§40-23-35. Disposition of revenues from tax.

(a) Such amount of money as shall be appropriated for each fiscal year by the Legislature to the Department of Revenue with which to pay the salaries, the cost of operation and management of said department shall be deducted, as a first charge thereon, from the taxes collected under the provisions of this division; provided, that the expenditure of said sum so appropriated shall be budgeted and allotted pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 4 of Title 41, and limited to the amount appropriated to defray the expenses of operating said department for each fiscal year. After the payment of the expenses, so much of the amount remaining as may be necessary, after first applying all sums of money received by reason of the application of the surplus in the income tax as provided by Section 40-18-58, for the replacement in the public school fund of the three-mill constitutional levy for schools and in the General Fund of the one-mill levy for soldiers' relief and the two and one-half mills for general purposes lost by exemption of homestead provided for in this division shall be first charges against the proceeds of said licenses, taxes or receipts levied or collected under this division. The Comptroller, with the approval of the Governor, is hereby directed to draw his warrants payable out of the total proceeds of said licenses, taxes or receipts levied or collected under this division as herein provided in such sum as shall be found necessary to take care of and replace the three-mill constitutional school levy, the one-mill soldiers' relief levy and the two and one-half mill levy for general purposes of the state ad valorem taxes lost as above set forth.

(b) Of the amounts of such collections in any fiscal year, remaining after the payment of the expenses of administration and replacement of the amounts in the several funds as herein provided there shall be paid into the Treasury sums to be credited as follows:

(1) To the credit of the 67 counties of the state, to be divided and distributed as hereinafter provided, $378,000;

(2) To the Department of Human Resources, $1,322,000;

(3) Beginning June 1, 2000, to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for capital outlay for acquisition of land contiguous to existing state parks and land acquired for lakes and or water reservoirs, provision, construction, improvement, renovation, equipping, and maintenance of the state parks system only and not for use by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for personnel or administrative use, the sum equal to the increase in receipts accruing to the State of Alabama due to the cap on discounts per license holder in Section 40-23-36(b), which increase shall be equal to the difference between the discount rate or amount allowed under Section 40-23-36(b) and the maximum discount rate allowable under Section 40-23-36(a); provided, however, if at any time any bonds of the Alabama State Parks System Improvement Corporation or the Alabama Public Historical Sites and Parks Improvement Corporation are outstanding (excluding bonds that have been refunded by the establishment of an escrow trust for the payment thereof consisting solely of bonds or other obligations which as to principal and interest constitute direct obligations of, or are unconditionally guaranteed by, the United States of America) there shall first be paid into the State General Fund from such collections an amount equal to the debt service (principal, interest, and premium, if any) payable on such bonds in the then current fiscal year of the state. Provided, however, that one million dollars ($1,000,000) of such increase in receipts per fiscal year shall be credited to the Department of Human Resources beginning October 1, 1996, until September 30, 2002, and shall be expended for the foster children program.

(4)a. On October 1, 2002, to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for capital outlay, repairs and maintenance of the state parks system only, the minimum sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000) from the increase in receipts accruing to the State of Alabama due to the cap on discounts per license holder in Section 40-23-36(b) as calculated in Section 40-23-35(b)(3). Beginning October 1, 2003, annually, to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for capital outlay, repairs, and maintenance of the state parks system only, the sum calculated by a fraction, the numerator of which is five million dollars ($5,000,000) and the denominator of which is equal to the increase in receipts as calculated in Section 40-23-35(b)(3) for fiscal year 2002 accruing to the State of Alabama multiplied by the increase in receipts as calculated in Section 40-23-35(b)(3) for the then current fiscal year, or the sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000), whichever is greater. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, for the fiscal years ending September 30, 2012, and September 30, 2013, only, the five million dollars ($5,000,000) shall be transferred to the State General Fund.

b. Beginning October 1, 2002, to the credit of the State General Fund, the balance of the sum equal to the increase in receipts accruing to the State of Alabama due to the cap on discounts per license holder in Section 40-23-36(b).

(c) One-half of the amount deposited to the credit of the 67 counties as above provided, shall be divided and distributed proportionately among the 67 counties of the state according to the population of the said counties as shown by the last federal census as proclaimed, published or certified by the Director of the Bureau of the Census; and one-half of said proceeds shall be divided or distributed equally among 67 counties; provided, that the funds divided and distributed to the several counties of the state as hereinabove provided for shall be used exclusively for full-time health service in cooperation with the State Board of Health or the federal government, and for extension services in cooperation with the Alabama Agriculture Extension Service or the federal government, at the discretion of the county commissions of the several counties of the state.

(d) The amounts provided in subsection (b) for the Department of Human Resources shall be used for general welfare purposes. For purposes of this division, "general welfare purposes" means:

(1) The administration of public assistance as set out in Sections 38-2-5 and 38-4-1;

(2) Services, including supplementation and supplementary services under the federal Social Security Act, to or on behalf of persons to whom such public assistance may be given under said Section 38-4-1;

(3) Services to and on behalf of dependent, neglected or delinquent children; and

(4) Investigative and referral services to and on behalf of needy persons.

(e) In addition, there shall be paid, commencing on January 1, 1978, and on the first day of each fiscal quarter thereafter, to the Department of Human Resources for a statewide, state-administered food stamp program, as authorized by the Food Stamp Act of 1964, Public Law 88-525, 88th Congress, and amendments thereto, an amount equal to five percent of the value of food stamp benefits issued statewide in excess of the amount paid by recipients (bonus or free stamps) during the immediate prior fiscal quarter, which sum so appropriated shall be paid quarterly to the Department of Human Resources Trust Fund for administration of the food stamp program in conformity with rules and regulations promulgated by the United States Department of Agriculture and in conformity with Sections 38-1-1 through 38-6-9. Such administrative funds shall be limited to and based on fiscal year 1976-77 administrative costs, normal inflationary increases and mandated administration requirements of the Alabama Legislature and the United States Department of Agriculture. The Department of Human Resources will not staff any county food stamp office at a level which exceeds the average staff-to-recipient ratios which existed in Alabama during fiscal year 1976-77. This restriction will apply in coordination with those provided hereinabove and, should conflict occur, the lesser amount of expenditure shall be required. At the end of each fiscal year, an accounting shall be made of said sum so that any unexpended and unencumbered balance of funds may be determined for the purpose of paying such balance to the Education Trust Fund.

(f) The amount of the proceeds of all taxes levied by this division remaining after the payment of the expenses of administration and enforcement and the replacement in the several funds of the amount lost by any homestead exemptions and the distribution as provided in subsections (b) and (d), shall be paid into the Education Trust Fund except as provided in subdivision (4) of Section 40-23-2 and subsection (c) of Section 40-23-61.

Acts 1959, 2nd Ex. Sess., No. 100, p. 298, §32; Acts 1973, No. 823, p. 1289; Acts 1973, No. 1135, p. 1916; Acts 1978, No. 359, p. 300, §1; Acts 1988, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 88-867, p. 372, §2; Acts 1996, No. 96-785, p. 1459, §1; Act 2000-731, p. 1578, §2; Act 2011-642, p. 1633, §1.)