Montgomery, AL – The Alabama Senate has spent a second day debating a proposal to spend $1 billion on road and bridge construction projects.
The legislation by Democratic Sen. Lowell Barron of Fyffe is the first major bill considered by the Senate this year. The debate began on Tuesday and continued Thursday for nearly two hours. The debate will resume Jan. 26.
Barron's plan would take $100 million per year from a state savings account called the Alabama Trust Fund. The withdrawals would last for a decade, and the money would be used for road and bridge projects statewide.
Republican opponents say the state can't afford to raid the trust fund. They say the trust fund is the state's primary savings account and it must be protected.
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