Friday, January 24, 2014
Senate Next Stop for Central,
Independent Tax Appeals in Alabama
The Alabama Senate could be next to consider centralizing Alabama’s tax appeal process and making that process independent of taxing authorities. On a vote of 5-2 Wednesday, the Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Accountability Committee approved the Alabama Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights II, HB105 by Rep. Paul DeMarco, R-Homewood. The committee amended the bill, which means if the bill receives Senate approval, it will have to go back to the House for concurrence.
The amendment requested by the county commission association extends the statute of limitations to give cities and counties an opportunity to audit taxpayers who’ve had final assessments issued against them by the Alabama Department of Revenue for the same type of taxes levied at the state level. It also clarifies that cities and counties that opt out and use their own appeals officers must parallel the appeals process used by the Alabama Tax Appeals Commission created by the bill.
After conducting a public hearing, the committee carried over the Senate version of the bill SB74, by Sen. Bryan Taylor, R-Prattville, and opted instead to move the version that received House approval last week.
The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights is a major plank in the Alabama Retail Associations’ 2014 Legislative Agenda, has been endorsed by the Business Associations’ Tax Coalition (BATC), a business trade association coalition chaired by Alabama Retail President Rick Brown, and is part of the House Republican Caucus Legislative Agenda.
For more details of the landmark legislation that updates the 1992 Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights, please see the most recent BATC Summary of the Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights II.
PUBLIC WELFARE BENEFITS
Retailer Penalty Removed from Ban on EBT Use
for Alcohol, Tobacco and Other ‘Sin’ Products
Wednesday, the Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Accountability Committee unanimously approved SB116 by Sen. Arthur Orr (pictured), R-Decatur, which prohibits those on welfare from using public benefits to buy alcoholic beverages, tobacco products or lottery tickets. The bill further prohibits those receiving public benefits from using those benefits in a bar, casino, tattoo facility, for psychic services or adult entertainment. In 2012, the federal government added prohibitions to the use of EBT benefits for strip clubs, casinos and public and private liquor stores and gave states until Feb. 22 of this year to adopt similar rules.
At the request of the Alabama Retail Association, the committee amended the bill to remove prohibitions and penalties against businesses. The bill as amended leaves the prohibition against and consequences for using public benefits to purchase the banned products with the benefit recipient. “It is difficult for retailers to police transactions,” said Sen. Bryan Taylor, R-Prattville, who offered the amendment.
The EBT cash benefit program is small compared with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP (formerly known as food stamps), which already prohibits purchases of non-food items. Orr said contractors for card machines in liquor stores, bars, tattoo parlors, strip clubs and casinos will have to reconfigure the machines so they do not accept EBT cards. The bill now goes to the full Senate for consideration.
GROCERS: Fill in WIC Appeal Requests Fully
The Alabama Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Office issued an appeal today for WIC vendors to fill in WIC Appeal Requests completely.
If each section of the form is not completed the request will automatically be denied.
The form is available at www.adph.org/WIC under Vendor Management.
A vendor must complete and submit the Appeal Request form to the department within 90 days of the “FIRST-DAY-TO-USE” printed on the food instrument or cash value voucher. A brief explanation must be included on the form describing the circumstances, the reason why payment should be reconsidered, and what steps have been taken to prevent problem(s) in the future. A copy of the food instrument or cash value voucher from the bank of first deposit showing the rejection stamp and a copy of the receipt or journal transaction must be included with the request.
This policy is outlined on Page 24 of the Alabama WIC Program Vendor Procedure Handbook with the effective date Oct. 1, 2013.
TOBACCO
Statewide Smoking Ban Advances
from Committee to Full Senate
On a vote of 6 to 1 with three abstentions, the Senate Health Committee on Wednesday amended and approved the statewide smoking ban contained in SB168 by Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile. Figures’ legislation bans smoking statewide in any workplace, public building or public place with exemptions for existing private clubs, bars, cigar bars, retail tobacco stores and certain outdoor areas.
Figures has proposed similar legislation every year since 2008. Her efforts this year came the week after the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Surgeon General’s 1964 report that identified cigarettes as a major cause of lung cancer. Since that report, smoking prevalence has been reduced by half in the United States. Despite that progress and with the absence of a statewide no smoking policy, health advocates have been pushing for individual cities and workplaces in Alabama to ban smoking. Alabama now has almost 50 cities with smoke-free ordinances. The proposed statewide ban now goes to the full Senate for consideration.
