This week in marathon markup sessions, the U.S. House Ways and Means and House Energy and Commerce committees debated budget reconciliation legislation intended to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. << Summary and markup of Ways…
The Alabama Senate approved legislation that would have allowed pharmacies to remove prescription drug sales from their gross receipts when calculating the cost of their business license. Thursday, March 9, the Senate, without any debate, voted 23-1 for SB31 by Sen. Billy Beasley,…
Legislation that would have phased out retail alcohol sales at the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board’s 186 state stores by Oct. 1 2022, was ready for debate by the full Senate, but the Senate never considered it. The Senate Fiscal…
On an unanimous vote, the Alabama Senate agreed Tuesday, March 7, to extend tax credits to qualifying small businesses for hiring any certified unemployed veteran, not just recently discharged veterans. SB66 by Sen. Gerald Dial, R-Lineville, removes the requirement from the…
The Alabama Legislature concentrated mostly on issues unrelated to retailers this week. Moving the August school sales tax holiday to July did take one step closer to final passage. Read This Week in Retail News below for that and other…
Legislation introduced this week could push sales tax for all goods except food to as high as 11 percent in many areas of the state. SB227 was introduced in the same week the governor created a task force with a…
The House County and Municipal Government Committee carried over legislation to cap the penalty for failure to purchase a business delivery license. Currently, municipalities must allow any business delivering into the city that has no other physical presence within the…
The Alabama Retail Association will have a seat on a task force Gov. Robert Bentley created Tuesday, Feb. 21, to “analyze and make recommendations regarding Alabama’s sales taxes on groceries.” In a news conference, the governor said his goal for…
In its second week, the Alabama Legislature began moving legislation in earnest, including several bills of concern to retailers. Shifting the state’s August sales tax holiday to July could be debated soon in either chamber (HB132 / SB136). A bill…
Legislation authorizing wine and beer tastings inside grocery stores that have off-premises consumption licenses and at least $2 million in total annual sales await consideration by both House and Senate committees. HB134 by Rep. David Faulkner, R-Birmingham, is one of…