Publications
Index of Summaries of General Laws Enacted and Constitutional Amendments Proposed
by the Legislature of Alabama at the 2015 Second Special Session
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ACTS | HOUSE BILLS | SENATE BILLS | SUMMARIES
Acts 2015 Second Special Session
House Bills 2015 Second Special Session
Senate Bills 2015 Second Special Session
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| SB13 | Act 2015-556 | Secretary of State Legislative Act | SB20 | Act 2015-555 | Secretary of State Legislative Act |
Summaries of General Laws Enacted and Constitutional Amendments Proposed
by the Legislature of Alabama at the 2015 Second Special Session
Act 2015-535, HB3, amends Sections 40-23-1, 40-23-35, 40-25-2, and 40-25-5, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to the sales tax on tobacco products, to (1) increase by 25 cents the tax on cigarettes; (2) reduce the tobacco stamp discount to wholesalers or jobbers from 7.5 percent to 4.75 percent; (3) change the distribution of the sales tax on consumable vapor products to the State General Fund; and (4) impose a floor-stock tax on tobacco products owned by any permitted wholesaler. The act requires permitted wholesalers to stamp all packages of cigarettes and to collect the applicable taxes on other tobacco products for tobacco products sold to a reservation tobacco vendor in this state and provides for the refund of taxes paid by tribal members on cigarettes or other tobacco products purchased within the boundaries of a federally recognized Indian reservation. The act also requires all revenue derived from the increased taxes levied by the act to be deposited into the State General Fund for the Medicaid Program.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2015.
Act 2015-536, HB12, amends Section 40-26B-21, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to nursing facilities and the privilege assessment on nursing facilities, to add a secondary supplemental assessment of $401.28 for each bed in the nursing facility for fiscal years 2016 and 2017, contingent upon a minimum general fund appropriation to the Medicaid Program in the 2016 fiscal year.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2015.
Act 2015-537, HB8, creates a supplemental privilege tax of 15 cents for each prescription filled or refilled for a citizen of this state beginning September 1, 2015, to be collected during fiscal years 2016 and 2017 and distributed to the Alabama Medicaid Agency. The act also authorizes the Alabama Medicaid Agency to file an amendment with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requesting an appropriate increase in the pharmacy dispensing fee included in the state reimbursement amount paid to participating pharmacists. The act provides that the supplemental privilege tax on prescriptions will cease to be imposed if CMS fails to approve the increased dispensing fee.
EFFECTIVE DATE: September 17, 2015.
Act 2015-538, HB29, amends Sections 29-9-3, 29-9-4, 29-9-5, and 29-9-6, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to the Education Trust Fund Rolling Reserve Act, to change the calculation of the fiscal year appropriation cap by: (1) removing the provision allowing 40 percent of the growth from the last completed fiscal year to be added to the cap when the percentage growth in the Education Trust Fund (ETF) exceeds the 15-year average growth rate; and (2) adding to the cap the amounts currently required to be appropriated from the ETF to the Prepaid Affordable College Tuition (PACT) Program for fiscal years 2016 through 2027, pursuant to existing law. The act changes the distribution of ETF revenues in excess of the fiscal year appropriation cap remaining after the ETF Rainy Day Account has been repaid as follows: (1) an amount equal to one percent of the previous year’s ETF appropriations must be transferred to the ETF Budget Stabilization Fund annually until the Fund reaches 7.5 percent of the previous year’s appropriations from the ETF; and (2) the amount in excess of the one percent transferred into the ETF Budget Stabilization Fund must be transferred into the ETF Advancement and Technology Fund (formerly the ETF Capital Fund) to be appropriated by an independent supplemental appropriation bill for certain education-related purposes. The act repeals Sections 16-33C-14 and 16-33C-15, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to annual appropriations from the Education Trust Fund to the Trust Fund of the Prepaid Affordable College Tuition (PACT) Program and amends Section 16-33C-16, Code of Alabama 1975, to revise the amounts to be annually appropriated from the ETF to the PACT Trust Fund. The act also prohibits the Legislature from appropriating any funds from any clearing or holding accounts into which the Department of Revenue deposits certain tax revenues.
EFFECTIVE DATE: September 17, 2015.
Act 2015-539, HB30, amends Section 40-23-85, Code of Alabama 1975, to change the distribution of state use taxes currently collected by decreasing the percentage of proceeds deposited into the Education Trust Fund and increasing the percentage of proceeds deposited into the State General Fund.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2015.
Act 2015-540, HB1, is the General Fund Budget. The act makes appropriations for the ordinary expenses of the executive, legislative, and judicial departments for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2015.
Act 2015-551, HB20, amends Section 40-23-2, Code of Alabama 1975, provides that the automobile, motorcycle, truck, truck trailer, and semi-trailer sales tax paid by out-of-state residents who purchase a vehicle in Alabama pursuant to existing law are not to be levied at a rate higher than the automobile sales tax of the resident state.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2016.
Act 2015-553, HB37, defines an “autocycle” as a motor vehicle which has three wheels on the ground, but has a steering wheel, and excludes autocycles from the definition of motorcycle for the purposes of the licensure of the driver. The act requires the driver of an autocycle to have a regular motor vehicle driver’s license, requires an autocycle to be equipped with a seat belt, which is required to be used while the vehicle is in operation, and provides certain restrictions for the use of autocycles by persons 17 years of age or younger.
EFFECTIVE DATE: September 22, 2015.
Act 2015-555, SB20, is the Alabama Tax Delinquency Amnesty Act of 2016. The act requires the Department of Revenue to create a tax amnesty program for all taxes administered by the department, excluding certain motor fuel taxes and certain penalties collected by the department under existing law. The amnesty period must be of two-month duration occurring prior to August 31, 2016, and applies to taxes due prior to January 1, 2015, or taxes for taxable periods that began before January 1, 2015. The act requires a participant in the amnesty program to agree to waive the right to protest or initiate an administrative or judicial proceeding. The act prescribes additional eligibility requirements and procedures for participation in the program and authorizes the department to impose a post-amnesty collection penalty under certain conditions. The act authorizes the department to retain a certain amount of the taxes collected for administrative and advertising expenses and provides that the remaining amounts collected will be deposited into the appropriate state fund.
EFFECTIVE DATE: September 22, 2015.
Act 2015-556, SB13, is the Motor Vehicle Ad Valorem Tax Fairness Act. The act amends Section 40-12-253, Code of Alabama 1975, to remove the deferral of ad valorem taxes on new motor vehicles registered for the first time with a manufacturer's certificate of origin when the motor vehicle satisfies the definition of Class IV property.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2016.