Latest news with #DannyGarrett
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alabama lawmakers approve tax cuts for food, diapers and other items
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday voted to cut the state sales tax on food and to exempt diapers, baby formula and menstrual hygiene products from the state sales tax altogether. The Alabama Senate approved both bills by votes of 34-0. The bills now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey for her signature. The food tax reduction comes as lawmakers in both parties said families are being hurt by soaring grocery prices. BWWB votes to sell utility company to city of Birmingham for $1 The reduction, if signed into law, will lower the state sales tax on food from 3% to 2% beginning Sept. 1. Lawmakers in 2023 reduced the tax from 4% to 3%. An additional reduction to 2% was planned but hinged on budget growth that did not materialize. 'We're still one of a few states that taxes groceries. We're headed toward zero taxes, we're headed in the right direction. This is big,' Republican Rep. Danny Garrett, the sponsor of the bill, said. The reduction will cost the state about $121 million annually in tax revenue that would otherwise goes to the Education Trust Fund. The leader of Alabama Arise, an advocacy group that supports policies that help low-income families, said the grocery tax belongs in the 'dustbin of history.' 'The grocery tax drives many families deeper into poverty, and Arise remains committed to the goal of eliminating it entirely,' Alabama Arise Executive Director Robyn Hyden said. Lawmakers also approved a bill that will exempt baby formula, maternity clothing, diapers and menstrual hygiene products from state sales tax. Baby wipes, breast pumps and bottles would also be exempt. The exemption from the 4% sales tax will cost the state about $13 million annually. 'This is a big win for Alabama's working families,' Democratic Rep. Neil Rafferty, the sponsor of the bill, wrote on social media about the approval. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press
06-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Alabama lawmakers approve reduction in state sales tax on groceries
Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday gave final approval to a 1% reduction of the state sales tax on food , as lawmakers in both parties said families are being hurt by soaring grocery prices. The Alabama Senate voted 34-0 for the legislation that now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey for her signature. The reduction, if signed into law, will lower the state sales tax on food from 3% to 2% beginning Sept. 1. Lawmakers in 2023 reduced the tax from 4% to 3%. An additional reduction to 2% was planned but hinged on budget growth that did not materialize . 'We're still one of a few states that taxes groceries. We're headed toward zero taxes, we're headed in the right direction. This is big,' Republican Rep. Danny Garrett, the sponsor of the bill, said. Garrett said the reduction, 'will benefit a broad base of Alabama.' The reduction will cost the state about $121 million annually in tax revenue that would otherwise goes to the Education Trust Fund. The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world's population sees AP journalism every day.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alabama House of Representatives passes Education Trust Fund Budget for 2026
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — The Alabama House of Representatives has passed the Education Trust Fund (ETF) Budget and its supplemental appropriation for Fiscal Year 26. 'As Alabama continues to make remarkable strides in public education, it's vital that lawmakers in Montgomery remain committed to equipping our school systems with the necessary resources to help students thrive,' said Speaker Ledbetter (R-Rainsville). 'This year's ETF is significant for several reasons. It funds paid parental leave for teachers, expands summer and afterschool programs, and increases funding for the Alabama numeracy act, which has been a catalyst for our state's nation-leading gains in 4th grade math. We're making another strong investment in the CHOOSE Act, Alabama's school choice program that is proving to be in high demand. Finally, we are creating the RAISE Program, a student-weighted funding model that funds schools based on their specific needs rather than headcount.' ETF/Supplemental Highlights Include the following: $27 million increase for the Numeracy Act $14.4 million increase for Summer/Afterschool Programs $9.6 million for Paid Parental Leave $15.6 million for Teachers Workman's Compensation $58 million for the RAISE Act $80 million increase for the CHOOSE Act 'I'm proud to have passed another strong Education Budget that positions our school systems for success,' said Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville), who chairs the House Ways and Means Education Committee. 'For the first time ever, we are funding schools based off the needs of the specific students they serve instead of taking a one-size-fits-all approach and funding on headcount alone. We're also making significant investments in programs supporting teachers and students. Public education is on the rise in Alabama, and I believe that the passage of this budget will help us continue moving in the right direction.' The Education Trust Fund will now return to the Senate floor for concurrence. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A giveaway to the rich, disguised as school choice
House Ways and Means Education Committee Chair Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, asks a question as Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee Chair Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, listens during a budget presentation to lawmakers on Feb. 5, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Garrett sponsored last year's CHOOSE Act, which gives families tax credits of $7,000 for each eligible child to be spent on nonpublic education. Orr recently increased funding for the program in the 2026 budget. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) Our leaders call Alabama's effective voucher program the CHOOSE Act. There's some grim irony in that. Of course, you can choose to pay for private school tuition, whatever your reasons may be. But it's not my choice. Or what the families of 730,000 Alabama students want. We pay taxes to support the teachers educating our children in public schools. And we want teachers and staff to have the resources they need to help students thrive. Yet our leaders plan to divert that money from classrooms into the pockets of wealthy families, in the form of $7,000 tax breaks. More if they have more than one kid enrolled in a private school. Yes, yes. Under this law, the credit could cover something besides a non-public academy. But considering that two-thirds of the initial applicants to the program are already in private school or homeschooled, it's not hard to predict how the program will operate. You might also note current eligibility is limited to those making 300% of the poverty level. That sounds a lot more restrictive than it is. The cap is almost $80,000 a year for a family of three and around $96,000 for a family of four. Alabama's median household income is $62,212 a year. So we're already letting those making more than half the households in the state into the program. That mild regulation goes away in 2027. Which means the 1% will get in. And that you will be paying private school tuition for people who don't need the help. That's not how one sells a voucher program. Instead, you preach 'choice' to families and educators locked in a public education system built on discrimination. 