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Read. Follow. Verify.Alabama Establishes CHEER Act to Award Performance-Based Bonus Funding to Public Colleges and Universities
Last action · April 9, 2026: EnactedSponsor: Danny Garrett
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What This Bill Does
Beginning October 1, 2026, public higher education institutions in Alabama can earn annual bonus funding by meeting specific student success, workforce alignment, research, and institutional innovation goals. The legislation creates the College and Higher Education Excellence and Results (CHEER) Fund, administered by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, and establishes a coordinating committee to set performance categories and oversee data collection.
Public universities and community colleges across Alabama will have a portion of their state funding tied directly to measurable student outcomes such as graduation rates, post-graduation employment in high-wage or high-demand fields, and research expenditure growth.
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Eligible higher education institutions
Public universities, Tuskegee University, and community colleges are eligible to receive or be denied annual bonus funding based on institutional performance outcomes.
Alabama Commission on Higher Education
The commission is tasked with administering the CHEER Fund, verifying institutional data, and certifying annual distributions.
Outcomes-Based Higher Education Funding Coordinating Committee
The newly created committee is responsible for selecting performance outcome categories, collecting necessary data, and making recommendations to the Legislature.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which institutions are eligible for bonus funding under the CHEER Act?
What criteria are used to measure whether an institution receives bonus funds?
Who administers the CHEER Fund?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Became law.
Procedural history
20 actions- Apr 9, 2026HouseEnrolledEnacted
- Apr 2, 2026HouseEnrolledDelivered to Governor
- Apr 2, 2026SenateSignature Requested
- Apr 2, 2026HouseEnrolled
- Apr 2, 2026HouseReady to Enroll
- Apr 2, 2026SenateFloorMotion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 1118
Show 14 earlier actions
- Apr 2, 2026SenateThird Reading in Second House
- Apr 1, 2026SenateRead for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
- Apr 1, 2026SenateCommitteeReported Out of Committee Second House
- Mar 12, 2026SenateCommitteePending Committee Action in Second House
- Mar 12, 2026SenateIntroducedRead for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance and Taxation Education
- Mar 12, 2026HouseEngrossed
- Mar 12, 2026HouseFloorMotion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 871
- Mar 12, 2026HouseMotion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 870
- Mar 12, 2026HouseWays and Means Education Engrossed Substitute Offered
- Mar 12, 2026HouseThird Reading in House of Origin
- Mar 11, 2026HouseRead for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
- Mar 11, 2026HouseCommitteeReported Out of Committee House of Origin
- Mar 3, 2026HouseCommitteePending Committee Action in House of Origin
- Mar 3, 2026HouseIntroducedRead for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means Education
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Consolidation of Outcomes-Based Funding
The legislation explicitly repeals and replaces previous disparate outcomes-based funding initiatives, such as the community college program established under Act 2017-217, unifying state higher education incentives under a single framework.
Connected Entities
Sources
alison.legislature.state.al.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance85How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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