SB23 Alabama 2019 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Chris ElliottSenator

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2019

Title

Municipalities, police jurisdiction and planning jurisdiction, limited to property within corporate limits, provisions for business licenses and sales taxes outside of corporate limits repealed, Secs. 11-51-90, 11-51-206 repealed; Secs. 11-40-10, 11-52-30 am'd.

Summary

SB 23 would limit a municipality's police and planning powers to within its corporate limits, remove outside-jurisdiction tax authority, and require audits of any police-jurisdiction taxes.

What This Bill Does

It restricts police jurisdiction to land inside the municipality's corporate limits. It also limits planning jurisdiction to the corporate limits, removing authority to plan outside those limits. It repeals the ability to levy business license taxes and sales/use taxes in the police jurisdiction outside the corporate limits, allowing such taxes only if they were in place before the act’s effective date. It requires audits of any taxes or fees collected in the police jurisdiction to ensure funds are spent there, with a 12-month correction window if noncompliance is found, and an effective date 90 days after governor approval.

Who It Affects

• Municipal governments and their planning commissions: their police and planning powers would be confined to the corporate limits, and their authority to levy certain taxes outside those limits would be removed unless pre-existing before the act becomes law.
• Residents, property owners, and businesses within a city’s corporate limits: city police and planning oversight would apply only inside the corporate area; new outside-jurisdiction taxes would be prohibited unless they existed before the act’s effective date, and any police-jurisdiction taxes would be subject to annual audits.

Key Provisions

• Police jurisdiction limited to land within the municipality's corporate limits (removing extensions beyond the limits).
• Municipal planning commission jurisdiction limited to corporate limits (no outside five-mile planning authority).
• Repeal of the authority to levy business license taxes and sales/use taxes in the police jurisdiction outside corporate limits, unless such taxes were levied before the act’s effective date.
• Audits required for taxes or fees in the police jurisdiction to ensure funds are spent there; 14-day copy to the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts; if noncompliance is found, 12 months to correct or collection in the police jurisdiction stops until compliant.
• Act takes effect 90 days after the Governor's 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

Municipalities