Governor Kay Ivey announced Wednesday that Alabama Department of Revenue Commissioner Vernon Barnett will retire from state service at the end of April. Ivey selected Mary Martin Mitchell, a senior attorney in the department, to succeed him.
“Vernon has been an outstanding member of the Ivey administration from the beginning and has served the people of our state faithfully. When I took office in 2017, I promised the people of Alabama I would leave this state better than we found it. Vernon’s leadership and impactful improvements made at Revenue are certainly no exception to that effort. I am truly grateful for all he has done for our state and know he will have great success in his next chapter,” Ivey said. “Mary Martin has been a driving force behind the Department of Revenue’s success, and I am excited for her to step up as commissioner. She has impressive institutional knowledge that will serve us well not only over the next eight months, but also into the next administration.”
Mary Martin Mitchell
Barnett joined the Ivey administration a month after Ivey took office in 2017. Ivey credited him with leading the agency, which interacts with taxpayers across the state. She also praised him for navigating complex tax policy issues, administering the Simplified Sellers Use Tax, instituting new programs such as the CHOOSE Act and helping guide responsible tax relief efforts, most recently through the overtime tax and the grocery tax pause.
“It has been the honor and the pleasure of a lifetime to have served the people of Alabama in the Ivey administration these past nine years as commissioner of revenue. I want to thank Governor Ivey for placing her confidence in me and for her unwavering support and guidance,” Barnett said. “I have learned so much from her and treasure the time I have spent in her Cabinet. I am deeply blessed to have served with so many remarkable colleagues during this time. To each of them who have so enriched my life I say thank you. I leave confident that our state and our Department of Revenue are in good hands, and the best is yet to come.”
Mitchell will take over May 1. She serves as general counsel at the Department of Revenue. Ivey’s office said Mitchell has extensive experience in tax policy, legislation, administrative law and complex litigation.
“I am honored to be appointed commissioner and grateful to Governor Ivey for her trust placed in me to lead the Alabama Department of Revenue,” Mitchell said. “It is a privilege to serve Alabama taxpayers, and I am committed to providing clear guidance and consistent application of the tax laws to support the state’s continued growth. I look forward to building on the positive momentum of the past nine years with integrity and transparency.”
Before joining the department, Mitchell served as a staff attorney with the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. After graduating from the University of Alabama School of Law, she began her legal career with a private law firm in Huntsville.
Ivey said she looks forward to having Mitchell serve in her Cabinet through the remainder of the quadrennium and “to continue building on the progress made at the Department for a strong finish.”
