Special Session To Pass Illegal Tax Bill?

Governor Riley has announced that he will probably call a special session in August in order to take some action on the financial crisis in Jefferson County.

Gov. Bob Riley has said he ex­pects to call lawmakers into special session in August to deal with a financial crisis fac­ing the state's largest county, Jefferson. A spokesman for the governor, Todd Stacy, said the special session will likely not include a discussion of ways to improve education funding.

"The governor wants to limit it to only the one issue, the Jef­ferson County financial issue. With something that impor­tant, we don't need any distrac­tions," Stacy said.

Why he’s going to do it I don’t know. He’d early said he would only if the majority of the Jefferson County legislative delegation could reach some agreement on what steps to take. As of now, no such majority agreement exists.

“A meeting of Jefferson County legislators failed to produce a plan for addressing the financial problems in Alabama's most populous county. The group spent about three hours meeting Monday in Birmingham and agreed to meet again. The group is trying to come up with a proposal to replace the county's occupational tax, which was struck down by a judge.”

So, why call a special session if the Jefferson County delegation can’t even agree on anything yet? Tradition in the legislature is for the body as a whole to agree with a measure if the local delegation unanimously agrees on it. That’s because they’re not comfortable with tinkering in another county’s affairs. But no unanimous agreement exists.

I posted previously that any replacement occupational tax would likely fail a constitutional test, and I outlined the legal arguments. I would have to see any specific plan to judge, but if it taxes income, then it is illegal. I understand the County needs revenue, but that need does not excuse the levying of an illegal tax.