§11-81-18. Pledge of revenues from license, privilege, or excise taxes for payment of principal and interest on bonds.

In any case in which a municipality or county may hereafter issue any securities, including bonds, warrants, notes and certificates of indebtedness, whether such securities are general obligations of the municipality or county or are payable solely from a special source, there may be pledged to the payment of the principal of and the interest on such securities all or any part of that portion of the proceeds from any license or privilege tax or excise tax levied by any act of the Legislature which may be apportioned and paid to such municipality or county; provided, however, that such pledge may be made only for the benefit of securities issued for a purpose or purposes for which the tax proceeds so apportioned to any such municipality or county are permitted by any such act to be used.

In any case in which a pledge is made under the provisions of this section, the securities for the benefit of which such pledge shall be made shall have preference over claims for salaries or other operating expenses or claims for any other purpose, and if more than one such pledge shall be made with respect to the same portion of any such tax proceeds so apportioned then such pledges shall take precedence in the order in which they are made; provided, that if in the proceedings authorizing any such securities and making any such pledge therefor the municipality or county reserves the privilege of issuing additional securities secured on a parity of pledge with the securities authorized by the said proceedings, then such additional securities subsequently issued may be secured by such parity pledge in accordance with the provisions of the said proceedings in which the said privilege is reserved.

Each pledge of the character authorized by this section that may have been heretofore made by any municipality or county for the benefit of any such securities heretofore issued by it is hereby ratified and confirmed.

(Acts 1953, No. 531, p. 739; Acts 1969, No. 803, p. 1447, §1.)