The State of Alabama will waive its 4 percent sales tax next month on certain severe weather preparedness items to help residents prepare for future storms and natural disasters.

The sales tax holiday, which will begin Friday, July 6 at 12:01 a.m. and end at midnight on Sunday, July 8, has attracted 43 counties and 159 cities, including Butler County and Greenville, Georgiana and McKenzie, to participate in the first-ever event, according to the Alabama Department of Revenue.

The covered items must cost $60 or less, except for generators, which are covered as long as they cost $1,000 or less.

Items covered by the sales tax holiday include: several types of batteries, including cell phone batteries and chargers, battery-powered radios, flashlights, lanterns, emergency glow sticks, first-aid kits, fuel containers and more.

The sales tax holiday was a key recommendation of Gov. Robert Bentley’s Tornado Recovery Action Council, which was appointed following the April 27, 2011 tornado outbreak.

“Being prepared is the first step to a quick response to a natural disaster,” Bentley said in a press release.  “If people have the emergency supplies they need, that will go a long way toward helping them weather any storm.”