§45-25-240.27. Monthly roster; renewal by mail.

(a) The DeKalb County Commission shall furnish additional and sufficient personnel to the county tax assessor's office for the purpose of researching and obtaining the name of each county resident that owns a motor vehicle. The name of the owner shall be placed on a separate monthly roster, depending on the first letter of their last name as set forth by Act 79-797. This roster shall be completed by the first day of November 1980.

(b) The tax assessor shall, on the first day of December, 1980, mail to each auto owner who is to purchase auto tags in January 1981, an application form, containing a space for the name and address of the owner of the motor vehicle, the make, model, year, and motor number of the vehicle, the correct amount of ad valorem taxes, (state, county, school districts, municipal, and other) and the amount of the motor vehicle license tax, the cost of tag issuance and handling fee. The form shall also include the final date due without penalty. The assessor shall keep a copy of each application on file. Each year thereafter the assessor shall send such application to each auto owner on the first day of each month prior to the month of expiration of the current year's tag or decal.

(c) Once the auto owner receives his or her application he or she may sign the application form and return it by mail, together with his or her remittance of the total amount shown on the form, payable to the Judge of probate's office, no later than the 7th day of the following month, which is the amount of expiration of the current year's tag or decal. If the auto owner has signed the application form and sent the correct amount then the judge of probate shall stamp the form "paid" and mail it along with the auto tag or decal sticker to the applicant by the 28th day of the month. If there is an error made on behalf of the owner, the judge of probate may notify the owner and the owner may send the additional amount needed or he or she may come by the probate office and correct the error and pick up his or her tag. If the applicant sent too large amount, the probate office shall refund him or her when the tag is mailed. If any applications are received by the probate office later than the 7th of the month of the applicant's tag or decal expiration, he or she may file such application and keep them until the owner comes by the probate office and picks up the tag. At the end of each month the judge of probate shall pay over to the tax collector the amount received for ad valorem tax during that month.

(d) The fee for mailing out auto tags shall be one dollar ($1) which shall be paid to the county general fund. Such fee shall be included on the application form sent out by the tax assessor.

(e) The actual expense of preparing, posting, and mailing out of application forms shall be that of the county governing body. The county governing body shall also be responsible for any mistake made in the filling out of the application forms and neither the collector, assessor, or probate judge shall be held accountable for errors made by county employees. Only car, pick-ups, and motorcycle tags may be ordered through mail.

(f) All the forms necessary in the administration of this section shall be furnished by the State Department of Revenue.

(g) The procedure authorized by this section for the payment of ad valorem taxes on motor vehicles and motor vehicle license taxes and the issuance of license tags is optional, an alternative to the procedure now provided by law. Each owner of a motor vehicle shall continue to have the right to pay taxes and to receive his or her tag in person, without the necessity of paying the mailing fee provided for herein.

(Act 80-438, p. 664, §§1-7.)