A key Alabama legislative panel yesterday passed a bill allowing bankrupt Jefferson County to revive a local jobs tax but with changes that would reduce county collections and may delay full approval by state lawmakers and the governor, Reuters reported yesterday. An earlier version of the bill was approved last week by the State Senate and promised $60 million of annual revenue to cash-strapped Jefferson County, whose leaders argue that the jobs tax is vital to working out an exit plan from its $4.27 billion bankruptcy. An amendment tacked onto the bill yesterday could derail reauthorization of the tax, which was killed last year by a state court, according to Jefferson County Manager Tony Petelos.
