Senate committee advances tax credit to encourage oyster‑shell recycling

A state Senate committee Monday adopted an amendment to Senate Bill 125 that would allow restaurants to claim a tax credit — capped at $2,000 per person — for participating in an oyster‑shell recycling program intended to restore oyster habitat.

The amendment, offered on the floor and adopted by voice vote, is intended to encourage restaurants to collect and turn over half‑shell oyster waste to a recycling program rather than send shells to landfills. A marine‑resources official introduced to the committee as Commissioner Blank described the local recycling process: “They collect the shells, they bring them to our property in Gulf Shores, and we season them there, let them cure, and then we use them to put them back out,” the commissioner said. The official said cured shells provide a hard substrate where oyster spat can settle and grow.

Committee members asked how the credit would be administered and whether there is a minimum amount of shells a restaurant must deliver to qualify. Revenue Department staff attended to advise on implementation, but the transcript records that the exact threshold and some revenue rules “will be found out” later; the committee did not set a numeric minimum during the meeting.

The chair indicated the amendment was adopted and the bill moved forward as amended. The committee’s action was procedural (advancing the bill with the amendment) rather than a final floor enactment; further work by the revenue department and possible implementing language will be needed before the credit could be claimed.

The next steps are administrative: Revenue Department staff will clarify eligibility thresholds and how the credit interacts with the bill’s other caps and limits. The committee did not record a roll‑call tally in the transcript beyond the voice approvals on the floor.