The Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee on a voice vote Wednesday favorably reported a bill that would change the membership and operating rules of the Birmingham Water Works Board.

SB 89 sponsored by Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, would expand the current five-member board to seven members. The bill also would cap board member pay at $500 a month, limit service to two terms, require that board members are covered by the State Ethics Law, and specify that the board would be subject to the Alabama Open Meetings Act.

SB 122 by Sen. Bill Hightower, R-Mobile, would create the Navigable Waters Dredging Fund and create a program regarding dredging that would be administered by ADEM. This bill has received its first reading.

The House and Senate Judiciary Committees both passed innovator liability reform legislation that will restore Alabama's long-standing product-liability law and put us in line with the majority of states that have rejected the innovator-liability theory, which holds that a manufacturer can be held liable for a product that it neither made nor sold. This bill is important for Alabama manufacturers and economic development.

The Senate Judiciary Committee this week voting 6-0 favorably reported a substitute version of SB 80 sponsored by Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster. The House version, HB 110, sponsored by Rep. Jack "J.D." Williams, R-Vestavia Hills, was favorably reported by the House Judiciary Committee and received a second reading on Thursday. The House committee adopted language similar to that of the Senate to clarify and strengthen the bill via an amendment by freshman Rep. David Faulkner, R-Birmingham. Both the House and Senate are in a position to consider this bill next week.

See this BCA fact sheet for more information. The BCA supports these bills.

The Information Protection Act of 2015, SB 106 sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, was discussed in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. The committee adopted a substitute and carried the bill over to give members time to study its provisions.

The bill would require specified entities, mainly businesses but also government entities and third-party agents, to notify the Attorney General and the individual owners of personal information if a data breach occurs.

When the bill was introduced, concerns over certain provisions were raised by BCA and members of the business community. Cyber-security and the protection of customer data is very important to both the private and public sector. It is just as important to avoid imposing overly burdensome regulations on business owners, especially small businesses, which are already struggling to comply with costly federal, state, and local regulations. The bill includes business penalties for violation.

BCA is opposed to the current version of this legislation.

SB 106 is expected to be considered again in the Senate Judiciary Committee next week. BCA will continue to work with members of the business community and the legislature on this bill.

Episode 8: Network Security for Small Businesses William J. Canary, president and CEO of the Business Council of Alabama, speaks with Ron Perkins, the Vice President of Doozer Software about the challenges small businesses face in securing their networks and some simple steps they can take to accomplish it.

SB 55 by Sen. Trip Pittman, R-Daphne, would prohibit changes to rules promulgated by state agencies for a period of 10 years.

SB 134 by Sen. Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, would prohibit an employer from inquiring into or considering a job applicant's conviction history for consideration of a job until after the applicant has received a conditional job offer, except when a conviction is directly related to the position of employment sought.

SB 14 by Sen.Gerald Allen, R-Tuscaloosa, would loosen restrictions on carrying firearms in public places and no longer require a permit for carrying a pistol in a vehicle.

HB 42 by Rep. Darrio Melton, D-Selma,  would propose a constitutional amendment to increase the state minimum wage to $9.80 per hour in three steps ending January 1, 2018 and a mechanism for further increases thereafter.

Bills that would change Alabama incentives for business prospects, hiring veterans, and developing projects in rural areas passed the House and were sent to the Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee.

The 105-member House passed all three bills with more than 100 votes each. The Alabama Department of Commerce-endorsed bills would provide incentives on a "pay-as-you-go" basis. Proponents say the incentives will prove to be more valuable for industrial recruitment than the current capital credit.

On a vote of 102-1, the House passed an amended HB 57, the Alabama Veterans and Rural Jobs Act sponsored by Rep. Elaine Beech, D-Chatom. The amendment raises the population eligibility for a rural county from 50,000 to 70,000.

The House voting 101-0 passed HB 58, the Alabama Jobs Act sponsored by Rep. Alan Baker, R-Brewton.

HB 59, the Alabama Reinvestment and Abatements Act, by Rep. Paul Lee, R-Dothan, passed the House by a vote of 103-0 and has been assigned to the Senate committee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development.

For further information on these bills, see last week's Capital Briefing.

The BCA supports these bills.

Last week, HB 142 by Rep. Mike Hill, R-Columbiana, was filed. It would establish mandatory unitary combined reporting for Alabama corporations. Several additional tax increase proposals received their first readings this week:

HB 139 by Rep. Steve McMillan, R-Gulf Shores, would increase the tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products and adjust the discount allowed on tobacco stamp purchases;

HB 201 by Rep. Lynn Greer, R-Rogersville, would eliminate the credit for sales and use taxes for financial institutions (primarily banks) that are subject to the excise tax.

HB 267 by Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, would increase the motor vehicle rental tax from 1.5 percent to 4 percent;

HB 268 by Rep. Clouse would increase the sales and use tax on motor vehicles from 2 percent to 3 percent.

HB 276 by Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, would require any public, private or municipal utility corporation to pay a state license tax equal to 2.2 percent on each $1 of gross receipts. 

HB 277 by Rep. John Knight, D-Montgomery, would repeal tax credits for facilities and real property that are applied to the insurance premiums tax.

BCA remains opposed to industry-specific taxes which is reflected in the Tax and Fiscal Policy section of the BCA 2015 State Legislative Agenda.

In keeping with BCA policy, "should any tax or tax reform initiatives be proposed, the BCA will not consider supporting such legislation unless it is applied fairly without levying a disproportionate burden on any individual segment of Alabama's economy."

"Any tax reform proposal must be tied to governmental accountability and the elimination of wasteful spending. It is further the policy of the BCA that taxes and regulatory fees be properly aligned such that they are commensurate with the actual costs of performing the necessary day-to-day functions of the affected state agencies."

BCA's policy team will be providing accurate analysis on these tax increase measures.