HB16 Alabama 2013 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Patricia Todd

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2013

Title

Economic Development and Fiscal Accountability Act, Revenue Department to report to Legislature regarding yearly economic development expenditures, economic development subsidies through Economic and Community Affairs Department, defaults on development subsidies, civil actions

Summary

HB16 aims to increase transparency and accountability for economic development subsidies by requiring detailed reporting, performance standards, and enforcement mechanisms.

What This Bill Does

It requires the Department of Revenue to publish an annual Unified Economic Development Report detailing expenditures and the impact of tax credits, abatements, and reductions. It also requires property-taxing entities to report every year on properties that receive state abatements and the amount of revenue lost. It allows subsidies to be awarded through the Department of Economic and Community Affairs and requires grant recipients to file progress reports; it also creates penalties for defaults and allows citizens to sue to enforce the act. It includes recapture provisions if goals aren’t met and possible nullification of subsidies after repeated defaults.

Who It Affects

• State and local government entities (Department of Revenue, Department of Economic and Community Affairs, and property-taxing authorities) must collect, publish, and monitor data on economic development subsidies and abatements, and enforce reporting deadlines.
• Recipient corporations and their corporate parents, grant applicants, small businesses, and property owners with abatements must apply for subsidies, meet job creation, wage, and health coverage requirements, file progress reports, and may face recapture or civil enforcement if goals aren’t met.

Key Provisions

• Annual Unified Economic Development Report (Section 4): Department of Revenue must report yearly expenditures on economic development, including uncollected tax revenue from credits/abatements, with itemization for large credits (≥$5,000) and aggregated totals for smaller ones, plus total state expenditures for related programs.
• Property tax abatements reporting (Section 5): Property-taxing entities must report on real property receiving abatements, including owner, location, dates, and the amount of revenue not paid; DoR publishes data; late reports can trigger withholding of development subsidies by the Comptroller.
• Subsidy application and progress reporting (Sections 6-7): Granting bodies and applicants must use a DoECA-form; required details include project site, jobs, wages, health care, and employer information; annual progress reports and a two-year report are required, with data published by DoECA.
• Wage, job, and subsidy rules (Sections 8-9): Subsidies have a cost-per-job cap of $35,000; wages must meet specified thresholds (85% of state average, or 75% for small businesses) if health care is provided; subsidies must be used to meet job creation and wage goals and corporate parents must maintain 90% state employment; failures trigger recapture or void the subsidy after three consecutive defaults.
• Enforcement and openness (Sections 10-11): Taxpayers can sue to enforce the act; all related records are subject to open records laws to ensure transparency.
• Effective date (Section 14): The act becomes effective immediately after passage and approval.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Economic Development