After a two-month break, Alabama’s grocery tax will be back in effect starting July 1, meaning that Alabamians can expect to pay more for groceries in July.

Lawmakers passed a bill in April creating a two-month grocery sales tax holiday lasting from May 1 through June 30. During this period, the 2% state grocery sales tax was not levied on grocery purchases in the state.

The measure was attached to a bill that established an income tax deductible on overtime pay, creating new tax break avenues for Alabamians.

“HB527 provides meaningful, direct tax relief by delivering real savings at the grocery store for all families and rewarding hardworking Alabamians by recognizing the value of overtime work,” the bill’s sponsor, Rep. James Lomax, R-Huntsville, said about the measure.

The sales tax holiday came as grocery prices have increased nationwide. Consumer Affairs reported grocery prices increased by 5.8% from 2024 to 2025. 

The average Alabama family of four spends roughly $1000 a month on groceries, meaning that they pay an average of $20 in grocery sales taxes per month.

Alabama is one of eight states that tax groceries. Lawmakers lowered the tax from 3% to 2% in 2025, meaning that, of the states that tax groceries, Alabama has one of the lowest tax rates.

However, the grocery sales tax has earned criticism for being a regressive tax — placing a larger burden on lower income households — with some calling to eliminate the tax altogether. 

“Two months is a good start toward forever. Eliminating the state grocery tax – even temporarily – will make it easier for every Alabamian to make ends meet, especially in this time of persistently high food prices,” Alabama Arise Executive Director Robyn Hyden said in a statement released after the grocery tax holiday bill was passed by legislators. Hyden went on to call the tax a “cruel tax on survival.” 

Alabama top stories in brief

2,000 acres of Conecuh National Forest to open for oil and gas drilling

• More than 2,000 acres of the Conecuh National Forest will be open to oil and gas drilling next year, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management announced last week. 
• The land will be available in a March 2027 lease sale, which comes amid the Trump administration’s push to make it easier and cheaper for fossil fuel companies to drill for oil and gas on public lands. 
• The plan to open the forest for drilling has garnered criticism from environmental advocates, who say that drilling and oil and gas extraction would disrupt the forest’s ecosystem.
• The Conecuh National Forest is comprised of roughly 83,000 acres in Escambia and Covington Counties, along the Alabama-Florida border. Its longleaf pine forest ecosystem is home to 19 federally protected species, including red-cockaded woodpeckers, Escambia map turtles and Gulf sturgeon. 

Alabama expanding public pre-K program

• Gov. Kay Ivey announced last week that the state’s First Class Pre-K program will be expanding to 64 more classrooms for the 2026-2027 school year.
• First Class Pre-K is Alabama’s public pre-kindergarten program that offers free educational programming for four-year-olds statewide regardless of income. The program currently has 1,521 classrooms that serve more than 24,000 students.
• State officials say the expansion will serve an additional 1,100 students.
• First Class Pre-K has reached all the benchmarks set by the National Institute for Early Education Research for 20 consecutive years, making Alabama the longest-running state program to achieve these standards. 

Alabama joins plastic packaging lawsuit

• Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced last week that Alabama has joined a 17-state lawsuit suing California in an attempt to block a recycling law that aims to reduce single-use plastic usage and production.
• The lawsuit argues that the regulations, which would require companies to gradually reduce single-use plastic products and ensure all packaging is recyclable or compostable, are “onerous mandates” that would cause prices to increase.
• The lawsuit also claims the law extends California’s regulatory reach beyond the borders of the state by requiring product manufacturers based in other states to follow the state’s law if they wish to import their product to California.
• “California continues to impose radical policies that have expansive and expensive implications for businesses in Alabama. We will not allow this liberal policy intrusion on our sovereign state,” Marshall said in a press release about the suit. 

Mosquitoes besiege Baldwin County

• Portions of Baldwin County saw major increases in mosquito activity last week, raising concerns from residents and county officials.
• Cities along the shore of Mobile Bay — including Spanish Fort, Daphne and Fairhope — have been most affected by the mosquito population explosion, which came after torrential rainfall from Tropical Storm Arthur.
• Two mosquito species have been identified as part of the population explosion, including the gallinipper mosquito — known for its aggressive behavior towards people and animals and its painful bite — and the black salt marsh mosquito.
• The gallinipper mosquito is unlikely to carry mosquito-borne illnesses such as West Nile virus or Eastern Equine Encephalitis, but black salt marsh mosquitoes have been known to carry Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis and dog heartworms.
• City officials in the affected area have said they are increasing mosquito spraying, and are encouraging residents to wear long sleeves while outside and use bug spray that contains DEET.

Our stories you might have missed

• Our latest edition of “From the Editor’s Desk came out last week! This is just a time for our Editor in Chief to connect with readers, provide some behind-the-scenes content and let you know what we are working on for the future. You can read the latest edition on our website. 

• If you’re looking for a unique read this summer, then check out Wesley Hyde’s review, Meth and magic: a review of Bringing Home the Rain. The book is the first in the “The Redemption of Howard Marsh” series. As the series title implies, this book follows Howard Marsh, best described as “a liar, thief, a poor man’s wizard” who lives in the fictional Jubal County, Alabama. Howard is one of the fictional county’s less fortunate residents, being borderline homeless and deeply wrapped up in drug addiction. He scrapes by in the town of Elk Grove by stealing or doing odd jobs around the county: finding lost objects, water witching or solving magical problems for shadowy government agencies.”

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