The State Department of Transportation, by and through the director, is hereby authorized to enter into all necessary contracts and agreements with the United States government or any agency or officer thereof in accordance with any act of Congress relating to the construction, maintenance and beautification of highways, bridges, tunnels or ferries, or other matters relating thereto, to establish, promulgate and enforce all reasonable rules and regulations which may be necessary for the effective implementation and cooperation with the provisions of such acts and to do all other things necessary to secure to the state and its counties and municipalities the full benefits provided by such acts.

(a) For purposes of this section, the following words and phrases shall have the respective meanings ascribed to them, except where the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1) BLUE REFLECTIVE MARKERS. Nonlighted, but reflective devices which are blue in color of the reflected light and conform to the most recent edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways and/or other standards issued or endorsed by the Director of Transportation and the federal highway administrator.

(2) FIRE/WATER HYDRANT. All standpipe hydrants installed on public and private water delivery systems which are installed along public roads within the state, and which are of a size and style to allow adequate water supply to fill fire suppression vehicles of municipal and/or certified volunteer fire departments or furnish a supply of water to trucks at a fire scene.

(b) Blue reflective markers shall be used exclusively for the purpose of indicating the location of fire/water hydrants which are located on public roadways within the state, or on private property with the owner's permission. Markers which are installed so as to be adhered to paved road surfaces or which are placed anywhere within the highway right-of-way shall be placed in conformance with the most recent edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways and/or other standards issued or endorsed by the Director of Transportation and the federal highway administrator.

(c) Blue reflective markers may be installed by any municipality, county, fire district, fire or water authority, or any certified volunteer fire department within their primary coverage areas and shall be recognized by all fire departments and firefighters for the purpose stated.

Unless different meanings are expressly specified in subsequent provisions of this article the term 'captive county' means a county where the State Department of Transportation by local law or general law with local application is responsible for the construction, repair and maintenance of the roads and bridges of the respective county.

The county commission of each of the captive counties shall be solely responsible for the construction, repair and maintenance of the county roads and bridges in its respective county in accordance with the laws of the State of Alabama. Each county governing body shall have all the powers and jurisdiction with respect to county roads and bridges which are or which hereafter may be vested in or required of county governing bodies by the general laws of this state, or vested in or required of the governing body of each of the captive counties by local law and, except as may be otherwise provided herein, members of the county governing bodies of the captive counties shall perform all the duties and services and shall exercise all the powers and authority with respect to construction, repair or maintenance of county roads and bridges which are or hereafter may be provided by law for members of county governing bodies.

Any unexpended moneys remaining in the fund required by law to be maintained by the State Department of Transportation for use in the construction, repair and maintenance of county roads and bridges in each of the captive counties shall be paid over to the respective governing body of each of the captive counties except as otherwise provided by this article. Thereafter, all funds and moneys designated by law for use in the construction, repair and maintenance of county roads and bridges in each of the captive counties and to which each of said counties may be entitled, whether from the proceeds of the state gasoline tax, the motor vehicle tax or other state tax, federal aid accruals or from any other source whatsoever shall be paid to the county governing body of the respective captive county by the appropriate county or state official.

The State Department of Transportation shall transfer and turn over to the governing body of each of the captive counties adequate facilities and properties to build, maintain and repair roads in said county from equipment presently being used by the State Department of Transportation in carrying out the functions and duties in relation to roads and bridges in each of said captive counties respective and/or from surplus equipment returned to the state from other counties also, but not limited to road equipment, machinery and supplies of like kind, amount, nature and present value as of 1979 to the respective road equipment, machinery and supplies which each of the captive counties was required to transfer and turn over to the State Department of Transportation in accordance with the legislation enacted prior to the adoption of this article, which legislation required the State Department of Transportation to construct, repair and maintain roads and bridges in each of the captive counties.

Any dispute which may arise as a result of this section shall be resolved by the majority of the members of a committee consisting of the Director of Transportation or his agent, the chairman of the county governing body of the respective county or his agent and one member from the legislative delegation of the respective county to be selected by the legislative delegation.

The State Department of Transportation shall furnish a list to each captive county with the name, position, rate of pay and length of service of all persons who are presently employed by the State Department of Transportation in the respective captive county. The respective counties may employ personnel not to exceed 75 percent of the employees on the list furnished by the State Department of Transportation for the construction, repair and maintenance of county roads and bridges in accordance with personnel policy as adopted by the respective counties. The remaining employees now employed by the State Department of Transportation in each said county shall remain an employee of the State Department of Transportation subject to the regular employment practices of said department. All persons employed by each respective county shall be paid at the same rate of pay as was paid by the State Department of Transportation. All present and accumulated obligations due and payable to the present employees as a result of their employment with the State Department of Transportation shall be the obligation of the State of Alabama, including but not limited to, accumulated sick leave, vacation time and retirement and any other accumulated benefits earned by the said employees. Payment shall be made to the employees on or before the effective date of this article. Provided, however, that the State Department of Transportation shall pay to the respective county governing body an amount equal to 100 percent of the value of the accumulated sick leave for the account of each employee who transfers to the captive county. Such funds shall be held in trust for the employee and shall be used to pay such employee for approved sick leave. In lieu of the funds being held in trust for future approved sick leave, the employee may elect to accept an amount equal to 50 percent of the value of the then accumulated sick leave in full settlement and payment of his accrued sick leave account. Approved sick leave shall be that leave so designated by any county Merit System to which the employee may transfer, or such leave as approved by the county governing body, or the county engineer at the direction of the county governing body.

Any contract for the construction, repair and maintenance of county roads and bridges in each of the captive counties entered into by the State Department of Transportation prior to the adoption of this article shall remain in full force and effect until the terms thereof shall have been complied with.

All outstanding financial obligations which were incurred prior to the adoption of this article for the construction, repair or maintenance of county roads and bridges in each of the captive counties shall, upon adoption of this article, become outstanding financial obligations of the respective captive county and shall be retired or paid in accordance with the terms under which such indebtedness was incurred.

All funds, including escrow funds, received by the state from the respective captive counties to be used for road and bridge work in the respective counties, after payment of current obligations of said counties, respectively, shall be returned to each of said counties, respectively.

This article after its passage and approval by the Governor, or upon its otherwise becoming state law shall become effective October 1, 1979, or October 1, 1980, at the discretion of the individual county commissions.

It is hereby declared by the Legislature of Alabama that city and town streets and roads or portions thereof, including viaducts and bridges, which constitute the route of connection between or extension of state roads in the Alabama state highway system, hereby designated as municipal connecting link roads, have in the past, do now and will in the future serve a state purpose and are for the general benefit of the state; and that it is a proper and legitimate function of the state to designate such municipal connecting link roads and to provide for the cost and manner and extent of maintenance, repair, construction and reconstruction of the same by the state independently or in cooperation with the city or town involved.

The State Department of Transportation, hereinafter referred to as the department, shall, as early as practicable after July 26, 1949, designate such streets or roads, including viaducts and bridges, as are municipal connecting link roads in each city or town of this state under the then existing state highway system and, thereafter, shall designate such municipal connecting link roads for additional state roads in the state highway system at the time such roads are opened for travel. Such designation shall also be made promptly of any street or road in any city or town not constituting a part or portion of the state highway system wherever necessary to care for arterial or main highway traffic, and the provisions of this article shall apply to such streets or roads so designated. The department shall keep a record of such municipal connecting link roads so designated and shall promptly, after designation in each case, furnish to the city or town involved a statement of the municipal connecting link roads so designated therein.

The department is hereby authorized, empowered, directed and required to maintain and repair, under its control and supervision, such designated municipal connecting link roads, to make appropriations and expenditures out of its funds for such program and is authorized to enter into any and all contracts, inclusive of agreements with cities and towns, and with any federal agency of the United States of America authorized to do so, for such purpose; provided, that nothing contained in this section shall require the department to sweep, sprinkle or light said municipal link roads.

The following stipulations and conditions shall obtain as to state maintenance of municipal connecting link roads:

(1) State maintenance of a city or town street traversed by a state maintained highway route shall not extend beyond the back of the curb where a curb and gutter section exists and not beyond the back or roadway ditch or the toe of fill slope where no curb and gutter is in place except as necessary in the placing and maintaining of highway markers, etc.

(2) The city or town shall prepare a drawing, from which prints can be made, showing width of right-of-way of street traversed by a highway route maintained by the state and it shall indicate thereon the width of right-of-way on intersecting streets for a distance of 200 feet each way from the center of the highway.

(3) City or town to perform routine clean-up operations such as removal of leaves, trash, soil from gutters, soil from drop inlets and catch basins, etc., and shall be responsible for the trimming and maintenance of all trees and shrubbery within the right-of-way of the street or that affects traffic using the highway.

(4) The state will place and maintain center stripes and lane stripes. The city or town will mark parking spaces, bus stop areas and other markings outside the travel lanes.

(5) The city or town will be responsible for all drainage that enters the city's or town's storm sewer system, including all catch basins, sand traps, drop inlets and such. The state shall perform normal routine maintenance on roadway drainage structures not a part of the city or town storm sewer system, but the state shall assume no responsibility for a general drainage problem. In the correction of a drainage problem where the roadway structure is affected, the state will assume its fair share of the cost of any correction of opening needed in the roadway structure.

(6) Traffic control on a city or town street maintained in part by the state shall be under the joint control of the city and the state.

(7) The establishing of speed zones and the placing of traffic lights shall be subject to joint approval of the city or town and the state officials. After city or town and state representatives have decided on the speed to apply and the extent of speed zones, they shall be set out in city or town ordinances and the state will furnish, erect and maintain speed zone markers. After city or town and state representatives have agreed on the need for a traffic light and the type of light has been agreed on, the city will furnish, erect and maintain the light. The time interval of the light shall favor traffic along the highway route or traffic along the intersecting city or town street according to relative volume and importance, and when necessary or desirable, the point shall be settled by the taking of a traffic count. Should the city or town or the state question the need for an existing or proposed speed zone or traffic light, the question shall be settled in conference as provided.

(8) The city or town shall have authority to make any repairs to city or town facilities underground or overhead without asking permission of the state, but they shall notify the state immediately should that work affect the free flow of traffic. The city or town shall repair, in a manner satisfactory to the state, any pavement disturbed in any work they do. Any addition to city or town facilities, where the work of installation and maintenance would affect that part of the city street maintained by the state, shall be planned after conference with state officials, and the details of the plans shall be worked out in that conference. Any work that affects that part of a city street maintained by the state and to be performed by other than city forces shall be done only after a permit has been issued by the state. Such permits shall be subject to approval by the city or town.

(9) No permit shall be issued by the city or town or the state for any advertising sign to be suspended over the street and highway. The city or town shall have the right to permit the placing of any sign or marker, with or without written permit, so long as the sign does not interfere with highway markers or other traffic-control devices and provided they do not overhang the curb, in a curb and gutter section, or the shoulder line of the roadway where no curb and gutter exists. The only exceptions shall be signs to be erected by the city or town or civic organizations, with the approval of the city or town, that are temporary in nature and are intended to give information to the general public. In such cases, a formal permit, approved by both the state and the city, shall be issued for erection by other than city or town forces or forces employed by the city or town, and those signs shall not interfere with traffic or confuse or obscure traffic-control devices or markings.

(10) Where maintenance operations require it or make it desirable, the city or town police will provide protection for state forces and equipment and will cooperate in the handling of traffic should it be necessary to close all or part of the highway route.

(11) The state shall have no responsibility for the maintenance of 'truck routes' where such routes are separate from regularly established highway routes.

Private roads may be established by the county commission on the application of any person, such roads not to exceed 15 feet in width and to be opened and kept in repair by the person on whose application they are established without exemption on public roads.

In establishing a private road, the same rules must be observed and the same proceedings had as in the case of public roads; but no road must be opened through any person's yard, garden, orchard, garage, stable, lot, ginhouse or curtilage without his consent, and the applicant must pay the owner of the land over which such road passes all damages resulting thereto from the establishment of such road, to be assessed as in case of public roads.

It is the intention of the Legislature by the passage of this article to authorize the incorporation of the Director of Finance, the Director of Transportation, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer and the executive secretary to the Governor of Alabama for the purpose of constructing public roads and bridges, together with work incidental and related thereto, through a corporation to be composed of said officials whose incorporation is hereby authorized, to vest such corporation with all powers, authorities, rights, privileges and titles that may be necessary to enable it to accomplish such purpose and to appropriate and pledge funds for the use of such corporation. This article shall be liberally construed in conformity with the said purpose.

The Director of Finance, the Director of Transportation, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer and the Executive Secretary to the Governor may become a corporation, with the powers and authorities provided in this article, by proceeding according to the provisions of this article.

To become a corporation, the Director of Finance, the Director of Transportation, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer and the Executive Secretary to the Governor shall present to the Secretary of State of Alabama an application signed by them which will set forth:

(1) The name, official designation and official residence of each of the applicants, together with a certified copy of the commission evidencing each applicant's right to office;

(2) The date on which each applicant was inducted into office and the term of office of each of the applicants;

(3) The name of the proposed corporation, which shall be Alabama Highway Authority;

(4) The location of the principal office of the proposed corporation; and

(5) Any other matter relating to the incorporation which the applicants may choose to insert and which is not inconsistent with this article or the laws of the State of Alabama.

The application shall be subscribed and sworn to by each of the applicants before an officer authorized by the laws of the State of Alabama to take acknowledgments to deeds. The Secretary of State shall examine the application, and if he finds that it substantially complies with the requirements of this section, he shall receive and file it and record it in an appropriate book of records in his office.

When the application has been made, filed and recorded as provided in Section 23-1-152, the applicants shall constitute a corporation under the name proposed in the application and the Secretary of State shall make and issue to the applicants a certificate of incorporation, pursuant to this article, under the Great Seal of the State and shall record the same with the application. There shall be no fees paid to the Secretary of State for any work in connection with the incorporation or dissolution of the corporation so organized, which, for convenience, is referred to in this article as 'the corporation.'

