Gov. Robert Bentley and legislative leaders kept a promise Wednesday to enact legislation requiring the repayment of $437 million taken from a state trust fund to bolster state budgets.
Bentley signed a bill passed by the Legislature that mandates the repayment to the trust fund through annual appropriations concluding in 2026. The bill was the first passed by the Legislature in the current session.
Alabama voters approved a constitutional amendment on Sept. 18 that allowed state officials to remove the money from the Alabama Trust Fund to shore up the state General Fund budget for three years. Bentley says the money is allowing the state to avoid Draconian cuts.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.