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What Alabamians need to know about the latest activity on Goat Hill — Feb. 9, 2021

MONTGOMERY — Legislators return to the State House on Tuesday for the fourth day of the 2021 regular session.

The third day of legislative business this past Thursday saw three major bills advance from their respective chambers of origin; HBs 170 and 192 passed the House and received a first reading in the Senate, while SB 30 passed the Senate and received a first reading in the House.

HB 170, among other tax reform measures, would ensure that federal stimulus funds derived from the CARES Act and subsequent coronavirus relief legislation are not subject to state income taxes. The bill is sponsored by State Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville) and its Senate companion bill, SB 98, is sponsored by State Sen. Dan Roberts (R-Mountain Brook).

Sponsored by State Rep. Bill Poole (R-Tuscaloosa), HB 192 would renew and improve job creation incentives found in the Alabama Jobs Act and Growing Alabama Act. Senate Pro Tem Greg Reed (R-Jasper) is sponsoring the companion bill in the upper chamber.

The SB 30 “safe harbor” bill, sponsored by State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur), would provide limited liability protections to businesses, health care providers and other entities against civil lawsuits related to COVID-19.

On Thursday, HB 170 passed the House in a 94-0 vote. HB 192 passed the chamber in a 94-1 vote, as only State Rep. Andrew Sorrell (R-Muscle Shoals) dissented.

SB 30 passed the Senate in a 28-1 tally, with State Sen. Vivian Figures (D-Mobile) as the sole “no” vote.

However, those bills — which are priorities for Governor Kay Ivey and legislative leadership — were not the only items to move on the House and Senate floors on the third day of the session.

Alabama Senate

In addition to SB 30, the Senate moved a litany of bills on Thursday.

This included a package of pro-military bills that were the result of diligent work by the Alabama Military Stability Commission, a panel that is chaired by Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth (R-AL).

The Senate also passed SB 78, which would establish the Alabama Council on Advanced Technology and Artificial Intelligence. This bill sponsored by State Sen. Jabo Waggoner (R-Vestavia) stems from his leadership in recent years on artificial intelligence issues.

However, another Waggoner bill, SB 73, stalled on the floor and was carried over to the call of the chair after State Sen. Jim McClendon (R-Springville) raised issues with the legislation. Waggoner reminded McClendon that he voted for the same bill last year, however McClendon says stakeholders have since come to him with concerns. SB 73 relates to athletic trainers.

Another notable piece of legislation to pass was SB 76 by Orr. This “small cell” bill related to 5G infrastructure deployment passed as amended 27-3.

It should also be noted that SB 89 by Waggoner and State Sen. Rodger Smitherman (D-Birmingham) passed unanimously. This bill would ensure the nonprofit foundation for the World Games 2022 Birmingham is exempted from state and local taxes.

View the full list of the Senate’s floor activity for the third legislative day here.

Alabama House

The House’s special order calendar was shorter than the Senate’s on Thursday, mainly focused on HBs 170 and 192.

The House passed HBs 178 and 231. The latter bill, by State Rep. Steve Clouse (R-Ozark), would make a supplemental appropriation of federal funds from the Alabama Emergency Rental Assistance Fund to the Department of Finance in the estimated amount of $263,236,067 for the current fiscal year.

View the full list of the House’s floor activity for the third legislative day here.

Looking ahead

HBs 170 and 192 are both scheduled to be considered by the Senate Committee on Finance and Taxation Education on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. CT.

At 1:00 p.m., the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs will take up 17 bills.

The Senate is scheduled to convene at 2:00 p.m., while the House is set to gavel in at 1:00 p.m. You can view the House’s special order calendar for the legislative day here.

Livestreams of legislative proceedings can be viewed on the legislature’s website here.

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn

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