444.965. Assessment for fund, amount paid, when--additional assessment, determined how, when.

Assessment for fund, amount paid, when--additional assessment,determined how, when.

444.965. 1. Beginning on September 1, 1988, everypermittee that files a phase I reclamation bond pursuant tosection 444.950 shall pay an assessment, in addition to all othertaxes and fees which may be due, to the commission for deposit inthe coal mine land reclamation fund.

2. For permittees who file phase I reclamation bonds, theassessment shall be paid monthly by each permittee based on coalsold, shipped, or otherwise disposed of. The assessment shall bepaid at the rate of forty-five cents per ton for the first fiftythousand tons sold, shipped or otherwise disposed of in acalendar year, and thirty cents per ton for the next fiftythousand tons sold, shipped or otherwise disposed of in suchcalendar year. Thereafter, during any calendar year, no furtherassessment shall be due for that permittee.

3. Whenever the total balance in the fund exceeds sevenmillion dollars as of the close of the state's fiscal year, noassessments shall be required during the state's next fiscal yearexcept that each new permittee filing a phase I reclamation bondpursuant to section 444.950 shall pay assessments pursuant tosection 444.960 and this section until the permittee's paymentsequal those made by an existing permittee of comparable size.Whenever the fund balance is less than seven million dollars atthe close of the state's fiscal year, all permittees who haveelected to file phase I reclamation bonds pursuant to section444.950 shall pay assessments to the fund as provided for insubsection 2 of this section.

4. After the date when enough moneys have accumulated inthe forty percent pool to complete reclamation on sites revokedprior to September 1, 1988, whenever the fund balance falls belowseven million dollars, the tonnage assessments provided for insubsection 2 of this section shall resume at the rate oftwenty-five cents per ton for the first fifty thousand tons andfifteen cents per ton for the second fifty thousand tons of coalsold, shipped or otherwise disposed of in a calendar year by apermittee. The tonnage assessment shall remain in effect untilthe fund balance is at least seven million dollars at the closeof the state's fiscal year.

5. After September 1, 1998, whenever the fund balancefalls below two million dollars, the assessment rate establishedin subsection 2 of this section shall increase to a per ton rateof thirty cents per ton for the first fifty thousand tons andtwenty cents per ton for the second fifty thousand tons of coalsold, shipped or otherwise disposed of in a calendar year by apermittee. The increased tonnage assessment shall remain ineffect until the fund balance is at least three million dollarsat the close of the state's fiscal year, at which time theassessment will revert to the rate established pursuant tosubsection 4 of this section.

(L. 1982 S.B. 737, A.L. 1986 S.B. 778, A.L. 1988 H.B. 1836, A.L. 1993 H.B. 312 & 257)