Montgomery, AL – Democrats in the Alabama House and Senate have asked Gov. Bob Riley to include a bill to exempt federal rebate checks from state taxes in his list of priorities for a special session.
The governor must call a special session because the Senate failed to pass an education budget in its regular session that ended Monday.
Exempting the rebate checks from state taxes would save Alabama residents about $57 million.
The bill by Rep. Terry Spicer of Elba passed the House, but died on the final night in the Senate without coming up for a vote.
Spicer and the Senate Democratic Caucus issued statements Wednesday asking Riley to include the tax rebate bill in his call for a special session.
Riley spokesman Todd Stacy said the governor has not decided if the special session will consider any issues other than the budget.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)