The legislature gave final passage on Thursday to record state budgets – the Education Trust Fund (ETF) and the General Fund. The ETF allocates funding for education spending and the General Fund for non-education spending. Both budgets are the largest in the state’s history, with the ETF totaling $8.8 billion and the General Fund totaling $3 billion.
Several changes were made throughout the process. The House and Senate voted to not accept the amendments made outside their houses of origin, sending the budgets and supplemental appropriations for 2023 to conference committees to reach a final agreement.
On Wednesday, the Senate passed HB378 to provide for the creation of Brownfield redevelopment districts, which now goes to Governor Kay Ivey’s desk for her signature. Alabama’s success in attracting new businesses has led to a shortage of suitable industry-ready sites, and this legislation will tremendously help in the redevelopment of those Brownfield sites across the state.
The House also addressed legislation to cut Alabama’s four percent tax on groceries. Rep. Danny Garrett’s HB479 received a favorable report on Wednesday in the House Ways and Means Education Committee and was approved by the full chamber on Thursday. Rep. Garrett’s bill would begin reducing the state sales and use tax on food, as defined in the bill, on September 1, 2023. Future rate reductions would be contingent upon certain growth requirements in the ETF. The bill will be considered in the Senate next week.
House Rules Committee Chairman Joe Lovvorn joined BCA this week as our guest speaker. Rep. Lovvorn highlighted the importance of maintaining bill calendars that balance the priorities of lawmakers, stakeholders, and the people of Alabama and detailed the outlook for the remainder of the legislative session.
The Tuesday morning briefings are streamed live on BCA’s Facebook page each week during the legislative session. The Legislature has announced a change in next week’s legislative calendar and will not be convening in Montgomery until Wednesday. In alignment with this change, we will not be hosting a Government Affairs Issues Briefing on Tuesday, May 29.
BCA connected with Liz Filmore, who serves as chief of staff to Governor Kay Ivey. Liz is the first female chief of staff to any governor in Alabama history.
She discussed the productive partnership between the governor’s office and BCA in successfully proposing and implementing “The Game Plan” legislation as well as additional bills of importance to both Governor Ivey and BCA.
HB77
Sponsor: Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville)
BCA Position: Support
Status: Passed in House; pending action on Senate floor
Additional Information: Under current law, every business in Alabama that generates a monthly average of $5,000 or more in sales tax must make estimated monthly tax payments the following year. This bill raises the threshold to $20,000, which would reduce “red tape” for more than 3,000 small businesses in the state.
SB159/HB249
Sponsor: Sen. Clay Scofield (R-Guntersville)/Rep. David Faulkner (R-Mountain Brook)
BCA Position: Support
Status: Passed Senate and House
Additional Information: This bill offers additional protections for civil lawsuits against road builders in Alabama.
HB217
Sponsor: Rep. Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville)
BCA Position: Support
Status: Passed in House; pending action in Senate Finance & Taxation Education Committee
Additional Information: This bill removes the state income tax on overtime pay for Alabama workers.
HB273
Sponsor: Rep. Jamie Kiel (R-Russellville)
BCA Position: Support
Status: Passed in House; pending action in Senate Finance & Taxation Education Committee
Additional Information: This bill expands tax deduction for health insurance premiums paid for employees who report no more than $75,000 of adjusted gross income ($150,000 if filing jointly) on their individual tax returns and work for qualifying employer with fewer than 50 employees. It allows qualifying employees and employers to deduct 100% of the amount paid for health insurance premiums in connection with an employer provided health insurance plan. Additionally, it provides support to small businesses and facilitates their provision of health insurance.
SB273
Sponsor: Sen. Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman)
BCA Position: Support
Status: Pending action in Senate Finance & Taxation Education Committee
Additional Information: This bill creates the employer tax credit and child care facility tax credit to incentivize employers to fund child care for their employees and provide for more readily available, affordable, high-quality child care.
SB292
Sponsor: Rep. Dan Roberts (R-Mountain Brook)
BCA Position: Support
Status: Passed in Senate; pending action on House floor
Additional Information: This bill cuts red tape for nonprofits, charities, and other tax-exempt entities by streamlining the process for contractors to purchase supplies and materials to be used on construction projects for those entities. It does not create any new tax exemptions; it simply expands the current process already utilized by government entities and their contractors.
HB293
Sponsor: Rep. Chip Brown (R-Mobile)
BCA Position: Support
Status: Passed in House; referred to Senate Finance & Taxation Education Committee
Additional Information: This bill revises the structure of the amount of credits that may be claimed and expands the credit to allow port users to claim a jobs tax credit if the user increases their cargo base volume.
HB378/SB314
Sponsor: Rep. Chip Brown (R-Mobile)/Sen. Rodger Smitherman (D-Birmingham)
BCA Position: Support
Status: Passed House and Senate
Additional Information: This bill provides for the creation of Brownfield redevelopment districts to further provide for the remediation and ultimate reuse of Brownfields.
HB270
Sponsor: Rep. Shane Stringer (R-Citronelle)
BCA Position: Oppose
Status: Carried over in House Committee on Ports, Waterways & Intermodal Transit
Additional Information: This bill prohibits the establishment or expansion of junkyards in certain circumstances.
HB188
Sponsor: Rep. Chip Brown (R-Mobile)
BCA Position: In Review
Status: Pending action on House floor
Additional Information: This bill prohibits the consideration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria when awarding a public contract and requires a responsible bidder, as a condition of being awarded a public contract, to certify, under penalty of perjury, that its employees will not be subject to a personal ESG rating as a basis of hiring, firing, or evaluation.
HB298
Sponsor: Rep. Chris Sells (R-Greenville)
BCA Position: In Review
Status: Passed in House; favorable report in Senate Fiscal Responsibility & Economic Development Committee
Additional Information: This bill requires all smartphones and tablets sold in Alabama to have an adult content filter enabled upon purchase, with violations constituting a civil penalty of up to $50,000 for the device’s manufacturer.
SB220/HB367
Sponsor: Sen. Tom Butler (R-Madison); Rep. Phillip Rigsby (R-Huntsville)
BCA Position: Monitor
Status: Pending action on Senate floor; pending action in House Insurance Committee
Additional Information: This bill allows a pharmacist to refuse service to a customer if the pharmacist believes the reimbursement they would receive for a drug is insufficient. It also permits a pharmacist to recommend a customer switch to a different, more costly drug that the pharmacist would make more profit on — ultimately costing the health plan and customer more money.
SB261
Sponsor: Sen. Dan Roberts (R-Mountain Brook)
BCA Position: Monitor
Status: Passed in Senate; favorable report in House Financial Services Committee
Additional Information: This bill prohibits a governmental entity from entering a public contract with certain companies or businesses that engage in the economic boycott of businesses in certain sectors and industries; that fail to meet or commit to meet certain environmental standards; that fail to meet or commit to meet certain corporate governance criteria; or that fail to facilitate certain activities.
HB267/SB245
Sponsor: Rep. Tim Wadsworth (R-Arley)/Sen. Sam Givhan (R-Huntsville)
BCA Position: Monitor
Status: Passed House and Senate
Additional Information: This bill revises the Alabama Nonprofit Corporation Law. Changes to nonprofit corporation laws, like those proposed in this bill, can impact various aspects of nonprofit organizations, including their formation, governance structure, board responsibilities, financial reporting requirements, and other operational procedures.
SB299/HB443
Sponsor: Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur)/Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville)
BCA Position: Monitor
Status: Passed in Senate; carried over in House Ways & Means Education Committee
Additional Information: This bill establishes sunset dates for tax incentive programs, establishes future sunset dates for extended tax incentive programs, and provides required guidelines for all new incentive legislation.
HB389/SB328
Sponsor: Rep. Rex Reynolds (R-Huntsville)/Sen. Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman)
BCA Position: Monitor
Status: Carried over at the call of the chair in House; pending action on Senate floor
Additional Information: This bill adds a surcharge of 98 cents per month to all mobile communication in the state to fund the 988 Crisis System of Care.
HB479/SB257
Sponsor: Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville)/ Sen. Andrew Jones (R-Centre)
BCA Position: Monitor
Status: Passed in House; introduced and referred to Senate Finance & Taxation Education Committee
Additional Information: This bill gradually cuts the state’s 4% sales tax on most grocery items to 2%. The tax reduction would be paused if overall tax revenue growth in the Education Trust Fund fell below 2%.
Capitol Briefing Week Twelve Legislative Recap The legislature finished its 30th and final day of the 2024 regular session on May 9, with several notable pieces of legislation receiving final
Capitol Briefing Tuesday Morning Issues Briefing BCA hosted House Rules Committee Chairman Joe Lovvorn to close out a great session of Tuesday Morning Issues Briefings during the 2024 legislative session.
Capitol Briefing Tuesday Morning Issues Briefing BCA hosted Senator Greg Albritton, the Senate General Fund Budget Committee chairman, this week to provide an overview of Alabama’s fiscal position and offer
