HB 398 Alabama House · 2026 Regular Session

Taxation; to exempt High Socks for Hope from payment of state, county, and municipal sales and use taxes

HB 398 exempts the organization "High Socks for Hope" from paying state sales and use taxes. It also allows Alabama counties and municipalities to choose whether to exempt the same organization from local sales and use taxes. The bill directly affects High Socks for Hope by removing a tax burden on its sales, and local governments by giving them the option to provide the same exemption. The exemption becomes effective on September 1, 2026.

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 5, 2026 Last action Mar 11, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Engrossed · 4 edits · Mar 11, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was updated from an introduced draft to its final engrossed version, incorporating the official legislative history and final vote counts. The substantive policy language regarding tax exemptions for 'High Socks for Hope' remains consistent, though the engrossed version clarifies that local exemptions must follow specific state code provisions rather than being entirely unrestricted.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on exempting 'High Socks for Hope' from state, county, and municipal sales and use taxes, with no change to the entity's eligibility or the tax amounts involved.

TECHNICAL

Added official engrossed page headers and the full legislative history, including dates of reading, committee referral, and final passage with vote counts (103 Yeas, 0 Nays).

Updated the bill identifier from 'RBWA2MN-1' to '9JF1EPM-2' to reflect the final bill number.

Removed the introductory 'Synopsis' section and the initial 'Introduced' header, replacing them with the formal 'A BILL' title and engrossed status.

REQUIREMENT

Refined the requirement for local exemptions by specifying that counties and municipalities must exempt the entity 'in accordance with Section 40-23-4.01, Code of Alabama 1975,' replacing the previous instruction that the code section would not apply.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the House by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

Pending Committee Action in Second House (Finance and Taxation Education)

upper

Mar 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 855

lower

Mar 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 854

lower

Mar 11, 2026

Introduced

Ways and Means Education Engrossed Substitute Offered (Ways and Means Education)

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported Out of Committee House of Origin (Ways and Means Education)

lower

Feb 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Pending Committee Action in House of Origin (Ways and Means Education)

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors