Because it was amended, it goes back to the House for consideration. HB 94, entitled the People's Trust Act, sponsored by Rep. Jay Love, R-Montgomery, establishes an escalating schedule to repay the ATF by the end of Fiscal Year 2026. The Senate amendment requires an automatic annual repayment if in any year the legislature fails to appropriate a scheduled repayment amount.

The Business Council of Alabama supports the effort to repay all funds transferred from the ATF, the Alabama Trust Fund made up of royalties and lease payments from oil and gas production. BCA support for the transfer came with the understanding that elected leaders of the three branches of government would continue to reduce waste and duplicative state services and that no individual segment of the state's economy would bear a disproportionate share of any financial burden. Voters ratified the $437 million transfer on Sept. 18, but there was no repayment requirement.

"We think this is the year of efficiency in state government," Marsh, R-Anniston, told the Business Council of Alabama's Governmental Affairs Committee. Marsh outlined concerns about a bill that would allow employees to possess firearms in their locked vehicles parked on private property parking lots while at work.

BCA President and CEO William J. Canary said the gun parking lot bill tests constitutional issues concerning firearms and private property rights.

"The evidence is, if we don't make this investment and we don't make it wisely we're going to pay for it later."

Read the full New York Times article here. 

The BCA has and will continue to support and educate its members on the importance of pre-kindergarten programs in Alabama.

When W. Steven Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University, spoke to the BCA Board of Directors at a special business education alliance policy forum last year, he said, Alabama has an advantage, because its First Class Pre-Kindergarten program is in place and is "very high quality. It just needs to be available to more kids, and the business community understands that."

When a state doesn't invest adequately in educating its youngest children in quality pre-kindergarten programs, the long-term effects can result in widening achievement gaps, increased healthcare cost, and additional burdens on business.

BCA president and CEO William J. Canary regularly advocates for Pre-k as he travels the state speaking to chambers of commerce and visiting with business groups.

"Alabama's voluntary First Class Pre-k program is ranked as one of the best in the country and the BCA will continue to advocate for increased funding," Canary said. "Every $1 spent on high-quality pre-k programs creates $7-$9 in future savings to the communities and states that invest.  Children with quality early learning opportunities are more likely to read at grade level, graduate from high school, earn more money and contribute more tax dollars, as well as becoming more productive members of the business community."

Sen. Paul Sanford, R-Huntsville, the sponsor of SB 92, spoke to the Senate Finance & Taxation-Education Committee on Wednesday and urged its members to support his proposed constitutional amendment which reduces the state's corporate income tax rate from 6.5 percent to 5.0 percent. That rate reduction will reduce income tax receipts by an estimated $97.5 million annually.

A spokesperson representing the Alabama Education Association spoke against the bill, arguing that Alabama is one of only a few states that offers the federal income tax deduction and that deduction makes Alabama's effective tax rate range between 3 percent to 4 percent.

Committee chair, Sen. Trip Pittman, R-Montrose, urged the sponsor and the AEA to study and report on the ramifications of reducing or eliminating the federal income tax deduction to offset the revenue lost from the proposed rate reduction.

The BCA will continue to monitor this bill and report any developments to our readers.

The BCA incorrectly reported that Sen. Pittman had requested further study of the ramifications of the proposed corporate income tax rate in tandem with reducing or eliminating the federal income tax (FIT) deduction. Sen. Pittman did not request further study on reducing or eliminating the FIT, and he reminds us that he has and continues to support the preservation of the FIT for both individuals and corporations. The BCA wishes to correct the record and regrets any confusion that resulted from the error. 

Presently, an Alabama resident who incurs a capital loss may deduct the loss only in the year in which the loss is incurred. On Wednesday, the Finance & Taxation-Education Committee favorably reported SB 156, by Sen. Slade Blackwell, R-Mountain Brook, to provide that resident taxpayers who incur a capital loss may deduct up to $3,000 per year and carry the balance forward until the capital loss is fully exhausted, as is the case for federal income taxes. Based on tax year 2011 data, the bill would have reduced income tax receipts by up to $20 million. The bill now goes to the full Senate for consideration.

The BCA will continue to monitor this legislation.