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Read. Follow. Verify.Alabama creates port infrastructure grant program and fund with $5 million annual appropriation
Last action · February 26, 2026: Pending Committee Action in Second HouseSponsor: Chip Brown
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What This Bill Would Do
HB 135 establishes the Alabama Port Infrastructure Grant Program and the Alabama Port Infrastructure Fund within the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs to finance improvements to publicly owned s and intermodal facilities, effective October 1, 2026.
Local port operators and municipalities can access state grant funding for capital improvements and dredging projects, provided they supply at least 20 percent in local matching funds and keep administrative costs under 10 percent.
- The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) manages various federal and state grant programs supporting local economic development, infrastructure, and community planning across Alabama. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs
The department is tasked with administering the new grant program, establishing application procedures and scoring systems, and publishing an annual report.
Local port and intermodal facility operators
Operators are eligible to apply for competitive grant funding to support capital improvements, planning, and infrastructure development.
Key Facts
- Creates the Alabama Port Infrastructure Grant Program and the Alabama Port Infrastructure Fund within the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.
- Requires the Legislature to annually appropriate five million dollars ($5,000,000) from the State General Fund to fund the program beginning in fiscal year 2026 through the 2028 fiscal year.
- Mandates that local matching funds must be a minimum of 20 percent of the project amount, and individual grant awards cannot exceed 50 percent of total budgeted project costs.
- Limits individual grant awards to no more than 20 percent of total grant funds awarded in a single fiscal year, and indirect or administrative costs cannot exceed 10 percent of the awarded amount.
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- Restricts eligible expenditures to capital improvements, immediate vicinity dredging, economic development, facility rebuilding, intermodal infrastructure, planning, and new port establishment subject to feasibility studies.
- Prohibits the use of funding for routine maintenance, administrative and operational expenses, or non-local dredging.
- Sets the effective date of the act as October 1, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the purpose of the Alabama Port Infrastructure Grant Program?
How much funding is allocated to the fund annually?
What are the local matching fund requirements for grant applicants?
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
14 actions- Feb 26, 2026SenateCommitteePending Committee Action in Second House
- Feb 26, 2026SenateIntroducedRead for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance and Taxation General Fund
- Feb 26, 2026HouseEngrossed
- Feb 26, 2026HouseFloorMotion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 641
- Feb 26, 2026HouseMotion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 640
- Feb 26, 2026HouseWays and Means General Fund Engrossed Substitute Offered
Show 8 earlier actions
- Feb 26, 2026HouseThird Reading in House of Origin
- Feb 5, 2026HouseRead for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
- Feb 4, 2026HouseCommitteeReported Out of Committee House of Origin
- Jan 21, 2026HouseCommitteeRe-referred to Committee in House of Origin
- Jan 21, 2026HouseRead for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
- Jan 21, 2026HouseCommitteeReported Out of Committee House of Origin
- Jan 13, 2026HouseCommitteePending Committee Action in House of Origin
- Jan 13, 2026HouseIntroducedRead for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Ports, Waterways and Intermodal Transit
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.
Establishment of Dedicated Inland Port Funding
The legislation formally creates a recurring annual appropriation of five million dollars specifically targeted at inland port and intermodal infrastructure outside the Port of Mobile.
Connected Entities
Sources
alison.legislature.state.al.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy10Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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