§8-17-91. Disposition of funds; overpayments.

(a) The proceeds from the permit fees, inspection fees, and penalties, if any, collected by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries pursuant to the provisions of this division shall be paid into the State Treasury and distributed by the State Treasurer as follows:

(1) An amount equal to five percent or no less than $175,000, whichever is greater, of the proceeds received each month shall accrue to the credit of, and be deposited in, the Agricultural Fund; and

(2) The balance of the proceeds shall be distributed as follows:

a. 13.87 percent of the balance of the proceeds shall be distributed equally among each of the 67 counties of the state monthly. Such funds shall be used by the counties for the following purpose:

When the use is by a county, such use shall be for the construction, including draining, grading, basing, paving, signing, and erosion items, of certain high density unpaved roads as herein provided and for the construction or reconstruction of bridges on such high density roads. The use may also be for the reconstruction, resurfacing, restoration, and rehabilitation of the paved county roads and bridges or bridge replacement on the county road system. The use may also be for the construction, including draining, grading, basing, and paving of certain unpaved roads, and reconstruction of certain paved roads accessing certain public and private recreational facilities and areas.

There is hereby created a committee to be referred to as the Secondary Road Committee comprised of two county engineers appointed by the Director of the State Department of Transportation, two county commission members appointed by the Governor, and the Chief of the Bureau of Secondary Roads. The committee members shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority. The committee shall elect one of its members to serve as chairman. A quorum of the committee shall consist of no less than three members. Committee members shall serve without compensation.

The Secondary Road Committee shall develop and publish criteria for the designation of high density roads and bridges and for the designation of eligible recreational access roads. The committee may in its discretion provide different criteria for counties according to population, topography, and road mileage. The committee shall also develop and publish minimum design standards, including allowable cost items, for the construction, reconstruction, surfacing, resurfacing, restoration, and rehabilitation of such high density roads and bridges and recreational access roads. Criteria and standards developed by the committee shall be published by distributing printed copies thereof to the chairman of each county commission in Alabama no later than 90 days after May 1, 1984. The committee may from time to time amend the criteria and standards developed provided that at least 60 days' notice is provided in writing to the chairman of each county commission before the effective date of such amendment. The State Department of Transportation shall provide all supplies and clerical help necessary for the committee to execute its responsibilities.

County commissions are hereby required to submit all plans for the use of such proceeds to the Director of the State Department of Transportation or his designee for approval. The Director of the State Department of Transportation or his designee shall review all plans and approve them or disapprove them, based on the criteria and standards developed by the committee.

The funds distributed to the counties under this subsection shall not be commingled with other funds of the county except the counties' portion of the auto license tax distributed under Section 40-12-270(a)(1), as amended and shall be kept and disbursed by such county from a special fund only for the purposes hereinabove provided.

The provisions of this section notwithstanding, any county may at any time deposit all or any portion of such proceeds into the county's special RRR Fund as provided for in Section 40-17-224, and may use the proceeds so deposited for any purpose authorized under said section.

b. $408,981 shall be allocated to the State Department of Transportation monthly and deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the Public Road and Bridge Fund. Such funds are hereby appropriated to the State Department of Transportation to be used to match federal aid discretionary funds that may from time to time become available to the State Department of Transportation. In the event that in any fiscal year other State Department of Transportation funds are insufficient to match the department's regular federal aid apportionment, then at the Director State Department of Transportation's recommendation and approval by the Governor funds appropriated under this subsection may be used to match said federal aid apportionment.

c. 2.76 percent of the balance of the proceeds shall be allocated among the incorporated municipalities of the state as follows:

1. A portion of the municipalities' share of the balance of the proceeds that is equal to 45.45 percent of the municipalities' share of the balance of the proceeds shall be allocated equally among the 67 counties of the state.

2. The entire residue of the municipalities' share of the balance of the proceeds being an amount equal to 54.55 percent of the municipalities' share of the balance of the proceeds shall be allocated among the 67 counties of the state on the basis of the ratio of the population of each such county to the total population of the state according to the then next preceding federal decennial census, or any special federal census heretofore held in any county subsequent to the effective date of the 1980 federal decennial census.

3. The amount so allocated or apportioned to each county shall be distributed among the municipalities in the county with respect to which the allocation or apportionment is made, each such distribution among the said municipalities to be on the basis of the ratio of the population of each such municipality to the total population of all municipalities in the applicable county according to the then next preceding federal decennial census.

4. The population of any municipality incorporated subsequent to the taking of the then next preceding federal decennial census shall be deemed to be the population shown by the census for that municipality taken pursuant to the requirements of Section 11-41-4. Any municipality incorporated after September, 1983, shall not participate in the distribution provided for in this section until the fiscal year next succeeding the fiscal year during which it is incorporated, the first distribution to such municipality to be made in respect of receipts of the inspection fee by the state during October of the fiscal year next succeeding the said incorporation.

5. Use of the inspection fee by a municipality shall be for transportation planning, the construction, reconstruction, maintenance, widening, alteration, and improvement of public roads, bridges, streets, and other public ways, including payment of the principal of and interest on any securities at any time issued by the municipality pursuant to law for the payment of which any part of the net tax proceeds were or may be lawfully pledged; provided, that no part of the balance of the proceeds referred to in this section shall be expended contrary to the provisions of the Constitution; and provided further, that funds distributed to municipalities under the provisions of this division shall not be commingled with other funds of the municipality, except the municipalities' portion of the highway gasoline tax, and shall be kept and disbursed by such municipality from a special fund only for the purposes hereinabove provided.

d. An additional five percent of the balance each month computed after deducting the distributions in paragraphs a. and c. shall accrue to the credit of, and be deposited in, the Agricultural Fund.

e. The balance of the proceeds after a., b., c., and d. above have been distributed monthly shall accrue to the credit of and be deposited in the Public Road and Bridge Fund.

(b) In the event of the collection hereunder from any person of an amount in excess of the amount of all permit fees, inspection fees, or penalties properly and lawfully required to be paid by such person, such person may apply to the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries for a refund of the amount of such overpayment. If such application for refund is approved in whole or in part by the commissioner, the commissioner shall submit to the state Comptroller a statement, approved by the state Attorney General, setting forth the amount determined to have been overpaid and the date of the overpayment. The state Comptroller shall then draw his warrant in favor of the person making such overpayment upon the State Treasurer for the amount specified in the said statement, and such amount shall be paid out of current months' collections before any distribution is made under subsection (a) of this section.

(c) The application for refund provided for in this section must be filed with the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries within 12 calendar months from the date upon which the overpayment was made, and no amount shall be refunded unless the application therefor is filed within the time prescribed herein.

(d) The Department of Agriculture and Industries shall have authority to make and issue rules and regulations relating to the procedure to be followed in filing an application for a refund and for payment of any refund made under this section.

(Acts 1971, No. 1403, p. 2363, §11; Acts 1979, No. 79-307, p. 460, §1; Acts 1984, No. 84-185, p. 279, §2; Acts 1986, Ex. Sess., No. 86-716, p. 132, §1; Act 2004-516, p. 996, §1; Act 2004-546, p. 1164, §1; Act 2012-400, p. 1092, §1.)