(a) All buildings, structures, or other protected enclosures used for storage of cotton or other articles of value for the public, with or without compensation, and all buildings, structures, or other protected enclosures for the storage of cotton or other articles of value where a statement is issued acknowledging the receipt of the articles of goods stored and undertaking to deliver the same are declared to be public warehouses.

(b) All such warehouses shall be under the supervision of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, whose duty it shall be to enforce the requirements of the law and the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Board of Agriculture and Industries relative to public warehouses.

(c) The term 'public warehouse,' as used in this chapter, shall not be construed as applying to any building, structure, or protected enclosure, or portion thereof, used exclusively for the checking or storing of hats, wearing apparel, or baggage or exclusively for the storing of furs when the storage thereof is merely incidental to the business of a dealer therein or to the business of cleaning or renovating such furs.

(a) Any person operating a public warehouse without a permit required by this chapter shall be subject to a penalty of not over $1,000, which may be collected in a civil action instituted at the instance of the Governor, the Attorney General or the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries.

(b) All moneys received from the collection of such penalty shall accrue to the Agricultural Fund.

(a) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries and his duly authorized agents or employees shall have full power and authority to inspect public warehouses, to audit the books thereof, to check the articles or goods stored with the records or receipts, and to exercise such other power relative to public warehouses as is necessary to ascertain whether or not the business is conducted in such a manner as to protect the interest of the persons who are storing, or may store, articles in such warehouse.

(b) The inspectors, when instructed by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, shall make sworn reports of their findings, within 10 days after the completion of the work assigned, to the commissioner, who shall hold and keep same in the records of his office. Such reports, when sworn to, shall be public records and shall be prima facie evidence of what they charge.

(c) Such inspections shall be made at least twice between October 1 and September 30 in each fiscal year.

Upon the filing of a complaint in writing by any person with the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries setting forth a violation of the laws or rules and regulations relating to the operation of a public warehouse, setting forth that the warehouse building, structure, or protected enclosure is not reasonably suitable or adequate for the purpose for which it is used, setting forth facts showing that there is a shortage of the articles which have been stored in said warehouse, setting forth any other facts showing that the interests of the persons who have stored, or who may store, articles in such warehouse are jeopardized or are not properly safeguarded and protected or where such facts are ascertained by the commissioner by an investigation upon his own initiative, or otherwise, the commissioner must make an investigation to ascertain whether or not the facts alleged in the complaint are true or whether or not there is reasonable cause to believe such facts to be true.

(a) In the event the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries is of the opinion that a condition exists which would jeopardize the interest of persons patronizing, or who may patronize, a public warehouse by reason of the manner in which such public warehouse is being operated or that the same is being operated without having complied with the laws or rules and regulations relating to the operation of public warehouses, he shall order a public hearing thereon, to be held in the office of the commissioner at Montgomery or at the courthouse of the county in which the warehouse is being operated, to determine what action shall be taken relative to the said warehouse.

(b) It shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries to give notice by registered mail addressed to the owners or operators of the public warehouse at least 10 days prior to the date fixed for the hearing, of the time and place thereof.

(c) Upon the hearing, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall hear sworn testimony of persons complaining as to the manner of the operation of the warehouse and of agents and employees of the Department of Agriculture and Industries who have made investigations into the manner of the operation thereof. He shall also hear sworn testimony of the owners and operators of said warehouse, if any is offered, and the sworn testimony of any persons which they may offer in refutation of the complaints and charges.

(d) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries in such cases shall have the authority to compel the attendance of witnesses by issuing subpoenas signed by him, which subpoenas must be served by any lawful officer of the State of Alabama and due return made thereon as is provided by law for the procuring of testimony in civil actions in the circuit courts of this state.

(e) Each witness so subpoenaed and attending upon such hearing shall be entitled to $3 per day for each day of his attendance upon such hearing and $.05 for each mile necessarily traveled in coming to and returning from the hearing.

(f) In the event that investigation results in a finding of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries that the said public warehouse is being operated in a manner in violation of the laws and regulations pertaining thereto or in a manner which jeopardizes the interest of the persons patronizing the same, witnesses subpoenaed and attending on behalf of the warehouse shall not be paid from public funds, but the witnesses attending on behalf of the complainant or on behalf of the commissioner shall be paid from the funds of the Department of Agriculture and Industries in the treasury. In the event that the finding of the commissioner shall determine that the public warehouse is being operated in compliance with law and regulations relating thereto, all witnesses appearing upon such hearing shall be paid from the funds of the Department of Agriculture and Industries.

