Committee: Finance and Taxation Education Sponsor: Sanders-Fortier
Analyst: JT Mathis Date: 03/29/2022
FISCAL NOTE
Senate Bill 327 as introduced would allocate one percent of the gross amount collected from the one-mill ad valorem tax to the Freedom Fund, created within the State Treasury by the provisions of this bill, to be administered and expended by the Alabama State Council on the Arts to provide for the commissioning and protection of new monuments and the preservation, improvement, maintenance and protection of buildings, objects, and sites that have significance to Alabama history. Based upon the gross amount collected from the one-mill ad valorem tax for fiscal years 2018 through 2021, the provisions of this bill will provide an estimated $700,000 annually to the Freedom Fund and decrease receipts to the Alabama Veterans' Assistance Fund by the same amount annually beginning in fiscal year 2023.
In addition, this bill establishes the Freedom Fund Applicant Review Commission within the State Council on the Arts to review requests for funding submitted to the Council; authorizes the establishment of any advisory committees needed to implement the provisions of this bill; and provides that any public or private gifts, grants, and donations provided to the Council may be used to offset the increase in the administrative obligations of the Council, including the submission of quarterly reports regarding the status of projects and requests for additional funding.
The provisions of this bill could also increase the administrative obligations of: (1) the Alabama Historical Commission to notify the National Park Service and take necessary action to ensure any name change of the Edmund W. Pettus Bridge is reflected in the National Register of Historic Places and any Alabama registry of historic places in the event a resolution is adopted by the Dallas County local legislative delegation to change the name of the Bridge; and (2) the Alabama Department of Transportation to approve separate signage for the Bridge that may be provided through a light display.
Arthur Orr, Chairperson Finance and Taxation Education