The applicants named in the application, and their respective successors in office, shall constitute the members of the corporation. The Director of Finance shall be the president of the corporation, the Executive Secretary to the Governor shall be the vice-president of the corporation, the Director of Transportation shall be the secretary of the corporation and the State Treasurer shall be the treasurer of the corporation and shall act as custodian of its funds. The members of the corporation shall constitute all the members of the board of directors of the corporation, and any three members of the said board of directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Should any of said officials of the state die or should his term of office as Director of Finance, Director of Transportation, Attorney General, State Treasurer or Executive Secretary to the Governor, as the case may be, expire, or should he resign therefrom, his successor in office shall take his place as a member, officer and director of the corporation. No member, officer or director of the corporation shall draw any salary, in addition to that now authorized by law, for any service he may render or any duty he may perform in connection with the corporation. All proceedings had and done by the board of directors shall be reduced to writing by the secretary of the corporation and recorded in a substantially bound book. Copies of such proceedings, when certified by the secretary of the corporation under the seal of the corporation, shall be received in all courts as prima facie evidence of the matters and things therein certified.

The corporation shall have the following powers:

(1) To have perpetual succession by its corporate name unless sooner dissolved pursuant to Section 23-1-160;

(2) To maintain actions and have actions maintained against it and to prosecute and defend in any court having jurisdiction of the subject matter and of the parties;

(3) To have and to use a corporate seal and to alter the same at pleasure;

(4) To construct, reconstruct and relocate, or to cause to be constructed, reconstructed and relocated, public roads and bridges, including work incidental or related thereto, in the State of Alabama;

(5) To acquire by purchase, gift or condemnation or any other lawful means and to convey, or cause to be conveyed, to the State of Alabama any real, personal or mixed property necessary or convenient in connection with the construction of public roads and bridges and approaches thereto in the State of Alabama or the reconstruction or relocation of public roads and bridges in said state;

(6) To exercise the right of eminent domain as freely and completely as, and in the same manner that, the State of Alabama is empowered to exercise such right;

(7) To borrow money for its corporate purposes and, in evidence of such borrowing, to sell and issue its bonds and to refund any thereof by the issuance of refunding bonds (any such bonds, including refunding bonds, being collectively referred to in this article as 'bondsSection 23-1-156

Section 23-1-156
Contracts; conveyance of property to state.

All contracts of the corporation for the construction, reconstruction and relocation of roads and bridges, and work incidental or related thereto and the acquisition of property necessary therefor, shall be in writing, shall be subject to the rules and regulations and shall be let under the supervision of the State Department of Transportation and shall be subject to approval by the Governor and by the State Department of Transportation. All work provided for in any such contract shall be supervised by the State Department of Transportation. All persons engaged in the supervision or performance of any such work of construction, reconstruction or relocation that may be done by the corporation without the award of a contract therefor shall be employees of the State Department of Transportation. The corporation shall make and enforce all reasonable rules and regulations not inconsistent with the terms of this article or the laws of the State of Alabama as may in its opinion be proper and suitable for the protection of said roads, bridges, approaches and appurtenances and for the safety of the traveling public. Any property acquired by the corporation by purchase, condemnation or otherwise shall be forthwith conveyed to the State of Alabama. All roads and bridges constructed by the corporation shall constitute part of the public highway system in the state.

(a) The bonds of the corporation shall be signed by its president and attested by its secretary, and all interest coupons applicable to such bonds shall be signed by the president; provided, that a facsimile of the signature of one, but not of both, of said officers may be imprinted or otherwise reproduced on any such bonds in lieu of their being manually signed and a facsimile of the president's signature may be imprinted or otherwise reproduced on any such interest coupons in lieu of their being manually signed. The seal of the corporation shall be affixed to such bonds; provided, that a facsimile of said seal may be imprinted or otherwise reproduced on any such bonds in lieu of being manually affixed thereon.

(b) Any bonds of the corporation may be executed and delivered at any time and from time to time, shall be in such form and denominations and of such tenor and maturities, shall bear such rate or rates of interest payable and evidenced in such manner, may contain provisions for redemption prior to maturity and may contain other provisions not inconsistent with this article, all as may be provided by the resolution of the board of directors whereunder such bonds are authorized to be issued; provided, that no bond of the corporation shall have a specified maturity date later than 20 years after its date. Any bond of the corporation having a specified maturity date more than five years after its date shall be made subject to redemption at the option of the corporation at the end of the fifth year after its date and on any interest payment date thereafter under such terms and conditions as may be provided in the resolution under which such bond is authorized to be issued.

(c) Bonds of the corporation may be sold from time to time as the board of directors may deem advantageous; provided, that the aggregate principal amount of bonds of the corporation which may be issued under this article shall be limited to $50,000,000.00, but the said limitation shall not apply to refunding bonds which may be issued under this article and also shall not apply to bonds of the corporation which may be issued under any other act which may at any time be enacted; provided further, that no bonds shall be issued under this article by the corporation in any instance where the aggregate of the principal thereof and interest thereon maturing during any fiscal year of the State of Alabama, when added to the total principal and interest maturing during the same fiscal year with respect to all bonds of the corporation then outstanding, if any there be, including bonds issued under this article and any other bonds of the corporation, exceeds 50 percent of the sum of, in the case of bonds issued during either of the fiscal years ending September 30, 1955, and September 30, 1956, one ninth of the proceeds of the gasoline excise tax levied under Section 40-17-31, collected by the State of Alabama during the fiscal year ending September 30, 1954, or, in the case of bonds issued during any fiscal year ending subsequent to September 30, 1956, two twenty-firsts of the proceeds of the gasoline excise tax levied under Section 40-17-31, collected by the State of Alabama during the fiscal year next preceding the fiscal year during which such bonds shall be issued.

(d) Bonds of the corporation must be sold only at public sale, either on sealed bids or at public auction, to the bidder whose bid reflects the lowest net interest cost to the corporation for the bonds being sold, computed to their respective maturities; provided, that if no bid acceptable to the corporation is received, it may reject all bids. Notice of each such sale shall be given by publication in either a financial journal or a financial newspaper published in the City of New York, New York, and also by publication in a newspaper published in the State of Alabama which is customarily published not less than six days during each calendar week, each of which notices must be published at least one time not less than 10 days prior to the date fixed for the sale. The board of directors may fix the terms and conditions under which each such sale may be held; provided, that none of the bonds may be sold for a price less than the face value thereof and provided, further, that such terms and conditions shall not conflict with any of the requirements of this article.

(e) Subject to the provisions and limitations contained in this article, the corporation may, from time to time, sell and issue refunding bonds for the purpose of refunding any matured or unmatured bonds of the corporation issued under this article and then outstanding.

(f) Approval by the Governor of Alabama of the terms and conditions under which any bonds of the corporation may be issued shall be requisite to their validity. Such approval shall be entered on the minutes of the respective meetings of the board of directors at which the bonds are authorized and shall be signed by the Governor. Such approval by the Governor may be shown on any such bonds by his facsimile signature when authorization thereof is contained in the said approval signed by him.

(g) The corporation may pay out of the proceeds from the sale of its bonds all expenses, including fees of fiscal agents and attorneys and other charges, which said board of directors may deem necessary and advantageous in connection with the issuance of such bonds. Bonds issued by the corporation under this article shall not be general obligations of the corporation, but shall be payable solely out of the funds appropriated and pledged therefor.

(h) As security for the payment of the principal of and interest on any bonds issued by it under this article the corporation is hereby authorized and empowered to pledge for payment of said principal and interest the funds that are appropriated and pledged for payment of said principal and interest. All such pledges made by the corporation shall take precedence in the order of the adoption of the resolutions containing such pledges. All contracts made and all bonds issued by the corporation pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be solely and exclusively obligations of the corporation and shall not be an obligation or debt of the State of Alabama. Bonds issued by the corporation under this article shall be construed to be negotiable instruments although payable solely from a specified source as provided in this article.

(i) All bonds issued by the corporation and the income therefrom shall be exempt from all taxation in the State of Alabama. Any bonds issued by the corporation may be used by the holder thereof as security for any funds belonging to the state or to any instrumentality or agency of the state in any instance where security for such deposits may be required by law.

(j) Unless otherwise directed by the court having jurisdiction thereof or by the document that is the source of authority, a trustee, executor, administrator, guardian or one acting in any other fiduciary capacity may, in addition to any other investment powers conferred by law and with the exercise of reasonable business prudence, invest trust funds in bonds of the corporation.

(k) Neither a public hearing nor consent by the state Department of Finance or any other department or agency shall be a prerequisite to the issuance of bonds of the corporation.

The proceeds of all bonds, other than refunding bonds, issued by the corporation, remaining after paying the expenses of their issuance, shall be turned in to the Treasury, shall be carried in the Public Road and Bridge Account and shall be subject to be drawn on by the corporation, upon the approval of the State Department of Transportation and the Governor, but solely for the purpose of constructing, reconstructing and relocating public roads and bridges, or work incidental or related thereto, in the State of Alabama, including the acquisition of property necessary for such construction and incidental and related work; provided, that if such action shall be necessary in order to comply with any federal legislation relating to federal aid in construction of roads, the corporation may authorize the State Department of Transportation to expend directly any portion of such proceeds for constructing, reconstructing and relocating such roads and bridges or work incidental or related thereto. The proceeds from the sale of any refunding bonds of the corporation remaining after paying the expenses of their issuance shall be used only for the purpose of refunding the principal of outstanding bonds of the corporation and of paying any premium that may be necessary to be paid in order to redeem or retire the bonds to be refunded.

Out of the revenues appropriated and pledged for such purpose, the State Treasurer is authorized and directed to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds issued by the corporation under the provisions of this article, as such principal and interest shall respectively mature, and he is further authorized and directed to set up and maintain appropriate records pertaining thereto.

At any time when no securities of any kind of the corporation, whether issued under this article or under authorization contained in any other statutes, are outstanding, the corporation may be dissolved upon the filing with the Secretary of State of an application for dissolution, which shall be subscribed by each of the members of the corporation and which shall be sworn to by each such member before an officer authorized to take acknowledgments to deeds. Upon the filing of said application for dissolution, the corporation shall cease and any property owned by it at the time of its dissolution shall pass to the State of Alabama. The Secretary of State shall file and record the application for dissolution, in an appropriate book of record in his office, and shall make and issue, under the Great Seal of the State, a certificate that the corporation is dissolved and shall record the said certificate with the application for dissolution.

It is the intention of the Legislature by the passage of this article to authorize the incorporation of a public corporation for the following purposes:

(1) To issue bonds to assure the availability of funds for payment of the state's share of the cost of constructing roads and bridges as shall from time to time be constructed with funds supplied jointly by the state and federal government; and

(2) To construct and maintain, or participate in the construction and maintenance, or lend its aid in construction and maintenance or contract for construction and maintenance of roads and bridges in the State of Alabama, as well as the approaches thereto, including the reconstruction and relocating of approaches, causeways and like or other highway facilities which may, from time to time, be constructed and maintained with funds to be supplied jointly by the state and federal government, together with work incidental and related thereto, through a corporation to be composed of said officials whose incorporation is hereby authorized to vest such corporation with all powers, authorities, rights, privileges and titles that may be necessary to enable it to accomplish such purpose, and to appropriate and pledge funds for the use of such corporation.

All construction and maintenance referred to in this section shall be done under the direction and supervision of the State Department of Transportation. The State Department of Transportation may assign, contract or delegate the work of construction and maintenance under its general powers, subject to approval by the Governor. This article shall be liberally construed in conformity with the said purposes.

The Director of Transportation, the Attorney General and the Director of Finance may become a corporation, with the powers and authorities provided in this article, by proceeding according to the provisions of this article.

To become a corporation, the Director of Transportation, the Attorney General and the Director of Finance shall present to the Secretary of State of Alabama an application signed by them which shall set forth:

(1) The name, official designation and official residence of each of the applicants, together with a certified copy of the commission evidencing each applicant's right to office;

(2) The date on which each applicant was inducted into office and the term of office of each of the applicants;

(3) The name of the proposed corporation, which shall be Alabama Highway Finance Corporation;

(4) The location of the principal office of the proposed corporation, which shall be Montgomery, Alabama; and

(5) Any other matter relating to the incorporation which the applicants may choose to insert and which is not inconsistent with this article or the laws of the State of Alabama.

The application shall be subscribed and sworn to by each of the applicants before an officer authorized by the laws of the State of Alabama to take acknowledgments to deeds. The Secretary of State shall examine the application, and if he finds that it substantially complies with the requirements of this section, he shall receive and file it and record it in an appropriate book of records in his office.

When the application has been made, filed and recorded, as provided in Section 23-1-172, the applicants shall constitute a public corporation under the name proposed in the application and the Secretary of State shall make and issue to the applicants a certificate of incorporation pursuant to this article, under the Great Seal of the State, and shall record the same with the application. There shall be no fees paid to the Secretary of State for any work in connection with the incorporation or dissolution of the corporation so organized, which, for convenience, is referred to in this article as 'the corporation.'

The applicants named in the application and their respective successors in office shall constitute the members of the corporation. The Director of Transportation shall be the president of the corporation, the Attorney General shall be its vice-president, the Director of Finance shall be the secretary of the corporation and the State Treasurer shall be the treasurer of the corporation and shall act as custodian of its funds. The members of the corporation shall constitute all the members of the board of directors of the corporation, and any two members of the said board of directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Should any of said officials of the state die or should his term of office as Director of Transportation, Attorney General or Director of Finance, as the case may be, expire or should he resign therefrom, his successor in office shall take his place as a member, officer and director of the corporation. No member, officer or director of the corporation shall draw any salary, in addition to that now authorized by law, for any service he may render or any duty he may perform in connection with the corporation. All proceedings had and done by the board of directors shall be reduced to writing by the secretary of the corporation and recorded in a substantially bound book. Copies of such proceedings, when certified by the secretary of the corporation under the seal of the corporation, shall be received in all courts as prima facie evidence of the matters and things therein certified.