(g) Upon such hearing the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall have authority to administer oaths to witnesses and to compel the production of books and records necessary to a determination of the issue involved in such cause by the issuance of subpoena duces tecum and all other necessary process.

(h) The public warehouse involved and the owners and operators thereof may appear in person or by counsel and shall have the benefit of compulsory process for the attendance of its witnesses.

(i) Willful failure to obey the process issued to witnesses by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall be punishable as in cases of failure to obey the process issued out of the circuit courts of this state. In such cases the commissioner shall certify to the judge of the circuit court having jurisdiction at the place of the commissioner's hearing the fact of willful disobedience of his subpoena, whereupon such judge shall cause the defaulting witness to appear before him upon a date fixed to show cause why he should not be adjudged in contempt for the willful failure to obey the process issued by the commissioner as hereinabove provided, and upon determination of willful disobedience of such process, shall enter judgment and impose punishment as in cases of contempt of the circuit court.

(j) In the conduct of such hearing the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall not be bound by the strict rules of evidence prevailing in the courts of the state.

(a) In the event that the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries upon a public hearing finds and determines that a public warehouse is being operated in violation of law and regulations and in jeopardy of the public interest, he shall thereupon revoke the permit to operate such public warehouse and, in his discretion, he may take charge of the operation of such warehouse for the purpose of liquidating the same under the direction of the circuit court having jurisdiction at the place of the operation thereof and to operate same under the direction of the court for such time as may be necessary to protect the public interest or to compel compliance with the laws and regulations relating to the operation of public warehouses.

(b) Upon taking charge thereof, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall appoint in writing, under his hand and official seal, an agent to assist him in the duty of liquidation and distribution of the assets of any public warehouse so taken possession of by him under the provisions of this chapter and the commissioner may authorize such agent to perform such duties connected with such liquidation and distribution as the commissioner himself could in person do and perform.

(c) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries forthwith shall cause to be addressed to the circuit court of the county in which such warehouse is located a petition for receivership and liquidation thereof, setting forth the full facts upon which his action in taking charge of the warehouse is based and requesting that the court take jurisdiction and order the liquidation of such public warehouse and the collection of its assets and the distribution thereof and of the property therein stored to its creditors and to claimants of such property so stored therein in such manner as will best serve the public interest.

(d) The court shall fix a date for hearing thereof not less than 10 days from the date of presentation and shall order that in the interim between the filing of the petition and the final determination of the matter of liquidation thereof, that the warehouse shall be under the direction of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries or the agents appointed by him to assist therein. If upon final hearing thereof the court determines that the warehouse is not being operated in such manner as is violative of laws and regulations pertaining thereto or in a manner which jeopardizes the public interest, an order shall thereupon be made and entered dismissing the petition and directing the return of the control and operation of the warehouse to the owners and operators thereof. In the event, however, that the court determines that the warehouse is being operated in violation of law and regulations pertaining thereto or in jeopardy of the public interest, an order shall be made and entered appointing the commissioner as liquidating agent thereof and directing the operation of the warehouse by the commissioner and his designated agents under the direction of the court so long as may be necessary for the purpose of the collection of the assets of the warehouse and the distribution thereof to the creditors thereof and for the protection and distribution of the property therein stored to the owners thereof.

(e) The court may provide for the compensation of the liquidating agent and of the employees necessary in the operation thereof, for the employment of counsel and the payment of other expenses necessary to the operation of the warehouse during the period of receivership and cause the same to be paid from the assets of the public warehouse as a prior charge thereon.

(f) The court shall also cause notice to be given by publication of the receivership of the public warehouse and that claims of creditors and bailors of property therein stored shall be presented to the designated liquidating agent within such time as the court may fix not less than six nor more than 12 months after the date of the completion of the publication. If the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries doubts the justice and validity of any claims of creditors or of bailors, he may reject the same and serve notice of such rejection upon the creditor or bailor, either by mail or personally, and an affidavit of service of such notice which shall be prima facie evidence thereof shall be filed in the office of the liquidating agent and a copy thereof shall be filed in the office of the commissioner. An action upon a claim so rejected must be brought by complaint to the court having jurisdiction of the affairs of the public warehouse by the creditor or bailor within six months after such service or the same shall be barred. Claims presented and allowed after the expiration of the time fixed in the notice to creditors and bailors shall be entitled to share in the distribution only to the extent of the assets in the hands of the commissioner at the time such claims are filed without allowance for prior distributions.

