(a) When used in this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(1) PERSON. Any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or combination who, for a fee, severs clay, sand, or gravel within Macon County.
(2) PRODUCER. Any person engaging in the business of severing clay, sand, or gravel for a fee from the soil within Macon County.
(3) SEVERING. Cutting, mining, stripping, or otherwise taking or removing clay, sand, or gravel from the soil within Macon County for a fee.
(b) In Macon County, the Macon County Commission may levy an additional severance fee of seven cents ($.07) per ton on gravel or nine cents ($.09) per cubic yard, or two cents ($.02) per ton on sand and clay or three cents ($.03) per cubic yard, whichever is applicable, on the severance of clay, sand, or gravel. These fees are levied and collected based upon tons or yards sold. Each producer shall collect the fee from the purchaser at the point of sale. The county commission may contract with the State Revenue Department to collect the tax and may pay an administrative fee to the department.
(c) Each producer and each transporter of clay, sand, or gravel which is severed in Macon County shall apply for a permit. The Judge of Probate of Macon County shall issue the permit upon a form which shall be provided by the judge of probate. The permit shall entitle a producer or transporter to drive or operate a truck or trucks transporting clay, sand, or gravel which has been severed from the soils in Macon County. At the time of applying for the permit, the applicant shall pay to the judge of probate an annual fee determined by the Macon County Commission in an amount not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500) annually. The permit may be renewed annually as provided by the Macon County Commission.
(d) The fees imposed by this section shall constitute a debt due Macon County and may be collected by civil suit in addition to other methods provided by law. The court may impose a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for failure to pay the fees or secure a permit fee as provided by this section.
(e) The Macon County Commission and the judge of probate shall distribute the proceeds of the severance taxes and permit fees as follows:
(1) Ninety percent to the Macon County Economic Development Authority which shall use the funds for economic development activities.
(2) Ten percent to the Macon County Sheriff’s Department which shall use the funds to defray the cost of enforcing this section.