When the Alabama Legislature returns to its regular session after pausing to address the spending of federal funds set aside for COVID-19 relief, Sen. Chris Elliott is poised to fight for less tolls, federal money and the right to fly the Alabama flag in every front yard.
Elliott, whose district stretches from Spanish Fort to Gulf Shores and east to Perdido Beach, said his number one priority is keeping federal money distributed to the state through GOMESA funds in Alabama's two coastal counties — Baldwin and Mobile as outlined in Senate Bill 9.
The funds distributed through the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, better known as GOMESA, are collected through offshore oil and gas lease revenues. The intention is that it be used to fund environmental projects, land acquisition and water access initiatives, all projects that are difficult to fund otherwise.
Elliott said the problem is that the federal act allocating that money does not also specify that the money must be used in coastal regions, allowing politicians to divvy it up to pet projects in other parts of the state. Senate Bill 9, he said, stops that mismanagement.
It has taken the senator three years, he said, both while working as a Baldwin County Commissioner and in the statehouse to garner the support he needs to pass the measure.

Last year the bill passed the senate but died in the house.
While Baldwin County hasn't lost access to any of those funds yet, Elliott points to money distributed after the BP Oil Spill that was sent to counties that the oil-filled waves never touched.
"Why do people come here? To go to the beach. Baldwin has a lot of other things too, but they are coming here because of the water quality. Our property value is high because of the water quality. Preserving that way of life is very important," Elliott said.
His top priority, he said, is using those funds to protect land and create public use projects such as the boat ramp in Fort Morgan, the expansion of Graham Creek Park and the Foley Beach Express which were all funded through GOMESA money.
"It's hard to convince our colleagues from north Alabama that they need to statute this money to be spent in the south. We've done a lot of work over the last three years to get that agreement made," Elliott said.
GOMESA funds may be at the top of the senator's to-do list but Senate Bill 85, yet to be filed, will likely catch the attention of voters.
No tolls for locals
The bill would provide a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for any Alabama resident who pays a road toll inside the state.
The recent fight over the I-10 Bay Bridge project, which proposed sticking travelers with a nearly $3 fee to cross the bay, inspired the bill.
"Why does Alabama bear the brunt of building that large amount of infrastructure in a short part of Alabama? Why should we be treated differently down here on our daily commute," Elliott said.
The bill, he said, allows the state to receive revenue for the tolls but also compensate residents who travel those roads on a daily basis.
A federal statute prohibits travelers from showing toll workers their Alabama license to forego the payment.
"But," Elliott said, "The federal folks are not in charge of Alabama state tax policy and that is exactly why I'm trying a different approach."
The senator said revenue would remain the same for the project and locals using the roads would pay less in state income tax. More importantly, he said, drivers across the state would be treated similarly.
"It frustrates me. Why are we funding infrastructure differently in south Alabama than in north Alabama," Elliott said. "If they would at least acknowledge that. Our folks pay the same gas tax and income tax. Why do we have to pay an additional fee to go back and forth to work? This is an elegant and legal way to work around that."
An end to unemployment for summer workers
Senate Bill 100, which Elliott also sponsored, would allow the Department of Labor to designate a seasonal employer status and free summertime companies from paying a high unemployment tax.
Elliott said currently there is a cycle that happens in Baldwin's beach communities where workers apply for seasonal work, and both the employer and employee understand it is a seasonal job. But when fall arrives and the job ends, the employee files for unemployment driving unemployment taxes up.
"They are genuinely out of work, but they knew that would happen on the front end," Elliott said. "My concern is the business owners often they get taken advantage of. A three-month job pays for five or six months with the unemployment. How is that fair?"
Elliott said if employers are not beholden to the higher unemployment tax, they might be able to offer a more competitive wage during those summer months.

"It may be better for everybody involved," he said.

Giving teachers more years in the classroom
Another bill not filed yet is one that would allow retired teachers to return to their profession.
Currently Alabama limits the amount of money that retired teachers can make if they return to work after their official retirement date.
Educators who return to the classroom to tutor, sub or even drive buses are not allowed to make more than $30,000 annually.

The limit is unfair to individuals and to districts that are facing teacher shortages, Elliott said.
"I'm not aware of another industry that says you can't work in your chosen profession and work for the county or state anymore," he said.
Changes to the state retirement system create potentially complicated issues, he said. But, the bill Elliott plans to put forth in the coming weeks would allow teachers to work without a salary cap but would also not allow them to earn more years of service or increase their retirement benefits for those working hours.
"My hopes are that while we have a shortage of teachers and a labor market that is tight now those folks have the opportunity to hire qualified individuals who are interested in continuing to work," he said. "We have school teachers especially in our border areas who go to other states to teach. It doesn't make any sense. Why not let them continue to teach here without earning more retirement?"
Flying the state flag
Elliott's final bill would stop homeowner's associations from limiting the display of the state flag.
The senator said two years ago legislators from across the state handed out hundreds of Alabama flags to school children and families as part of the state's bicentennial celebration.
He heard from many that their HOAs prohibited them from flying the flag in their yard.
Senate Bill 42 would make such a rule illegal.
Elliott said he mirrored the language of the federal flag code which does not allow prohibition of the display of the U.S. flag while setting reasonable restrictions in how it is displayed and what size flag is appropriate.
Elliott said he received a similar letter from his own HOA asking him to remove the Alabama flag that was flown from his front porch.
"It's rolled up in the closet right now," he said. "Hopefully we'll get it back out there some day."