Members of the Alabama House Minority Caucus held a press conference on Wednesday to propose sweeping tax reforms financed by repealing the CHOOSE Act and passing comprehensive gaming reform.
Democratic lawmakers criticized Republicans for what they described as half-measures and delays in providing financial relief, arguing that immediate action is necessary to combat rising costs of living. They railed against school choice, renaming the Gulf of Mexico, and the federal-level Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“Like my colleagues here have said, renaming the Gulf of Mexico won’t reduce egg prices. It won’t make our electric bills go down or ensure public school teachers have supplies for their classrooms. It’s time to stop the political games and stay focused on making life easier and more manageable for the folk who are working two jobs just to pay the rent,” State Rep. Adline Clarke (D-Mobile) said.
“The CHOOSE Act needs to be repealed, and that money needs to be put back into public education where it belongs,” she said.
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“The people of Alabama need immediate relief,” State Rep. Laura Hall (D-Huntsville) said. “They can’t afford to wait around hoping that maybe in another year, they will see another tiny 1% decrease in costs.”
Hall reiterated her caucus’ long-time push to eliminate the state tax on groceries, a measure partially enacted in recent years but still tied to state revenue benchmarks. She called the existing structure a “compromise” that has failed to provide meaningful savings for families facing record-high prices at the checkout line.
State Rep. Curtis Travis (D-Tuscaloosa) echoed those concerns while advocating for the permanent extension of Alabama’s first-in-the-nation tax exemption on overtime pay, which is set to expire in June.
“If Republicans are serious about letting this tax cut expire, it would amount to more than a $234 million tax increase on overtime workers in Alabama,” Travis said.
House Democrats also announced legislation that would reduce the state income tax rate from 5% to 4% on the first 40 hours of work for hourly employees. State Rep. Adline Clarke argued that the proposal, paired with the overtime tax exemption, would help Alabamians manage rising expenses.
According to fiscal estimates, the overtime tax cut proposal amounts to $300 million, the grocery tax proposal $369 million, and the income tax reduction at $1.2 billion.
Notwithstanding ongoing attempts to expand Medicaid, increase prison costs and expenses, and invest more into retiree cost-of-living adjustments (COLAS) — today’s tax plan announced by Democrats would come with a $1.7 billion price tag.
Repealing the CHOOSE Act, passed last year in overwhelming fashion, would bring roughly $100 million back, while the most comprehensive possible gaming package would net the state roughly $900 million.
Lawmakers told Yellowhammer News on Wednesday that the proposal is a good example of the same reckless fiscal policies that drove Alabama into proration, depleted every rainy day fund, and left the state’s budget in disarray under Democratic leadership prior to 2010.
“This comes out to a $1.7B hit to the state’s budgets, and their solution to offset that is repealing the CHOOSE Act and passing a gaming bill?,” State Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville), Chairman of the Alabama House Education Trust Fund committee said.
“It’s in no way, shape, or form a realistic proposal.”
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
