Senate committee advances bill to create Second Amendment sales tax holiday

The Alabama Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee passed House Bill 360 on Tuesday, advancing legislation to create an annual Second Amendment sales tax holiday in the state.

State Representative Chris Sells, R-Greenville, sponsored the bill. It would exempt purchases of firearms, ammunition and eligible hunting supplies from state sales and use tax during the last weekend in August. It would also allow counties and municipalities to opt in and exempt those sales from local sales and use tax.

According to the bill’s fiscal note, the tax holiday would cost Alabama’s Education Trust Fund an estimated $386,000 annually. It could also cost counties and municipalities an estimated $506,000 annually if they choose to opt in.

Senator Bobby Singleton, D-Birmingham, criticized the bill during Tuesday’s hearing and warned that its provisions could lead to more gun-related crime in the state.

“We’re just giving more access to guns on our streets,” Singleton said. “That’s all we’re doing.”

Republicans in the Legislature have largely supported the bill.

“The Alabama Legislature has a strong record of protecting the Second Amendment, cutting taxes and helping small businesses turn a dollar, but I believe this is the first piece of legislation we have passed supporting all three of those conservative principles at once,” Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, said earlier this session. “This legislation is about supporting responsible gun ownership, and I am hopeful that it will provide meaningful tax relief for Alabama families while also driving economic activity for retailers and outdoor businesses across our state.”

The committee voted along party lines, with all four Democrats on the committee opposing the bill, for a final vote of 12-4.

HB360 will now move to the Senate floor, where Republicans will seek to send the bill to the governor before the end of the 2026 Legislative Session.