivey will deliver the State of the State Address to the Legislature at 6 p.m. tonight, which will be carried by Alabama Public Television.
“I think there will be some controversial bills right of the bat, school choice with education, and there is going to be the gambling bill that comes up,” he said. “I haven’t made a decision because we haven’t even read the gambling bill.
“School choice bills, I think that hurts Walker and Winston County. Most people attend the public schools in those areas. I’m still going to look at the bill on it. It is on Gov. Ivey’s agenda, but it depends on where the money comes from. Does it come from the main pot or does it come from the local school? If it comes from the local school, I’m not going to be for it.”
On the gambling legislation, he said the issue will be what is being offered in exchange for the legislation to pass.
“There is rumbling that the Medicaid (expansion) may be on the table, because they’ve got to have Democrats to support (a gambling bill). The Democrats have not supported it for the last several times it has come up,” he said. “They voted against it because they are wanting to support some type of expansion of Medicaid, and I just don’t think we can afford to do that.”
With the 2nd Congressional District elections going on at the same time, involving several legislators, Wadsworth said all the Democrats running will view being on the House floor as a free advertisement, he said.
“Their sound bite, their free advertisement is speaking on the floor and hoping that the media picks up their sound bites and publicize it,” he said. “I think you’re going to have part of the Democrats on the House floor debating things that honestly don’t need to be debated, but they are going to use that as their sounding board for the media to pick up to help them advertise for that vote coming up.”
Wadsworth said the state is in good shape with both the General Fund Budget and the Education Trust Fund Budget. He said there is funding he is trying to get for different projects. Wadsworth noted he is working to increase funds for small rural airports in the state, from $6.8 million to $25 million. He said he is also working for signage at Duncan Bridge, as it was made a state highway from the county border with Winston and Walker counties for a quarter mile with the Arley side of the bridge.
“We’ve been branding that community, as we have the Arley-Smith Lake Community Center. We’re wanting to transform that small strip of the highway to the Arley-Smith Lake Parkway,” he said. “We’re doing that for the purpose of branding,” particularly for tourism. That will be in the form of a local bill.
Also, he said he is looking at legislation for communities such as Parrish and Winfield concerning their police jurisdictions, as they missed a reporting deadline. The proposed bill would allow them to get back funding for the police jurisdictions.
He said, as he has in the past, that he is focused on trying to prevent what he feels are bad bills from passing during a session. He said he is opposed to boards having the ability to raise fees. “I’m going to oppose any bills that deal with raising fees or giving them the authority to raise fees,” he said. “These should be legislative acts instead of them having the authority to raise fees.”
As for efforts by the Secretary of State’s Office to prevent ballot harvesting in terms of mass efforts to help people fill out absentee ballots, Wadsworth said he is for the bill.
“I do think a son should be able to help his father and things like that. My father was 95 when he passed away, and disabled folks have to have some help,” he said, saying the bill should allow that. For some folks without family, he thinks help should be given if power of attorney is given, but not otherwise.
He said the entire county delegation has done well in trying to bring funds back to schools, and that will continue.
