Senate committee approves state employee pay raise

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - State employees could see their first pay raise in a decade under a proposed budget approved by a Senate committee.

The Senate Finance and Taxation Committee on Wednesday approved a general fund budget that gives state employees a 3 percent cost-of-living increase. The spending bill now moves to the Senate floor.

While state employees have seen merit raises, they have not had an across-the board increase since 2008.

The proposed budget also allocates an additional $50 million to the state prison system which is under a federal court order to improve mental health care for inmates.

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson ruled last year that mental health care in state prisons was “horrendously inadequate.”