Goat Hill Weekly: Your Weekly Preview of the Alabama Legislature

February 6 – February 10

This is the first installment of what we’re going to call “Goat Hill Weekly.” This feature will run each Monday of the legislative session and will offer a detailed preview of the week ahead in the Alabama legislature.

We’ll have more details in the weeks ahead but this first edition will at least give you a decent idea of what’s on the agenda for the opening week of the session.

Work Week: 3 Days

What to expect:
House & Senate leadership are planning to kickoff the session with a clear message that jobs are the top priority. Expect the GOP’s entire jobs package to come first. Here are a few bills to look for:

· Streamlined Tax Incentives to Recruit and Retain Jobs
– Constitutional amendment to allow voters to give the Alabama Development Office and the Governor more flexibility in offering tax incentives to land major economic development projects and retain those companies that might otherwise relocate outside Alabama.

· “Heroes for Hire” – Tax Incentives for Hiring Veterans Returning from War
– Proposal to offer Alabama businesses at least a $1000 tax credit for hiring a veteran recently returned from war.

· “Made in Alabama” Job Incentives Act
– Passed into law in the 2011 Regular Session, this measure allows the state to offer temporary state income tax incentives to offset build-up phase tariff costs for international companies bringing jobs to the state.
-Alabama Education Association is suing to block the law
– Lawmakers will remove AEA’s technical argument, pass the law again and make sure Alabama once again has this competitive advantage over other states for recruiting international companies.

· Making Workforce Development Work for the Unemployed
– Proposal to make the necessary investments that afford our two-year college system the resources they need to connect Alabama’s jobless with Alabama jobs.

· Alabama Regulatory Flexibility Act
– Would require each state agency to conduct an economic impact analysis as well as a regulatory flexibility analysis prior to the adoption of any proposed regulation that may have an adverse impact on small businesses.

· Data Processing Center Economic Incentive Enhancement
– Proposal to expand the scope of certain tax incentives in order to focus on recruiting more data processing centers to Alabama.

· Legislation Establishing a Small Business Financing Authority
– This authority would assist small businesses with financing issues by making direct loans, helping small businesses attract more banking partners, and meeting a variety of credit-related needs.

· Creation the Alabama Sales, Use, and Lease Tax Simplification Task Force
– Alabama currently requires taxpayers and businesses to file separate sales, use and lease tax returns at the state, county, and city levels of government. This requirement causes a significant compliance burden for many companies.
-The Alabama Sales, Use and Lease Tax Simplification Task Force would be a twenty-member panel required to recommend ways to streamline and simplify the administration and remittance of sales, use and lease taxes.

· Enhancement of existing capital outlay tax credits to recruit targeted projects
– Under existing law, certain new and expanding businesses may qualify for an income tax capital credit of up to five percent (5%) of the capital costs of a qualifying project in each of the 20 years, commencing with the year during which the qualifying project is placed into service and continuing for 19 consecutive years thereafter. Any unused capital credit may not be carried forward to another tax year.
– This proposal would allow for an extension of the time period in which certain capital credits may be claimed and will allow unused capital credits for certain qualifying projects to be carried forward.