The corporation shall have the following powers:

(1) To have succession by its corporate name without time limit;

(2) To maintain actions and have actions maintained against it and to prosecute and defend in any court having jurisdiction of the subject matter and of the parties;

(3) To have and to use a corporate seal and to alter the same at pleasure;

(4) To construct, reconstruct and relocate, or to cause to be constructed, reconstructed and relocated, public roads and bridges, including work incidental or related thereto in the State of Alabama;

(5) To receive, take and hold by sale, gift, lease, devise or otherwise real and personal estate of every description and to manage the same;

(6) To acquire by purchase, gift or the exercise of the power of eminent domain or any other lawful means and to convey, or cause to be conveyed, to the State of Alabama any real, personal or mixed property necessary or convenient in connection with the construction of public roads and bridges and approaches thereto in the State of Alabama or the reconstruction or relocation of public roads and bridges in said state;

(7) To exercise the right of eminent domain as freely and completely as, and in the same manner that, the State of Alabama is empowered to exercise such right;

(8) To borrow money and issue its bonds in evidence thereof subject to the provisions of Section 23-1-177;

(9) As security for payment of the principal of and the interest on its bonds, to pledge the proceeds of the appropriations and pledges provided for in this article;

(10) To appoint and employ such attorneys as the business of the corporation may require;

(11) To receive from the several counties of the State of Alabama interest-bearing warrants of such counties secured by a pledge of the proceeds of gasoline tax appropriated from time to time to the counties by the state, or any part or percentage thereof, or any other fund or security in payment of, or to secure the payment of the county's portion of the cost of any roads or bridges built in such county and to sell such county warrants, or borrow money on the security thereof; provided, that any funds received from the sale of the warrants of any county or the proceeds of any loan made on the security of the warrants of any county shall be expended in such county;

(12) To enter into contracts with counties, the State Department of Transportation of Alabama or other agency performing any of the functions thereof, road district authorities, persons, firms or corporations, federal Emergency Administrator of Public Works and any other branch of the federal government in furtherance of its public purposes and objects either relative to the work done or to be done; and

(13) To turn over to the State Department of Transportation any and all funds of the corporation as from time to time may be necessary or proper for the most economical construction of such roads and to comply with all federal or other legislation relating to federal aid roads or other federal moneys.

All contracts of the corporation for the construction, reconstruction and relocation of roads and bridges, and work incidental or related thereto and the acquisition of property necessary therefor, shall be in writing, shall be subject to the rules and regulations and shall be let under the supervision of the State Department of Transportation and shall be subject to approval by the Governor and by the State Department of Transportation. All work provided for in any such contract shall be supervised by the State Department of Transportation. All persons engaged in the supervision or performance of any such work of construction, reconstruction or relocation that may be done by the corporation without the award of a contract therefor shall be employees of the State Department of Transportation. Any property acquired by the corporation by purchase, condemnation or otherwise shall be forthwith conveyed to the State of Alabama. All roads and bridges constructed by the corporation shall constitute part of the public highway system in the state.

(a) The bonds of the corporation shall be signed by its president and attested by its secretary, and the seal of the corporation shall be affixed thereto or printed or otherwise reproduced thereon, and any interest coupons applicable to such bonds shall be signed by the president; provided, that a facsimile of the signature of one, but not both, of said officers may be printed or otherwise reproduced on any such bonds in lieu of his signing the same and a facsimile of the president's signature may be printed or otherwise reproduced on any such interest coupons in lieu of his signing the same.

(b) Any bonds of the corporation may be executed and delivered by it at any time and from time to time, shall be in such form and denominations and of such tenor and maturities, shall bear such rate or rates of interest payable and evidenced in such manner, may contain provisions for redemption prior to maturity and may contain such other provisions not inconsistent with this article, all as may be provided by the resolution of the board of directors under which such bonds are authorized to be issued; provided, that no bond of the corporation shall have a specified maturity date later than 20 years after its date.

(c) Bonds of the corporation may be sold from time to time as the board of directors may deem advantageous; provided, that the aggregate principal amount of bonds of the corporation, other than refunding bonds, which may be issued under this article after February 1, 1978, shall be limited to $25,000,000.00; and provided, further, that no bonds, other than refunding bonds, may be sold or issued by the corporation unless the Governor shall have first determined that the issuance of the bonds proposed to be issued will be necessary to assure the availability of funds for payment of the state's share of the cost of roads and bridges that shall from time to time be constructed with funds supplied jointly by the state and the federal government.

(d) Bonds of the corporation must be sold only at public sale, either on sealed bids or at public auction, to the bidder whose bid reflects the lowest net interest cost to the corporation for the bonds being sold, computed to their relative maturities; provided, that if no bid acceptable to the corporation is received it may reject all bids. Notice of each such sale shall be given by publication in either a financial journal or a financial newspaper published in the City of New York, New York and also by publication in a newspaper published in the State of Alabama that is customarily published not less often than five days during each calendar week, each of which notices must be published at least one time not less than 10 days prior to the date fixed for the sale. The board of directors may fix the terms and conditions under which each such sale may be held; provided, that none of the bonds may be sold for a price less than the face value thereof; and provided, further, that such terms and conditions shall not conflict with any of the requirements of this article.

(e) Subject to the provisions and limitations contained in this article, the corporation may from time to time sell and issue refunding bonds for the purpose of refunding any matured or unmatured bonds of the corporation then outstanding. Approval by the Governor of Alabama of the terms and conditions under which any bonds of the corporation may be issued shall be requisite to their validity. Such approval shall be entered on the minutes of the meetings of the board of directors at which the bonds are authorized and shall be signed by the Governor. Such approval by the Governor may be shown on any such bonds by a facsimile of his signature printed or otherwise reproduced thereon when authorization thereof is contained in the said approval signed by him.

(f) The corporation may pay out of the proceeds from the sale of its bonds all expenses, including fees of attorneys and other charges, which said board of directors may deem necessary and advantageous in connection with the issuance of such bonds. Bonds issued by the corporation shall not be general obligations of the corporation but shall be payable solely out of the funds appropriated and pledged therefor by act of the Legislature. As security for the payment of the principal of, and interest on, any bonds issued by it, the corporation is hereby authorized and empowered to pledge for payment of such principal and interest the funds that are appropriated and pledged by act of the Legislature for payment of said principal and interest.

(g) All contracts made and all bonds issued by the corporation pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be solely and exclusively obligations of the corporation and shall not be an obligation or debt of any kind of the State of Alabama. Bonds issued by the corporation when not registered shall be construed to be negotiable instruments although payable solely from a specified source as provided in this article. All bonds issued by the corporation and the income therefrom shall be exempt from all taxation in the State of Alabama. Any bonds issued by the corporation may be used by the holder thereof as security for any funds belonging to the state or to any instrumentality or agency of the state in any instance where security for such deposits may be required by law.

(h) Unless otherwise directed by the court having jurisdiction thereof or by the document that is the source of authority, a trustee, executor, administrator, guardian or one acting in any other fiduciary capacity may, in addition to any other investment powers conferred by law and with the exercise of reasonable business prudence, invest trust and other fiduciary funds in bonds of the corporation.

(i) Neither a public hearing nor consent by the state Department of Finance or any other department or agency shall be a prerequisite to the issuance of bonds by the corporation. All obligations issued by the corporation shall be exempt from the laws of the state governing usury or prescribing or limiting interest rates including but without limitation to the provisions of Chapter 8 of Title 8, as it now exists and as it may at any time be amended.

The proceeds of all bonds, other than refunding bonds, issued by the corporation remaining after paying the expenses of their issuance shall be turned in to the Treasury, shall be carried in the Public Road and Bridge Account and shall be subject to be drawn on by the corporation, upon the approval of the State Department of Transportation and the Governor, but solely for the purpose of constructing, reconstructing and relocating public roads and bridges, or work incidental or related thereto, including the acquisition of property necessary therefor, in the State of Alabama; provided, that such funds may be used only for payment of the state's share of the cost of constructing, reconstructing and relocating public roads and bridges, or work incidental or related thereto, which have been or will be constructed, reconstructed or relocated under programs financed jointly by the state and the federal government; and provided further, that if such action shall be necessary in order to comply with any federal legislation relating to federal aid in construction of roads, the corporation may authorize the State Department of Transportation to expend directly any portion of such proceeds for constructing, reconstructing and relocating such roads and bridges, or work incidental or related thereto. The proceeds from the sale of any refunding bonds of the corporation remaining after paying the expenses of their issuance shall be used only for the purpose of refunding the principal of outstanding bonds of the corporation and of paying any premium that may be necessary to be paid in order to redeem or retire the bonds to be refunded.

Out of the revenues appropriated and pledged for such purpose, the State Treasurer is authorized and directed to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds issued by the corporation under the provisions of this article, as such principal and interest shall respectively mature, and he is further authorized and directed to set up and maintain appropriate records pertaining thereto.

At any time when no bonds of the corporation are outstanding, the corporation may be dissolved upon the filing with the Secretary of State of an application for dissolution, which shall be subscribed by each of the members of the corporation and which shall be sworn to by each such member before an officer authorized to take acknowledgments to deeds. Upon the filing of said application for dissolution, the corporation shall cease and any property owned by it at the time of its dissolution shall pass to the State of Alabama. The Secretary of State shall file and record the application for dissolution, in an appropriate book of record in his office, and shall make and issue, under the Great Seal of the State, a certificate that the corporation is dissolved and shall record the said certificate with the application for dissolution.

(a) Where used in this section the following words and terms shall be given the following respective meanings:

(1) BONDS. Such term, without qualifying words or phrases, means bonds of the corporation issued under this article.

(2) CODE. The Code of Alabama, 1975.

(3) CORPORATION. Alabama Highway Finance Corporation, a public corporation and instrumentality of the State of Alabama that was organized and is existing under this article.

(4) GASOLINE TAX APPROPRIATION STATUTE. Division 2 of Article 2 of Chapter 17 of Title 40.

(5) HIGHWAY GASOLINE TAX.

a. The excise tax levied in Section 40-17-31, as amended, exclusive of those portions of said tax in respect of aviation fuel and marine gasoline, as those terms are used in said section; and

b. The excise tax levied by Article 3 of Chapter 17 of Title 40, exclusive of that portion of the said tax in respect of diesel fuel.

(6) NET GASOLINE TAX PROCEEDS. The entire proceeds from the highway gasoline tax less the cost of collection and less any refunds of the said proceeds pursuant to the provisions of Article 3 of Chapter 17 of Title 40, or pursuant to the provisions of either of Divisions 3 and 4 of Article 2 of said Chapter 17.

(7) STATE's SHARE OF THE NET GASOLINE TAX PROCEEDS. The 45 percentum of the net gasoline tax proceeds allocated and appropriated for state highway purposes in Section 40-17-72.

(b) For the purpose of providing funds to enable the corporation to pay at their respective maturities the principal of and interest on any bonds that may be issued by it under the provisions of this article and to accomplish the purposes and objects of its creation, there hereby is irrevocably pledged to said purpose and appropriated so much as may be necessary for said purpose of the following, subject, however, to the provisions, hereinafter set forth in this subsection, as to the rank of the pledges herein made:

(1) So much as may be necessary for such purpose of those portions of the motor vehicle license taxes and registration fees that are provided to be distributed to the state pursuant to the provisions of Division 1 of Article 5 of Chapter 12 of Title 40 as amended, remaining after the costs of collection thereof;

(2) To such extent and to such extent only as the revenues appropriated under subdivision (1) of this subsection may not be sufficient to pay at their respective maturities the principal of and interest on the bonds, so much as may be necessary for such purpose, when added to the amounts appropriated in subdivision (1) of this subsection, of the state's share of the net gasoline tax proceeds;

(3) To such extent and to such extent only as the revenues appropriated under subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection may not be sufficient to pay at their respective maturities the principal of and interest on the bonds, so much as may be necessary for such purpose, when added to the amounts appropriated in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, of the entire proceeds of the following excise taxes remaining after payment of the costs of collection thereof:

a. the excise tax levied by Article 1 of Chapter 17 of Title 40 on distributors and storers of motor fuel, as therein defined; and

b. the excise tax levied by Article 3 of Chapter 17 of Title 40, exclusive of that portion of the said tax in respect of gasoline.

The term 'costs of collection,' as used in this subdivision, shall mean that portion of the excise taxes referred to in this subdivision that may be appropriated by the Legislature to the Department of Revenue for its operating expenses;

(4) To such extent and to such extent only as the revenues appropriated under subdivisions (1), (2) and (3) of this subsection may not be sufficient to pay at their respective maturities the principal of and interest on the bonds, so much as may be necessary for such purpose, when added to the amounts appropriated in subdivisions (1), (2) and (3), of all that portion of the receipts from the inspection fee on certain petroleum products imposed by Division 1 of Article 5 of Chapter 17 of Title 8 that is required by the division to be deposited to the credit of the Public Road and Bridge Fund; and

(5) To such extent and to such extent only as the revenues appropriated under subdivisions (1), (2), (3) and (4) of this subsection may not be sufficient to pay at their respective maturities the principal of and interest on the bonds, so much as may be necessary for such purpose, when added to the amounts appropriated in subdivisions (1), (2), (3) and (4), of the receipts from the fee in respect of identification markers on motor vehicles that is provided for in Section 40-17-150.

(c) All moneys hereby appropriated and pledged shall constitute a sinking fund for the purpose of paying the principal of and interest on the bonds. All pledges made by the corporation shall take precedence among themselves in the order of the adoption of the resolutions making such pledges, except as may be otherwise provided in such resolutions; provided, that any such pledges made for the benefit of any refunding bonds that may be issued under the provisions of this article shall be subordinate to any pledge made, either before or after the issuance of such refunding bonds, under the provisions of this article for the benefit of bonds, other than refunding bonds, issued under the provisions of this article.

(d) The appropriations and pledges herein made, for the benefit of any bonds, including refunding bonds, issued under this article, of the taxes and fees referred to in subdivisions (1) through (5), inclusive, of subsection (b), shall be subject and subordinate to all pledges of the said taxes and fees lawfully made as security for (1) any bonds issued by Alabama Highway Authority prior to December 1, 1977, or (2) any refunding bonds that may be issued by Alabama Highway Authority after December 1, 1977, for the purpose of refunding any of the bonds referred to in clause (1) of this sentence if, and only if, the aggregate amount of principal and interest that will mature with respect to such refunding bonds during any fiscal year of the State of Alabama does not exceed the amount of principal and interest, with respect to the bonds refunded by such refunding bonds, that have a stated maturity during the same fiscal year, or that would have had a stated maturity during the same fiscal year if such bonds had not been refunded.

