May 29, 2023 Group Watch: Alabama Lawmakers Change Tax Rebate Again

Alabama lawmakers gave final approval to a tax rebate for Alabama taxpayers, passing a bill to provide $150 for individuals and $300 for couples filing jointly. Governor Ivey proposed a rebate of $400 for individuals and $900 for couples during her State of the State address in March. The Senate changed that to $105 for individuals and $210 for couples. The House passed a version to double that to $210 for individuals and $420 for couples. A conference committee settled on the amount on $150 and $300 for taxpayers who filed a state income tax return for 2021. The rebates will cost about $393 million, and the money will come from a $2.8 billion surplus in the Education Trust Fund.

May 29, 2023 Group Watch: Both AL Budgets Passed by Legislature

The debate over the particulars of Alabama’s two state budgets, the General Fund Budget and the Education Trust Fund Budget, continued through Thursday night and into early Friday morning. The $11.5 billion in education spending is the largest amount in state history, and it includes a $2.8 billion supplemental appropriation. The size of this appropriation was the main bone of contention, while the amount of the tax rebates for Alabamians was the largest difference between the budgets and what Governor Ivey had laid out in March. Read more here and here.

May 29, 2023 Group Watch: Grocery Tax Cut Moves Ahead

A bill to cut Alabama’s sales tax on food moved closer to becoming law, winning approval in the Alabama House last week. The measure would cut the 4% tax to 3% on September 1 of this year. On September 1, 2025, the tax would drop to 2%. When fully implemented, the tax is expected to save Alabama taxpayers about $300 million a year. The bill passed by a vote of 103-0, and now goes to the Senate, where all 35 senators signed on as sponsors to a similar bill. The reduction to 2% in 2025 would be delayed if projected growth in revenues to the ETF are less than 2% in fiscal year 2025.

May 29, 2023 Group Watch: VT MAE Adding 200 Workers At Mobile Facility

VT Mobile Aerospace Engineering Inc. plans to add 200 jobs as it equips its Mobile facility to convert and modify Airbus A320 family passenger jets as cargo aircraft, providing another boost to the region’s aerospace/aviation sector. VT MAE, located in the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley industrial complex, provides commercial aircraft maintenance for passenger and cargo aircraft to many of the world’s leading airlines. The Mobile operation currently has 579 full-time employees. The expansion project’s 200 new jobs will be added by the end of 2025.

May 23, 2023 Group Watch: School Choice Reform & Expansion Clears Senate

The Alabama Senate has passed a bill that would expand the Alabama Accountability Act, a 10-year-old law that allows parents to use scholarships funded by tax credits to send their children to private schools. The vote came after a four-and-a-half hour filibuster that ended when the Senate approved a petition for cloture, or to end debate. Democratic and Republican senators took part in the filibuster. The Senate passed the bill 26-7, which moves to the House. The bill will make Accountability Act scholarships available to more students by raising the income level for eligibility. The scholarships are funded by donations to scholarship granting organizations, and donors receive a credit on their state income tax. The expansion in eligibility would cover all students with individual education plans, including those with intellectual disabilities and speech, language, vision, hearing and physical impairments, as well as learning disabilities.

May 29, 2023 Group Watch: Space and Rocket Center Marks Milestone 

The U.S. Space and Rocket Center, a global leader in STEM training for students, is blasting into the future with a new state-of-the-art facility that will provide next-level education opportunities. Governor Kay Ivey and Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield recently joined Space and Rocket Center officials and local leaders in Huntsville for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Space Camp Operations Center. Made possible through a grant from the Governor’s Office and a sponsorship with Boeing, the facility will serve as a central location for Space Camp programs as well as provide a new home for U.S. Cyber Camp. The 40,000-square-foot Space Camp Operations Center will function as the hub for all program operations, providing a one-of-a-kind educational resource for campers who come from 150 countries and all 50 states. 

May 22, 2023 Group Watch: News & Views from the State House

The House was successful in passing a bill seeking to restrict minors; access to digital pornographic content last week. The Protection of Minors from Unfiltered Devices Act, which requires makers of phones, tablets and other electronic devices to turn on filters that block porn when activated in the state, has been in the works for years but never had the votes before. 

Another earlier House-passed bill got some tweaks last week.  The legislation banning Chinese citizens from buying property in Alabama was deemed too broad and got a rewrite by the Senate Agriculture, Forestry, and Conservation Committee before passing the full Senate.

Read more on all this and other trending #alpolitics topics below.

The House and Senate will reconvene on
Tuesday, May 23 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. respectively.

