Everyone in Montgomery seems to be breathing easier now that Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom has broken the partisan deadlock in the Alabama Senate (although some have questioned the legality of the move). It seems at this hour that the Legislature might actually fulfill its constitutional duty to pass the state budgets, as well as a $1 billion bond issue for building new schools throughout the state. A special session this year might have been avoided.
However, the action in the Legislature might not bode so well for Jefferson County (to a greater extent) and Birmingham (to a lesser extent). At issue is whether the county’s occupational tax will expire next year, or even if it has been legal since a contested bill to repeal it passed (or not, depending on who you ask) in 1999.
According to county commissioners, the occupational tax provides about $60 million in revenue per year. That tax sunsets in 2008. Also, in 1999, Rep. Arthur Payne pushed through a bill to repeal the tax.
The 1999 vote used what has been called an “implied quorum.” In essence, less than half of the Legislature participated in the vote. Implied quorums have been a standard practice in the legislature for years, but a subsequent court challenge ruled that the repeal was not legal since less than a quorum was present for the vote.
Since then, however, another court case challenged another bill on similar grounds. In that case, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that the Legislature sets its own rules and that implied quorums were legal if the Legislature approved of the practice.
Jefferson County Commissioners worry that the occupational tax would not withstand another court challenge. If that happened, the county might have to pay back as much as $400 million to taxpayers, money the county doesn’t have.
According to Commission President Bettye Fine Collins, the result would be nothing short of bankruptcy.
In an unusual moment of solidarity, the five commissioners have petitioned the Legislature to renew the tax, but so far those concerns have fallen on deaf ears in Montgomery.
Until the issue is resolved, the commission Republicans have put a padlock on the county coffers, rejecting the BJCC expansion plans.
Also going nowhere in Montgomery is a bill by Rep. Merika Coleman that would set mayoral and council elections at the same time. Currently, the staggered elections every two years have fostered a virulent relationship between the council and mayor. If the bill were to pass, the mayor and council would run for office at the same time, and ambitious councilors would have to give up their council seats to run for mayor.
The bill would also truncate the next mayoral term to two years. However, Mayor Bernard Kincaid says he would support such a move, if it would improve working political relationships at City Hall.
— Kyle Whitmire
May 25th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
The Jeffco Occ tax is dead and the legislature can’t, and won’t, save the Commission from being forced to make some painful decisions regarding its collection. The Commission must do what it can to prevent the County from going bankrupt - which means the County must be prepared to strike a deal with the taxpayers which will allow the taxpayers to get a refund - but not one so robust as to bankrupt the County.