Democrats Again Propose Tobacco Tax Increase
The House Democratic Caucus released its agenda Tuesday including HB120 by Rep. Joe Hubbard, D-Montgomery, which calls for a $1-a-pack increase in the tobacco tax. Hubbard said the tax proceeds could help fund Medicaid and pay for a 6 percent raise for state employees and retirees. Health advocates also support increasing the tobacco tax to discourage tobacco use, especially among young people, but the Republican majority shows no interest in raising taxes of any kind during this election year.
Hubbard’s bill has been assigned to the House Ways and Means General Fund Committee as has HB39 by Rep. Patricia Todd, D-Birmingham, which would increase cigarette taxes from 42.5 cents to 75 cents per pack to benefit the state’s General Fund.
ALCOHOL
Senate Agrees Wine Doggie Bags Belong Locked Away
On a vote of 26-1 Thursday, the Alabama Senate approved SB 56 by Sen. Paul Sanford, R-Huntsville, which spells out where and how a recorked or resealed bottle of wine may be transported legally based on the type of storage space in a vehicle. The bill now goes to the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee for consideration, where the House companion, HB81 by Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, also has been assigned.
Alabama and 31 other states have to pass similar legislation to bring state law in line with federal language so the state can continue to receive federal transportation money, Sanford said. The legislation amends a 2012 law the two lawmakers sponsored that allows Alabama restaurant patrons to put the cork back in an unfinished bottle of wine and take it home. The 2012 law permits only one opened bottle of wine to be carried out of a properly licensed establishment, if the bottle has been recorked and resealed in a bag.
The Senate-passed bill amends the law to specify that the bottle must be placed in a locked trunk; in a storage or luggage compartment; in a locked glove compartment; in a storage or cargo compartment in the bed of a pickup truck or in a locked case not readily accessible behind the front seat of a pickup truck; or in the area behind the last upright seat of any vehicle that does not have a trunk. The law will continue to require the seller to provide the customer with a dated receipt for the resealed wine bottle.
License Would Give Brew Pubs
Limited Off Premises Sales
Rep. Mike Ball, R-Madison, this week introduced legislation (HB355) to create a new $1,000 alcohol beverage license that would allow brew pubs to sell up to 25,000 barrels of beer annually for off-premise consumption. Currently, brew pubs can only sell their product for on-premise consumption.
PHARMACY AND HEALTH
House Approves Healthcare Rights of Conscience Bill
The Alabama House of Representatives on a vote of 71-26-2 Tuesday approved HB31 by Rep. Becky Nordgren, R-Gadsden, which gives healthcare providers the right to refuse to perform or participate in some reproductive healthcare services that violate their conscience. The bill now goes to the Senate Health Committee for consideration.
Under this legislation, an employer would not be able to discriminate against or discipline an employee for refusing to perform an abortion, human cloning, stem cell research and sterilization based on conscience if the employee first notified the employer in writing of his/her objection. The bill frees the provider of civil and criminal liability unless the conscientious objection places the life of a patient in immediate danger. The bill, which has been adopted by the House Republican leadership as part of its 2014 agenda, mirrors a model bill proposed by Americans United for Life, a Washington, D.C., anti-abortion group. The definition of healthcare provider in the bill includes pharmacists. The possibility that pharmacists dispensing Plan B emergency contraception, sometimes known as the morning-after pill, would fall under the legislation was mentioned during debate. Similar legislation has failed to make it through the legislative process in prior sessions.
UNEMPLOYMENT
Panel Approves Change in Definition of Employing Unit
Wednesday, the House Commerce and Small Business Committee approved HB109 by Rep. Wes Long, R-Guntersville, which clarifies that an employing unit for unemployment compensation purposes can be an employer who acquires at least 65 percent of another employing unit in Alabama. Currently, an employer must acquire all of the assets of another employing unit to be considered an employing unit. The bill now goes to the full House for consideration. Next week, the Senate Business and Labor Committee will consider the Senate companion, SB48 by Sen. Clay Scofield, R-Guntersville.
Bill Would Require Drug Screening
for Some Unemployment Benefit Applicants
The Senate Business and Labor Committee will consider a bill next week that will require those applying for unemployment to be tested for substance abuse if his/her occupation is one in which the U.S. Labor Department requires regular drug screenings. Under SB 47 by Sen. Jerry Fielding, R-Sylacauga, any unemployment benefit applicant who tested positive for drugs without a valid prescription would be ineligible for unemployment benefits.
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
House Panel Votes to More than Double
Workers’ Comp Burial Expenses
The House Commerce and Small Business Committee on Wednesday approved HB107 by Rep. Rod Scott, D-Fairfield, which would more than double the possible burial expenses a workers’ compensation claim can pay. The bill moves the allowed expense from $3,000 to up to $6,500, an increase of $3,500. The bill now goes to the full House for consideration.
