Alabama
Alabama paper plant technician: Overtime tax exemption ‘should not be taken away from us’
Mable McIntosh, a technician at the Georgia-Pacific plant in Pennington, says workers at the plant have benefitted from the state income tax exemption on overtime pay, which is scheduled to expire in June.Mike Cason/AL.com
A state income tax exemption on overtime pay that has been in effect since January 2024 will expire at the end of June unless the Alabama Legislature acts.
Democrats in the state House of Representatives support making the exemption permanent.
On Wednesday, they brought employees who have benefitted from the exemption to the Alabama State House to help make their case.
Mable McIntosh, a technician at the Georgia-Pacific plant in Pennington, which makes Angel Soft toilet paper and Sparkle paper towels, said lawmakers need to find a way to keep the exemption in place.
“A lot of our overtime is forced overtime,” McIntosh said. “It’s not that we’re volunteering for this overtime. It’s mandatory, because the companies that we work for, they face shortages, labor shortages. We have to work overtime to keep production going in those mills.
“To have that overtime be exempt, that’s important. That’s well deserved. And it’s something that should not be taken away from us now.”
The exemption came with an expiration date because of concerns about how much it would reduce state income tax revenues, which support public education.
The state Revenue Department reported last year that the exemption amounted to $230 million in the first nine months of 2024, far more than initial estimates.
“We hear all of this about the cost of it,” McIntosh said. “But, hey, find it somewhere else. Don’t put that burden on the workers of Alabama.”
House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, sponsored the bill to create the exemption two years ago, saying it would allow workers to take home more of their pay and would help employers hire and retain workers during a time when some companies are struggling to fill jobs.
Republicans got behind the idea and Daniels’ bill passed with strong bipartisan support.
But the Revenue Department report on how much the exemption cost has created doubts about whether lawmakers will extend it.
Daniels has advocated for making the exemption permanent, saying that it has achieved its intent as an incentive for work and that the benefits outweigh the cost of the exemption because more people are working, paying income taxes, and spending some of their additional income on products that contribute to state and local sales taxes.
He noted that President Trump has advocated for an overtime exemption to the federal income tax.
“These are hard- working Alabamians that are putting into our economy,” Daniels said. “This not money that you’re just handing out. These are not handouts. These are dollars that they’re earning.”
Daniels said he is preparing a bill that would extend the exemption and would include a study to measure the full scope of the impact.
On Tuesday, the Alabama House passed several tax cut bills, including one to reduce the state sales tax on food from 3% to 2% effective Sept. 1.
Another bill doubled the state income tax exemption for withdrawals from individual retirement accounts and 401(k) accounts from $6,000 to $12,000, an exemption that applies to people 65 and older and is estimated to save taxpayers about $45 million a year.
A third bill changed dependent exemptions and standard deductions on state income tax that would allow taxpayers to save about $25 million a year.
The three bills passed without a dissenting vote and go to the Senate.
Daniels said the overtime tax exemption is more beneficial for workers and for the economy. He said a 1-cent cut in the food tax is not enough to offset the sharp rise in many necessities, like eggs.
He said the overtime exemption rewards hard work.
“You’re talking about your law enforcement that are working additional hours because they’re short-staffed,” Daniels said. “You’re talking about your firemen that working additional hours because they’re short-staffed.
“You’re talking about the worker at Hyundai. You’re talking about the worker at Austal. You’re talking the worker at Toyota. You’re talking about workers all across the state of Alabama.”
Nick Doty, a heavy equipment operator at the ABC Coke Plant in Tarrant, said he and his co-workers have seen the benefits of the tax exemption.
“For the first time, I feel like something has affected me immediately,“ Doty said. ”Not tax breaks for big companies. Not tax breaks for huge corporations. But tax breaks for the regular, everyday Alabamian.”
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Alabama, kicked off his campaign for governor Friday, saying voters deserve a choice and a leader who will put aside divisions to address the state’s pressing needs.
“With your help we can finish what we began. We can build the Alabama we’ve always deserved,” Jones told a packed crowd at a Birmingham campaign rally featuring musician Jason Isbell.
He said the state has urgent economic, health care and educational issues that are not being addressed by those in public office.
The campaign kickoff came on the eighth anniversary of Jones’ stunning 2017 win over Republican Roy Moore, and Jones said Alabama proved back then that it can defy “simplified labels of red and blue.”
“You stood up and you said something simple but powerful. We can do better,” Jones said. “You said with your votes that our values, Alabama values, are more important than any political party, any personality, any prepackaged ideology.”
His entry into the race sets up a possible rematch with Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who defeated Jones by 20 points in 2020 and is also now running for governor. Both will have party primaries in May before the November election.
Before running for office, Jones, a lawyer and former U.S. attorney, was best known for prosecuting two Ku Klux Klansmen responsible for Birmingham’s infamous 1963 church bombing.
Former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., and gubernatorial candidate speaks during an event Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. Credit: AP/Brynn Anderson
In an interview with The Associated Press, Jones said families are having a hard time with things like health care, energy bills and simply making ends meet.
“People are struggling,” he said. “They are hurting.”