(e) Any pledge for the benefit of any refunding bonds issued under this article shall also be subject and subordinate to the following: (1) Any pledge or pledges of the tax proceeds and fees referred to in subdivisions (1) through (5), inclusive, of subsection (b) that may have been made prior to the issuance of such refunding bonds pursuant to authorization in any statute effective at the time of such issuance, and (2) any pledge or pledges authorized, by any statute in effect at the time of the issuance of such refunding bonds, to be made for the benefit of any then-unissued bonds, other than refunding bonds, provided for in any such statute; and provided, further, that the priorities of any such refunding bonds over each other as to any such pledge shall be as may be provided in the resolutions of the board of directors authorizing any such refunding bonds.

(f) The appropriations and pledges herein made for the benefit of any bonds, other than refunding bonds, issued under this article shall be prior and superior to any appropriations and pledges for the benefit of any obligations that may at any time be issued under the provisions of Article 10 of this chapter.

Any other provisions of the law to the contrary notwithstanding, bidders for contract projects which contracts are with the State of Alabama, in behalf of the State Department of Transportation, to be paid, in whole or in part, from funds allocated to the State Department of Transportation from any source whatsoever, or where contracts are with any of the several counties of the state for a highway, road, street or bridge project, to be paid for, in whole or in part, from funds allocated to the county from any source whatsoever, shall be required to file with the bid, as a bid guaranty, a certified check or bid bond payable to the awarding authority as follows:

(1) A certified check payable to the awarding authority for an amount not less than five percent of the contractor's bid, but in no event more than $10,000.00; or

(2) A bid bond payable to the awarding authority in an amount not less than five percent of the bid, but in no event more than $10,000.00.

There shall be a State Department of Transportation. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whenever any act, section of the Code of Alabama 1975, or any other provision of law refers to the State Highway Department, it shall be deemed a reference to the State Department of Transportation.

The following terms, whenever used or referred to in this section and Sections 23-1-21.2 and 23-1-21.3, shall have the following meanings, except in those instances where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

(1) DIRECTOR. The Director of the State of Alabama State Department of Transportation.

(2) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. Transportation which is appropriate to transport people by bus, rail or other conveyance, serving the general public. The terms 'mass transportation,' 'mass transit,' 'public transit,' 'ridesharing,' 'carpooling,' 'vanpooling,' and 'buspooling' are included within this definition and shall be considered synonymous with 'public transportation.'

(3) MUNICIPALITY. Any city, town, or like governing body.

(4) COUNTY. Any county in the State of Alabama.

(5) TRANSIT AUTHORITY. Any transit authority organized within the state or authority organized to serve a metropolitan or urbanized area which borders on the state boundary.

(6) LOCAL ENTITIES. Municipalities, cities, towns, counties, business and nonprofit corporations, transit authorities, planning bodies, or similar organizations or consolidations thereof, including those bordering on the state boundary.

(7) PLANNING BODY. Any planning organization duly constituted under state law, whether a city, county, or regional planning commission, or a metropolitan planning organization.

(8) COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROCESS. A continuing planning process carried on cooperatively between the state and local entities for the purpose of transportation planning.

The director, acting alone or through, and in cooperation with local entities, is hereby delegated the authority to:

(1) Enter into agreements with local entities to provide public transportation and to administer any program or programs, whether rural or urban, relative to public transportation resulting from federal transportation legislation. This shall include but not be limited to applying for, accepting, and expending federal public transportation funds in accordance with applicable federal laws and regulations.

(2) Enter into agreements with the United States for federal assistance for public transportation.

(3) Enter into agreements with local entities to perform and/or cooperate in the performance of transportation planning for public transportation improvements. However, the director shall not perform such planning until such time as the local entities affected enter into agreement with the director to carry out a planning process.

(4) Provide any available technical assistance to local entities for formulating a program of public transportation projects to assure that said projects are in accordance with the comprehensive transportation planning process where such process is established and is a prerequisite for federal assistance.

(5) Administer any state funds authorized from time to time by the Legislature for the purpose of public transportation.

(6) Develop and promulgate such rules and regulations as are determined necessary to insure compliance with federal laws and regulations.

The director is authorized to administer any public transportation program with such flexibility as to permit full cooperation between federal, state, and local entities, so as to result in effective and economical programs which are responsive to needs and found to be in the public interest.

The chief executive officer of the State Department of Transportation shall be known as the Director of Transportation, who shall be appointed by the Governor and shall hold office at the pleasure of the Governor. All the powers, authority, and duties vested in the State Department of Transportation shall be exercised by the Director of Transportation.

Before entering upon the duties of office, the Director of Transportation shall execute to the State of Alabama a bond, to be approved by the Governor, in an amount to be fixed by the Governor, for the faithful performance of his or her duties.

When any department, agency or instrumentality of the state, or any county, municipality or other political subdivision or any other public or private entity subject to the provisions of the federal Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, as amended, Public Law 91-646 and 100-17, hereinafter referred to as the federal Uniform Relocation Act, undertakes any project which results in the acquisition of real property or in any person or persons being displaced from their homes, businesses or farms such state department, agency or instrumentality, county, municipality or other political subdivision, or other public or private entity is hereby authorized to provide relocation assistance, and to make relocation payments to such displaced person and to do such other acts and follow such procedures and practices as may be necessary to comply with the provisions of the federal Uniform Relocation Act.

Any payment made or to be made under the authority granted by this article shall be for compensating or reimbursing the displaced person or owner of real property in accordance with the requirements of the federal Uniform Relocation Act and such payments shall not for any purpose be deemed or considered compensation for real property acquired or compensation for damages to remaining property.

The Director of the State Department of Transportation is hereby authorized to issue such regulations and procedures determined to be necessary or appropriate to carry out this article and the federal Uniform Relocation Act being subject to change at any time, such regulations and procedures will not be subject to the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act.

(a) There is hereby created within the State Department of Transportation the position of chief engineer, which shall be filled by appointment by the Director of Transportation, with the approval of the Governor. Such appointment shall also be subject to approval by the State Board of Registration for Engineers and Land Surveyors. The salary of the chief engineer shall be as determined pursuant to Chapter 6 of Title 36, and he shall be allowed traveling expenses when traveling on business of the state pursuant to Article 2 of Chapter 7 of Title 36, all to be paid from funds of the State Department of Transportation as salaries and expenses of other State Department of Transportation employees are paid. The chief engineer shall give bond for the faithful performance of his duties in an amount to be approved by the Governor.

(b) The chief engineer shall serve under the direction of the Director of Transportation and otherwise be entitled to all the privileges and responsibilities as other Merit System employees, and his service and removal shall be subject to the state Merit System regulations.

This division may be cited as the 'Highway Beautification Act - Scenic Enhancement.'

The purpose of this division is to promote the safety, convenience and enjoyment of travel on, and protection of, the public investment in highways of this state and for the restoration, preservation and enhancement of scenic beauty within and adjacent to the state and federal-aid highways.

The Director of Transportation is hereby authorized to acquire land necessary for the restoration, preservation and enhancement of scenic beauty and the establishment of rest areas within, and adjacent to, state and federal-aid highways of this state, including acquisition of publicly owned and controlled rest and recreation areas and sanitary and other facilities within, or adjacent to, the highway right-of-way necessary to accommodate the traveling public.

The interest in any land authorized to be acquired and maintained under this division may be the fee simple or any lesser interest, as determined by the Director of Transportation to be necessary to accomplish the purpose of this division. Such acquisition may be by gift, purchase, exchange or condemnation.

The chief engineer shall be a registered professional engineer in the State of Alabama with a minimum of 15 years' progressive professional engineering experience pertaining to the planning, development, construction, maintenance and repair of highways and bridges. He shall hold a degree in civil engineering from an engineering school of recognized standing. The chief engineer shall have a detail knowledge of engineering principles and their application pertaining to highways and bridges. He shall maintain citizenship in the State of Alabama and shall continuously be a registered engineer in the State of Alabama as a condition while serving in this office.

The duties of the chief engineer in the State Department of Transportation shall include the administration of technical phases of the organization, and direction and coordination of the engineering activities of the State Department of Transportation. The chief engineer shall affix his signature to the title sheets of all plans let to contract by the State Department of Transportation. The duties of the chief engineer shall be subject to and under the control and supervision of the Director of Transportation.

This division may be cited as the 'Highway Beautification Act - Junkyard Control.'

For the purposes of this division, the following terms shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:

(1) JUNK. Old or scrap copper, brass, rope, rags, batteries, paper trash, rubber debris, waste or junked, dismantled or wrecked automobiles, or parts thereof, iron, steel and other old or scrap ferrous or nonferrous material.

(2) JUNKYARD. Any establishment or place of business which is maintained, operated or used for storing, keeping, buying or selling junk or for the maintenance or operation of an automobile graveyard. The term shall include garbage dumps and sanitary fills.

(3) AUTOMOBILE GRAVEYARD. Any establishment or place of business which is maintained, used or operated for storing, keeping, buying or selling wrecked, scrapped, ruined or dismantled motor vehicles or motor vehicle parts.

(4) INTERSTATE SYSTEM. That portion of the national system of interstate and defense highways located within this state or officially designated, or as may hereafter be so designated, by the director and approved by the United States Department of Transportation pursuant to the provisions of Title 23, United States Code, 'Highways.'

(5) PRIMARY SYSTEM. That portion of connected main highways as officially designated, or as may hereafter be so officially designated, by the Director of Transportation and approved by the United States Department of Transportation pursuant to Title 23, United States Code, 'Highways.'

(6) DIRECTOR. The State Department of Transportation.

(7) SCRAP PROCESSOR. Any person, firm or corporation engaged only in the business of buying scrap iron and metals, including, but not limited to, old automobiles, for the specific purpose of processing into raw material for remelting purposes only and whose principal product is ferrous and nonferrous scrap for shipment to steel mills, foundries, smelters and refineries and maintaining an established place of business in this state and having facilities and machinery designed for such processing.

The regulation of junkyards in areas adjacent to any state highway included in the national system of interstate and primary highways is hereby declared to be in the public interest and necessary to promote the public safety, health, welfare, convenience and enjoyment of public travel, to protect the public investment in public highways, to preserve and enhance the scenic beauty of lands bordering on such highways and to promote the conservation of our natural mineral resources by encouraging the recycling of the reusable scrap iron and metals. The Legislature hereby finds and declares that junkyards which do not conform to the requirements of this division are a public nuisance.

No person shall establish, operate or maintain a junkyard, any portion of which is within 1,000 feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way of any interstate or primary highway, without obtaining a license to do so from the director.

The director shall have the sole authority to issue licenses for the establishment, maintenance and operation of junkyards within the limits defined in this division, and may revoke said licenses at any time a junkyard fails to conform to the requirements of this division, and shall charge therefor a fee of $25.00, payable annually in advance. All licenses issued under this section shall expire on January 1 following the date of issue. Licenses may be renewed from year to year upon payment of the requisite fee. Proceeds from such fees shall be deposited with the State Treasurer for credit to the State Department of Transportation Public Road and Bridge Fund.

No license shall be granted for the establishment, maintenance or operation of a junkyard within 1,000 feet of the nearest edge of right-of-way of any highway on the interstate or primary system, except:

(1) Those which are screened by natural objects, plantings, fences or other appropriate means so as not to be visible from the main-traveled way of the system or otherwise removed from sight;

(2) Those located within areas which are zoned for industrial use under authority of law;

(3) Those located within unzoned industrial areas, which areas shall be determined by actual land uses and defined by regulations promulgated by the director; or

(4) Those which are not visible from the main-traveled way of the system.

Any junkyard lawfully in existence on September 8, 1971, which is located within 1,000 feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way and visible from the main-traveled way of any highway on the interstate or primary system, shall be screened, if considered feasible by the director. The screening shall be at locations on the right-of-way or in areas outside the right-of-way acquired for such purposes, so as not to be visible from the main-traveled way of the interstate or primary system.

The director shall have the authority to promulgate rules and regulations governing the location, planting, construction and maintenance, including the materials used, in screening junkyards as required under provisions of this division.

(a) When the director determines that the topography of the land adjoining the interstate or primary systems will not permit adequate screening of such junkyards or that screening would not be economically feasible, the director shall have the authority to acquire by gift, purchase, exchange or eminent domain such interests in lands as may be necessary, including fee simple title, to secure the relocation, removal or disposal thereof.

(b) When the director determines that it is in the best interest of the state, he may acquire such lands upon payment of just compensation to the owners, or interest in said lands as may be necessary to provide adequate screening of such junkyards.

(c) Damages resulting from any taking of property in eminent domain shall be ascertained in the manner provided by law.

The director may:

(1) Promulgate regulations he deems necessary to implement and enforce provisions of this division; and

(2) Enter into agreements with the United States Department of Transportation pursuant to Title 23, United States Code, and any amendments thereto, relating to the control of junkyards in areas adjacent to the interstate and primary systems and to take action in the name of the state to comply with the terms of this agreement.

There is hereby established and created in the State Department of Transportation a legal division, which shall be headed by and be under the direction, supervision and control of an officer who shall be designated as chief counsel for the State Department of Transportation, to be appointed by the Director of Transportation with the approval of the Attorney General, subject to provisions of the state Merit System laws.

The establishment, operation or maintenance of any junkyard contrary to the provisions of this division shall be a public nuisance. Any person, partnership or corporation that establishes, maintains or operates any junkyard contrary to the provisions of this division shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be penalized by a fine of not less than $100.00 nor more than $1,000.00, said fine to be applicable only after receipt by said person, partnership or corporation of written notification that said person, partnership or corporation is violating any provision of this division and their failure to comply with the requirements contained in this division within 30 days from the date of the receipt of said notice, and in addition thereto, the director may apply to the circuit court of the county in which said junkyard may be, for an injunction to abate such nuisance.