(g) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall have authority for, and in the name of, the public warehouse in liquidation to collect the assets of such public warehouse and to initiate and prosecute litigation for the collection thereof.

(h) At any time after the expiration of the date fixed for the presentation of claims, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries may petition the court for direction as to distribution of assets then in his hands, and he shall make distribution as directed by the court. After one year from the expiration of the date fixed for the presentation of claims, the court shall order final distribution to creditors and bailors unless the time thereof shall have been extended by the court by order duly made and entered. Whenever the commissioner shall have paid all of the creditors and shall have satisfied the claims and demands of all the bailors of the public warehouse whose claims shall have been duly proven and allowed and shall have paid all of the expenses of the liquidation, he shall deliver upon order of the court duly made and entered the remaining assets in his custody to the public warehouse or the owners and operators thereof. The property of bailors remaining in the hands of the commissioner, or the liquidating agent, for a period of six months after the date fixed by the court for final distribution of assets shall be sold and converted into money, with a complete record of the proceeds of the property belonging to each separate bailor who has not claimed the same. The proceeds of such sales shall be covered by him into the treasury to the credit of the commissioner in trust for the several bailors of the liquidated public warehouse, and the commissioner may pay over the money so held by him in trust to the bailors entitled thereto upon being satisfied of their right to the same. In case of doubtful or conflicting claims to said proceeds, he may require an order from the court having jurisdiction of the liquidation of the warehouse authorizing and directing the payment thereof. All such funds remaining in his hands for a period of 10 years after the date upon which he covered the same into the treasury shall become the property of the state and shall be covered into the state Agricultural Fund.

(i) Upon the finding of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries that it is necessary to take charge of a public warehouse for liquidation thereof, he shall forthwith make full report thereof to the State Board of Agriculture and Industries which shall spread his findings upon the minutes of the said State Board of Agriculture and Industries; and at the conclusion of the liquidation of any warehouse of which the commissioner has taken charge as herein provided, he shall forthwith make full report thereof to the State Board of Agriculture and Industries, which shall spread the same upon its minutes.

Every public warehouseman receiving property of any kind for safekeeping must issue, on delivery to him or it of such property, in favor of the person from whom received, a receipt therefor, which shall comply with the requirements of the laws of this state.

Whenever any public warehouseman accepts for storage any cotton or other article of value and keeps or stores the same where it is exposed to weather conditions or in any place except within the warehouse, there shall be endorsed on the warehouse receipt given for such cotton or other article the words 'Stored In The Open' in such manner as may be prescribed by the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Board of Agriculture and Industries.

(a) A public warehouseman who stores cotton or other article in the open or in any place except in the warehouse shall keep the same insured against destruction or injury by fire and shall be responsible and liable for all injury or damage suffered from the weather or any other cause by reason of the cotton or other article being stored in the open or in any other place except in the warehouse.

(b) Such warehouseman shall also have the same responsibility and liability for the cotton or other article as if the same was stored or kept in the warehouse. The warehouseman's bond shall also cover all duties and liabilities of a warehouseman imposed by this section and Section 8-15-16.

The Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall have power to require that all bales of cotton or other raw agricultural commodities, accepted for storage by a public warehouseman, other than cotton moving in transit to a compress to be compressed, shall be insured against destruction, damage by fire, and other hazards, or perils that could be incurred by such warehouseman, unless otherwise instructed in writing by the bailor.

The State Board of Agriculture and Industries shall have authority to:

(1) Provide the standards as to the suitability or adequacy for the purpose for which it is used or intended of any warehouse building, structure, or protected enclosure used for the storage of cotton or other articles of value;

(2) Prescribe the character of records; and

(3) Promulgate such other rules and regulations relative to the conduct of the business of a public warehouse and such as are necessary to effect the purposes of this chapter.

(a) The judge of probate of the county may not issue a license permitting anyone to transact business as a public warehouseman unless the person presents to the judge of probate a permit to transact such business issued by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries showing that he or she has complied with all the provisions of the law and rules and regulations promulgated by the State Board of Agriculture and Industries relative to public warehouses.

(b) Any person desiring to operate a public warehouse shall file with the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, upon forms prescribed by the commissioner, a written application, verified by affidavit, which shall set forth the location and the name of such warehouse and the name of such person interested as owner or principal in the management of the same or, if it is managed or controlled by a corporation, the names of the president, secretary and treasurer of such corporation shall be stated, and the location of the principal office of such corporation. The application shall also state the character of goods or articles for the storage of which the public warehouse will be operated, and the estimated value of articles stored in such warehouse at the time, and during the preceding 12 months, when the value of the articles stored was the greatest.

