The Alabama House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a bill designed to prevent state revenue officials from maliciously targeting politically active individuals or groups.

The “Alabama Taxpayer Audit Protection Act,” by Rep. Wayne Johnson, R-Ryland, makes it unlawful for the Alabama Department of Revenue as well as County and Municipal Governments and their agents to audit an individual or group because of their political beliefs or statements.

“It’s no secret that Barack Obama and his Internal Revenue Service have targeted TEA Party groups and other organizations because of the political messages those groups actively promote,” Johnson said. “While Congress will have to take steps to prevent President Obama from committing future abuses on the federal level, we can take action now to ensure that similar actions never occur on the state level. Our goal is to ensure that Alabamians never have to worry about their state government threatening them because of their political views.”

Violating the act could result in the immediate loss of employment and is punishable by potential jail time and fines.

Johnson said the bill was drafted in response to revelations that the federal Internal Revenue Service had targeted various conservative political groups based simply upon their beliefs and statements.

Alabama’s Wetumpka TEA Party was among the groups targeted, resulting in their president, Becky Gerritson, being called to testify before a Congressional committee last year.

“I’m telling my government that you’ve forgotten your place,” Gerritson said in her testimony. “It’s not your responsibility to look out for my well-being, and to monitor my speech. It’s not your right to assert an agenda. Your post, the post that you occupy, exists to preserve American liberty. You’ve sworn to perform that duty. And you have faltered.

The Alabama Taxpayer Audit Protection Act now moves to the State Senate for consideration.

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