Jones used part of his speech to describe his agenda if elected governor. He said it is time for Alabama to join most states in establishing a state lottery and expanding Medicaid. Expanding Medicaid, he said, will protect rural hospitals from closure and provide health care coverage to working families and others who need it.
He criticized Tuberville’s opposition to extending Affordable Care Act subsidies. Jones said many Alabama families depend on those subsides to buy health insurance “to keep their families healthy.”
Former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., and gubernatorial candidate speaks during an event Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. Credit: AP/Brynn Anderson
Alabama has not elected a Democratic governor since Don Siegelman in 1998. In 2020, Tuberville held Jones to about 40% of the vote, which has been the ceiling for Alabama Democrats in recent statewide races.
Retired political science professor Jess Brown said Jones lost in 2020 despite being a well-funded incumbent, and that’s a sign that he faces an uphill battle in 2026.
“Based on what I know today, at this juncture of the campaign, I would say that Doug Jones, who’s a very talented and bright man, is politically the walking dead,” Brown said.
Jones acknowledged being the underdog and said his decision to run stemmed in part from a desire for Tuberville not to coast into office unchallenged.
Jones pointed to recent Democratic victories in Georgia, Mississippi and other locations as cause for optimism.
Tuberville, who previously headed up the football program at Auburn University, had “no record except as a football coach” when he first ran, Jones said. And “now there are five years of being a United States senator. There are five years of embarrassing the state.”
Jones continued to question Tuberville’s residency, saying he “doesn’t even live in Alabama, and if he does, then prove me wrong.” Tuberville has a beach house in Walton County, Florida, but has repeatedly said Auburn is his home.
Tuberville’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment but has previously noted that he defeated Jones handily in 2020. Tuberville spent part of Friday with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Huntsville to mark the official relocation of U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama.
Jones’ 2017 victory renewed the hopes, at least temporarily, of Democratic voters in the Deep South state. Those gathered to hear him Friday cheered his return to the political stage.
“I’m just glad that there’s somebody sensible getting in the race,” Angela Hornbuckle said. “He proved that he could do it as a senator.”
Alabama Shakes have lined up a string of North American tour dates for 2026. Brittany Howard and the band’s spring run includes multiple stops in Florida and a concluding two-night stint at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, Colorado. Check out the new dates, plus their previously announced festival shows, European itinerary, and Zach Bryan support dates, below.
Support for the headline shows comes from Joy Oladokun, Mon Rovîa, Lamont Landers, and JJ Grey & Mofro. For every ticket sold, $1 will go towards nonprofits around the United States via the Alabama Shakes Fund, a press release notes. There is, as yet, no word on a follow-up to the band’s 2015 album, Sound & Color, but they did sign to Island this year and release their first single since that record.
Alabama Shakes:
04-16 Richmond, VA – Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront ~
04-17 Asheville, NC – ExploreAsheville.com Arena ~
04-18 Charleston, SC – High Water Fest
04-22 Memphis, TN – Grind City Amphitheater +
04-24 Atlanta, GA – Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park +
04-25 Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater +
04-26 St. Augustine, FL – St. Augustine Amphitheatre %
04-28 Tallahassee, FL – Adderley Amphitheater %
04-29 Boca Raton, FL – Sunset Cove Amphitheater %
04-30 Clearwater, FL – The BayCare Sound %
05-02 New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
05-24 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre #
05-25 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre #
06-13 Manchester, Tennessee – Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
07-01 Leeds, England – Millennium Square
07-02 Wasing, England – On the Mount at Wasing
07-03 London, England – Alexandra Palace *
07-05 Ghent, Belgium – Gent Jazz Festival
07-07 Lucca, Italy – Summer Festival
07-09 Lisbon, Portugal – NOS Alive Festival
07-10 Bilbao, Spain – BBK Live
07-11 Madrid, Spain – Noches del Botanico
07-25 Eugene, OR – Autzen Stadium ^
09-19 Dover, DE – The Woodlands ^
~ with Joy Oladokun
+ with Mon Rovîa
% with Lamont Landers
# with JJ Grey & Mofro
* with Tyler Ballgame
^ supporting Zach Bryan
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Jacob Crews scored 20, and Anthony Robinson II added 19 in Missouri’s 85-77 win over Alabama State on Thursday night.
Crews shot 7 of 9 from the field, including 6 of 8 from the 3-point arc. Mark Mitchell added 15 points for Missouri (9-2), and Sebastian Mack added 10.
The Tigers had a 15-0 run in the first half, heading into the locker room up 52-39. Alabama State was held scoreless over a 4:19 drought in the middle of the second half to open a 9-0 run for the Tigers. The Hornets (3-8) responded with their own 10-0 run to bring the game within eight, 74-62. The Tigers regained control, though, to keep their eight-point lead the rest of the game, handing Alabama State their fourth loss in a row.
The Tigers shot 65% (33 of 51). Both teams shot 50% from the free-throw line.
Alabama State outscored Missouri in the final period, 38-33. Asjon Anderscon scored 23 for the Hornets, leading all players in scoring.
Up next
Missouri hosts Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 14.
Alabama State travels to Cincinnati to face the Bearcats on Dec. 17.
___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
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