The governor signed SJR 97 by Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills. Waggoner's resolution highlights the egregious federal overreach by the Environmental Protection Agency in the north Birmingham area.

This BCA-supported resolution calls on the Alabama congressional delegation, governor, attorney general, and Alabama Department of Environmental Management to continue fighting the EPA's "novel and overbroad air deposition theory" to justify a Superfund site in north Birmingham.

It is clear that this theory is being used to unfairly target Alabama businesses and advance political and social agendas rather than institute fair environmental regulatory policies that are authorized by federal law. The BCA has led the call to stop the EPA from initiating a series of new broad regulations without proper authority that have the potential to cost Alabama businesses and citizens jobs and millions of dollars in losses or expenses.

To read an article penned by the BCA's Canary, click here.

SB 52 by Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, passed unanimously in both houses and was signed into law on April 30. Known as the Energy Security Act, SB 52 and its House companion, HB 120 by Rep. Randy Davis, R-Daphne, are needed due to a new regulation by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The regulation improperly shifts the jurisdiction of planning, designing, and developing new transmission projects from the state to the federal government. The act will prevent these risks posed by this federal overreach from being placed on consumers and ensure that Alabama electricity providers maintain the right to construct new transmission lines for Alabama consumers.

In the same vein, the House and Senate approved a joint resolution by Rep. Mac McCutcheon, R-Huntsville, urging delay, withdrawal, and reconsideration of the EPA's action. HJR 205 says that Alabama's power production and delivery is beyond the legal scope of the EPA's authority to mandate change.

The EPA is trying to force carbon dioxide reductions but doesn't take into account significant reductions in Alabama since 2005; nor does it recognize Alabama's clean hydroelectric and nuclear power production.

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management, the attorney general, and the Public Service Commission all oppose the EPA's attempt, which is also being challenged in federal court. Last year, the BCA testified at an EPA public hearing in Atlanta in opposition to the regulation.

The governor's signature to SB 89 by Waggoner changes the Birmingham Water Works Board's pay and travel and requires open meetings. The board must conduct public hearings, vote in public on rate increases, and hold public discussions on travel expenses.

The new law ends current board pay of $285 per meeting and replaces it with a compensation of $1,000 a month. Board travel and reimbursement must be approved in a public vote, expense records must be listed on the Water Works' website, and board members may not be reimbursed for alcoholic beverages or entertainment.

Rep. Alan Boothe, R-Troy, was named chairman of the Legislature's Joint Committee on Water Policy and Management, a panel of seven senators and seven representatives charged with overseeing state rivers and other water resources. "Water is the most important natural resource in Alabama and I'll do everything in my power to ensure it is well-protected in our state for years to come," Boothe said. "Water sustains our communities, maintains our wildlife, and supports industry and the economy, and I'm honored to chair this important committee."

The panel will oversee and develop a comprehensive plan to manage state water resources, including long-term sustainability of the water supply and efficient and effective distribution of water resources, intrastate and interstate water conservation strategies, and the use of technology and strategies for water resource planning.

For more information, read "Water Policy: A Business Perspective."

The Senate confirmed Dr. Craig Martin to the AEMC. Dr. Martin is a founding member of Liberty Animal Hospital P.C. in Birmingham where he practices veterinary medicine. After graduating from the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, he practiced at the Martin Animal Hospital and Pinson Animal Hospital.

The AEMC is charged with developing the state's environmental policy, hearing administrative appeals of permits, administrative orders and variances issued by the Department, adopting environmental regulations, and selecting an ADEM director. Members are appointed to six-year terms by the governor and subject to Senate confirmation.

SB 250 by Sen. Greg Reed, R-Jasper, would clarify procedures for hearings and appeals under the Alabama Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act and allow judicial review of final commission actions in Walker County circuit court. The bill passed, Act No. 2015-383.

SB 283 by Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, would alter the distribution of hazardous waste disposal fees. The bill passed, Act No. 2015-315.

HB 229 by Rep. Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, would create the office of state climatologist to further enable research with state economic development projects. The bill did not pass.