'The CHOOSE Act will provide an opportunity for students to learn and thrive in an environment that best meets their needs, which could be a public school,' said Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, the sponsor of the law, during House debate last year. Even U.S. Sen. Katie Britt gets into it, claiming that her own federal version of this is OK because 'your zip code shouldn't determine your opportunities.' Nor should dead racists, the main reason why some zip codes have a lot more opportunity than others. But even if we accept Garrett and Britt's premises, the CHOOSE Act isn't going to help poor kids. Seven thousand dollars won't get a student struggling with poverty to a private school. Not when the average private school tuition in Alabama is $8,298 a year. One gets an image of a person in an Armani suit walking into a cell block and proclaiming freedom to the inmates while holding a $7,000 check in one hand and a $8,298 key in the other. Freeing our schools from the prison of Jim Crow means trusting local communities with school funding; ending tax breaks to elite Alabamians that drain public services and spending money on students. The CHOOSE Act sort of acknowledges that. Implicit in the law is the premise that any private school in Alabama is superior to any public school. Why? Because many private schools invest far more money in their students than the $13,461 per pupil our state does, a number that would be even lower without the 18% the federal government kicks in. Altamont in Birmingham charges over $30,000 a year for high school. Montgomery Academy asks for $19,000 for students in grades 10-12. Just think what we could achieve if Alabama spent $30,000 a year on a public school student. Or $24,000, which gets Massachusetts nation-leading results on standardized tests. Or $17,277, the average per-pupil spending in the United States. The CHOOSE Act has to nod at the fact that school spending works. But it also operates within the worldview of a state government that promotes private privilege over public welfare. Money can only go to people who already have it. Not the undeserving poor. And a lot of that money is about to head out the door. The 2026 education budget originally included $100 million to fund the CHOOSE Act. Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, the chair of the Senate's education budget committee, increased that to $135 million due to 'overwhelming, large applicant numbers' for the program. Expect that number to grow even more as the caps come off the program. Public school funding will suffer. Arizona in 2022 expanded an existing voucher program along the lines of what Alabama has just implemented. It proved far more expensive than they anticipated, and it's contributed to budget problems in the state. That could happen here, and public school students will pay the price. The key to public school improvement is obvious: collecting more taxes from the wealthy — who pay less to the state government in percentage terms than the poorest 20% — and investing them in public education. Making the system better for everyone. But Alabama legislators have signaled they'd much rather assist children who don't need the help. The rest of us have no choice in that. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CHOOSE Act applications close; most applicants come from nonpublic schools
Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, speaks to a colleague on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on April 1, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Garrett sponsored last year's CHOOSE Act, which allows families to claim up to $7,000 a year in income tax credit per student to spend on nonpublic education expenses, including private school tuition. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) Almost 37,000 students have applied for the CHOOSE Act, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced Tuesday morning, with two-thirds of the applicants not attending the state's public schools. Funds from the voucher-like program can be used for education-related expenses, including private school tuition. A family can receive up to $7,000 in state income tax credits per eligible student in a participating school and up to $2,000 for a student that is homeschooled. The money for the program comes out of the Education Trust Fund, where nearly all state income tax goes. Under the law, legislators must set $100 million aside for the program starting with the FY 2026 ETF budget, which goes into effect on Oct. 1. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'The CHOOSE Act, Alabama's education savings account program, will allow more taxpaying Alabama families the opportunity to choose a school that meets their child's individual needs,' Ivey said in a statement. Ivey's office said the 22,167 applications represented 36,873 students. Of those, 24,506 students (66.4%) come from private school (15,436) or are homeschooled (9,070.) The office said 10,287 (28%) applications were filed for students in public and charter schools. Of the public school applicants, the governor's office said 9,788 came from traditional public schools and 499 from charter schools. Mobile County, which has the state's largest public school system, had the largest number of applicants, with 5,056. Jefferson County had 4,183; Montgomery had 3,849 and Madison had 2,395. Applications to the program are currently limited to special needs students and those making under 300% of the poverty line, about $79,950 for a family of three. The program will be open to all applicants starting in 2027, without any income limits. According to the Education Data Initiative, the average private school tuition in Alabama is $8,289 per student per year. Democrats and a handful of Republicans from rural areas opposed the law last year, expressing concerns that it could drain the ETF and exacerbate de facto segregation in the state's public schools. Whitney Miller-Nichols, director of governmental relations for the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools, an organization that provides professional development, networking opportunities, communications, legal support, legislative monitoring and recognition programs for its members, said Tuesday that the organization is frustrated that a fund designed to fund public education is not being used for public education. 'Two-thirds of the people applying or not in public schools, which is what we have seen in other states,' Miller-Nichols said in a phone interview. 'Our concern is it takes $100 million out of the Education Trust Fund. And the Education Trust Fund was established in support of public education for Alabama students.' Miller-Nichols also said the application numbers could be misleading. 'I will point out that the other thing we don't know at this point is how many of those applicants meet the income qualification,' she said. 'The net might be wider than maybe the program administrators intended, because people are applying even if they exceed the income criteria.' According to the release, families will be notified in May if they have been awarded the funds and will be able to start using their education savings account in July for approved expenses. Gina Maiola, a spokeswoman for Ivey, said that each applicant will either receive $7,000 or $2,000 for their ESA. Of the 36,000 applicants, about 16,000 (43%) students will receive an ESA from the CHOOSE Act. 'Based on the strong response, we fully expect the $100 million to be utilized to support our taxpaying Alabama families,' she said in an email. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
