Economic development is a key motivator for the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) in its recently announced 2024 Legislative Agenda.
BBA President Steve Ammons said: “It is critical to the continued success of the Birmingham region that we move forward with a united voice towards the opportunities before us.” “Our team is proud to represent Birmingham’s business community in this upcoming legislative session and will continue to advance efforts to foster economic growth in our backyard and across the state.”
BBA’s main priorities focus on what policies it chooses to support for the 2024 Alabama Legislature, which convenes in February.
In a news release, BBA listed the following priorities for its 2024 agenda:
• Emergency Services Office:
BBA supports legislation that would allow a county or group of counties to establish an Office of Emergency Services (OES) to provide emergency services, including E911 operations, emergency management agencies, and related services and operations.
• Site Evaluation and Economic Development (SEED) Strategy Act:
BBA supports legislation that creates a funding mechanism and source for the SEED Act. The SEED Act allows the State Industrial Development Authority to accelerate the development of industrial-ready sites to address the lack of available land in the state.
• Investment in innovation districts:
BBA supports legislation that would give cities and counties the power to establish innovation districts, allowing them to provide tax and other incentives to companies that focus on research and innovation that leads to job creation in these areas. .
• Birmingham Southern College
BBA is keenly aware of the place Birmingham Southern College (BSC) occupies in developing and educating future leaders. BBA wholeheartedly supports BSC's efforts to strengthen and seek funding from the state Legislature, including the clarification of funding laws passed in 2023 and the agency's other fundraising efforts. We understand the importance of her BSC, but if this institution were forced to close, it would be a loss not only to the city of Birmingham, but to the entire state.
BBA spokeswoman Kara Kordanian named Alabama Sen. Jabo Wagoner (R-Birmingham) as an outstanding champion of BBA's priorities, especially in the metro. Wagoner did not respond to requests for comment on the topic.
emergency services office
“While the disparate nature of emergency services extends beyond our locations, the challenges are particularly evident in Jefferson County, where the presence of numerous municipalities contributes to the fragmentation of the emergency system. “Kordanian said. “Currently, each municipality has its own varying levels of resources. Our proposed bill would establish a centralized OES and address the safety concerns associated with using these different 911 systems. The purpose is to deal with it.”
“Streamlining these services not only ensures a more efficient response, but also strengthens our safety systems, which are critical to recruiting new business and retaining existing business. By establishing this law, we aim to improve the quality of life of residents by providing timely support when and where it is needed without confusion, transcending municipal boundaries. Although the process may take some time, it is a necessary step toward a safer and more streamlined emergency response for the benefit of all residents.”
SEED strategy method
The law was passed last year as one of four pieces of legislation in Gov. Kay Ivey's Game Plan, which provides for the state Industrial Development Authority to help develop industrial-ready sites, according to the governor's website. It will be possible to issue subsidies.
“The SEEDS Act land development funding bill is critical because there is a shortage of high-quality developable industrial land across the region and state,” Kordanian previously told Lede. “Alabama lags behind in securing line item funding for site development each year.
“Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina have been doing this for years, and that's the main reason they won.” [auto manufacturing] Mega projects like Rivian, VinFast and Ford/Blue Oval in recent years. ”
Applications for $40 million in site evaluation and site development grants began in October, according to the Alabama Economic Development Partnership (EDPA) website. The state industrial development authority (SIDA) is scheduled to hold a meeting to approve the SEEDS grant in February or March of this year, the site said.
Investment in innovation districts
According to the Global Institute of Innovation Districts, an innovation district is defined as “a geographic area where cutting-edge anchor institutions and companies gather and connect with start-ups, business incubators, and accelerators.” It is also physically compact, transport accessible, technically wired and offers mixed residential, office and retail uses. ”
Birmingham's unique innovation district, nicknamed “The Switch” in 2020, recently became home to Texas-based technology company Tquila Automation, and the region's It is said to have created employment for approximately 200 people.
David Fleming, CEO of economic development nonprofit REV Birmingham, emphasized the importance of continued investment in The Switch in an earlier Q&A with Lede.
“It’s an area with so many opportunities,” he said. “And telling our city's innovation story is so important and one of our goals is to focus on that… to draw millions of people to our city. It is one of the things that can help create jobs and business opportunities, which in turn helps create opportunities and opportunities. ”
Birmingham Southern College
Reflecting the 2023 legislative agenda, BBA continues to support BSC’s request for $30 million from the state Legislature.
AL.com first reported in December 2022 that Birmingham Southern was in financial trouble and in danger of closing. The university had initially sought funding from the Birmingham City Council and the Jefferson County Commission, as well as state grants, and believed funding the university would be a bridge to raising endowments. Congress approved a loan program for struggling institutions of higher education in response to Birmingham Southern's request.
After State Treasurer Young Boozer denied the loan, Birmingham Southern filed a lawsuit challenging Boozer's claim that it did not meet minimum requirements, stating that Boozer exceeded his authority by denying the loan application and that Congress He argued that the intent was compromised.
Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge James Anderson granted the state's request to dismiss the case, finding that Congress had given Mr. Boozer discretion to deny the loan.
Last month, after receiving a $5 million loan from the Birmingham City Council, BSC asked Boozer to submit its collateral assets to the state to correct one of the deficiencies that Boozer cited in his decision to deny the university's request. I told them that I could offer them one claim. According to a report by Mike Cason of AL.com.
Kordanian previously called the university an “economic engine” and said many of today's leaders in the metro and state would not exist without it.
“Where we are now as a region, we don't have anything to lose, right?” she said. “We need to add more assets, not remove them. So this is something that's important for us to support.”
