CHRISTI ESTRATEGYGROUP City of Gulf Shores 2019 Regular Legislative Session Final Report The 2019 regular session of the Alabama legislature concluded on Friday 31 May 2019. The legislature passed the education trust fund and general fund budgets on time thanks to increased tax revenues and a significant one-time carry over in the Medicaid Budget. During the regular session, Governor Ivey called the legislature into a special legislative session to deal with the transportation infrastructure package called the Rebuild Alabama Act. The legislation passed within a short time frame due to strong bipartisan support among leaders and members in both chambers, as well as a strong grass roots lobbying effort led by the business community, chambers of commerce and others interested in growth and economic development in Alabama. Led by Senate President Pro Tern Del Marsh (R-Anniston), the legislature also approved an amendment to the state constitution to replace the state's elected Board of Education with an education commission appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. Both chambers also approved SB 193 by Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) to restructure Alabama's unemployment compensation legislation, tying the number of weeks of unemployment benefits to unemployment rates and raising the maximum weekly benefit from $265 to $275 per week. HB 289 by Rep. Alan Baker (R-Brewton) also became law this session. The bill clarifies that professional economic developers and site 445 Dexter Avenue, Suite 4025 1 Montgomery, AL 36104 1(334) 264-0508 I www.christiestrategygroup.com selectors do not have to register as lobbyists. An overall ethics reform bill that would clarify many of the confusing and unclear provisions of the Alabama ethics law, including those relating to business principals who must register as lobbyists, failed to pass this year, leaving this matter for future sessions. The City of Gulf Shores enjoyed a number of significant victories in the regular legislative session including: Auxiliary Containers Legislation to prohibit local governments from regulating or taxing auxiliary containers including anything made with plastic, paper, Styrofoam, cardboard, etc. was introduced in both the House and Senate this year and was put on a fast track by the leadership in both chambers. Rep. Nathanial Ledbetter (R-Rainsville), Majority Leader of the House of Representatives and Sen. Steve Livingston (R-Scottsboro), Chairman of the Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee, introduced HB 346 and SB 244 in their respective chambers. Prior to the bill coming to a vote in either the House or Senate, we worked with the Alabama League of Municipalities and the mayors of the largest cities in Alabama (Birmingham, Mobile, Montgomery, Huntsville and Tuscaloosa) to adopt a resolution in opposition to this legislation. In addition, the City Council of Gulf Shores also unanimously adopted a similar resolution. Working with representatives of other cities throughout the state including the Big 5, we organized a vigorous lobbying effort against the bill on the day it was to be considered. Prior to the bill being debated on the House floor, representatives from the Gulf Coast along with legislators from other municipal jurisdictions joined in a filibuster to keep the bill from coming to a vote. After several hours of debate, the House adjourned without the bill passing and it was not brought up again. The proponents of the bill also made a strong effort to pass the bill in the Senate. Prior to consideration of the bill, we worked with others representing interests on the Gulf Coast to ensure that the members of the Senate understood our steadfast opposition to this legislation. This time, when the bill was brought to the floor of the Senate, the Budget Isolation Resolution failed and the bill was not brought up again this year. It is unclear whether this legislation will surface in future sessions, but we will make every effort to ensure that this or any other legislative proposal that would impact our ability to protect and preserve the environment of our community does not become law. Gasoline Tax Throughout the 2018 election campaign, Governor Kay Ivey and legislative leaders in both the House and Senate made it clear that one of their top priorities in 2019 would be the passage of an infrastructure plan to include a gasoline tax increase. Governor Kay Ivey made good on this election promise early in March when she used an unusual legislative procedure of calling a special session within a regular legislative session to address a transportation infrastructure package. In the special session, Governor Ivey proposed a gasoline tax increase of six cents effective this August and 2 cents each year thereafter for the next two years. In addition, the bill included a controversial, but essential, indexing provision so that the tax keeps pace with inflation. Legislative leaders in both chambers and from both political parties endorsed the legislation as being essential for economic development and continued economic growth in Alabama. Notwithstanding the difficulty of passing a tax in the Alabama legislature, the leaders successfully pushed the bills through both chambers with overwhelming support from the membership. In addition to the gas tax, the bill also included several million dollars to provide state matching funds to widen and deepen the Mobile Bay ship channel. This important project will ensure that the Port of Alabama in Mobile remains competitive and an economic engine for our state and region for many years to come. In addition, the package includes legislation to strengthen the Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee to ensure that the tax dollars earmarked for road and bridge construction are used in the most efficient and appropriate way possible. Working with representatives of the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance, Christie Strategy Group supported and helped pass an amendment requiring that population numbers which impact the distribution of transportation construction funds would be adjusted every five years, rather than after each census. This amendment ensures that high growth areas, like Gulf Shores, will not be short changed based on population growth going forward. Baldwin County Beach Express Toll Road Authority Legislation to provide for a local constitutional amendment creating a toll road authority in Baldwin County again passed the legislature during the 2019 regular legislative session. Unlike bills passed in previous legislative sessions, this legislation specifically limits the toll road authority to an extension of the Baldwin Beach Express to 1-65. HB 611 by Rep. Steve McMillan (R-Gulf Shores) provides for the incorporation, organization, powers and operation of a toll road and bridge authority as a public corporation in Baldwin County. The legislation also provides the corporation the authority to maintain a toll road and bridge project in Baldwin County limited to connecting the current terminus of the Baldwin Beach Express to 1-65. At the request of utilities in the state, Christie Strategy Group successfully added an amendment to the bill clarifying the eminent domain language as it relates to the Toll Road Authority and local utilities. This amendment was added in the Senate and the House approved the amendment and legislation on the final day of the session. The bill now awaits signature by the Governor. Municipal Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Senator Chris Elliott (R-Fairhope) introduced legislation (SB 23) that would eliminate the authority of municipal governments to exercise police and planning authority outside their jurisdictional lines, as is currently provided in Alabama law. Alabama is one of only a very few states that currently grants municipal jurisdictions this extraterritorial authority. Some view the authority as taxation without representation. Others believe it is essential that city governments have some control over growth and development adjacent to and contiguous to their borders. The Alabama League of Municipalities strongly opposed this bill as did the all the mayors in Baldwin County and members of the Baldwin County Commission. Working with the various parties, Senator Elliott significantly amended his legislation to freeze the current police jurisdictions while eliminating building code enforcement in the extraterritorial jurisdiction. This amended version passed the Senate, but died in the House Committee on County and Municipal Government. Education Issues Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Fairhope) also introduced a local bill, SB 250, to provide a procedure to study the impact certain new subdivisions or multi-family developments will have on the student capacity of a local school district. The legislation requires developers of a multi-family development of more than 100 units or a residential subdivision of more than 100 lots to provide that information to the local school superintendent who would then send a letter to the developer outlining the impact that the development would have on the student capacity of the local school district and what actions, if any, the local school board of education may need to take to address student capacity issues, including overcrowding. Many local developers and elected officials raised significant objections to the legislation as proposed. Notwithstanding these concerns, Senator Elliott pursued the legislation vigorously and the bill passed the full Senate and the Baldwin County local legislative committee