House of Representatives chamber April 2014 Julie Bennett.JPG

The Alabama House of Representatives meeting at the State House in 2014.

(Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

The sparring over tax increases has mostly come to a stop.

But that's not because the budget is fixed.

Tough choices on paying for state services will again be the dominant issue when Alabama lawmakers begin the 2016 legislative session on Tuesday.

Last year, it took legislators almost seven months and two special sessions to pass a budget.

They raised the tax on cigarettes and moved money from education to close most of a hole in the General Fund.

Those changes stay in place and will help again, but not enough to match rising costs for Medicaid, prisons and other programs in 2017.

Besides the chronic General Fund woes, other topics figure to be front and center.

Lawmakers from both parties say this could be the year to send a lottery proposal to voters.

There is a consensus that teachers are overdue for a pay raise, but details are still to come.

And county officials and some business groups are calling for a gasoline tax increase to support road construction and maintenance.

Gov. Robert Bentley will announce his agenda during the State of the State address on Tuesday.

The governor said Alabamians will be excited when they hear his plans for the last three years of his administration.

Unlike last year, he won't seek tax increases for the General Fund, leaving it to the Legislature to figure out how to balance the budget.

Senate Democrats are backing a proposed property tax increase and a combined income tax reporting bill they say would close a loophole for out-of-state companies doing business in the Alabama.

But Republicans are in control, holding 71 of 104 seats in the House (one is vacant) and 26 of 35 in the Senate.

BUDGET

Budget chairmen and other leaders in the House and Senate don't expect to pass tax increases or move any more education money to help the General Fund.

Lawmakers cut General Fund spending by 4.5 percent in this year's budget, but spared some agencies from cuts - Medicaid, Corrections, Mental Health and Human Resources - as well as the state court system.

Sen. Trip Pittman, R-Montrose, who takes over as chairman of the Senate's General Fund committee this year, said that might not be doable in the 2017 budget, which takes effect Oct. 1.

"I'm only one legislator, but I think everything is on the table and we've got to look at all the options," Pittman said. "Nothing is protected as far as I'm concerned."

The biggest challenge is funding the Alabama Medicaid Agency, which serves about a million Alabamians. Federal funds cover about 70 percent of the costs, but Medicaid also receives more from the General Fund than any other agency -- $685 million for each of the last two years.

Medicaid says it needs a $157 million increase from the General Fund next year to keep services at the current level.

Assessing the chances Medicaid will get that much, Pittman said, "I was going to say slim and none, but I'd say none."

Democratic lawmakers are calling for the governor to expand Medicaid as allowed under the Affordable Care Act, as they have for several years.

The governor has opposed that, although a health care improvement task force that he appointed recommended expansion in November.

After Medicaid, the Department of Corrections receives the second largest share of General Fund dollars.

Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee who spearheaded prison reform legislation last year, said it will take about $24 million in next year's budget to pay for the reforms intended to gradually reduce overcrowding.

Much of that money will be to hire more parole officers and expand community corrections programs.

LOTTERY

It's been almost 17 years since Alabama voters rejected Gov. Don Siegelman's lottery for education by a margin of 54 percent to 46 percent.

Since then, Democratic lawmakers have sponsored lottery bills repeatedly, but have not mustered the support to get them on the ballot.

Now Republican lawmakers are calling for a lottery referendum.

A poll commissioned by Republican House and Senate caucuses about a month ago found that 62 percent of likely Republican voters favor a lottery.

Sen. Jim McClendon, R-Springville and Rep. Alan Harper, R-Northport, are sponsoring a lottery bill.

McClendon said people want a chance to vote on the issue.

"They cannot understand why Alabama doesn't offer what 44 other states in America offer, and that is the opportunity to have your own lottery," McClendon said when he announced the proposal.

The McClendon-Harper bill does not say how the proceeds would be used. The Legislature would decide later.

Rep. Craig Ford, D-Gadsden, the House minority leader, is again proposing a lottery to fund college scholarships, which he has sponsored for years.

Ford says voters won't support what he called the Republicans' "blank check" version of a lottery that is not earmarked for specific programs.

Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, chairman of the Senate's education budget committee, said he believes lottery proponents have better odds than in previous years.

"I would say the likelihood is higher because of the continued financial issues and the recent Powerball excitement," Orr said. "That doesn't mean it's a foregone conclusion."

Last year, Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh proposed a constitutional amendment to establish a statewide lottery and casinos at the state's four greyhound tracks.

The bill died and Marsh said he doesn't have the votes to bring it back this year.

But Senate Democrats plan to introduce a lottery and casino bill this year. Revenues would go to both the General Fund and Education Trust Fund.

Ford is also sponsoring a lottery and casino bill.

Ford said he wants to give people the option of a lottery, a lottery and expanded gambling, or neither.

Ward, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, said casino proponents might try to kill a stand-alone lottery bill.

"They don't want to see a lottery bill that's not tied to casino gambling," Ward said.

A constitutional amendment requires approval of three-fifths of the members of the House and Senate in order to go on the ballot for voters.

TEACHER PAY

Alabama teachers have received one cost of living raise in eight years, a 2 percent bump in 2013.

