House panel reviews bill letting Alabama Cotton Commission set producer checkoff between $1 and $1.30

House Bill 52, introduced by the committee chairman, was presented to the Alabama House Agriculture and Forestry Committee to allow the Alabama Cotton Commission an annual option to set a producer checkoff between $1 and $1.30 per bale.

The chairman told the committee that the commission holds a referendum every 10 years and that only cotton producers vote on the checkoff for marketing and research. He said the assessment has been $1 per bale and that the bill would allow the commission, based on producer feedback and cotton conditions, to set the rate anywhere between $1 and $1.30.

Committee members were given the opportunity to discuss the measure. The chairman summarized the measure and moved that the committee give the bill a committee report. The committee approved the motion by voice vote after a call for those in favor; an opposing voice was heard but no roll-call tally was given. The motion was recorded in the committee as passed by voice vote (counts not specified).

The bill, as described to the committee, leaves the final decision about the assessment level to cotton producers through the commission’s periodic referendum and to the commission’s annual setting within the $1–$1.30 range. The committee did not record further amendments or a definitive implementation date during the discussion.

No outside statutes or additional implementing language were cited on the record during the presentation. The chairman indicated the referendum timing is likely this fall but did not specify a calendar date.

A follow-up on scheduling, formal text of the bill, and any subsequent committee steps were not specified in the committee record provided.