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SB91 • 2026

County and municipal authorities; withdrawal from multi-jurisdiction authority authorized, taxes and distribution of monies from taxes further provided for

County and municipal authorities; withdrawal from multi-jurisdiction authority authorized, taxes and distribution of monies from taxes further provided for

Taxes
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Melson
Last action
2026-03-19
Official status
Pending Committee Action in Second House
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill text defines 'multijurisdiction authority' narrowly; it must have governing body members appointed by a county bordering other states to the north and west. This specific geographic requirement is unusual and limits which groups this law affects.

Rules for Counties and Cities Leaving Shared Economic Groups

This law lets counties or cities leave a shared economic development group if the group has no debt, allows them to start their own local version of that group, sets rules for splitting unspent money based on contributions, and gives both groups power to borrow money.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows county or city leaders to vote by resolution to leave a multijurisdiction authority without needing permission from other members if there is no outstanding debt.
  • Permits leaving counties or cities to create their own local entity that does similar work and can borrow money or sell bonds.
  • Requires the shared group to pay back unspent funds to the county or city based on how much tax money they originally contributed.
  • Gives new local entities the power to decide how to use tax money that was previously sent to the shared group.
  • Allows the remaining shared group to continue borrowing money and issuing bonds after a member leaves.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Counties or municipalities in Alabama that are members of specific multijurisdiction authorities for economic development where at least one governing body includes members from a county bordering other states to the north and west.
  • Multijurisdiction authorities created by the state legislature with leaders appointed from multiple counties, including those bordering other states to the north and west.

Terms To Know

multijurisdiction authority
A group created by lawmakers that operates in more than one county or city to help with economic development, led by members chosen from different local governments, including at least one county bordering other states to the north and west.
revenue bonds
Money borrowed by an organization where the promise to pay it back is backed by future income like taxes or fees.

Limits and Unknowns

  • A county or city can only leave if the shared group has no unpaid debt.
  • The law applies specifically to groups that include members from counties bordering other states to the north and west, which may limit who qualifies as a multijurisdiction authority.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

9JHDTPM-1

R 926 • Melson

Adopted

Plain English: This amendment allows counties and cities to leave certain shared government groups on their own if there is no debt, lets them start new local versions of those groups, adjust taxes slightly, and get back a share of the money they contributed.

  • Counties or municipalities can officially quit specific multi-jurisdiction authorities by passing a resolution if the authority has no outstanding debt.
  • After leaving, a county or city can create its own new entity to handle similar tasks within its borders and borrow money for it.
  • Local governments gain the power to change tax rates collected for these groups by up to 0.75 percent higher or lower.
  • The shared authority must pay back the withdrawing member a portion of its available funds based on how much that member contributed.
  • This law only applies to authorities created by the Legislature for economic development that include members from counties bordering states to the north and west.
  • The ability to withdraw is blocked if the shared authority currently has any unpaid debt.
KHFNG5U-1

R 927 • Melson

Adopted

Plain English: This amendment attempts to change how laws describe what happens after an authority withdraws from a multi-jurisdiction group, but the text provided is incomplete.

  • The amendment replaces specific lines on page 3 of the bill with new wording starting with 'Following a withdrawal performed pursuant to'.
  • The official amendment text cuts off mid-sentence and does not include the full rules or details about what happens after a withdrawal.
  • Because the rest of the sentence is missing, it is impossible to explain exactly how taxes or money distribution would change.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-19 House

    Pending Committee Action in Second House

  2. 2026-03-19 House

    Read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Economic Development and Tourism

  3. 2026-03-17 Senate

    Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 928 (Yeas 17, Nays 5)

  4. 2026-03-17 Senate

    Melson motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 927 (Yeas 28, Nays 0)

  5. 2026-03-17 Senate

    Melson motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 926 (Yeas 30, Nays 0)

  6. 2026-03-17 Senate

    Third Reading in House of Origin (Yeas 30, Nays 0)

  7. 2026-03-17 Senate

    Engrossed

  8. 2026-03-17 Senate

    Melson 1st Amendment Offered

  9. 2026-03-17 Senate

    County and Municipal Government 1st Substitute Offered

  10. 2026-03-10 Senate

    Carried Over to the Call of the Chair

  11. 2026-02-24 Senate

    Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar

  12. 2026-02-24 Senate

    Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

  13. 2026-02-24 Senate

    County and Municipal Government 1st Substitute

  14. 2026-01-13 Senate

    Pending Committee Action in House of Origin

  15. 2026-01-13 Senate

    Read for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on County and Municipal Government

Official Summary Text

County and municipal authorities; withdrawal from multi-jurisdiction authority authorized, taxes and distribution of monies from taxes further provided for

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SB91 ENGROSSED
Page 0
SB91
9JHDTPM-2
By Senator Melson
RFD: County and Municipal Government
First Read: 13-Jan-26
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SB91 Engrossed
Page 1
First Read: 13-Jan-26
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to counties and municipalities; to authorize
the governing body of a county or municipality to withdraw
from a multijurisdiction authority, establish a successor
entity, further provide for the distribution or use of certain
monies previously distributed to an authority, and increase or
decrease the rate of any tax collected in conjunction with the
authority; and to require a multijurisdiction authority to
remit certain monies to a withdrawing entity.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. (a) For the purposes of this section, the
term "multijurisdiction authority" means any entity created by
the Legislature, authorized to operate in more than one county
or municipality, created to address economic development
issues, whose governing body includes members appointed by
more than one county or municipality, and whose governing body
includes members appointed by the governing body of a county
that borders other states to the north and west.
(b) If a multijurisdiction authority does not have any
outstanding debt, the governing body of a county or
municipality, by resolution, may unilaterally withdraw from
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SB91 Engrossed
Page 2
municipality, by resolution, may unilaterally withdraw from
the multijurisdiction authority.
(c) Following a withdrawal performed pursuant to
subsection (b), the governing body of a member county or
municipality, by resolution, may do any of the following:
(1) Establish an entity that operates within the
boundaries of the county or municipality and performs
functions similar to the multijurisdiction authority from
which the county or municipality withdrew. Any new entity
established pursuant to this subdivision shall have the power
to borrow money and to issue revenue bonds as evidence of
money borrowed.
(2) Further provide for the distribution or use of any
monies raised or collected inside the territory administered
by the governing body and previously distributed to the
multijurisdiction authority by the Legislature.
(d) Following a withdrawal performed pursuant to
subsection (b), the multijurisdiction authority shall remit to
the governing body of the withdrawing county or municipality a
portion of the multijurisdiction authority's unencumbered
monies that corresponds to the percentage of the
multijurisdiction authority's total funding that was raised or
collected from the territory of the withdrawing county or
municipality.
(e) Following a withdrawal performed pursuant to
subsection (b), the multijurisdiction authority shall have the
power to borrow money and to issue revenue bonds as evidence
of money borrowed.
Section 2. This act shall become effective immediately.
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SB91 Engrossed
Page 3
Section 2. This act shall become effective immediately.
Senate
Read for the first time and referred
to the Senate committee on County
and Municipal Government
................13-Jan-26
Read for the second time and placed
on the calendar:
0 amendments
................24-Feb-26
Read for the third time and passed
as amended
Yeas 17
Nays 5
Abstains 0
................17-Mar-26
Patrick Harris,
Secretary.
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