[StBernard] Alabama Senate passes tax breaks for steel mill

[Westley Annis]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- The state Senate put aside its feuding late
Thursday night to pass a package of tax breaks that will keep Alabama in the
competition with Louisiana for a German steel mill employing 2,700 people.

The Senate voted 34-0 for the legislation, which now goes to the governor
for signing into law.

"It's huge," said Gov. Bob Riley, who negotiated with senators for several
hours Thursday.

Riley said he had assured ThyssenKrupp officials that the feuding in the
Senate was about party politics and had nothing to do with Alabama's desire
to land the $2.9 million mill.

"There was no doubt about the state's ability to articulate we want you
here," Riley said.

Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr., the Senate's presiding officer, also negotiated
between the Senate's Democratic majority and Republican minority to get the
bill passed.

"We know the importance of this day in Alabama," Folsom said.

Riley expects ThyssenKrupp to pick a plant site May 11. The company is
choosing between a site 25 miles north of Mobile, Ala., and a location
between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La. The mill, which would be one of the
largest private industrial projects in U.S. history, is expected to employ
29,000 construction workers.

In the Senate, Republicans have been slowing down action for weeks to
protest new operating rules they say disenfranchise the minority. They had
offered to let the tax breaks pass, but wanted to keep stalling some routine
bills to extend the life of state regulatory boards. The Democratic majority
had insisted the bills be allowed to come up for votes with the tax breaks
legislation.

They compromised at about 10 p.m., agreeing to pass the tax breaks and four
other bills.

Sen. Charles Bishop, R-Jasper, said Republicans were still unhappy about the
way they had been treated in the Senate. "But is it worth losing an
industry? No," he said.

Riley's tax legislation gives ThyssenKrupp a 10-year tax break on paying
utility taxes, an enhanced 20-year break on property taxes that don't go to
education, and an income tax credit for 30 years. The tax breaks would be
added to a $400 million package of economic incentives that the Legislature
approved in February.

In Louisiana, the Legislature approved $300 million in infrastructure
investments in December. On Monday, Gov. Kathleen Blanco asked lawmakers to
add another $100 million "to match Alabama's commitment."