In June 2020, the Alabama Supreme Court issued an Opinion in
Stiff v. Equivest Financial, LLC, where the Court held that a 2013 Bessemer tax sale occurring inside the courthouse and not on the front steps of the courthouse as required by Ala. Code § 40-10-15 was void. Because the practical effects of the
Stiff decision could invalidate tax sales all over the state of Alabama, the Alabama legislature moved quickly to remedy this legislative issue, and so Senate Bill 111 was born.
Senate Bill 111 was first read on February 2, 2021 and was submitted to the Governor for her signature on April 1, 2021. Senate Bill 111, once adopted, will amend the language of Ala. Code § 40-10-15 to allow for tax sales to be conducted “on the premises of or within the courthouse” as opposed to strictly “in front of the door of the courthouse.” This amendment will allow Alabama counties the flexibility to conduct tax sales inside and outside the Courthouse. That allows counties to de