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Geneva County Commission votes to join statewide effort to defend Simplified Sellers Use Tax
Summary
The Geneva County Commission on Nov. 24 adopted a resolution authorizing the county to intervene as a defendant in litigation challenging the Alabama Simplified Sellers Use Tax (SSUT). County counsel said joining the Association of County Commissions effort would not require local spending and aims to protect a key revenue source.
Geneva County commissioners voted unanimously on Nov. 24 to authorize the county to intervene in litigation that challenges the Alabama Simplified Sellers Use Tax (SSUT), a distribution the county says funds local services.
County Attorney W. Phil Eldridge told the commission that the Alabama Association of County Commissions (ACCA) is coordinating a multi-county effort to defend SSUT after the City of Tuscaloosa and other plaintiffs filed suit in Montgomery County. Eldridge said the ACCA helped draft the SSUT law and recommended intervention to safeguard Geneva County’s revenue streams; he told commissioners, "This will not require any financial outlay from the County." The commission adopted the ACCA-backed resolution, voting 3-0.
The resolution references the SSUT Remittance Act codified at Section 40-23-191 et seq., Code of Alabama 1975, and notes a court-imposed deadline for motions to intervene. Commissioners framed the action as protective rather than adversarial: the county seeks to defend the current distribution mechanism, arguing that an adverse ruling could reduce funds available for county services.
The vote came during the regular Nov. 24 session at the Geneva County Courthouse. Attorney Eldridge presented the resolution and read its terms aloud before the vote. No county funds were pledged as part of the motion; commissioners said the county would participate as part of the joint ACCA effort.
Next steps: the county’s attorney will file the motion to intervene in the Montgomery County litigation in accordance with the court’s timeline and coordinate with ACCA and other counties joining the action.
