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This Week in the Alabama Legislature…June 10, 2011
Download a printer friendly version of the June 10 Weekly Report.
The Alabama Legislature adjourned sine die Thursday night at midnight, marking the end of the 2011 Regular Session.
For the Association, the last day was capped off by the House’s late-night passage of SB 90 by Sen. Taylor and Rep. Merrill. This is the jailer liability protection bill that was the No. 1 priority of this session.
Meanwhile, business in the Senate slowed to a crawl with filibusters on several issues, including school board redistricting and Jefferson County local legislation. As a result, countless bills failed to pass, including the Association’s HB 162, the subdivision regulations bill sponsored by Rep. McMillan and Sen. Orr. Other casualties of the Senate logjam included Rep. Wren’s HB 259, which was a rewrite of the law governing the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center; Rep. Galliher’s HB 378, an update of the sex offender notification act; Rep. DeMarco’s HB 427, creation of a tax appeals commission outside the Department of Revenue; and Rep. Ison’s HB 365, which would have required internet merchants to inform taxpayers of state and local taxes owed on online purchases.
Today’s report is just a quick round up of news from the session’s last day. In a couple of weeks we will follow up with a detailed accounting of all bills affecting county government.
ACCA BILLS
Jailer Liability Protection
At 11:22 p.m. Thursday, the House of Representatives voted 85-9 to give final passage to SB 90 by Sen. Taylor and Rep. Merrill. The bill gives county jailers limited liability protection, as long as jailers are acting within the line and scope of their duty and in compliance with the law. Basically, it will protect them from lawsuits stemming from on-the-job incidents. It will not protect jailers acting outside the line and scope of their duty. That means it will not protect illegal or abusive actions.
Appreciation is expressed to House sponsor Rep. Merrill, to Rep. Warren for making the motion to end debate and bring the bill to a final vote, to Reps. Bridges and Forte for help on the floor, to Speaker Hubbard for allocating enough time to get the bill through and to Senate sponsor Sen. Taylor for being present on the House floor Thursday night to assist in gathering votes for the bill. Thanks are also due to members of the ACCA board and legislative committee as well as sheriffs from around the state (and their representatives) who were present in the State House on Thursday.
The bill now awaits the governor’s signature.
Bentley signs two
The governor signed two Association bills into law on Thursday. HB 399 by Rep. McCutcheon is the tax at the rack bill that changes the point at which gasoline and diesel fuel taxes are collected. The bill also shifts enforcement to the Alabama Department of Transportation. It is Act 2011-563. As has been reported, this new law should improve collection and enforcement of these taxes, resulting in increased revenues for highway projects.
HB 355 by Rep. Hill is the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Commission, which creates a commission to develop the programs and procedures necessary to bring Alabama into compliance with the Streamlined Sales & Use Tax Agreement, in the event federal legislation adopting the agreement becomes law. Local government will be represented on this commission and play an important role in development of these programs and procedures. It is Act 2011-565.
OTHER BILLS
Retirement contributions
HB 414 by Rep. Love won final passage this week. The bill, which increases state employee contributions for retirement, includes a county amendment so that the increased employee contributions for retirement will only apply to counties that opt in to the provisions of this legislation.
Technical probation violations
The House voted final passage for Sen. Ward’s SB 267, which addresses technical violations of probation. It is intended to limit revocation of probation by providing other sanctions. While there is some concern that this bill could result in increased short term incarceration in the county jail, the goal is to improve the probation process by establishing alternatives to incarceration for minor probation violations.
Immigration
HB 56 by Rep. Hammon, the bill to provide strict laws and enforcement addressing illegal immigration, was signed into law Thursday. It is Act 2011-535. At attempt to get an executive amendment to protect counties and local law enforcement was unsuccessful. A detailed report on the impact on counties will be distributed to counties in coming weeks.
Presidential primary
HB 425 by Clouse was signed into law as Act 2011-566. The bill moves the presidential primary – plus state and local primary elections in those years – to the first Tuesday in March starting in 2012.
Financial institutions excise tax
HB 230 by Rep. Galliher was signed into law this week as Act 2011-551. The bill creates an economic development incentive in the form of an income tax credit, and it was amended late in the process to expand the credit to include the financial institutions excise tax, of which counties get a cut. An attempt to secure an executive amendment to exclude the county portion of the tax was unsuccessful, but it does not appear that the provision will cost counties a lot of money.
Bid law
HB 13 by Rep. Jack Williams was signed into law as Act 2011-530. This bill makes several changes to Alabama’s public works and competitive bid law, including authorizing the use of life cycle costs in a public works project and allowing cities and counties to purchase items in a Government Services Administration contract without separate bidding. The bill was amended during the process to allow for purchases from other purchasing cooperative programs, but ACCA language was added to ensure that this provision only applies to governmentally bid programs authorized by the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts.
Homebuilders tax exemption
HB 179 by Rep. Jack Williams was signed into law as Act 2011-544. This bill provides that residential property under construction will be taxed at 10 percent rather than the current 20 percent during the period of construction. The Association negotiated changes with the sponsor and Alabama Homebuilders Association to establish limited conditions for eligibility, require proof of eligibility for the lower tax rate, and limit the lower rate to a period of 24 months.
Local bills
Be sure to check the status of your local bills and contact the governor’s office regarding any bills which still need to be signed.
The real-time status of all ACCA, Danger and local bills can be found by going to www.acca-online.org and following the steps under Legislative News. Please make copies of this report for all county officials and employees. And remember, ACCA staff frequently update the Association’s web site — www.acca-online.org — with the latest information on the activities in Montgomery.
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