TAXES AND FEES
House OKs Taxpayer Audit Protection Act
On a vote of 74-22 Tuesday, the Alabama House approved the Taxpayer Audit Protection Act, HB42 by Rep. Wayne Johnson, R-Ryland, which seeks to prevent the Alabama Revenue Department from ever targeting certain groups or organizations for audits based on their political views or messages. The House amended the bill so that it applies to county and municipal governments and third-party tax administrators as well. Under the amended Alabama Taxpayer Audit Protection Act, an employee of the Revenue Department, locality or third-party tax administrator could be subject to a summons, complaint, dismissal or other disciplinary action if he/she:
- makes false statements about or withholds relevant information concerning a taxpayer audit;
- threatens to audit a taxpayer for personal gain;
- violates tax laws to retaliate against a taxpayer;
- or destroys records to conceal a mistake.
Panel to Consider Bill to Allow
Capital Losses to Be Carried Forward
Wednesday, the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee will consider SB5 by Sen. Slade Blackwell, R-Birmingham, which would allow an Alabama taxpayer who incurs a capital loss to carry that loss forward for state income tax purposes for three years from the year in which the loss was incurred. Currently, an Alabama resident who incurs a capital loss may deduct the loss only in the year in which the loss is incurred. Alabama Retail supports this bill.
Health Savings Account Exemption on Committee Agenda
Another tax bill before the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee next week is SB71 by Sen. Paul Sanford, R-Huntsville, which would allow health savings account contributions to be exempt from state income tax beginning Jan. 1, 2015. This bill would become effective three months after it becomes law. The committee will conduct a public hearing on the bill.
Bills Would Change
Adjusted Gross Income Filing Requirements
The Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee also will consider SB51 by Sen. Tammy Irons, D-Florence, which says any taxpayer with an adjusted gross income of more than the sum of the standard deduction and the personal exemption for their filing status must file a tax return. Currently, taxpayers have to file a return if their adjusted gross income is more than $1,875 for single taxpayers and more than $3,750 for married filers.
LEGAL
Bill Aims to Combat Patent Trolling
The Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Accountability Committee on Wednesday amended and unanimously approved SB121 by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, which is intended to combat patent trolling. Orr referred to the practice of purchasing a patent, often from a bankrupt firm, and then suing another company by claiming that its product infringes on the purchased patent as “legal extortion.” Orr’s bill is patterned after similar legislation adopted in Vermont last year, he said.
LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Dial Again Proposes
Right-to-Work Constitutional Amendment
The Senate Business & Labor Committee will conduct a public hearing Wednesday on SB127 by Sen. Gerald Dial, R-Lineville, which would allow voters to decide if Alabama’s “right to work” policy should be part of the Alabama Constitution. Should the bill become law, Alabama voters would decide in the next statewide general election whether to put the weight of the state constitution behind current policy that Alabamians have the right to work without their membership or lack of membership in a labor union being a condition of employment. Dial contends business and industries considering locating in Alabama want assurances that the state’s right-to-work status won’t change based on the whim of the Legislature.
NEXT LEGISLATIVE DAY
The 7th legislative day of the Alabama Legislature’s 2014 regular session is Tuesday, Jan. 28. The Alabama House of Representatives meets at 1 p.m. The Senate meets at 2 p.m.
FEDERAL
Support Builds for Microchip Technology
for Credit and Debit Cards
In the wake of recent high-profile cases of customer data theft at major chain retailers, a national retail organization is calling on congressional leaders to implement measures that protect against cyber attacks and data theft.
The National Retail Federation this week called for banks and card issuers to replace the current magnetic strip credit and debit card system with one that uses embedded computer microchip technology. An NRF letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, also calls for requiring the use of a PIN rather than a signature for a point of sale purchase.
A security breach of one chain’s computer networks during the busy holiday shopping season resulted in the theft of 40 million credit and debit card customer records, as well as personal information such as name, mailing and email addresses, and phone numbers from as many as 70 million more.
In a separate security incident that investigators say is part of a broad operation aimed at least half a dozen major retailers, a luxury clothing chain earlier this month reported a data breach of 1.1 million of customers who made purchases at its stores between July and October. Online customers were not affected and the retail-store operator said personal, sensitive information such as social security numbers, birth dates and PIN numbers were not taken.
In both cases, hackers were able to install malicious software (malware) to collect customer payment information. Once the malware was installed, hackers were able to steal customer data at the point of sale directly off the magnetic strips of the cards used at one of the retail chains.
The U.S. Secret Service’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center has issued best practices for owners and operators of point-of-sale systems. Those recommendations include:
- Use strong passwords
- Update POS software applications
- Install a firewall
- Use antivirus protection
- Restrict Internet access
- Disallow remote access
