HB494 Alabama 2017 Session

Updated Feb 26, 2026

Notable

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Steve McMillan
Republican
Session: Regular Session 2017
Title: Baldwin Co., lease tax, distribution, portion distrib. to Historic Blakeley Authority to be used for Ft. Mims preservation, Sec. 45-2-244.183, am'd.
Summary: HB494 changes how Baldwin County distributes the privilege license tax to fund the Legislative Office, the Historic Blakeley Authority for Fort Mims preservation, and the Baldwin County Community Capital Fund, with specific spending rules and oversight.
What This Bill Does
It reallocates the county's privilege license tax revenue into four dedicated funds: 75% to the county general fund (with $150,000 each year set aside for the Baldwin County Legislative Office), 12.5% to the Historic Blakeley Authority, and 12.5% to the Baldwin County Community Capital Fund. For the Historic Blakeley Authority, the first four fiscal years split the funds evenly between capital outlay and operations, after which all funds go to capital outlay, including a $25,000 annual amount for Fort Mims preservation and 50% of remaining funds for capital improvements. The Baldwin County Community Capital Fund can be used only with the unanimous direction of the Baldwin County Legislative Delegation for public purposes, including possible projects at Fort Morgan, and unspent balances stay in the fund. Additional external capital contributions to the Blakeley Authority may allow up to 50% of those new contributions to be used for operations instead of capital outlay. The bill also requires a master plan for capital outlay, quarterly disbursements, periodic approvals by the county commission, and audits by the Examiners of Public Accounts.

Who It Affects
Baldwin County general fund and county taxpayers, who fund and oversee the distribution of the privilege license tax revenues.
Baldwin County Legislative Delegation and the Baldwin County Legislative Office staff, who receive a dedicated annual $150,000 fund for office operations and related expenses.
Historic Blakeley Authority and Fort Mims preservation efforts, which receive a share of funds with specific rules on use (capital outlay vs. operations) and oversight.
Public projects and the Fort Morgan State Historic Site, which may receive funding from the Baldwin County Community Capital Fund and are subject to unanimous delegation direction.
Auditors and Examiners of Public Accounts, who will review and audit these expenditures.

Key Provisions
75% of net privilege license tax revenue goes to the Baldwin County general fund, plus an annual $150,000 set aside for the Baldwin County Legislative Office.
12.5% goes to the Historic Blakeley Authority, with a first four-year period (FY 2017 through the next three fiscal years) split 50% for capital outlay and 50% for operations; after that, the entire portion is for capital outlay, including a $25,000 allocation for Fort Mims preservation and 50% for capital improvements thereafter.
12.5% goes to the Baldwin County Community Capital Fund to be used only with the unanimous direction of the Baldwin County Legislative Delegation for public purposes, including possible Fort Morgan projects; unspent balances stay in the fund.
If the Historic Blakeley Authority adds capital contributions from other sources, up to 50% of those additional contributions may be used for operations instead of capital outlay.
The Authority must submit a master plan for capital outlay; disbursements are quarterly and subject to approval processes; deviations require county commission approval.
Audits of these expenditures are required by the Examiners of Public Accounts.

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