Legislators expect the Education Trust Fund, supported mostly by income and sales taxes, to grow enough to provide more money for some programs, including a raise for educators.

The House Republican Caucus supports a pay raise for employees in K-12 schools and two-year colleges. The caucus has not specified a percentage increase.

Lawmakers will receive official revenue estimates this week to help shape their budget proposals.

Orr, the education committee chairman in the Senate, said a teacher raise is "overdue" and that the idea has a lot of support.

Democrats agree on that point. They say educators have suffered since Republicans took control of the Legislature in 2010, partly because there's been only one raise since.

Rep. Darrio Melton, D-Selma, minority chairman in the House, said the fact that many teachers reach into their own pockets to buy classroom supplies just reinforces the need.

"We will be pushing for a teacher pay raise," Melton said.

House minority leader Ford is seeking a cost of living adjustment for education retirees, as well as active employees.

Marsh has floated a proposal to change teacher pay and tenure. Marsh said he wants to make pay for starting teachers the highest in the Southeast and to pay more for understaffed or hard-to-fill assignments.

A draft of his plan, called the RAISE Act, would set up a new performance pay and teacher evaluation system. He said the plan has changed and he has not introduced a bill.

GAS TAX

Some lawmakers, business groups and county officials are calling for an increase in the state gasoline tax to support road and bridge construction.

The Legislature raised the gasoline excise tax to its current level of 16 cents a gallon in 1992.

Inflation, as well as improved gas efficiency in vehicles, means that the tax no longer generates enough dollars to adequately maintain roads and bridges, according to those calling for an increase.

Rep. Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, who chairs the Permanent Joint Transportation Committee, said it would take a 12-cents-per-gallon increase to raise revenues back to the purchasing power of 1992.

The committee has held a series of meetings around the state to present information about the needs and gather input from the public.

McCutcheon, who proposed a gas tax increase last year, said he would use the meetings as a way to gauge the need and public support before introducing legislation this year.

Bentley has said he would support a gasoline tax increase.

GUNS

Public universities and colleges in Alabama generally ban guns and campus, with limited exceptions such as for law enforcement.

State Rep. Mack Butler, R-Rainbow City, says that does not necessarily make campuses safer.

Butler has proposed a constitutional amendment that would authorize concealed carry permit holders to carry guns on campuses. Colleges could still adopt rules establishing some restrictions, but could not broadly ban carrying with a permit.

Butler said law-abiding, armed citizens are good for public safety and could stop a tragedy, like the Virginia Tech massacre that claimed 31 lives in 2007.

Sen. Gerald Allen has again filed a bill that would allow loaded handguns in vehicles without a concealed carry permit.

Advocates of that policy say it's an extension of the principle that allows people to protect themselves in their homes with guns, whether or not they have a permit.

Similar bills have died the last two years and have met with some opposition from law enforcement.

MINIMUM WAGE

Alabama does not have a minimum wage, so most employers are governed by the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour, which was last raised in 2009.

Melton, chairman of the House Democratic caucus, says that's not a livable wage, and he plans to introduce a bill to raise the minimum to $10.10 an hour, followed by automatic increases tied to the cost of living.

Melton has sponsored constitutional amendments to gradually raise the minimum wage the last two years, but they died in committee.

Sen. Linda Coleman, D-Birmingham, will also sponsor a wage bill this year, proposing to raise the minimum to $10 an hour.

Opponents say raising the minimum wage would be a hardship on businesses and would stifle hiring.

MARIJUANA OIL

In 2014, a relentless lobbying effort by parents led the Legislature to pass Carly's Law, which authorized a study by UAB on the treatment of seizure disorders with CBD oil, which is derived from marijuana.

Rep. Mike Ball, R-Madison, said he will sponsor a bill this year that would make CBD oil available to patients not involved in the study.

Carly's law was named after Carly Chandler, whose parents led the campaign to pass it.

Ball will call his bill Leni's law, after Leni Young, 4, whose family moved from Wetumpka to Oregon to obtain CBD oil after she was unable to take part in the UAB study, which is ongoing and has produced positive early results.

SPEAKER'S TRIAL

House Speaker Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, is scheduled to go on trial March 28 on ethics charges.

That overlaps with the session, which could last until mid-May.

Lee County Circuit Judge Jacob Walker last week denied Hubbard's request to postpone the trial until the fall.

Walker said the trial could still be delayed, however, by appeals of his rulings on pretrial motions.

The state Republican Party steering committee passed a resolution asking Hubbard to step aside while his trial is pending.

Hubbard, who has denied any wrongdoing, called the resolution "ill-advised and premature." He declined this week to talk about how the trial will affect his role as speaker during the session.

Rep. Phil Williams, R-Monrovia, thinks Hubbard should step aside and has put his name forward as a replacement.

Only a handful of legislators have openly supported Williams.

"I think the speaker is very well supported," House majority leader Micky Hammon, R-Decatur, said this week when asked about Hubbard's trial.

When House members reelected Hubbard as speaker last year, they also re-elected Rep. Victor Gaston, R-Mobile, as speaker pro tem. Under normal procedure, Gaston would preside over the House in Hubbard's absence.