Last week, State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) warned the cost of a state income tax exemption for overtime wages passed by the Alabama Legislature in 2023 missed projections by at least $162 million.
Orr, who chairs the Senate Education Trust Fund Budget committee, suggested a cap on the exemption to ease future budget shortfalls.
However, State Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Josephine) says such a cap will be a tough sell for a Republican supermajority-led Alabama Legislature as the 2026 elections approach.
During an interview with Mobile radio's FM Talk 106.5, Elliott suggested the correct approach to meet any fiscal concerns stemming from the overtime tax exemption would be to control the growth of government.
"We can do both at the same time," the Baldwin County lawmaker said. "We can walk and chew gum. We can reduce spending and budget responsibly at the same time. There's plenty of money in the ETF, and the argument that we should reinstate the overtime tax in order to cut grocery taxes is just circular logic for me. I'm sorry, that doesn't make any sense. Let's keep the tax cuts we have in place for working Alabamians that are absolutely incentivizing people to work more. That's a good thing. We are controlling the growth of government, which is a good thing. And I just — I'm not buying the arguments to the contrary. And I think it's a real hard sell on the election season and rightfully so."
"Well, you know, government always wants more money," Elliott added. "I appreciate where Senator Orr is coming from. He's got a tough job managing the education trust fund and I'm sure he'd like more money in order to manage it. But I like constraining government. And one of the things I've found is the easiest way to constrain it is to starve it. And I think that's, you know, that's true on a federal level, it's true on a state level."
Jeff Poor is the editor in chief of 1819 News and host of "The Jeff Poor Show," heard Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon on Mobile's FM Talk 106.5. To connect or comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com or follow him on X @jeff_poor.
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