Health care costs have been on the rise for both the public and private sectors, mainly due to government regulations directed by the Obama administrations Affordable Care Act.  At the state level, 10 bills were introduced this session that mandated certain provisions within private health care contracts between insurers and providers. None of the 10 focused on reducing costs for employers and employees. 

The BCA's 2015 State Legislative Agenda states that the BCA will oppose mandating employer-provided health care benefits or any legislation, resolution, or regulation that would increase health plan costs.

In response to this rush of bills, the BCA consistently represented its longstanding position.

"At a minimum, existing industry and legislators in Alabama should be given ample time to see, react and prepare for their real costs and economic impact of legislative initiatives directing the actions of the private sector," BCA President and CEO William J. Canary said. "A study committee would improve transparency and ensure that state government thoughtfully considers the impact of proposed legislation on small businesses and existing industry in Alabama."

SBs 270 and 296 were sent to the governor, who signed them on June 11 to become Acts 2015-481 and 2015-483, respectively.

SB 296, sponsored by Sen. Paul Bussman, R-Cullman, prohibits a private insurer from being able to set costs of non-covered services of a dental provider for its contracts with those providers.

SB 270 was sponsored by Sen. Slade Blackwell, R-Birmingham. The bill prohibits vision care service insurers from limiting a vision care provider's ability to set fees for services and materials, from participating in specific vision care plans, and from choosing sources of suppliers in certain circumstances, among other provisions.

Both bills will allow providers to charge more for certain products and services.

SB 260, the Healthy Food Financing Act, by Sen. Greg Reed, would provide financing for grocery stores to operate in low- to moderate-income areas to increase the availability of fresh and nutritious food to underserved communities. The bill passed and became Act No. 2015-240.

SB 431, also by Reed, would establish integrated care networks to provide long-term care services throughout the state to Medicaid-eligible recipients. The bill passed and became Act No. 2015-322.

In April, the BCA praised the Alabama Legislature for passing SB 80, by Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster. It overturns the Alabama Supreme Court's adoption of a novel legal theory that could hurt Alabama's businesses and the state's business climate.

"Had this not been swiftly corrected by the Legislature, Alabama would have been at a great disadvantage in attracting new business investment, which is key to bringing economic growth and jobs to our state," BCA President and CEO William J. Canary said.

SB 80 was necessary because the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in 2013 and 2014 that a brand-name drug manufacturer can be held liable - on a "fraud" theory - for physical injuries caused by a generic drug product it neither made nor sold.

"To think that a company could be held liable for injuries allegedly caused by a product it neither manufactured nor distributed is alarming, and we thank Speaker (Mike) Hubbard and Pro-tem (Del) Marsh for making this pro-business bill a priority," said Tommy Lee, BCA First Vice Chairman, and President and CEO of Vulcan, Inc., a manufacturer in Foley.

Passage of this major bill was a priority in the BCA's State Legislative Agenda for 2015 and for BCA's national partners, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers. To read more on the importance of this legislation, click here.

Canary and former Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker testified on consumer lawsuit lending at House and Senate public hearings. Baker spoke on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Canary and Baker spoke to the House Financial Services Committee in support of HB 160, sponsored by Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, and to the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee in support of SB 68, sponsored by Ward.

"The Business Council of Alabama, working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for Legal Reform, fully supports SB 68 and HB 160, as introduced by Senator Ward and Representative Pringle," Canary said.

"It's a top priority of the Chamber," Baker said. "We think it has a detrimental impact on business and prolongs litigation."

HB 160 passed the House 98-1 with large support from Republicans and Democrats. After passing the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee, the bill remained stuck at the "call of the chair" in the Senate unable to receive a vote despite broad support from both sides of the political aisle. 

"It was a disappointing result for such a good piece of legislation, but we are confident that the Senate leadership will address this issue in the next session to ensure that both businesses and consumers have protections from the practice of lawsuit lending," Canary said.

The BCA supported SB 67 by Sen. Ward. The governor signed SB 67, which will reduce the state's prison population from about 190 percent of designed capacity to about 160 percent over five years, reducing the possibility of a federal court takeover. The new law also will make sweeping changes to sentencing and probation standards

Penalties for some minor crimes will be reduced and greater supervision of inmates will occur. SB 67 also creates a Class D felony, a new category, for some nonviolent property and drug offenses.

