SB447 Alabama 2015 Session

Updated Feb 27, 2026

Notable

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Phillip W. Williams
Republican
Session: Regular Session 2015
Title: Etowah Co., sales and use tax distribution, to eliminate, reduce, and add proceeds to certain entities, Sec. 45-28-244.01 am'd.
Summary: SB447 rewrites how Etowah County's 1-cent sales tax proceeds are distributed, removing some rescue-squad funding, trimming several allocations, and directing more money to law enforcement and related services.
What This Bill Does
It changes the distribution rules for Etowah County's county sales tax. It eliminates distributions to the Etowah County Rescue Squad and the Attalla Rescue Squad. It reduces the shares for Gadsden State Community College, the Etowah County Fund, the Etowah County Community Development Committee, the Etowah County Library Committee, and the county's volunteer fire departments. The reduced funds are then allocated, starting October 1, 2015, to the Etowah County Drug Enforcement Task Force (45.8%), the District Attorney's Office to hire an assistant district attorney (11.2%), and the Sheriff’s Department to boost salaries and payroll (43%). The act also creates two new committees to manage the proceeds and establishes a dedicated Etowah County Sales Tax Account with protections for bonded obligations.

Who It Affects
Etowah County Rescue Squad and Attalla Rescue Squad — their distributions from the county sales tax would be eliminated.
Gadsden State Community College, Etowah County Fund, Etowah County Community Development Committee, Etowah County Library Committee, and county volunteer fire departments — their distributions would be reduced by 9% starting October 1, 2015.
Etowah County Drug Enforcement Task Force; Etowah County District Attorney's Office; Etowah County Sheriff's Department — after the reductions, they would receive defined shares of the reduced funds (45.8%, 11.2%, and 43%, respectively).
Etowah County Community Development Committee and Etowah County Library Committee — created to receive and administer tax proceeds; appointed by the county's legislative delegation; administrator serves as a nonvoting member; these committees can issue bonds and manage debt.
Etowah County Sales Tax Account — created to hold the tax proceeds and distribute per the act; redistributions cannot reduce money needed to meet existing bonded debt obligations.

Key Provisions
Eliminates distributions to the Etowah County Rescue Squad and the Attalla Rescue Squad from the county's sales tax proceeds.
Reduces distributions to Gadsden State Community College, the Etowah County Fund, the Etowah County Community Development Committee, the Etowah County Library Committee, and county volunteer fire departments; the reductions begin after September 30, 2015.
Beginning October 1, 2015, directs the nine percent-reduction funds to three recipients: Etowah County Drug Enforcement Task Force (45.8%), Etowah County District Attorney's Office (11.2%), and Etowah County Sheriff's Department (43%).
Creates the Etowah County Community Development Committee and the Etowah County Library Committee to receive and manage the tax proceeds, with appointments by the county's legislative delegation and the county administrator as a nonvoting member; both have authority to issue bonds and manage debt.
Establishes the Etowah County Sales Tax Account to hold proceeds and ensure distributions are made according to the amended plan; redistribution cannot reduce funds already needed to meet bonded indebtedness.
The act preserves the county's ability to administer or contract collection of the tax and allows collection costs up to 2% of total proceeds.

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