Publications
Index of Summaries of General Laws Enacted and Constitutional Amendments Proposed
by the Legislature of Alabama at the 2015 First Special Session
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Acts 2015 First Special Session
House Bills 2015 First Special Session
Senate Bills 2015 First Special Session
Summaries of General Laws Enacted and Constitutional Amendments Proposed
by the Legislature of Alabama at the 2015 First Special Session
Act 2015-500, SB28, proposes an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, relating only to DeKalb County, to repeal Amendment No. 845 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as Section 1.50 of the Local Amendments relating to Dekalb County, Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, which requires the county commission to call a special election to fill a vacancy in any county office when 12 or more months remain in the unexpired term. (See Act 2015-501).
EFFECTIVE DATE: Contingent upon ratification.
Act 2015-501, HB12, proposes an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, relating only to DeKalb County, to repeal Amendment No. 845 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as Section 1.50 of the Local Amendments relating to Dekalb County, Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, which requires the county commission to call a special election to fill a vacancy in any county office when 12 or more months remain in the unexpired term. (See Act 2015-500).
EFFECTIVE DATE: Contingent upon ratification.
Act 2015-502, HB18, provides criminal penalties for the unlawful sale, purchase, installation, transfer, or possession of an automated sales suppression device or phantom-ware that is used to create falsified records of an electronic cash register or duplicates or manipulates those records. The act provides that violators are liable for all taxes, fees, penalties, and interest due to the state and any local government, and that all profits associated with the sale or use of an automated sales suppression device or phantom-ware are subject to forfeiture. The act also amends Section 40-29-119, Code of Alabama 1975, to provide that the limitation period for this offense is six years after the commission of the offense.
EFFECTIVE DATE: August 11, 2015.
Act 2015-503, HB25, amends Section 40-23-2, Code of Alabama 1975, to apply Alabama automobile sales tax to out-of-state residents who purchase a vehicle in Alabama for first use outside of this state and whose resident state does not allow Alabama residents to purchase a vehicle in the state for first titling and registration in Alabama without the payment of tax to that state (known as “drive out exemption”). The act excludes vehicle campers or housecars from the drive out exemption. The act also requires the Department of Revenue to publish a list of states that do not allow drive out exemptions for Alabama residents.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2016.
Act 2015-504, HB42, is the Alabama Taxpayer Fraud Prevention Act. The act amends Section 40-18-73, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to individual income taxes, to delete the exception from the requirement that employers deduct and withhold tax upon payment of wages to an employee upon certain certifications by an employee. The act also provides that the Department of Revenue may provide withholding forms for download in English and other languages on the department’s website.
EFFECTIVE DATE: September 1, 2015.
Act 2015-505, HB49, establishes a factor presence nexus standard for business activity for purposes of business privilege taxes, income taxes, or financial institution excise taxes. The act also provides that, if the state does not have jurisdiction to impose a tax on or measured by net income because a taxpayer is under the protection of Public Law 86-272, 15 U.S.C. § 381, the state does not gain jurisdiction to impose the tax even if the taxpayer’s property, payroll, or sales exceeds the established thresholds. Public Law 86-272 prohibits a state from imposing an income tax on out-of-state business whose only business activity within this state is the solicitation of orders for tangible personal property that are approved and shipped from outside the state.
EFFECTIVE DATE: August 11, 2015, for tax years beginning after December 31, 2014.
Act 2015-506, SB23, amends Sections 31-2-12, 32-6-110, and 40-12-244, Code of Alabama 1975, to delete the provision restricting the exempt plates for National Guard members to only the National Guard distinctive plate. The act also allows motorists to provide evidence of liability insurance in electronic format, including the display of electronic images on a cellular phone.
EFFECTIVE DATE: August 11, 2015.
Act 2015-516, HB20, amends Section 32-6-7.2, Code of Alabama 1975, to increase the minimum number of hours of behind-the-wheel driving practice required for a Stage II driver’s license for a person 16 years of age from 30 hours to 50 hours. The act excludes courses sanctioned by the State Department of Education from the 50-hour requirement. The act also provides that a grandparent may sign verification forms for Stage II driver’s applicants who are 16 years of age with the consent of a legal guardian.
EFFECTIVE DATE: November 1, 2015.
Act 2015-518, HB29, provides a procedure for conducting a federal instant runoff primary election and a special federal ballot for those primary elections and second primary elections for voters who are voting by absentee ballot pursuant to the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. The act may not be implemented until the federal court order requiring federal second primary runoff elections to be held nine weeks after the primary election has been vacated or upon a federal court order that vacation of the order is not necessary.
EFFECTIVE DATE: August 14, 2015.
Act 2015-519, HB32, provides that a violation of any rule adopted by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources relating to the transportation or release of live feral swine is a Class B misdemeanor and is subject to a fine of not less than $2,500.
EFFECTIVE DATE: November 1, 2015.
Act 2015-525, SB41, amends the General Appropriation Bill, Act 2014-284, 2014 Regular Session, to remove the language regarding specific expenditures for the Wetumpka Women’s Facility under the Department of Corrections appropriation to the Institutional Services Corrections Program. The act also makes a supplemental appropriation from the Alabama Credit Union Administration Fund to the Alabama Credit Union Administration in the amount of $200,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2015.
EFFECTIVE DATE: August 14, 2015.
Act 2015-526, SB42, allows members of governmental bodies comprised of members from two or more counties and subject to the Alabama Open Meetings Act to participate in meetings and deliberation via electronic communications. The act prohibits certain governmental bodies from participating in meetings and deliberation via electronic communication, such as the Board of Pardons and Paroles, the Public Service Commission, and standing committees of the Legislature, among others. The act also requires that a majority of a quorum of the members participating in a meeting be physically present at the location noticed and called for the meeting.
EFFECTIVE DATE: November 1, 2015.
Act 2015-527, SB46, amends Section 41-22-23, Code of Alabama 1975, as amended by Act 2015-291, relating to the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act, to provide the review by the Lieutenant Governor of rules disapproved by the Joint Committee on Administrative Regulation Review provided for in Act 2015-291 be held within 15 days of the request for review and to provide procedures for review if the Office of Lieutenant Governor is vacant. The act also would provide that the changes in the procedure for the review of administrative rules would apply to rules for which a notice of intended action is filed on or after October 1, 2015.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2015.
Act 2015-528, SB47, authorizes the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to designate persons to serve in their place on multi-member bodies of which they are a member. The act applies to multi-member bodies in existence on the effective date of this act or subsequently created.
EFFECTIVE DATE: August 14, 2015.
Act 2015-529, SB48, provides that the implementation of the transfer of certain functions of the Legislative Department to the Legislative Council enacted by Act 2015-408, 2015 Regular Session, will occur at the time or times determined by the Legislative Council.
EFFECTIVE DATE: August 14, 2015.
Act 2015-534, SB24, beginning January 1, 2016, requires all persons or companies exempt from the payment of sales, use, and lodging taxes, other than governmental entities, to annually obtain a certificate of exemption from the Department of Revenue and allows the department to assess any person or company with these taxes for any transaction conducted without a certificate. The act also allows the department to request information reports from exempt persons or companies and provides civil penalties for the intentional use of a certificate of exemption in violation of the act including barring the use of a certificate of exemption for a specified time frame.
EFFECTIVE DATE: August 19, 2015.