Prison reform is of vital interest to Alabama as the real threat of a federal takeover of prisons would result in more than $400 million in new taxes to build additional prison capacity. "Inaction could have led to mandates by a federal court that would have draconian financial implications for business and all Alabama taxpayers," Canary said.

Also becoming law was HB 420 by Rep. Mike Jones, R-Andalusia. It authorizes the Alabama Corrections Institution Finance Authority to redirect up to $60 million in bonds for a prison facility in a particular county to locations statewide in order to provide more prison capacity. 

The governor approved SJR 50 by Ward, which establishes the Business Litigation and Complex Litigation Study Committee on the feasibility of business courts.

The BCA supports the establishment of business courts because complex business lawsuits too often are handled in circuit courts that often do not include the subject matter needed to handle the complicated issues that can arise in business litigation.

The committee will study the potential benefits, detriments, feasibility, and possible scope of a business litigation or complex litigation court, identify the resources necessary to create such a court, and report to the Legislature prior to the 2016 legislative session.

The BCA will continue efforts to further cement Alabama's status as a right-to-work state by continuing to oppose any patchwork of local employment policies and labor peace agreements on the private sector that go beyond existing federal and state requirements.

In the 2015 legislative session, the BCA supported HB 495 by Rep. Arnold Mooney, R-Birmingham, and SB 403 by Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Range, that would establish a statewide policy prohibiting municipalities, counties, or authorities from setting wage, benefit, leave, or background check policies for private-sector employers.

The Labor and Employment section of the 2015 BCA State Legislative Agenda states that the BCA strongly supports Alabama's "right-to-work" status for its benefits to economic growth, industrial recruitment, and job creation.

HB 495 would also prohibit municipalities from requiring employers to grant collective bargaining concessions to unions in exchange for assistance with a development project.

Local governments in other states have taken ill-advised steps to increase the local minimum wage or to require local employers to provide certain employee benefits. HB 495 and SB 403 were intended to halt similar attempts to impose mandates on Alabama's employers before they gain purchase.

Existing federal and state laws protect individuals from discrimination in employment while providing appropriate due process to employers without limiting employers' ability to maintain a secure, safe, and productive workplace.

The BCA works to protect Alabama's competitive edge nationally and internationally by fighting efforts to create a state minimum wage above the national minimum wage and opposes attempts to negatively influence the current balance between business and labor as it relates to unionization and contract negotiations.

HB 352, the restrictive covenant bill by Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, went to the governor's office on June 4. Restrictive covenants, like non-compete clauses, are found in contracts between businesses and their employees, business partners, buyers and sellers, and others. This bill would replace existing law with a more specific list of protectable interests and presumptively reasonable restraints on length-of-time and geographic area.

Currently, Alabama courtrooms produce disparate results. Current law is not consistent and judges have significant discretion in their reasoning and decisions. This new law would provide a guide for judges to follow in interpreting covenants and add clarity for those in the business community who not only draft these agreements but also face the potential of costly litigation over them.

HB 42 by Rep. Darrio Melton, D-Selma, was a proposed constitutional amendment that would mandate an increase in the minimum wage in stages. The bill did not pass.

HB 384 by Rep. Napoleon Bracy, D-Mobile, would set an increased minimum wage for Mobile County and create a new legal cause of action for failing to pay minimum wage. The bill did not pass.

SB 106 by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, known as the Alabama Information Protection Act of 2015, would protect personal consumer data information and require notification of a breach to the Attorney General and consumers. The bill did not pass.

SB 195 sponsored by Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, would create a legal cause of action for alleged workplace bullying, intimidation, or harassment. The bill did not pass.

Small business owners expressed concern with HB 553 sponsored by Rep. Ken Johnson, R-Moulton, during a public hearing in the House Ways and Means Education Committee, and the bill did not advance.

HB 553 would have eliminated $39 million in administrative discounts for businesses that remit certain taxes to the Department of Revenue in a timely manner.

