Severance tax bill dies in Senate

By Staff
Jonathan Willis
The House bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow, would have put the county's severance tax receipts towards road repairs. It has been used for economic development since being implemented in 2004.
The bill passed out of the House and reached the Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee, which is headed by Sen. Roger Bedford. Since the bill didn't make it out of committee, it was not eligible for a Senate vote. Friday was the last day of the legislative session.
The county's development authority, which oversees industrial recruitment, has an annual budget of $210,000. The bill would have taken the budget down to $50,000.
The authority also receives funding from the cities of Russellville and Red Bay. Both city councils in those cities, as well as Phil Campbell, passed resolutions opposing Morrow's bill.
The county commission passed a resolution in support of it.