May 22, 2023 Group Watch: Tweet of the Week

@GovernorKayIvey
May 22

Students, congratulations on the completion of another school year! I’m proud of your hard work in the classroom, but remember, summer is a time to break from school — not learning. That’s why I am inviting each of you to join me in my Summer Reading Challenge.

May 22, 2023 Group Watch: Day-by-Day, Play-by-Play

On Tuesday (21st day of regular session): 

  • The House passed bills to revise the definition of an electronic nicotine delivery system to include delivery of substances other than tobacco and to further provide for the sale of tobacco and other related products to minors; to require certain manufacturers of internet-enabled devices to activate existing filters to restrict access to certain materials; to establish the Rural Logging Support Act of 2023 and to provide for the distribution of funding to the Alabama Forestry Commission to support rural economic development; and to provide that Class 3 municipalities may establish self-help business improvement districts. 
  • The Senate County and Municipal Government Committee approved bills to further provide for the exceptions to a law for inoperable or stored motor vehicles and to prohibit the continued operation of a motor vehicle in violation of the registration and insurance requirements; and to provide for the procurement of certain professional service contracts based on competitive, qualification-based policies and procedures and to provide for the advertisement of such contracts. 
  • The Senate passed bills to permit PACs to make contributions to political parties in certain circumstances; to create the School Principal Leadership and Mentoring Act and the Alabama Principal Leadership Development System for public K-12 education and further provide for the support and development of education leadership; to further provide for the distribution of funding to the Alabama Forestry Commission to support rural economic development; to revise compensation received by retired justices and judges who are called to active duty; and to further provide for the definitions of the Child Physical and Sexual Abuse Victim Protection Act.

On Wednesday (22nd day and a committee day):

  • The House Ways and Means Education Committee approved bills to establish future sunset dates for extended tax incentive programs and to provide required guidelines for all new incentive legislation; to provide for the creation and implementation of a mentoring program for new principals and a continuing professional learning program for principals and assistant principals; and to provide for the compensation of members of the Alabama Literacy Task Force. 
  • The Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee approved bills to provide for an increase in the amount of the average monthly sales tax liability for required estimated payments; and to provide that the credit from a parent or holding company may be claimed by the subsidiary in certain circumstances and to provide retroactive effect. 
  • The Senate Judiciary Committee approved bills to further provide prohibitions on the possession of an electronic nicotine delivery system by individuals under 21 years of age; and to provide that a prisoner is not eligible for parole if he or she has been duly charged with a new offense that has not been disposed. 
  • The Senate State Governmental Affairs Committee approved a bill to extend the validity period of motor vehicle license plate designs from five to 10 years. 
  • The Senate Healthcare Committee approved a bill to require healthcare providers and organ transplant centers to provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with a disability in medical need of an anatomical gift or organ transplant. 
  • The House passed bills to provide a state income tax credit to individuals and businesses that make contributions to eligible charitable organizations that operate as a pregnancy center or residential maternity facility; to provide under certain circumstances, for a portion of Tennessee Valley Authority in-lieu-of-taxes payments to be distributed to the county; and to exempt the purchase of gun sales and gun safety devices from sales and use tax.
  • The Senate got embroiled in delaying tactics over confirmation appointments and never got to consider bills on its special-order calendar.

On Thursday (23rd day of of regular session):

  • The House passed bills to allow a detention facility to adopt a policy to further define what items constitute contraband; to increase the exemption for taxable retirement income for individuals who are 65 years of age or older; and to make a supplemental appropriation to certain entities from the Opioid Treatment and Abatement Fund for $10 million. 
  • The Senate passed bills to require an agreement with a design professional who does not have professional liability insurance; to provide for the procurement of certain professional service contracts based on competitive, qualification-based policies and procedures; to prohibit certain foreign citizens, governments or entities from acquiring certain real properties in Alabama; to reimburse employees for actual expenses for in-state travel; and to temporarily revise the eligibility and compensation of retirees of either public system for participating in either system after retirement.

May 22, 2023 Group Watch: House Passes Protection of Minors from Unfiltered Devices Act

The Alabama House of Representatives has passed the Protection of Minors from Unfiltered Devices Act, which would require cellphone and tablet manufacturers to make their devices automatically block access to pornography when activated in Alabama. According to the bill’s sponsor, the intent is that manufacturers automatically turn on filters that are now turned off unless users take steps to activate them. Users would have a password to unblock a filtered website. The bill has been proposed for several years but not passed. The measure passed 70-8 with 24 abstentions, and now moves to the Senate for consideration.

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