HB597 By Representatives McCutcheon, Sanderford, Patterson, Ball and Williams (P) RFD Madison County Legislation Rd 1 05-MAY-15

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT

Relating to Madison County; authorizing the Madison County Commission to levy, assess, and collect a one-half of one percent sales and use tax in the unincorporated area of Madison County in order to raise funds for law enforcement activities within the unincorporated area of Madison County, including the employment, training, and equipping of additional deputy sheriffs and school resource officers; creating a three-member board to determine the use of the funds; prohibiting the use of the funds for the care of inmates at the Madison County Detention Facility; providing that when certain criteria are met, excess monies collected from the tax shall be paid into the county general fund to be appropriated by the Madison County Commission; and providing for a referendum on the tax.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:

Section 1. In order to provide funds for law enforcement activities within the unincorporated area of Madison County, including the employment, training, and equipping of additional deputy sheriffs and school resource officers, the Madison County Commission may levy and provide for the collection of a one-half of one percent sales and use tax within the unincorporated area of Madison County which shall be in addition to any and all other county taxes heretofore or hereafter authorized by law in the unincorporated area of Madison County. The Madison County Commission shall submit the question of levying any tax to a vote of the qualified electors in the unincorporated area of Madison County, and give notice of the election and for holding and canvassing the returns of the election.

Section 2. The proceeds of the tax shall be used to employ additional deputy sheriffs in law enforcement activities within the unincorporated area of Madison County and school resource officers in Madison County schools and to provide for the training and equipping of these deputy sheriffs and school resource officers. The expenditure of the proceeds of the tax shall be approved by a three-member board; one member of the board shall be selected by the presiding Circuit Court Judge of the Twenty-third Judicial Circuit; one member of the board shall be elected by the Madison County Board of Education and one member of the board shall be selected by the Sheriff of Madison County. The members of the board shall serve four-year terms and shall serve no more than a total of eight years. The Sheriff of Madison County shall submit to the board for its approval his or her requests for expenditures of the proceeds of the tax.

Section 3. The proceeds of the tax may not be used for the care of inmates in the Madison County Detention Facility.

Section 4. At such times as the staffing levels of the deputy sheriffs in the Madison County Sheriff's Department, excluding administrative personnel and employees at the Madison County Detention Facility, reach a level of 1.8 deputies per 1,000 residents in the unincorporated area of Madison County according to the last decennial census and the salaries of Madison County deputy sheriffs, based upon length of service and rank, are equal to an average of the salaries of police officers of the City of Huntsville and the City of Madison, of the same length of service and rank, and there are sufficient funds to continue to train, update, and equip all Madison County deputy sheriffs, excluding administrative personnel and staff employed at the Madison County Detention Facility, any excess funds from the tax shall be deposited in the Madison County General Fund to be appropriated by the Madison County Commission. The three-member board created in Section 2 shall determine when the criteria in this section have been met and shall certify that fact to the Sheriff of Madison County and the Madison County Commission.

Section 5. The sales and use tax and the provisions of this act shall be come effective and operable only if approved by a majority of the voters of Madison County residing in the unincorporated area of Madison County and voting thereon in an election held for those purposes. If a majority of the aforementioned electors vote no, the sales and use tax and the provisions of this act shall have no legal force or effect.

Section 6. All laws or parts of laws which conflict with this act are repealed.

Section 7. The provisions of this act are severable. If any part of this act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, that declaration shall not affect the part which remains.

Section 8. This act shall become effective immediately following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.

Madison County

Counties

County Commissions

Taxation

Sales and Use Tax