(c) In the event cotton is stored in the warehouse, the verified application shall also state the number of bales of cotton stored therein during the 12 months next preceding the date of the application.

(d) Where no business has been done during the previous year, the application must state an estimate of the value of the articles which it is anticipated will be stored during the first year in the warehouse.

(e) The application shall also show what persons are authorized to sign receipts for the warehouse.

(f) A filing fee established by the Board of Agriculture and Industries not to exceed one hundred fifty dollars ($150) shall accompany the application, which shall accrue to the credit of the Agricultural Fund to be used in defraying the expenses of executing the provisions of this chapter.

(g) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries may issue a permit to a federally bonded warehouse upon the payment of the fee established by the board not to exceed one hundred fifty dollars ($150) without the filing of any bond with the state.

This article shall be known and may be cited as the 'Self-Service Storage Act.'

For purposes of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the respective meanings ascribed by this section:

(1) DEFAULT. The failure to perform in a timely manner any obligation or duty set forth in this article or the rental agreement.

(2) LAST KNOWN ADDRESS. That address provided by the occupant in the latest rental agreement or the address provided by the occupant in a subsequent written notice of a change of address.

(3) LEASED SPACE. The individual storage space at the self-service storage facility which is leased or rented to an occupant pursuant to a rental agreement.

(4) OCCUPANT. A person or entity, or his sublessee, successor, or assign, entitled to the use of a storage space at a self-service storage facility, under a written rental agreement with the owner, to the exclusion of others.

(5) OWNER. The owner, operator, lessor, or sublessor of a self-service storage facility, his agent, or any other person authorized by him to manage the facility or to receive rent from an occupant under a rental agreement.

(6) PERSONAL PROPERTY. Movable property not affixed to land. This term includes, but is not limited to, goods, merchandise, and household items.

(7) RENTAL AGREEMENT. Any written agreement or lease which establishes or modifies the terms, conditions, rules, or any other provisions concerning the use and occupancy at a self-service storage facility and which contains a notice stating that all articles stored under the terms of such agreement will be sold or otherwise disposed of if no payment has been received for a continuous 30-day period. Such agreement shall contain a provision directing the occupant to disclose any lienholders with an interest in property that is stored or will be stored in such self-service storage facility.

(8) SELF-SERVICE STORAGE FACILITY. Any real property designed and used for the purpose of renting or leasing individual storage space to occupants who are to have access to such facility for the purpose of storing and removing personal property. No occupant shall use a self-service storage facility for residential purposes. A self-service storage facility is not a public warehouse as used in Article 1 of this chapter. If an owner issues any warehouse receipt, bill of lading or other document of title for the personal property stored, the owner and the occupant are subject to the provisions of Article 7 of the Uniform Commercial Code, and the provisions of this article shall not apply.

Unless the rental agreement specifically provides otherwise, the exclusive care, custody, and control of any and all personal property stored in the leased space shall remain vested in the occupant; and the occupant shall bear all risks of loss or damage to such personal property.

Where a rental agreement, as defined in subdivision (7) of Section 8-15-31, is entered into between the owner and the occupant, the owner of a self-service storage facility and his heirs, executors, administrators, successors, and assigns shall have a lien upon all personal property located at a self-service storage facility for rent, labor, or other charges, present or future, in relation to the personal property and for expenses necessary for its preservation or expenses reasonably incurred in its sale or other disposition pursuant to this article. The lien attaches as of the date the personal property is brought to the self-service storage facility and continues so long as the owner retains possession and until the default is corrected, or a sale is conducted, or the property is otherwise disposed of to satisfy the lien. The lien provided for in this section is superior to any other lien or security interest, except for any tax lien as otherwise provided by law. Notice to perfected security interests under the Uniform Commercial Code, with the name of the occupant as debtor, is required before a sale.

An owner's lien as provided for a claim which has become due may be satisfied as follows:

(1) No enforcement action shall be taken by the owner until the occupant has been in default continuously for a period of 30 days.

(2) Prior to taking enforcement action pursuant to this section, the owner shall determine whether a financing statement has been filed in accordance with Title 7 concerning the property to be sold or otherwise disposed of, with the Secretary of State, in the county where the self-service storage facility is located and in the county of the occupant's last known address.