Nothing in this division shall be construed to abrogate or affect the provisions of any lawful ordinance, regulation or resolution which are more restrictive than the provisions of this division.

The Director of Transportation, with the approval of the Attorney General, shall be authorized, subject to the provisions of the state Merit System law, to appoint not more than five assistant counsel as may be necessary to transact the legal business of the State Department of Transportation. The chief counsel and the assistant counsel shall each be commissioned as assistant attorneys general and take the oath required of other assistants of the Attorney General. The chief counsel and the assistant counsel and their stenographic and clerical assistants shall constitute the legal division of the State Department of Transportation.

The salaries of the chief counsel and assistant counsel shall be fixed in accordance with the Merit System pay plan for assistant attorneys general and shall be paid as the salaries of other state officials and employees are paid from funds appropriated or otherwise available to the State Department of Transportation.

This division shall be known as and may be cited as the 'Highway Beautification Act - Outdoor Advertising.'

For the purposes of this division, unless otherwise indicated, the following terms shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:

(1) BUSINESS AREA. Any part of an adjacent area which is at any time zoned for business, industrial or commercial activities under the authority of any law of this state or not zoned, but which constitutes an unzoned commercial or industrial area as defined in this section.

(2) CENTERLINE OF THE HIGHWAY. A line equidistant from the edges of the median separating the main-traveled ways of a divided highway or the centerline of the main-traveled way of a nondivided highway.

(3) DIRECTOR. The State Department of Transportation.

(4) ADJACENT AREA. An area which is adjacent to and within 660 feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way of any interstate or primary highway, which 660 feet distance shall be measured horizontally along a line normal or perpendicular to the centerline of the highway.

(5) ERECT. To construct, build, raise, assemble, place, affix, attach, create, paint, draw or in any other way bring into being or establish, but it shall not include any of the foregoing activities when performed as an incident to the change of advertising message or customary maintenance of the sign structure.

(6) INTERSTATE HIGHWAY. Any highway at any time officially designated as a part of the national system of interstate and defense highways by the director and approved by the appropriate authority of the federal government.

(7) MAINTAIN. To allow to exist.

(8) PRIMARY HIGHWAY. Any highway, other than an interstate highway, at any time officially designated as a part of the federal-aid primary system by the director and approved by the appropriate authority of the federal government.

(9) SIGN. Any outdoor advertising sign, display, device, notice, figure, painting, drawing, message, placard, poster, billboard or other thing which is designed, intended or used to advertise or inform, any part of the advertising or informative contents of which is visible from any place on the main-traveled way of any portion of an interstate highway or primary highway.

(10) AN UNZONED COMMERCIAL, BUSINESS OR INDUSTRIAL AREA. The land occupied by the regularly used building, parking lot, storage or processing area of a commercial, business or industrial activity, and the land within 600 feet thereof on each side of the highway. The unzoned area shall not include:

a. Land on the opposite side of an interstate or primary freeway highway from an unzoned commercial, business or industrial area, as defined above;

b. Land predominantly used for residential purposes;

c. Land zoned by state or local law, regulation or ordinance;

d. Land on the opposite side of a nonfreeway primary highway which is determined scenic by the State Department of Transportation.

All measurements shall be from the outer edges of the regularly used buildings, parking lots, storage or processing areas of the commercial or industrial activities, not from the property lines of the activities, unless said property lines coincide with the limits of the regularly used buildings, parking lots, storage or processing areas and shall be along or parallel to the edge or pavement of the highway.

(11) COMMERCIAL OR INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES FOR PURPOSES OF UNZONED INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL AREAS. Those activities generally recognized as commercial or industrial by local zoning authorities in this state, except that none of the following activities shall be considered commercial or industrial.

a. Outdoor advertising structures;

b. Agricultural, forestry, ranching, grazing, farming and similar activities, including but not limited to, wayside fresh produce stands;

c. Activities normally or regularly in operation less than three months of the year;

d. Transient or temporary activities;

e. Activities not visible from the main-traveled way;

f. Activities more than 660 feet from the nearest edge of the right-of-way;

g. Activities conducted in a building principally used as a residence;

h. Railroad tracks and minor sidings; or

i. Areas which are predominantly used for residential purposes.

(12) SAFETY REST AREAS. An area or site established or maintained within or adjacent to the right-of-way by or under public supervision or control for the convenience of the traveling public.

(13) INFORMATION CENTER. An area or site established or maintained at safety rest areas for the purpose of informing the public of places of interest within the state and providing such other information as the director may consider necessary.

(14) MAIN-TRAVELED WAY. The through traffic lanes exclusive of frontage roads, auxiliary lanes and ramps.

(15) URBAN AREA. An urbanized area so designated by the Bureau of the Census, within boundaries fixed by responsible state and local officials, subject to approval by the Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation, or an urban place as designated by the Bureau of the Census having a population of 5,000 or more and not within any urbanized area, within boundaries fixed by responsible state and local officials, subject to approval by the Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation.

(16) MOTORIST DIRECTIONAL SIGNS. Any signs, displays or devices giving directional information pertaining to food services, lodging, gasoline and automotive services, resorts, attractions, campgrounds, truck stops, natural wonders, scenic and historical sites and areas suited for outdoor recreation.

(17) REMOVING AUTHORITY. Any governmental entity.

The Legislature hereby finds and declares:

(1) That outdoor advertising is a legitimate commercial use of private property adjacent to roads and highways;

(2) That the erection and maintenance of outdoor advertising signs, displays and devices in areas adjacent to interstate highways and primary highways should be regulated in order to protect the public investment in such highways, to promote the recreational value of public travel, to preserve natural beauty and to promote the reasonable, orderly and effective display of such signs, displays and devices;

(3) That outdoor advertising is an integral part of the business and marketing function and an established segment of the national economy and should be allowed to operate in business areas;

(4) Regulatory standards set forth in Section 23-1-274 are consistent with customary use in this state and will properly and adequately carry out each and all of the purposes of this division; and

(5) Motorist directional signs are essential to the economic interests of the state and the interests of the traveling public; therefore, no motorist directional sign not otherwise permitted under Section 23-1-273 shall be removed on a statewide basis, unless by mutual agreement between the sign owner and the State Department of Transportation, until all other nonconforming signs are removed.

No sign shall, subject to the provisions of Section 23-1-274, be erected or maintained in an adjacent area after February 10, 1972, nor shall any outdoor advertising sign, display or device with the purpose of its message being read from the main-traveled way of an interstate highway or primary highway be erected after April 11, 1978, outside of an urban area beyond 660 feet of the nearest edge of right-of-way of an interstate or primary highway, except the following:

(1) Directional and official signs, including, but not limited to, signs pertaining to natural wonders, scenic and historical attractions, safety rest areas and information centers, which are authorized by the director, under promulgated rule, and which comply with regulations promulgated by the director relative to their lighting, size, number, spacing and other such requirements as may be appropriate to implement this division; provided, that such regulations shall not be inconsistent with, nor more restrictive than, such national standards as may be promulgated from time to time by the Secretary of Transportation of the United States pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 131, of Title 23, United States Code.

(2) Signs lawfully in existence on October 22, 1965, determined by the state, subject to the concurrence of the United States Secretary of Transportation, to be landmark signs, including signs on farm structures or natural surfaces of historic or artistic significance, the preservation of which would be consistent with the purposes of this section.

(3) Signs advertising the sale or lease of property upon which they are located.

(4) Signs advertising activities conducted on the property on which they are located. For the purposes of this subdivision, the promotion of activities at other locations or the dissemination of information about activities conducted upon other property shall not be considered activities conducted on the property on which a sign is located.

(5) Signs located in business areas on February 10, 1972, and signs to be erected in business areas subsequent to February 10, 1972, which when erected, will comply with the provisions of Section 23-1-274; provided, that no advertising, sign, display or device with the purpose of its message being read from the main-traveled way shall be erected after April 11, 1978, outside an urban area beyond 660 feet of the edge of the right-of-way of an interstate or primary highway, whether located in a business area or not.

(6) Signs or devices which advertise or designate exclusively the location of the facilities of any public utility located along the interstate or primary highway for the convenience or protection of the using public or the protection of the facilities of the public utility.

(7) Motorist directional signs lawfully erected and in existence on May 5, 1976, which do not conform to requirements of present state laws and whose removal would work a substantial economic hardship in a specific or defined area. The State Department of Transportation, upon receipt of a petition, declaration or resolution from any state, county or municipal agency, from any industry association or any group of private business persons or their employees, claiming that the removal of such motorist directional signs would work a substantial economic hardship in specific or defined areas, shall forward such petition, declaration or resolution to the United States Secretary of Transportation to approve retention of such motorist directional signs.

The director shall effectively control, or cause to be controlled, the erection and maintenance of outdoor advertising signs, displays and devices in all business areas that are erected subsequent to February 10, 1971. Whenever a bona fide state, county or local zoning authority has made a determination of customary use as to size, lighting and spacing, such determination may be accepted in lieu of controls by agreement in the zoned commercial and industrial area within the geographical jurisdiction of such authority. In all other controlled commercial and industrial areas, the criteria set forth below shall apply:

(1) SIZE OF SIGNS.

a. For sign structures erected after July 15, 1995, the maximum area for any one sign shall be 672 square feet with a maximum height of 14 feet and a maximum length of 48 feet, inclusive of any border and trim on the sign face, but excluding any embellishment on and cut-out extension of the sign face, the base or apron, supports and other structural members. For sign structures lawfully in existence on or before July 15, 1995, the maximum area for any one sign shall be 1,200 square feet with a maximum height of 30 feet and a maximum length of 60 feet, inclusive of any border and trim, but excluding the base or apron, supports and other structural members.

b. The area shall be measured by the smallest square, rectangle, triangle or circle or combination thereof which will encompass the entire sign.

c. Sign structures erected after July 15, 1995 may contain one or two signs per facing and may use only a side-by-side, back-to-back or V-type configuration, and may use no other configuration; provided, that if two signs are used facing the same direction, the aggregate total area shall not exceed 672 square feet. Sign structures lawfully in existence on or before July 15, 1995 may contain one or two signs per facing and may be placed double-faced, back-to-back or V-type; provided, that if two signs are used facing the same direction, the aggregate total area shall not exceed 1,200 square feet.

(2) LIGHTING.

a. Signs shall not be erected or maintained which contain, include or are illuminated by any flashing, intermittent or moving lights, except those giving public service information such as, but not limited to, time, date, temperature, weather or news.

b. Signs shall not be erected or maintained which are not effectively shielded so as to prevent beams or rays of light from being directed at any portion of traveled way of any interstate or primary highway and are of such intensity or brilliance as to cause glare or to impair the vision of the driver of any motor vehicle.

c. Signs shall not be erected or maintained which shall be so illuminated that they obscure or interfere with any official traffic sign, device or signal.

(3) SPACING.

a. Signs shall not be erected or maintained in such a manner as to obscure, or otherwise physically interfere with an official traffic sign, signal or device or which obstructs or physically interferes with the driver's view of approaching, merging or intersecting traffic.

b. Signs shall not be erected or maintained which do not comply with all applicable county or municipal codes and ordinances, including, but not limited to, zoning, buildings and sign codes, as locally interpreted, applied and enforced.

c. Signs shall not be erected or maintained closer to another sign other than a sign described in subdivisions (1), (2), (3) and (5) of Section 23-1-273 than the following prescribed distances. These spacing provisions do not apply to signs separated by buildings or other obstructions in such manner that only one sign located within the above spacing distance is visible from the highway at any one time. The minimum distance between signs shall be measured along the nearest edge of the pavement between points directly opposite the signs along each side of the highway.

1. On all interstate highways and freeway primary highways, there must be at least 500 feet between sign structures on the same side of the highway.

2. On interstate highways and freeway primary highways located outside the zoning authority of incorporated cities, no sign structure is permitted adjacent to or within 500 feet of an interchange or intersection at grade or safety roadside rest areas. Such distances shall be measured along the highway to the nearest point of beginning or ending of pavement widening at the exit from or entrance to the main-traveled way.

3. On primary highways located outside the zoning authority of incorporated cities, for sign structures erected after July 15, 1995, there must be at least 500 feet between sign structures on the same side of such highway, and for sign structures lawfully in existence on or before July 15, 1995, there must be at least 300 feet between sign structures on the same side of such highway.

4. On primary highways located within the zoning authority of incorporated cities, for sign structures erected after July 15, 1995, there must be at least 500 feet between sign structures on the same side of such highway, and for sign structures lawfully in existence on or before July 15, 1995, there must be at least 100 feet between sign structures on the same side of such highway.

(4) GENERAL.

a. Signs shall not be erected or maintained which imitate or resemble any official traffic sign, signal or device.

b. Signs shall not be erected or maintained upon trees, or painted or drawn upon rocks or other natural features.

c. Signs shall not be erected or maintained which are structurally unsafe or in substantial disrepair.

d. Signs which are obsolete shall be removed.

(a) No sign permitted by the provisions of Section 23-1-274 may be erected without first obtaining a permit therefor from the director. No permit shall be required for signs conforming to the provisions of this division which are in existence upon February 10, 1972, until the end of the fifth calendar year. The application for a permit shall be on a form provided by the director and shall contain such information as the director may require. Upon receipt of an application containing all required information in due form and properly executed, the director shall issue a permit to the applicant for the erection of the sign, provided such sign will not violate any provisions of this division. A charge of $25.00 will be made for each location covered in the permit. The application for a permit shall be accompanied by the required fee.

(b) Permits shall be for the calendar year, and shall be renewed annually upon payment of a fee of $10.00 for the following calendar year without the necessity of filing a new application. The fee shall not be prorated for fractions of the year. Only one permit shall be required for double-faced, back-to-back or V-type signs. Advertising copy may be changed at any time without the payment of an additional fee, and nothing in this division shall be construed to give the director any power of censorship with regard thereto.

(c) Permit fees for signs under this division shall become due and payable on January 1 of each year and delinquent on February 15 thereafter. A 25 percent penalty shall be charged and collected for any delinquent permit issued after February 15.

