Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley talks about his upcoming trip to the Farnborough International Air Show during an interview Thursday, July 10, 2014, in his office at the state Capitol in Montgomery, Ala. (AP Photo/Phillip Rawls) MONTGOMERY, Ala. — State agencies will announce Wednesday what state parks, drivers’ license offices and National Guard armories will shut down or reduce services because of budget cuts.
Gov. Robert Bentley’s office said state agencies will announce plans for dealing with funding reductions in the fiscal year that begins Thursday.
“The agencies have to work with the amount of money that the Legislature gave them. It’s not me that is closing anything. It’s the Legislature that is doing in,” Bentley told reporters Tuesday.
After three legislative sessions and months of GOP infighting over tax increases, lawmakers earlier this month approved a general fund budget that contains about $82 million in cuts. Legislators approved a 25-cent-per-pack cigarette tax to minimize reductions, but rejected Bentley’s call for larger tax increases.
He said state agencies now have “tough decisions” to make.