A bill pending before an Alabama Senate committee could reshape how counties participate in multi-jurisdiction authorities and the topic is generating lots of discussion in northwest Alabama about the future of regional economic development partnerships.
SB91, sponsored by State Sen. Tim Melson, would allow a county or municipality to withdraw from certain multijurisdiction authorities created by the Legislature, provided the authority has no outstanding debt. The bill is scheduled for consideration before the Senate County and Municipal Government Committee on Tuesday.
If approved, the legislation would authorize a withdrawing local government to establish a successor entity to perform similar functions. It would also allow the governing body to increase or decrease by up to two percentage points the rate of any tax collected in conjunction with the authority. The bill further requires that a withdrawing jurisdiction receive a proportional share of unencumbered funds based on the amount raised within that jurisdiction.
Melson (R-Florence) said he intends to file an amendment making the bill a local measure applying only to Lauderdale County.
“There’ll be an amendment that makes it a local bill with local application, so it’ll only be in Lauderdale County,” Melson told 256 Today.
Melson said the proposal stems from concerns raised by the Lauderdale County Commission regarding the Shoals Economic Development Authority, a regional partnership serving Colbert and Lauderdale counties.
Lauderdale County Commission District 1 Commissioner Brad Black said the commission’s concerns center on return on investment and how audit figures were interpreted.
“Our main concern is the numbers,” Black said. “We have given $101 million and recouped somewhere around $29 million.”
Black said if Lauderdale County were to withdraw, the county would form its own economic development entity.
“Absolutely, without a doubt,” he said. “We would leave the tax the same and basically focus on what our county needs.”
Opponents of the bill argue that allowing unilateral withdrawal could disrupt longstanding regional partnerships designed to coordinate infrastructure development, industrial recruitment and shared services across county lines.
Kevin Jackson, president of the Shoals Economic Development Authority, said the organization strongly opposes the measure.
“The Shoals EDA is strongly opposed to SB91 as it puts significant regional projects and hundreds of jobs at risk,” Jackson said. “This is a local matter that needs to be solved at the local level, not by folks in Montgomery.”
Jackson said he is currently in Washington working on a large manufacturing project for the Shoals region.
The bill’s allowance for a withdrawing jurisdiction to adjust certain tax rates by up to two percentage points is raising concern. Critics argue that expanding taxing authority warrants careful review.
Black said there have been no discussions about increasing taxes.
“Our goal would be just to keep our money that we’ve got existing,” he said. “There was no conversation that I’ve been a part of about raising or changing anything, basically just sliding it over and keeping it inside the county.”
District 2 Commissioner Todd Nix said the legislation gives local governments flexibility if an agreement is no longer working for residents.
“When a tax becomes a burden on the people that it’s supposed to represent, this allows for the municipality or county to fix that,” Nix said. “That’s the responsibility of the elected representatives.”
Nix said the county would still be open to collaborating regionally.
“We would love to continue to sit down at the table and work on projects together,” he said. “This does not mean we would not invest in large projects regardless of whether they’re in Lauderdale or, for example, Colbert County.”
The bill heads to committee tomorrow. If approved by the Legislature and signed into law, SB91 would take effect October 1, 2026.