At the public hearing on HB 553, Rick Brown, president of the Alabama Retail Association testified in opposition saying that retailers get the discount because they collect the state sales tax and remit it to the Department of Revenue.

HB 232 sponsored by Rep. Jack "J.D." Williams, R-Vestavia Hills, was signed into law on May 27. It increases the eligible amount-in-controversy in small claims court from $3,000 to $6,000.

HB 377 was sent to the governor. Sponsored by Rep. Ron Johnson, R-Sylacauga, HB 377 will require a municipality altering its police jurisdiction to notify businesses and individuals affected by any annexation or de-annexation. The bill will further limit changes to a police jurisdiction to once a year, on Jan. 1.

Municipalities will have to provide public notice of the change in police jurisdictions online and in a newspaper, along with a map of the new municipal and police jurisdiction limits. The notification requirements should help businesses avoid unexpected liabilities for local taxes and fees.

HB 264 by Rep. Steve McMillan, R-Gulf Shores, would create a preference zone for local bidders.

The Business Council of Alabama and 25 other trade associations that are a cross-section of Alabama businesses opposed a mandatory unitary combined income reporting bill that was sponsored by Rep. Mike Hill, R-Columbiana. Hill sponsored HB 142 on behalf of Governor Robert Bentley as part of Bentley's proposed $541 million tax increase.

The Business Associations' Tax Coalition sent a letter that was signed by the BCA to House Speaker Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn.

The BCA is a founding member of the BATC, which represents every major business classification in Alabama. "Many BATC members have long-standing positions in opposition to unitary combined reporting for basic and obvious reasons," the BATC letter said.

Combined income reporting would hinder economic development, create confusion rather than consistency in the tax code, and be costly for business and the state. HB 142 died in the House Ways and Means Education Committee.

The BCA's long-standing tax policy states: "... should any tax or tax reform initiatives be proposed, 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."

Three important job creation bills became law, HB 57, HB 58, and HB 59. The three were passed nearly unanimously by both houses. The bills will enable Alabama to stay current in its recruitment and retention of jobs.

HB 416, the Alabama Renewal Act sponsored by Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, would allow for port credits to be issued to qualifying users of Alabama's publicly owned ports based on qualifying increased cargo shipments. Another provision would have expanded economic development organizations' abilities to meet the needs of local communities. After passing the House, the bill died in the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee.

HB 304 by Rep. Phil Williams, R-Monrovia, the Alabama Innovation Act, would provide tax credits for qualifying research expenses. Alabama is one of only a few states that does not have a R&D tax credit similar to the federal government program.  After passing the House Technology and Research Committee, the bill was never debated by the full House.

HB 135, the General Fund budget by Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, passed the House and Senate, but Governor Bentley vetoed it. The House overrode the veto but because the Senate had already adjourned for the 2015 legislative session, the veto stands, and the session ended with no general government operating budget.

A special session will be needed this summer in order for legislators to craft a new budget with or without funding of between $200 million and $250 million just to level-fund government operations in the 2015-16 Fiscal Year. HB 135 did have three categories of conditional appropriations totaling $208 million, which would have shored up state agencies only if the additional revenue materialized.

The timing of calling a special session and the matters to be considered are at the discretion of the governor. The Legislature will have 12 legislative days to complete its work within a 30-day time frame.

SB 437, the Simplified Sellers Use Tax Remittance Act sponsored by Sen. Trip Pittman, R-Daphne, was sent to the governor. SB 437 would require the Department of Revenue to develop and make available an easily accessible online system that would allow an eligible seller to collect, report, and submit the simplified sellers' use tax. The rate will be 8 percent.

The Senate passed SB 497 by Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Range, and sent it to the House where it died at the end of the session.

The Legislature's governing council, consisting of representatives from both the House and Senate, wrote the Alabama Department of Revenue stating disapproval of a DOR move to tax film and television shows streamed online.

SB 496 by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, would increase receipts to the State General Fund and decrease receipts to the Education Trust Fund by changing the distribution of use and remote use taxes. This bill did not pass.