(3) After the occupant has been in default continuously for a period of 30 days, the owner may begin enforcement action if the occupant has been notified in writing. Said notice shall be delivered in person or sent by certified or registered mail to the last known address of the occupant. Any lienholder with an interest in the property to be sold or otherwise disposed of, of whom the owner has knowledge either through the disclosure provision on the rental agreement or through finding a validly filed financing statement in the Secretary of State's office, shall be included in the notice process as provided in this section.

(4) The owner shall have the right to deny the occupant access to the leased space and the owner may enter and/or remove the personal property from the leased space to other suitable storage space pending its sale or other disposition.

(5) The notice required by this section shall include:

a. An itemized statement of the owner's claim showing the sum due at the time of the notice and the date when the sum became due;

b. A brief and general description of the personal property subject to the lien. Such description shall be reasonably adequate to permit the person notified to identify such property; except that any container including, but not limited to, a trunk, valise, or box that is locked, fastened, sealed, or tied in a manner which deters immediate access to its contents may be described as such without describing its contents;

c. A notification of denial of access to the personal property, if such denial is permitted under the terms of the rental agreement, which notification shall provide the name, street address, and telephone number of the owner or his designated agent whom the occupant may contact to respond to such notification;

d. A demand for payment within a specified time, not less than 15 days after delivery of the notice;

e. A conspicuous statement that, unless the claim is paid within the time stated in the notice, the personal property will be advertised for sale or other disposition and will be sold or otherwise disposed of at a specified time and place.

(6) Any notice made pursuant to this section shall be presumed delivered when it is deposited with the United States postal service and properly addressed with postage prepaid.

(7) After the expiration of the time given in the notice, an advertisement of the sale or other disposition shall be published once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the self-service storage facility is located. The advertisement shall include:

a. A brief and general description of the personal property reasonably adequate to permit its identification as provided in paragraph (5)b. of this section; the address of the self-service storage facility and the number, if any, of the space where the personal property is located; and the name of the occupant and his last known address;

b. The time, place, and manner of the sale or other disposition. The sale or other disposition shall take place not sooner than 15 days after the first publication.

(8) If there is no newspaper of general circulation in the county where the self-service storage facility is located, the advertisement shall be posted at least 10 days before the date of the sale or other disposition in not less than six conspicuous places in the neighborhood where the self-service storage facility is located.

(9) Any sale or other disposition of the personal property shall conform to the terms of the notification as provided for in this section.

(10) Any sale or other disposition of the personal property shall be held at the self-service storage facility or at the nearest suitable place where the personal property is held or stored. The property may be sold singly, in lots or as a whole. Bids may be sealed or open.

(11) Before any sale or other disposition of personal property pursuant to this section, the occupant may pay the amount necessary to satisfy the lien and the reasonable expenses incurred under this section and thereby redeem the personal property. Upon receipt of such payment, the owner shall return the personal property, and thereafter the owner shall have no liability to any person with respect to such personal property.

(12) A purchaser in good faith of the personal property sold to satisfy a lien as provided in this article takes the property free of any rights of persons against whom the lien was valid, despite noncompliance by the owner with the requirements of this section.

(13) In the event of a sale under this section, the owner may satisfy his lien from the proceeds of the sale. The lien rights of secured lienholder(s) are automatically transferred to the remaining proceeds of the sale. If the sale is made in good faith and is conducted in a commercially reasonable manner, the owner shall not be subject to any liability for a deficiency if the amount realized at sale does not satisfy any secured lien, but shall hold the balance, if any, for delivery to the occupant, lienholder, or other person in interest. If the occupant, lienholder, or other person in interest does not claim the balance of the proceeds within three years of the date of sale, it shall become the property of the owner without further recourse by the occupant, lienholder, or other person in interest.

(14) If the requirements of this article are not satisfied, if the sale of the personal property is not in conformity with the notice of sale, or if there is a willful violation of this article, nothing in this section affects the rights and liabilities of the owner, occupant, or any other person.

Each owner acting pursuant to this article shall keep posted in a prominent place in his office at all times a notice which shall read as follows: 'All articles stored by a rental agreement, and charges not having been paid for 30 days, will be sold or otherwise disposed of to pay charges.'

Nothing in this article shall be construed as in any manner impairing or affecting the right of the parties to create additional rights, duties, and obligations in and by virtue of the rental agreement. The rights provided by this article shall be in addition to all other rights allowed by law to a creditor against his debtor.

The rights provided by this article shall be in addition to all other rights allowed by law to a creditor against his debtor and by a landlord against his tenant.

