At the halfway mark for the Alabama Legislature’s 2019 regular session, both state budgets have passed at least one chamber. This week, the Alabama Senate approved a $7 billion education budget, while the House approved a $2.1 billion General Fund budget three weeks ago….
The Alabama Retail Association and more than 870 other business groups and individuals signed a letter delivered this week to all members of Congress in support of bipartisan legislation currently before the U.S. Senate and House. The Restoring Investments in…
In the fifth week of the Alabama Legislature’s 2019 regular session, legislation was introduced that would increase the felony shoplifting threshold in Alabama by 400%. More legislation on that subject could be forthcoming as the Legislature grapples with prison overcrowding and trying to…
This week, a Senate committee moved legislation that would allow police to arrest shoplifters inside Alabama stores; while a House committee voted to allow a one-time increase of up to 1% for the flat rate use tax collected by remote sellers in…
Legislation that would allow a one-time rate adjustment of up to 1% to Alabama’s Simplified Sellers Use Tax received committee approval but never reached floor debate during the 2019 regular legislative session. The legislation called for the Alabama Revenue Department…
Legislation that would allow local governments to reduce or eliminate their local sales tax on food apparently has stalled in a House committee. House County and Municipal Government Committee Chairman Reed Ingram, R-Matthews, encouraged the sponsor, Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa,…
Either chamber of the Alabama Legislature is poised to debate bills that disallow local bans, regulations or taxes on plastic grocery bags and other single-use containers. Companion bills cleared their assigned committees this week. In other action in the fourth week of…
After sending the Alabama Senate legislation regulating the vaping industry this week, the Alabama House will take up the state’s General Fund budget next week. This week, the Senate conducted public hearings on competing lottery bills (see story below). Meanwhile,…
Legislation that ties the granting of a city or county business license to usage of the federal E-Verify system is headed to the full Senate. On a 9-1 vote Tuesday, the Senate Governmental Affairs approved SB71 by Sen. Arthur Orr,…
The Alabama Legislature resumed its regular session March 19 after spending five days on an infrastructure special session. So far, the House dealt with sunset bills, while the Senate repealed the standard used to measure education progress in Alabama schools….