(d) In addition to the permit, the director shall issue an identification tag or decal to the applicant upon payment of the fee which shall be permanently affixed to the sign, display or device for which the permit was issued. Such tag or decal shall be so affixed in a uniform position on all such signs, displays and devices. The size, location and content, including identification numbers, and the materials from which such tags or decals are to be made shall be determined by the director. All signs, displays and devices which do not have the tag or decal attached thereto as provided in this section, shall be considered as being nonconforming within the terms of this division.

(e) The director shall issue a permit for the sign, display or device described in any application duly made under this section unless it is in violation of this division. Any permit may be revoked after a public hearing upon 30 days written notice if the director finds that any statements made in the application thereof were false or misleading or that the advertising sign, display or device covered thereby is not in good general condition and in reasonable state of repair or is otherwise in violation of this division, provided such false or misleading statement has not been corrected and that the sign, display or device has not been brought into compliance with this division prior to said public hearing. The director for good cause shown at such hearing may extend the time within which such sign, display or device may be brought into conformance or other remedial action taken.

Each sign or structure regulated by this division shall have stated thereon the name and address of the owners thereof and the date of its erection; provided, that if the address of the owner is on file with the director, it need not be stated on such sign or structure.

The provisions of Sections 23-1-275 and 23-1-276 shall not be applicable to signs of less than one square foot in area, excluding the support, erected by a public utility to mark the location of any buried telephone cable, electric power line, gas line, waterline or other underground public utility facility, for the protection of the facilities of the public utility.

(a) Any sign erected or maintained in an adjacent area after February 10, 1972, and any outdoor advertising sign, display or device erected with the purpose of its message being read from the main-traveled way of any interstate highway or primary highway outside of an urban area and beyond 660 feet of the right-of-way after April 11, 1978, in violation of the provisions of this division or the rules and regulations promulgated under the provisions of this division may be removed by the director upon 30 days' prior notice by certified or registered mail to the owner thereof and to the owner of the land on which said sign is located or through court proceedings at the option of the director. No notice shall be required to be given to the owner of the sign or to a property owner whose name is not stated on the sign or on the structure on which it is displayed or whose address is not stated thereon and is not on file with the director.

(b) The courts of this state shall have jurisdiction, in accordance with the provisions of Sections 6-6-220 through 6-6-232, over actions for declaratory judgment, initiated by the director, the owners of signs or the owners of property on which signs are located, to determine and adjudicate controversies arising under or out of the enforcement of this division and to set forth the rights, duties and responsibilities of the various parties arising under this division, including decrees of injunction and ordering removal of signs. In addition the courts of this state shall have such injunctive powers as may be necessary to enforce or compel compliance with the provisions of this division in cases filed by the director for injunction in the enforcement of this division, including the power to enjoin the continuing maintenance of any sign erected or maintained in violation of the provisions of this division and the removal of any such signs on complaint filed by the director. Proceedings hereunder being largely equitable in nature, the courts shall set forth the rights, duties and responsibilities of the parties under this division on the facts presented without intervention of a jury except as may be otherwise provided by statute or the Constitution of Alabama. In the event a sign or signs involved in any proceeding hereunder are found to be maintained, permitted to exist or erected in violation of any of the provisions of this division, the court trying the cause, on being petitioned by the director, shall order the removal of the sign or signs, subject to Sections 23-1-280, 23-1-281 and 23-1-282, where applicable, by the sign owner or jointly by the sign owner and property owner if joined in the proceeding or separately by the property owner; provided, that the director, acting through personnel of the State Department of Transportation, may remove such signs at the option of the director as provided herein or as ordered by the court. Court costs shall be taxed against a sign owner or property owner on which a sign is located if a court determines that such parties have erected or maintained a sign in violation of this division. Jurisdiction and procedure of courts are not limited by this division.

(c) In any proceeding hereunder in the courts of this state, an allegation or averment setting forth the owner of the real property or the owner of a sign located thereon to be a particular party or parties shall be deemed to establish prima facie ownership of the real property or the sign to be in such party or parties, respectively, unless within 30 days from the service of process upon them, such party or parties file in the proceeding a sworn denial of ownership and, in addition thereto, set forth any interest in and to such real property or sign to which they claim to be entitled. In any proceeding hereunder in the courts, employees of the State Department of Transportation may testify, from general knowledge, that a particular highway is an interstate or primary highway or as to the location of geographical boundaries of urban areas, incorporated municipalities and other zoned areas. In addition to other official maps, maps prepared by the State Department of Transportation as to the location of geographical boundaries of urban areas hereunder shall be received in evidence in aid of establishment of such boundaries when offered on the general knowledge of employees of the State Department of Transportation that such map or maps were prepared by the State Department of Transportation for the purpose of establishing the geographical boundaries of an urban area.

(d) In the event a determination is made by the director that a particular sign or signs have been erected or are being maintained or allowed to exist in violation of any of the provisions of this division, upon written notice to the owner of such sign or signs, such owner of the sign or signs shall have a duty to submit to the director all factual and documentary evidence in his possession, under his control or reasonably obtainable by such sign owner relating to the date or dates of the erection of the sign or signs, the names of individuals erecting same and all information relating in any manner to the erection of the sign or signs, the names of individuals erecting same and all information relating in any manner to the location thereof which would tend to have a bearing on whether the sign or signs were erected in violation of or are being maintained or allowed to exist in violation of any of the provisions of this division.

All officers and employees of the State Department of Transportation are hereby authorized and empowered to enter upon and go across any land located within the State of Alabama for the purpose of inspection of any sign determined by the director to be in existence in violation of this division or any amendment thereto. Any officer and employee of the State Department of Transportation who, acting lawfully under this division, enters upon or crosses any lands located within this state for the purpose of inspection or removal of any such sign and in and about the activity of inspection or removal of any such sign is hereby vested with full police power to arrest or prefer charges against any person or persons who interferes with the performance of his duty.

(a) Signs outside of business areas which are lawfully in existence on February 10, 1972, but which do not conform to the requirements in this division, are declared nonconforming and, subject to Sections 23-1-280, 23-1-281 and 23-1-282, shall be removed by the sign owner and/or property owner under agreement with the director, or under the authority of the director, upon agreement between the parties as to just compensation. In the event no agreement can be reached as to just compensation, the sign shall be removed and payment made therefor through petition filed in probate court in accordance with Section 23-1-282. Outdoor advertising signs, displays or devices with the purpose of their message being read from the main-traveled way of any interstate highway or primary highway erected prior to April 11, 1978, outside of an urban area and beyond 660 feet of the edge of the right-of-way of such interstate or primary highway and not otherwise lawful under Section 23-1-273, as amended, are declared nonconforming and, subject to Sections 23-1-280, 23-1-281 and 23-1-282, shall be removed by the sign owner and/or property owner under agreement with the director or under the authority of the director, upon agreement between the parties as to just compensation. In the event no agreement can be reached as to just compensation, the sign shall be removed and payment made therefor through petition filed in probate court in accordance with Section 23-1-282.

(b) Signs lawfully erected after February 10, 1972, and which subsequently do not conform to the requirements of this division, shall be removed by the sign owner and/or property owner under agreement with the director or under the authority of the director, upon agreement between the parties as to just compensation. In the event no agreement can be reached as to just compensation, the sign shall be removed and payment made therefor through petition filed in probate court in accordance with Section 23-1-282.

(c) Should any commercial or industrial activity which has been used in defining or delineating an unzoned area cease to operate, the unzoned area shall be redefined or redelineated based on the remaining activities. Any signs located within the former unzoned area, but located outside the unzoned area based on its new dimensions, shall become nonconforming and, subject to Sections 23-1-280, 23-1-281 and 23-1-282, shall be removed by the sign owner and/or property owner under agreement with the director or under the authority of the director, upon agreement between the parties as to just compensation. In the event no agreement can be reached as to just compensation, the sign shall be removed and payment made therefor through petition filed in probate court in accordance with Section 23-1-282.

The chief counsel and the assistant counsel shall be furnished with offices, necessary stenographic and clerical help, subject to the provisions of the state Merit System law, and office equipment, stationery and postage and shall be allowed traveling expenses when traveling on business of the state pursuant to Article 2 of Chapter 7 of Title 36, all to be paid by the State Department of Transportation from funds appropriated or otherwise available therefor.

Just compensation shall be paid by the removing authority upon the removal of any of the following signs which are not then in conformity with this division whether or not removed pursuant to or because of this division:

(1) Signs lawfully in existence on February 10, 1972.

(2) Signs lawfully in existence on land adjoining any highway made an interstate or primary highway after February 10, 1972.

(3) Outdoor advertising signs, displays, or devices erected with the purpose of their message being read from the main-traveled way of any interstate highway or primary highway erected outside of an urban area and beyond 660 feet of the edge of the right-of-way of an interstate or primary highway erected prior to April 11, 1978, and not otherwise lawful under Section 23-1-273.

(4) Signs lawfully erected on or after February 10, 1972.

Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no removing authority shall remove or cause to be removed, or cause the alteration in any manner of, any lawfully erected sign along any public street or highway within the state without paying just compensation. Amortization for whatever period shall not constitute just compensation.

The just compensation required by the provisions of Section 23-1-280 shall be paid for the following:

(1) The taking from the owner of such sign, all right, title and interest in and to such sign, and his leasehold relating thereto, and compensation therefor, including severance damage to the remaining portion of the sign, shall be included in the amounts paid to the respective owner, exclusive of any damage of factories involved in manufacturing, erection, maintenance or servicing of any outdoor advertising signs or displays.

(2) The taking from the owner of the real property on which the sign is located or the right to erect and maintain such signs thereon.

(a) Compensation required under the provisions of Sections 23-1-280 and 23-1-281 shall be paid to the person or persons entitled thereto. If the director and the owner or owners reach an agreement on the amount of compensation payable to such owner or owners in respect to any removal or relocation, the director may pay such compensation to the owner or owners and thereby acquire or terminate his rights or interest as by purchase; provided, that any sign, display or device lawfully in existence along the interstate system or the federal-aid primary system on February 10, 1971, which is not in conformity with the provisions contained in this division shall not be required to be removed until just compensation has been paid therefor. Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, no sign, display or device otherwise required to be removed under this division, for which just compensation is authorized to be paid by the director, shall be required to be removed if the federal share of at least 75 percent of the just compensation to be paid upon removal of such sign, device or display is not available for such payment.

(b) If the director and the owner do not reach agreement as to such amount of compensation, the director may institute an action to have such compensation determined in a civil action. Such an action shall be instituted by filing a petition in the probate court of the county where the advertising device and land are located. Such action for determination of compensation shall thereupon proceed and be treated in accordance with the provisions of this title and Title 18 of this Code to the extent not inconsistent with the provisions of this division, the same as if such action had been commenced thereunder by a petition by the state for the taking of property under its power of eminent domain.

Despite any contrary provisions in this division, no sign shall be required to be removed unless at the time of removal there are sufficient funds, from whatever source, appropriated and immediately made available to the director with which to pay the just compensation required under Sections 23-1-280 through 23-1-282 and unless, at such time, the federal funds required to be contributed to this state under Section 131, Title 23, United States Code, have been appropriated and are immediately available to the state.

The director, on behalf of the state, is authorized and directed to seek agreement with the Secretary of Transportation of the United States, acting under the provisions of Section 131, Title 23, United States Code, as amended, that the provisions of this division are in conformance with Section 131, Title 23, United States Code, and provide effective control of outdoor advertising signs as set forth therein.

The director may accept any allotment of funds by the United States, or any agency thereof, appropriated to carry out the purposes of Section 131, Title 23, United States Code, as amended, from time to time. The director shall take such steps as may be necessary, from time to time, to obtain from the United States, or the appropriate agency thereof, funds allotted and appropriated, pursuant to Section 131, Title 23, United States Code, for the purpose of paying the federal government's 75 percent share of the just compensation to be paid to sign owners and owners of real property under the terms of subsection (g) of Section 131, Title 23, United States Code, and Sections 23-1-280 through 23-1-282.

The Director of Transportation is hereby authorized to adopt such rules and regulations as are necessary and appropriate to carry out the provisions of this division.

All fees collected for the issuance of permits provided for under this division shall be paid into the State Treasury to be credited to the Public Road and Bridge Fund.

Whoever erects or maintains a sign in violation of the provisions of this division or in violation of rules and regulations promulgated by the director under the provisions of this division shall be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor and shall upon conviction be punished as provided in Title 13A.

The salaries of the chief counsel, assistant counsel, stenographic and clerical help and other expenses of the legal division shall be charged, so far as practicable, to the division or function of the State Department of Transportation for which the expense was incurred.

This article shall be known as 'Alabama the Beautiful Act.'

The Legislature finds that certain portions of the state highway system provide access to state locales that are notable for their scenic, natural, historic, recreational, cultural, and archaeological value and are therefore worthy of designations as scenic byways in order to provide special consideration of their unique features and special role in the highway system. The Legislature further finds that the public interest would be served by the formation of a coordinated scenic byways program to enhance recreational, cultural, and archaeological resources, encourage economic development through tourism, improve the transportation system, and educate residents and visitors on the history, culture, and natural beauty of this state. In order to implement this program, the Legislature has determined that a two-tiered structure would best serve the governance of the Alabama Scenic Byways program. The Legislature recognizes that the application of this article is meant to add value to the community, and that public involvement, specifically the rights and interests of private property owners, must be considered in implementing provisions of this article and in the designation of byways. Specifically, any such actions taken which affect private property are subject to statutes and regulations otherwise established in accordance with the United States Constitution and the Constitution of Alabama of 1901.

The Alabama Scenic Byways program is hereby established through a two-tiered system consisting of a Designating Committee and an Advisory Council. Appointments to the committee and the council shall be made within 30 days and 45 days, respectively, of August 1, 2000. Organizational meetings of the committee and the council shall be held within 60 days of August 1, 2000. The Advisory Council and the Designating Committee may adopt such organizational and administrative rules and procedures deemed necessary to conduct business.

(a) The Designating Committee shall consist of a state legislator to be appointed by the Governor, a state Senator appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, a member of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House, and the heads, or their official designees, of the following seven departments:

(1) The Alabama State Department of Transportation.

