Because of a lawsuit involving a Chilton County tax, several hundred other local bills could also be in jeopardy – including 30 from Baldwin County.

For several decades, the legislature has used budget isolation resolution (BIR) votes to be able to pass some local pieces of legislation without having to go through budget approval that was mandated by state law in the 1990s.

In the House, several BIRs were passed by votes from only the counties affected by those pieces of legislation.

The Chilton County lawsuit, currently under appeal in front of the Alabama Supreme Court, alleges that the voting procedure used by the House violates the law because the amendment that governs the BIRs requires a vote of “three-fifths of a quorum present” of the House.

Of the 30 BIRs in Baldwin County that could be affected by the Supreme Court striking down, the most damaging one could be the current penny sales tax created in 2012 that helps provide needed funds for the Baldwin County School system.

School officials said they are closely monitoring the situation and said they remain hopeful that the Supreme Court will uphold the BIRs as valid.

If the BIRs are struck down, it could also affect several annexations done in Baldwin County over the last decade in several municipalities, including Foley, Fairhope, Spanish Fort, Loxley and Perdido Beach.

Another of the Baldwin County BIRs could affect Sunday alcohol sales for off-premises consumption across the county, while other affect fees currently being collected by the county’s probate office and district courts.

Members of the Baldwin County legislative delegation said they were continuing to study what the fallout could be if the BIRs were struck down, but warned it could cause problems across the state if that were to occur.