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Senate committee advances bill to eliminate state portion of grocery sales tax
Summary
The Revenue & Tax — Senate committee voted to give House Bill 1685 a do-pass recommendation to remove the state portion of the sales tax on groceries; the bill passed the committee by voice vote after sponsors said an amendment made it revenue-neutral to state general revenue.
House Bill 1685, a measure to eliminate the state portion of the sales tax on groceries, received a do-pass recommendation from the Senate Revenue & Tax Committee after brief discussion on the bill and an amendment.
Senator Hester, presenting the bill, said the measure "eliminates that $1.08 cent sales tax" on groceries. He told the committee the bill is commonly referred to this session as the "grocery tax" bill and that an amendment had been filed that removed any state general revenue impact. "I'm happy to answer any questions," Hester said.
Committee chair and members indicated no further questions from committee members or members of the public. Senator Hester moved that the committee give the bill a do-pass recommendation; Senator Petty seconded the motion. The committee approved the motion by voice vote with "ayes" recorded and no opposition voiced on the record.
The action before the committee was limited to the committee recommendation; the transcript does not record floor action or final enactment. The bill, as discussed in committee, would remove the state sales-tax portion applied to groceries; specifics about implementation or effective date were not specified in the committee discussion.
The committee recorded the bill as having no net state general revenue impact in light of the amendment presented at the hearing.
The committee proceeded to other agenda items after the vote.
