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Municipal leaders urge opt-in approach as committee hears proposal to waive garbage fees for veterans on only-veterans income

County and Municipal Government · March 17, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

At a public hearing on SB32, Senator Kitchens said the bill would allow veterans whose sole income is veterans benefits to receive an exemption from municipal solid-waste fees. The Alabama Municipalities representative urged cities be allowed to opt in because the bill lacks a clear fiscal estimate; the Southern Poverty Law Center offered a statewide estimate of roughly 22,000–23,000 people who could be affected.

Senator Kitchens introduced SB32 and described it as a narrowly targeted bill to allow residents whose sole source of income is veterans benefits to qualify for an exemption from municipal solid-waste collection fees.

"All this bill does is it adds veterans as their sole source of income and allows them to get a exemption on that," Senator Kitchens said, introducing the measure and explaining it grew from a constituent case dating back decades.

Baker Allen, director of governmental…

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