§37-2-41. Inspection and supervision fees; election.

(a) Each transportation company doing business in this state and subject to the control and jurisdiction of the commission with respect to its rates and service regulations shall pay quarterly to the commission, beginning November 1, 1985 and on each quarter thereafter, February 1, May 1, August 1, and November 1 of each year, a fee for the inspection and supervision of such business during the next preceding fiscal year. Such inspection and supervision fees shall be paid by such transportation companies in addition to any and all property, franchise, license, intangible and other taxes, fees and charges now or hereafter provided by law. No similar inspection and supervision fees shall be levied or assessed by any county or municipality of the state, and no part of such inspection and supervision fees shall be allowed to any county or municipality of this state. Such inspection and supervision fees shall be measured by the amount of gross receipts of each such transportation company for the fiscal year next preceding the dates herein fixed for the payment of the same, except that in case of such transportation companies engaged in interstate business, the fees shall be measured by the gross receipts of such transportation companies from intrastate business only, for such preceding fiscal year, and not in any respect upon receipts derived wholly or in part from interstate business. Such fees shall be ascertained as follows: A fee of $2.85 per $1,000.00 for the first $100,000.00 or less of such gross receipts; a fee of $2.35 per $1,000.00 for each additional $1,000.00 of such gross receipts up to and including $1,000,000.00 thereof; a fee of $1.85 per $1,000.00 for each additional $1,000.00 of such gross receipts over $1,000,000.00 thereof, but in no case shall said fee be less than $25.00, which shall be the minimum inspection and supervision fee to be paid by any transportation company. However, all transportation companies with gross intrastate receipts in excess of $60,000,000.00 per calendar quarter will continue to submit the quarterly payment of fees, as due on the intrastate gross receipts of the fiscal year ended September 30, 1984, through August 1, 1985. On September 1, 1985 such companies shall pay fees due for the calendar quarter ended December 31, 1984. Beginning November 1, 1985 such companies shall pay over on a quarterly basis beginning with the calendar quarter ended March 31, 1985 and henceforth for the calendar quarters ending June 30, September 30, December 31 and March 31 of each year on the following February 1, May 1, August 1 and November 1 of each year respectively; provided, however, that the maximum amount so to be paid for any one year by any such transportation company operating any railroad, or part of a railroad in this state, shall be $5,000.00. The commission shall keep a true record of all such amounts so paid to it, under this subsection and subsection (b), but said amounts, when received by the commission, shall be promptly paid over to the treasurer, and shall be held in the commission's operating fund by, and shall be paid out by the treasurer in payment of expenses incurred by the commission under this title upon warrants drawn as provided by law upon the treasurer and approved as required by law. Payment of the supervision and inspection fees provided for hereunder shall in all respects be governed by the provisions of subsections (c) and (d).

(b) In lieu of the inspection and supervision fees provided for in subsection (a), each provider of pay telephone service over instruments owned and/or operated by local exchange companies, interexchange companies, and customer-owned, coin-operated telephone service providers doing business in the state and subject to the control and jurisdiction of the commission, may elect to pay a fee for the inspection and supervision of such pay telephone or coin-operated telephone service business during the next preceding fiscal year. Such inspection and supervision paid in lieu of the fees provided for in subsection (a), shall be in addition to any and all property, franchise, license, intangible and other taxes, fees, and charges now or hereafter provided by law, and shall be measured by the number of instruments in operation during such fiscal year within the State of Alabama. Such fee shall be $10.00 per instrument and no other inspection and supervision fee shall be due upon any such instrument.

(c) Supervision and inspection fees provided for in this article shall be in default after February 1, May 1, August 1 and November 1 of each year, if not paid prior to or on that date. In the event that the amount payable by any transportation company for any quarter cannot be ascertained on or before the dates herein prescribed for payment each year, such transportation company shall, in any event, pay the minimum supervision and inspection fee herein provided and in addition such part of any additional supervision and inspection fee as may be ascertainable on or before the date of default; and when any further or additional amount payable for such quarter can be ascertained, the same shall be paid within 30 days after it becomes possible to ascertain the same. Any transportation company failing in whole or in part to pay any supervision or inspection fee, or part thereof, due by it within any of the times herein prescribed for payment of the same, shall be in default and shall be liable to a penalty of not exceeding $50.00 per day, to be recovered by suit of the state, for every day it thereafter remains in default, and such penalty may be recovered together with the supervision and inspection fee in default, in a single action.

(d) Any transportation company may, at their own election, pay over the total fees due for the preceding fiscal year on November 1 of each year. Such payment is to be governed by the provisions of subsections (c) and (e).

(e) The state shall have a lien upon all the property in this state of any transportation company for the payment of the supervision and inspection fees provided for in this chapter to be paid and the penalties in this chapter provided for, which lien shall be superior to all other liens, except the lien for state, county and municipal taxes.

(Code 1907, §9733; Acts 1902, No. 42, p. 92; Code 1923, §§9732, 9736, 9737; Code 1940, T. 48, §§156-158; Acts 1981, No. 81-718, p. 1210, §1; Acts 1985, No. 85-756, p. 1256, §1; Acts 1986, No. 86-375, p. 560, §1; Acts 1989, No. 89-943, p. 1852, §1; Acts 1991, No. 91-586, p. 1075, §1.)