House Bill 359 Alabama 2026 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Andy WhittRepresentative

Republican

Session

2026 Regular Session

Title

Amend the Sweet Home Alabama Tourism Investment Act; increase supplemental tax rebate; require certification of project costs

Summary

The bill tightens and expands the Sweet Home Alabama Tourism Investment Act by boosting and structuring tax rebates for certified tourism projects and requiring independent cost certification.

What This Bill Does

It creates new qualification rules for certified tourism destination projects with specific minimum investment thresholds and eligible project types. It establishes base and supplemental tax rebates, including a one-time extra rebate for very large projects, and sets how rebates are funded, capped, and paid. It requires an independent CPA to certify project costs and prohibits related-party costs from counting toward the capital investment. Rebates are administered by the Department of Revenue, require local government support, and are tied to project openings and ongoing operations.

Who It Affects

• Approved tourism destination project companies and their investors, who may qualify for base and supplemental rebates and must certify costs.
• Local governments and tax districts (counties and municipalities) involved with the projects, which must approve the projects and allocate or enable rebates, including a municipal share of rebates.

Key Provisions

• Defines key terms (Applicant, Approved Company, Approved Costs, Certified Tourism Destination Project, etc.).
• Sets investment thresholds for qualifying projects: mega projects require $75 million; other categories include $50 million, $35 million (with specific open/entertainment requirements), and hotel/resort combinations.
• Lists eligible tourism destination attractions (theme parks, water parks, cultural centers, arenas, marinas, etc.) and requires upscale retail; prohibits certain retail formats from qualifying.
• Requires independent certification of costs by a CPA to verify bona fide, arm's-length, capitalizable costs and excludes related-party payments from the cost calculations.
• Creates base rebates up to $5 million over 10 years, with an overall annual cap of $10 million for all projects and a 10% set-aside for targeted or jumpstart counties; allows a one-time $2.5 million rebate designation for one project per calendar year with at least $75 million capital investment; provides supplemental rebates up to $7.5 million total (up to $1.5 million per year) not subject to the base caps.
• Rebates cover state and local taxes and require mandatory local government support (resolution acknowledging at least 20% of rebates come from municipal taxes).
• Rebates are paid from the Tourism Project Sales Tax Incentive Fund and issued biannually after project opening; rebates can be transferred to future owners and do not accrue interest.
• Rebates cannot be granted in a year when the project receives other state incentives for the same project; rebates are administered by the Alabama Department of Revenue.
• Completion rules require project completion within 3 years of incentive agreement unless extended by the board; completion is the date the project is placed in service and begins generating revenue.
• Effective date: the act becomes law immediately and applies to projects opened after June 15, 2023, with rebates beginning August 1, 2023 and continuing through July 31, 2028 unless extended by law.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano-2025-08-07 on Mar 4, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Economic Development