The provisions of this article shall apply to all rental agreements entered into or extended or renewed after May 27, 1981.

Any person making a false material statement in an application filed under this chapter to secure a permit to operate a public warehouse shall be guilty of perjury and, upon conviction, shall be punished as now provided by law for the commission of such offense.

(a) Upon the filing of an application with the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries to secure a permit for the operation of a public warehouse, the commissioner or his duly authorized agent shall make such investigation as necessary to ascertain whether or not the statements contained in such application are true and correct, whether or not the building, structure, or protected enclosure is reasonably suited or adequate for the purpose for which it is intended to be used and whether or not there has been a compliance with all conditions as required by the law and the rules and regulations of the State Board of Agriculture and Industries relative to public warehouses.

(b) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries may investigate and consider the responsibility, reliability, and qualifications, as well as the capacity of the person or persons filing with him an application, for a permit to operate a public warehouse, both with reference to the person or persons applying for such permit and the person who is shown in the application as the person authorized to sign receipts for the warehouse.

(a) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall promptly notify any person applying for a permit to operate a public warehouse whether or not such application has been granted.

(b) In the event the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries refuses to grant such permit, the applicant may give written notice, by filing the same with the chief clerk of the Department of Agriculture and Industries, that he appeals from the decision of the commissioner to the State Board of Agriculture and Industries. Such appeal must be heard at the next meeting of the board, at which time the board shall investigate the facts and hear from both the commissioner or his duly authorized agent and the applicant and, after due consideration, enter a written finding determining whether or not such permit should be issued, spreading the same upon the minutes of the board.

(c) From the findings of the State Board of Agriculture and Industries, an appeal lies to the Circuit Court of Montgomery County. In the trial in the circuit court, the order of the board shall be presumed to be correct, and the burden shall be upon the applicant to show to the satisfaction of the court beyond a reasonable doubt that he is entitled to be permitted to engage in the operation of a public warehouse under the laws and rules and regulations relating to the same.

(a) In the event the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries decides that a permit to operate a public warehouse should be issued, he shall fix the amount of the bond, which shall be furnished by the applicant and approved by the commissioner prior to the issuance of the permit. In addition to the requirement of bond, the commissioner may require the applicant, as a prerequisite to the issuance of such bond, to furnish legal proof of warehouseman's legal liability insurance in effect on the commodities to be stored in any such public warehouse.

(b) Such bond shall be made with some surety company that has complied with the laws of the State of Alabama and which has a reputation for promptly settling claims upon their merits and shall be payable to the State of Alabama in such sum as the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries may fix, but in no event be more than $5,000. Said bond shall be conditioned upon the faithful performance of his or its duties as a public warehouseman for the period covered by the permit and for a faithful compliance with all laws, rules, and regulations relating to the operation of a public warehouse.

(c) Notwithstanding the above bond requirements the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries may require the filing of additional bonds at any time by any warehouseman storing agricultural commodities, and the failure to file any such additional bonds, within the time to be fixed by the commissioner, shall be sufficient cause for revoking the permit issued such warehouseman.

(d) The bond required of an applicant for a permit to operate a public warehouse shall also undertake to pay to the State of Alabama all expenses of any successful litigation which the state institutes to compel a compliance with the laws and rules and regulations relative to public warehouses.

(e) Any person who suffers a loss because of a breach of the conditions of the required public warehouseman's bond may bring an action on such bond in his own name against the principal and surety thereon for any such breach and loss until the penalty of said bond is exhausted; provided, that the aggregate liability of the surety to all such persons shall in no event exceed the amount of such bond. In the event the penalty is exhausted, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall require the filing of an additional bond within a reasonable time period, or revoke the permit heretofore issued.

(a) The bond for a public warehouse permit shall be filed and recorded at the expense of the applicant by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries in the probate office of the county in which the warehouse is located. The probate judge thereof shall receive for his service in recording the bond $.15 per 100 words.

(b) The probate judge shall not have authority to issue a license to operate a public warehouse until such bond is recorded and the applicant for the license files with him the permit issued by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries. Upon recording of such bond, it shall be returned to and filed in the office of the commissioner.

(a) Upon the filing and approval of a bond with the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, the commissioner must issue a permit which will authorize the applicant to operate a public warehouse at the place, building, structure, or enclosure named in the application upon such applicant's securing from the probate judge of the county a license required by law to transact such business.

(b) Such permit shall not be issued for a longer period than one year and shall expire on July 31 next after the issuance thereof.