Ala. Code § 40-12-270 — Disbursement of Net Proceeds from License Taxes and Registration Fees; Secondary Road Committee Created

(a) The moneys collected each month by the judge of probate from motor vehicle license taxes and registration fees, after deducting therefrom the amounts referred to in subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection (a) of Section 40-12-269, the moneys remaining after making the deductions being referred to in this section as “the net proceeds,” shall be disbursed by the judge of probate as follows:
(1) That portion of the net proceeds that consists of additional amounts paid under the schedule of additional amounts set forth in subsection (b) of Section 40-12-248 shall be remitted by the judge of probate to the State Treasurer who shall distribute the amounts as follows:
a. 64.75 percent of the amounts shall be distributed by the State Treasurer to the State of Alabama;
b. 35.25 percent of the amounts shall be apportioned and distributed by the State Treasurer among the 67 counties as follows:
1. A portion of the counties’ share of the net tax proceeds that is equal to 42.16 percent of the total net tax proceeds distributed to counties under paragraph (a)(1)b. of this section, shall be allocated equally among the 67 counties of the state.
2. The entire residue of the counties’ share of the net tax proceeds, being an amount equal to 57.84 percent of the total net tax proceeds distributed to counties under paragraph (a)(1)b., shall be allocated among the 67 counties of the state on the basis of the ratio of the population of each 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.
(2) The entire residue of the net proceeds remaining after compliance with subdivision (1) shall be distributed as follows:
a. Seventy-two percent of the residue, referred to in this subdivision, shall be distributed to the State of Alabama and shall be remitted by the judge of probate to the State Treasurer;
b. Twenty-one percent of the residue, referred to in this subdivision, shall be remitted by the judge of probate to the municipality in which the owner of the motor vehicle resides or with respect to which it is registered as required by law, or, if the owner does not reside in, or the motor vehicle is not required by law to be registered with respect to, an incorporated municipality, then to the county in which the license tax or registration fee with respect to the motor vehicle is paid; and
c. Seven percent of the residue, referred to in this subdivision, shall be remitted by the judge of probate to the State Treasurer and shall be apportioned by the State Treasurer among the several counties of the state in an amount for each county that bears the same relation to, and constitutes the same proportion of, the total of the seven percent that the total number of motor vehicles registered in such county bears to the total number of motor vehicles registered in the entire state. The amounts so apportioned to each county shall be distributed by the State Treasurer as follows:
1. Ten percent of the amount so apportioned to each county shall be distributed among the municipalities in the county with respect to which the apportionment is made, each such distribution 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; and
2. The remaining portion of the amount so apportioned to each county shall be distributed to the county to which the apportionment is made.
(b) Payment of the amounts herein provided to be distributed by the State Treasurer to counties and municipalities shall be made monthly by state warrant and shall be mailed, in the case of distribution to a county, to the county treasurer (or other officer or entity having the functions of a county treasurer) of that county and, in the case of a distribution to a municipality, to the treasurer of that municipality.
(c) Any municipality incorporated after September 30, 1967, 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 population of any municipality incorporated subsequent to the taking of the then next preceding federal decennial census shall, until the effective date of the then next succeeding federal decennial census, be deemed to be the population shown by the census for that municipality taken pursuant to the requirements of Section 11-41-4. For the purposes of this section, each federal decennial census shall be deemed to be effective on October 1 next following the publication of the results of the decennial census.
(d) The amounts remitted to the State Treasurer pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of Section 40-12-269 and all moneys provided in this section to be distributed to the State of Alabama shall be covered into the Treasury to the credit of the Public Road and Bridge Fund and disbursed as follows:
(1) Paid out of the portion of the motor vehicle license taxes and registration fees that is remitted to the State Treasurer pursuant to Section 40-12-269(a)(2):
a. One million two hundred thousand dollars ($1,200,000) shall be distributed to the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) each fiscal year to the credit of the Public Safety Fund to be used for the enforcement of state traffic and motor vehicle laws; and
b. The remaining amounts appropriated by the Legislature out of the motor vehicle license taxes and registration fees for the payment of expenses of the state Department of Revenue in the collection of the said taxes and fees, including salaries, cost of tags and other costs of collection;
(2) So much of the net proceeds distributed to the State of Alabama pursuant to the provisions of this section as shall be necessary for such purpose shall be used for the following purposes in the following order:
a. Payment at their respective maturities of the principal of and interest on bonds, other than refunding bonds, issued by the Alabama Highway Authority under the provisions of Acts 1967, Ex. Sess., No. 225, p. 302;
b. Payment at their respective maturities of the principal of and interest on bonds, other than refunding bonds, issued by the Alabama Highway Authority under the provisions of Acts 1969, No. 781, p. 1398;
c. Payment at their respective maturities of the principal of and interest on bonds, other than refunding bonds, issued by the Alabama Highway Authority under the provisions of Acts 1971, No. 1416, p. 2414; and
d. Payment at their respective maturities of the principal of and interest on any bonds or other obligations, including refunding obligations, issued after December 1, 1977, by a public corporation existing at the time of issuance under the laws of Alabama pursuant to then existing statutory or constitutional authorization, or by the State of Alabama pursuant to authorization, effective at the time of issuance, under the Constitution and laws of the state, and for which the net proceeds referred to in this subdivision shall have been appropriated and pledged in a then effective statute or constitutional provision (including any enabling act under a constitutional provision), all in the manner and to the extent and subject to such priorities in rank as may be provided in such statute or constitutional provision or in an authorizing resolution thereunder; and
(3) The balance of the moneys referred to in subdivisions (1) and (2) remaining after compliance with the subdivisions shall be used by the state Department of Transportation for construction and maintenance of public roads and bridges in the state and for any other purpose for which moneys in the Public Road and Bridge Fund may be lawfully used.
(e)(1) All moneys received by a municipality or county under this section, except that portion of the moneys that constitute collections from additional amounts paid under the schedule of additional amounts set forth in subsection (b) of Section 40-12-248 and distributed under subdivision (a)(1), shall be used by such municipality or county exclusively for the construction, improvement, and maintenance of public highways or public streets, including administrative expenses in connection therewith and retirement of securities evidencing obligations incurred for payment of costs of the construction, improvement, and maintenance.
(2) All moneys received by a county under this section which constitute collections from additional amounts paid under the schedule of additional amounts set forth in subsection (b) of Section 40-12-248 and distributed under subdivision (a)(1) shall be used by the county 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 the Chief of the Bureau of Secondary Roads of the state Department of Transportation, two county engineers appointed by the state Director of Transportation and two county commission members appointed by the Governor. The committee members shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority. The committee shall elect one of its members to serve as chair. 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 June 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 chair of each county commission before the effective date of the 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 Transportation or his or her designee for approval. The Director of Transportation or his or her 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 inspection fee distributed under Section 8-17-91, 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 the 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 that section.