(2) The Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel.

(3) The Alabama Historical Commission.

(4) The Alabama Council on the Arts.

(5) The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.

(6) The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

(7) The Alabama Forestry Commission.

(b) The Designating Committee shall perform the following duties:

(1) Designate as scenic byways from the highways recommended to it by the Advisory Council, as provided in subsection (d) of Section 23-1-294.

(2) Advise the Governor and the Legislature of each designation.

(3) Adopt procedures for the administration of designating and managing scenic byways.

(4) Remove the designation of a highway as a scenic byway where it deems appropriate.

(a) The Advisory Council shall consist of a member of the Alabama House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House, a member of the Alabama Senate appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, one member appointed by each member of the Designating Committee, three persons appointed from the state at-large by the Governor, and one representative appointed by the Governor from each of the following groups or organizations:

(1) Scenic Alabama.

(2) Alabama Environmental Council.

(3) The outdoor advertising industry.

(4) The Alabama Wildlife Federation.

(5) A business, industry, or trade association or professional organization having its principal programs extending generally throughout the state, and having a demonstrated concern for balancing economic growth with protection for the environment and increased recreational opportunities.

(6) Public utilities.

(7) Tourism associations.

(8) Real estate associations.

(9) Regional planning commissions.

(10) A statewide historic preservation organization.

(11) Forestry interests.

(12) Agricultural interests.

In making these appointments, the Governor shall ensure equitable geographic representation.

(b) Additionally, a member shall be appointed from each of the following departments or organizations:

(1) The United States Department of the Interior, designated by the Secretary of the Interior.

(2) The Alabama League of Municipalities, designated by the president of the league.

(3) The Alabama Association of County Commissions, designated by the president of the association.

(4) The Black Heritage Council designated by the chair of the council.

(5) The Alabama Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils designated by the chair of the association.

(c) The Advisory Council shall report to the Governor and the Legislature on the progress of the implementation of this article within one year of August 1, 2000, and by January 1 of each year thereafter.

(d) The duties and responsibilities of the Advisory Council shall include the following:

(1) Providing, in the first report, a scenic byways program implementation plan identifying essential components for the Alabama Scenic Byways system, and recommending any actions by the Legislature which may be necessary to implement a cohesive and coordinated scenic byways program that would serve the goals of preserving and protecting scenic, historic, natural, recreational, cultural, and archaeological resources, enhancing recreation, and promoting economic development through tourism and education in the history, culture, and natural beauty of Alabama. An initial inventory of potential scenic byways created for the Department of Transportation and the Bureau of Tourism and Travel may be used in developing the implementation program and considered in the selection of byways.

(2) Developing a process for nominations for scenic byway and nomination criteria.

(3) Advising and consulting with municipalities regarding the process of recommending municipal roads for inclusion in the scenic byways program.

(4) Encouraging towns and municipalities to designate scenic byways within their jurisdictions and to petition the Designating Committee for the inclusion of these byways into the Alabama Scenic Byways program. Such inclusion may enable the municipality to participate in any federal, state, or other funding that may be available.

(5) Encouraging and assisting in fostering public awareness, understanding, and participation in the objectives and functions of the scenic byways program.

(6) Providing municipalities with tools and ideas for the enhancement and protection of designated scenic byways.

(7) Recommending operation and management standards for highways designated as scenic byways, including strategies for maintaining or improving the qualities for which a highway is designated as a scenic byway, and for protecting and enhancing the landscape and view corridors within the public rights-of-way surrounding such a highway, provided that such standards shall have no impact on the facilities or equipment used in the generation, transmission, or distribution of electric power, telecommunications, commercial mobile radio services, broadband services or existing wireless facilities. However, all new wireless services structures, unless used primarily for educational purposes, shall be reviewed under the terms of this article and shall consider the communication needs of the community and shall not be in conflict with any local, state, and federal laws and regulations.

(8) Recommending standards for scenic byway-related signs, including those which identify highways as scenic byways.

(9) Recommending standards for maintaining highway safety on the scenic byway system.

(10) Recommending measures to safely accommodate the largest variety of scenic byway users, including, but not limited to, persons traveling by automobile, recreational vehicle, motor coach, bicycle, horse, watercraft, or by foot.

(11) Recommending design review procedures for location of highway facilities, landscaping, and travelers facilities on the scenic byway system.

(12) Removing the designation of a highway as a scenic byway if the highway is determined to no longer meet the criteria under which it was designated or has not adequately adhered to its submitted corridor management plan.

(13) Advising on such other matters as may be necessary or desirable to further the purposes of this program.

(14) Evaluating and recommending to the Designating Committee and the Legislature amendments of the statutes and regulations relevant to the furtherance of a cohesive system of scenic byways.

(15) Making recommendations with respect to state regulatory policy consistent with the Alabama Scenic Byways program.

(16) Establishing procedures, standards, guidelines, and plans consistent with federal, state, and local authority and recommend designations accordingly. Until all rules, procedures, guidelines, and standards are established, the federal rules for establishing a corridor management plan shall be utilized.

(17) Recommending for designations and removal of designations as scenic byways in Alabama based on criteria which include, but shall not be limited to, the following:

a. Significant possession of at least one of the following intrinsic qualities: Scenic, historic, natural, recreational, cultural, or archaeological.

b. Demonstration in scenic byway nominations of local, private, and public support.

c. Presence and implementation of a corridor management plan. A corridor management plan is a written document that specifies the actions, procedures, controls, operational practice, and administrative strategies necessary to maintain the scenic, historic, cultural, recreational, archaeological, and natural qualities of the scenic byway.

d. Conducting a public hearing in the area of the proposed designation before a scenic byway is so designated.

(18) Outdoor advertising shall be addressed pursuant to the following criteria:

a. Corridor management plans for individual byways shall include provisions for the regulation of outdoor advertising to conform with applicable federal, state, and local laws, including, but not limited to, 23 U.S.C. Section 131(s).

b. Corridor management plans shall also include provisions for removal of dilapidated and nonfunctional signage within six months.

c. Removal of any antiquated and nonapplicable signs on roads and highways throughout the state within six months.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this article shall impede or prohibit the Alabama Department of Transportation from constructing, repairing, or maintaining any highway, road, or bridge or any other matter which falls within the jurisdiction of the Alabama Department of Transportation.

The Advisory Council shall evaluate initial applications. Local governments in conjunction with the Advisory Council shall perform a field survey of the byway and score its qualities, with special attention paid to the scenic quality of the roadway. The following criteria and procedures shall be used for nominating potential scenic byways:

(1) Any road corridor shall have at least one of the following six intrinsic qualities to be nominated: Scenic, natural, cultural, historic, archaeological, and recreational.

(2) Each nomination shall be made and supported by a sponsor, including, but not limited to, any of the following: An historic preservation group, an environmental group, another nongovernmental organization, a local government, or an individual.

(3) The sponsor or sponsors of a potential scenic byway shall complete an application form and submit it to the Advisory Council.

(4) Special consideration or first priority shall be given the Alabama's 10 Environmental Natural Wonders, Civil War, Native American and Civil Rights sites, and the Robert Trent Jones Trail, due to their particular importance to Alabama's scenic, historic, cultural, and recreational heritage. Special consideration or first priority shall also be given to counties with the highest unemployment rates and the slowest rates of economic growth. These sites shall go through the normal nomination procedure.

(5) Nominations shall be accepted on an ongoing basis, but shall be evaluated and passed on to the Designating Committee on a semi-annual basis, beginning one year from August 1, 2000.

The state, acting through the State Department of Transportation and its duly authorized employees, and the various counties of the state, acting through the county commissions and their duly authorized employees, in the doing of public roads work shall have and exercise the right, power and authority, when deemed necessary or advisable to do so, to close public roads to traffic and, when possible so to do, to make detour roads and to contract for such land as may be necessary for such detour roads; also to acquire, by purchase or by condemnation, land necessary for drainage ditches and borrow pits, lime and stone quarries, clay and clay pits, sand and sand pits and gravel and gravel pits, together with any and all other material of every character that may be necessary or essential or desired in the construction and maintenance of highways and bridges, and to tap and draw materials from the same to such extent as may be desired, and the State Department of Transportation shall also have the right to acquire by purchase or condemnation rights-of-way necessary for ingress and egress to such material pits as above named.

The functions and duties of the legal division of the State Department of Transportation shall, as all other assistant attorneys general, include the following:

(1) To advise the Director of Transportation and other personnel of the State Department of Transportation on the legal aspects of all State Department of Transportation business;

(2) To examine and advise as to the legality of all contracts and agreements entered into by the State Department of Transportation or the Director of Transportation;

(3) To take all legal action necessary or desirable in the acquisition of rights-of-way for state and interstate highways;

(4) To appear in court as attorney for the State of Alabama and the State Department of Transportation in the acquisition of rights-of-way for state and interstate highways; and

(5) To represent the State Department of Transportation and the Director of Transportation in all legal proceedings to which the State Department of Transportation or the Director of Transportation is a party.

(a) It is the intention of the Legislature by the passage of this article to authorize the incorporation of the Director of Finance, the Director of Transportation, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer, and the Governor of Alabama for the purposes of establishing the program Roads and Bridges to Alabama's Future and of anticipating and providing for the federal share of the cost of constructing federal aid projects and thus to accelerate the construction of such federal aid projects in the state by the issuance of the obligations of such corporation, which shall not be bonds or debts of the state but shall be payable solely from federal aid highway funds and the tax proceeds and investment income provided therefor by this article.

(b) This article shall be liberally construed in conformity with the said purpose.

When used in this article, the following words and phrases shall have the following respective meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1) AUTHORITY. The Alabama Federal Aid Highway Finance Authority, a public corporation and instrumentality of the state authorized to be organized under the provisions of this article.

(2) BOARD OF DIRECTORS. The board of directors of the authority.

(3) BONDS. The bonds, including refunding bonds issued to refund outstanding obligations, that in this article are authorized to be sold and issued by the authority.

(4) CORPORATION. The authority.

(5) LEGISLATURE. The Legislature of Alabama.

(6) NOTE. The authority's promise to pay solely from the funds provided by this article which has a specified maturity date not later than three years after its date, which recites on its face that it is issued in anticipation of the sale by the authority of bonds and which is payable to the order of a named payee.

(7) OBLIGATIONS. Any bonds, temporary bonds or notes authorized by this article to be issued by the authority.

(8) STATE. The State of Alabama.

(9) TEMPORARY BOND. Any bond issued under this article which has a specified maturity date not later than three years after its date and which recites on its face that it is issued in anticipation of the sale by the authority of bonds.

(10) COST. As applied to any highway construction project, all costs of construction or acquisition of any part of any such highway construction project, including, but without limitation to, the costs of supervising, inspecting and constructing any such highway construction project and all costs and expenses incidental thereto, the costs of locating, surveying and mapping, resurfacing, restoration and rehabilitation, acquisition of rights-of-way, relocation assistance, elimination of hazards of railway-grade crossings, acquisition of replacement housing sites, acquisition, rehabilitation, relocation and construction of replacement housing and improvements which directly facilitate and control traffic flow, including grade separation of intersections, widening of lanes, channelization of traffic, traffic-control systems and passenger loading and unloading areas, and any other cost of any federal aid projects which is to be repaid or reimbursed to the state by the United States of America pursuant to the written agreement provided for in Section 23-1-313.

(11) FEDERAL AID PROJECT. Any road, street, parkway, right of way, bridge, railroad crossing, terminal, drainage structure, sign, guardrail, structure, interstate, surface, resurface, shoulder, roadside, or any other work eligible for federal aid funding assistance under Title 23, Chapter 1, of the United States Code and applicable regulations.

(12) FEDERAL SHARE. That portion of the cost of any federal aid projects which is to be repaid or reimbursed to the state by the United States of America pursuant to the written agreement provided for in Section 23-1-313.

The Director of Finance, the Director of Transportation, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer and the Executive Secretary to the Governor may become a corporation with the powers and authorities provided in this article by proceeding according to the provisions of this article.

(a) To become a corporation, the Director of Finance, the Director of Transportation, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer and the Executive Secretary to the Governor shall present to the Secretary of State of Alabama an application signed by them which will set forth:

(1) The name, official designation and official residence of each of the applicants;

(2) The date on which each applicant was inducted in the office and the term of office of each of the applicants;

(3) The name of the proposed corporation, which shall be Alabama Federal Aid Highway Finance Authority;

(4) The location of the principal office of the proposed corporation; and

(5) Any other matter relating to the proposed corporation which the applicants may choose to insert and which is not inconsistent with this article or the laws of the State of Alabama.

(b) The application shall be subscribed and sworn to by each of the applicants before an officer authorized by laws of the State of Alabama to take acknowledgments to deeds.

(c) The Secretary of State shall examine the application and, if he finds that it substantially complies with the requirements of this section, he shall receive and file it and record it in an appropriate book of records in his office.

(a) When the application has been made, filed and recorded as provided in Section 23-1-303, the applicants shall constitute a corporation under the name proposed in the application and the Secretary of State shall make and issue to the applicants a certificate of incorporation pursuant to this article under the Great Seal of the State and shall record the same with the application.

(b) There shall be no fees paid to the Secretary of State for any work in connection with the incorporation or dissolution of the corporation so organized.

(a) The applicants named in the application and their respective successors in office shall constitute the members of the corporation.

(b) The Governor shall be the president of the corporation, the Director of Finance shall be the vice-president of the corporation, the Director of Transportation shall be the secretary of the corporation, and the State Treasurer shall be the treasurer of the corporation and shall act as custodian of its funds.

(c) The members of the corporation shall constitute all the members of the board of directors of the corporation, and any three members of said board of directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

(d) Should any of said officials of the state die or should his term of office as Director of Finance, Director of Transportation , Attorney General, State Treasurer, or Governor, as the case may be, expire or should he resign therefrom, his successor in office shall take his place as a member, officer, and director of the corporation.

(e) No member, officer, or director of the corporation shall draw any salary in addition to that now authorized by law for any service he may render or any duty he may perform in connection with the corporation.

