The Alabama House of Representatives on Thursday unanimously approved a one-time rebate that would give $210 to single people and $420 to married couples.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and lawmakers proposed rebates to return money to taxpayers as the state sees a rare $2.8 billion education budget surplus but have quibbled over the amount. The proposed rebates are half the amount that Ivey proposed in her State of the State address earlier this year, but double what was approved in the Alabama Senate.
“This will cover 1.9 million tax filers in the state, so it’s a lot of people that will benefit from this, certainly under the House bill, a lot more significantly than they would have under the Senate version,” Republican Rep. Danny Garrett, chairman of the House education budget committee, said.
Representatives voted 101-0 for the legislation that now moves to the Alabama Senate.
While the bill advanced without a dissenting vote, some lawmakers argued that the money will not go to those who need it the most — people who don’t file tax returns because they earn too little or are living off retirement benefits. The rebates would only go to people who filed tax returns for 2021.
“That $420 will not make a difference in my life, but for that person that may be living from day-to-day on nothing but a Social Security retirement — that $210 or $420 will make a big difference,” said Rep. A.J. McCampbell, a Democrat from Livingston.
Garrett said he understood the concerns, but said the legislation is essentially a refund to people who paid taxes.
House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, said he would have preferred the state to target the rebates to the people in the most financial need. But Daniels said he is glad the House increased the size of the rebate over the Senate proposal.
The rebates would cost the state an estimated $546 million.
Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
