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A critical source of funding for West Alabama counties, communities and organizations has been renewed by the Alabama Legislature.
The coal severance tax, a fee levied on the tonnage of extracted coal with proceeds returned to the coal’s county of origin, was set to expire Sept. 30 of this year but now has been extended through 2031.
This extension, which means millions of dollars each year to Tuscaloosa, Fayette, Winston and Walker counties, was the result of legislative efforts by a team of Republicans that included Sen. Gerald Allen of Tuscaloosa, Senate Majority Leader Greg Reed of Jasper, who sponsored the legislation in the Senate, and Reps. Bill Poole, Rodney Sullivan, Rich Wingo and Kyle South, the original sponsor of House Bill 219 that was signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey on April 1.