Impacts of House Bill 56 on the Construction Economy in Alabama

Abstract

Historically the United States has welcomed immigration from all over the world. In recent years however there has been an increase in hostility towards immigration but more precisely towards unauthorized immigration. This has caused several states to enact legislation intended to deter unauthorized immigration. South Carolina, Utah, and Alabama have all followed Arizona, which was the first state to enact such a law. This study evaluates House Bill (HB) 56, Alabama’s anti-unauthorized immigration bill, and its impact on the construction economy in Alabama. The study utilized construction employment rates, construction GDP, and construction spending as the major indices detailing the “health” of the construction economy in Alabama. This research concludes that HB 56 has not proven to negatively affect the construction economy in Alabama. Since the passage of HB 56, these three construction indexes in Alabama have not shown changes that can reasonably be attributed to the law. However a survey of sub-contractors in Alabama shows that there is a negative perception about the construction labor pool, which most sub-contractors believe was caused by HB 56.