(f) All proceedings had and done by the board of directors shall be reduced to writing by the secretary of the corporation and recorded in a substantially bound book. Copies of such proceedings, when certified by the secretary of the corporation under the seal of the corporation, shall be received in all courts as prima facie evidence of the matters and things therein certified.

The corporation shall have the following powers:

(1) To have perpetual succession by its corporate name unless sooner dissolved pursuant to Section 23-1-318.

(2) To commence actions and have actions commenced against it, provided, however, that the corporation shall be considered a public agency performing state governmental functions and shall be immune from suit based on its acts or omissions or those of its agents, servants, or employees to the extent the State of Alabama is so immune, and to prosecute and defend in any court having jurisdiction of the subject matter and of the parties. Venue shall be in the appropriate court of the county in which the principal office of the corporation is located.

(3) To have and to use a corporate seal and to alter the same at pleasure.

(4) To construct, reconstruct and relocate or to cause to be constructed, reconstructed and relocated federal aid projects, including work incidental or related thereto, in the State of Alabama.

(5) To acquire by purchase, gift or condemnation or any other lawful means or any combination of such means and to convey or cause to be conveyed to the State of Alabama any real, personal, or mixed property necessary or convenient in connection with the construction of federal aid projects and approaches thereto in the State of Alabama or the reconstruction or relocation of federal aid projects in said state.

(6) To exercise the right of eminent domain as freely and completely as, and in the same manner that, the State of Alabama is empowered to exercise such right.

(7) To borrow money for its corporate purposes and in evidence of such borrowing to sell and issue its obligations and to refund such obligations.

(8) To pledge the proceeds of the appropriations and pledges provided for in this article as security for payment of the principal of and the interest on its obligations.

(9) To appoint and employ such officers, attorneys and agents as the business of the corporation may require.

(10) To utilize all administrative services which may be provided by the State Department of Transportation .

The authority shall have the power and is hereby authorized and empowered to sell and issue its bonds in order to provide as soon as practicable the federal share of the cost of constructing federal aid projects in anticipation of the receipt by the state of such federal portions as they become available either during, upon or after completion of such construction. The authority shall have the power, in addition to any other powers granted in this article, to borrow money for temporary use for any of the purposes for which it is authorized by this article to issue bonds and, in evidence of such borrowing, to issue from time to time temporary bonds or notes. Any such temporary borrowing may be made in anticipation of the sale and issuance of bonds and in such event the principal proceeds from the sale of such bonds shall, to the extent necessary, be used for payment of the principal of and interest on the temporary bonds or notes issued in anticipation of the sale and issuance of such bonds. Subject to the provisions and limitations contained in this article, the authority may, from time to time, sell and issue refunding bonds for the purpose of refunding any matured or unmatured obligations of the authority issued under this article and then outstanding.

Any obligations authorized by this article shall be in such forms and denominations and of such tenor and maturities, shall bear such rate or rates of interest payable and evidenced in such manner and may contain other provisions not inconsistent with this article as may be provided in the resolution or resolutions of the board of directors in which such obligations are authorized to be issued; provided, that none of the bonds shall have a maturity date later than 20 years after its date and none of the temporary bonds or notes shall have a maturity date later than three years after its date. The authority may at its election retain in the resolution or resolutions under which any obligation is issued an option to redeem all or any thereof at such redemption price or prices and after such notice or notices and on such terms and conditions as may be set forth in the said resolution or resolutions and as may be briefly recited in the face of such obligation with respect to which such option of redemption is retained.

The obligations authorized by this article shall be signed by the president or vice-president of the authority, as the board of directors shall designate, and attested by its secretary or an assistant secretary, as the board of directors shall designate; provided, that a facsimile of the signature of one but not of both of the said officers may be printed or otherwise reproduced on any of the obligations authorized by this article in lieu of their being manually signed. All interest coupons applicable to the bonds or temporary bonds shall be signed by the president or vice-president of the authority, as the board of directors shall designate; provided, that a facsimile of the signature of such officer may be printed or otherwise reproduced on any of the interest coupons in lieu of their being manually signed. The seal of the authority shall be impressed on the bonds and temporary bonds authorized by this article; provided, that a facsimile of the said seal may be printed or otherwise reproduced in lieu of being manually impressed thereon.

The chief counsel and assistant counsel shall devote their full time to the State Department of Transportation and shall not, during their incumbency in office, engage in the private practice of law.

Obligations of the authority may be sold at either public or private sale in such manner and at such price or prices and at such time or times as may be determined by the board of directors to be most advantageous; provided, that none of the obligations may be sold for a price less than 97 percent of par or face value. Approval by the Governor of Alabama of the terms and conditions under which any of the obligations authorized by this article may be issued shall be requisite to their validity, which approval, signed by the Governor, shall be entered on the minutes of the respective meetings of the board of directors at which such obligations proposed to be issued are authorized. Neither a public hearing or consent by the state Department of Finance nor any other department or agency shall be a prerequisite to the issuance of any of the obligations. All obligations issued by the authority shall be exempt from the laws of the state governing usury or prescribing or limiting interest rates, including, but without limitation to, the provisions of Chapter 8 of Title 8 of this Code, as it now exists and as it may at any time be amended.

(a) The obligations authorized by this article shall not be general obligations of the authority, but shall be payable solely out of the funds appropriated and pledged in or permitted to be pledged pursuant to Sections 23-1-314 and 23-1-315.

(b) As security for the payment of the principal of and interest on the obligations issued by it under this article, the authority is hereby authorized and empowered to pledge for payment of the said principal and interest the funds that are appropriated and pledged in or permitted to be pledged pursuant to Sections 23-1-314 and 23-1-315 for payment of said principal and interest.

(c) Any notes or temporary bonds issued under this article shall also be payable from the proceeds of any bonds in the anticipation of which such notes or temporary bonds are issued.

(d) All contracts made and all obligations issued by the authority pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be solely and exclusively the obligation of the authority and shall not be an obligation or debt of the state.

(e) Any obligation issued under this article, except bonds or temporary bonds registered as to principal or as to both principal and interest, and any interest coupons applicable thereto, shall be construed to be negotiable instruments although payable solely from a specified source as provided in this article.

(a) Any obligations authorized by this article and the income therefrom shall be exempt from all taxation in the state.

(b) Any of the obligations authorized by this article may be used by the holder thereof as security for the deposit of any funds belonging to the state or to any instrumentality or agency of the state in any instance where security for such deposits may be required by law.

(c) Unless otherwise directed by the court having jurisdiction thereof or by the document that is the source of power, a trustee, executor, administrator, guardian or one acting in any other fiduciary capacity may, in addition to any other investment powers conferred by law and with the exercise of reasonable business prudence, invest fiduciary funds in any of the obligations authorized by this article.

The authority shall pay out of the proceeds from the sale of the obligations authorized by this article all expenses that the board of directors may deem necessary and advantageous in connection with the sale and issuance thereof. The proceeds from the issue of any obligations authorized by this article, (i) except the proceeds of bonds which were issued to pay principal and interest of temporary bonds or notes and in anticipation of which such temporary bonds or notes shall have been issued, and (ii) except the proceeds of refunding bonds issued to refund any outstanding obligation, remaining after paying the expenses of their sale and issuance, shall be deposited in the State Treasury, shall be credited to the Road and Bridge Fund and shall be subject to be withdrawn by the authority, upon the approval of the State Department of Transportation and the Governor, but only for the purpose of paying the federal share of the cost of federal aid projects on Federal Aid Projects or work incidental or related to any such construction within the state (including the acquisition of property necessary for such construction and related work) to be repaid to the state by the federal government, and such proceeds shall be used for no other purpose. The proceeds from the sale of the obligations shall not be expended for any highway construction project until such time as the United States Secretary of Transportation or his designated representative shall have approved the design and location of the project, shall have formally stated in writing that such project will be eligible for federal aid matching funds when such funds become available and shall have entered into a written agreement providing for the repayment of such funds. Provided, however, in cases where the Federal Highway Administration has delegated the authority to the State Department of Transportation to approve the design, location, and programming of federal funds for certain federal aid projects or classes of projects, then the approval by the State Department of Transportation shall be sufficient. Proceeds of bonds issued to provide funds for payment of the principal of and interest on temporary bonds or notes issued in anticipation of the sale and issuance of such bonds shall be used solely for the purpose of paying the expenses of the sale and issuance of such bonds and the payment of the principal of and interest on such temporary bonds or notes. Proceeds of refunding bonds issued for the purpose of refunding any outstanding obligations of the authority remaining after payment of the expenses of their issuance shall be used solely for payment of the principal of and interest on such outstanding obligations of the authority and for paying any premium that may be necessary to be paid in order to redeem and retire the obligations to be refunded.

(a) For the purpose of providing funds to enable the authority to pay at their respective maturities and due dates the principal of and interest on the obligations that may be issued by it under this article, there hereby is irrevocably pledged and appropriated each year all federal aid funds for federal aid projects to be received by the State Department of Transportation from the United States government to the extent that such funds may be required to pay the principal of and interest on such obligations, and the State Department of Transportation is hereby authorized and directed to set aside the first moneys so received in each such fiscal year and deposit the same in the sinking fund provided for in subsection (b) of this section until there shall have been accumulated therein an amount at least sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the obligations issued by the authority hereunder which mature, are subject to mandatory redemption or otherwise become due during the 12-month period of such federal fiscal year. All federal aid funds for federal aid projects received by the State Department of Transportation from the United States government during each such federal fiscal year shall be held in trust by the state and applied to the extent required to the payment of the principal of and interest on the obligations authorized to be issued under this article.

(b) All moneys hereby appropriated and pledged shall be paid into the State Treasury and shall constitute a sinking fund which shall be held in trust to be used to pay the principal of and interest on the obligations. As security for the payment of the principal of and interest on the obligations issued under this article, the authority is authorized to pledge the proceeds of the appropriation and pledge provided for in this section. All pledges made by the authority shall take precedence among themselves in the order of the adoption of the resolutions making such pledges, except as may be otherwise provided in such resolutions.

Any funds held as the proceeds of obligations issued by the authority under this article and any funds held by the State Treasurer in the sinking fund provided for the payment of such obligations shall be invested in obligations of the United States of America or in certificates of deposit secured by a deposit of obligations of the United States of America to the full amount of such certificates of deposit, and the interest to be earned on such investment of funds may be pledged by the authority to the payment of the principal of and interest on the obligations issued by the authority under this article.

Out of the revenues appropriated and pledged and the sinking fund provided pursuant to Sections 23-1-314 and 23-1-315, the State Treasurer is authorized and directed to pay the principal of and interest on the obligations issued by the authority under this article at the respective maturities or due dates of said principal or interest, and he is further authorized and directed to set up and maintain appropriate records pertaining thereto.

(a) If such action shall be necessary in order to comply with any federal legislation relating to federal aid in construction of roads and highways, the authority may authorize the State Department of Transportation to expend directly any portion of proceeds from obligations issued under this article for constructing, reconstructing and relocating federal aid projects or work incidental or related thereto.

(b) All contracts of the authority for the construction, reconstruction and relocation of federal aid projects, and work incidental or related thereto and the acquisition of property necessary therefor, shall be in writing, shall be subject to the rules and regulations and shall be let under the supervision of the State Department of Transportation and shall be subject to approval by the Governor and by the State Department of Transportation. All work provided for in any such contract shall be supervised by the State Department of Transportation.

(c) All persons engaged in the supervision or performance of any such work of construction, reconstruction or relocation that may be done by the authority without the award of a contract therefor shall be employees of the State Department of Transportation.

(d) The authority shall make and enforce all reasonable rules and regulations not inconsistent with the terms of this article or the laws of the State of Alabama as may, in its opinion, be proper and suitable for the protection of said federal aid projects and approaches and appurtenances thereto and for the safety of the traveling public; provided, however, that the above provisions shall apply only to the extent that they are not in conflict with any federal legislation, regulation or requirement relating to federal aid in federal aid projects construction.

(e) Any property acquired by the authority by purchase, condemnation or otherwise shall be forthwith conveyed to the State of Alabama.

(f) All federal aid projects constructed by the corporation shall constitute part of the public highway system in the state.

At any time when no securities of any kind of the authority, whether issued under this article or under authorization contained in any other act, are outstanding, the authority may be dissolved upon the filing with the Secretary of State of an application for dissolution, which shall be subscribed by each of the members of the authority and which shall be sworn to by each such member before an officer authorized to take acknowledgments to deeds. Upon the filing of said application for dissolution, the authority shall cease and any property owned by it at the time of its dissolution shall pass to the State of Alabama. The Secretary of State shall file and record the application for dissolution in an appropriate book of record in his office and shall make and issue, under the Great Seal of the State, a certificate that the authority is dissolved and shall record the said certificate with the application for dissolution.

The State Department of Transportation shall be provided with suitable offices at the State Capitol or such other places as the needs of the department may require, but no office in any other place than the Capitol shall be established as an office of said department without the consent and approval of the Governor in writing. All offices shall be kept open at such times as the business of the department and the convenience and interest of the public may require. The offices shall be conveniently and properly furnished at the expense of the state and shall be the depository for all records of the State Department of Transportation. The State Director of Transportation shall give his entire time to the duties of his office.

The State Department of Transportation shall keep an official record of all its acts and doings. The Director of Transportation shall, under provisions of the Merit System, appoint such assistants and personnel as may be necessary for the proper carrying on of the work of the State Department of Transportation. The compensation of such assistants and personnel shall be paid out of the state highway funds.

This article shall be known as the Rural Access Program Act (RAP).

Where used in this article, the following words shall have the following meanings:

(1) BRIDGE REPLACEMENT. Bridge replacement includes the replacement of existing bridge structures and, if necessary, the realignment of the adjacent approaches. If the route is to be four-laned, it includes the construction of a new bridge for the two new lanes.

(2) CONSTRUCTION, CONSTRUCT, or CONSTRUCTING. The act of completing a project. The physical building of the roadway, bridges, and appendages thereto.

(3) COUNTY ROADS. All paved or unpaved public roads, including bridges, within a county on the county road system and continuing into or through the corporate limits of any city or town in a county which are not a part of the state highway system.

(4) DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. That state department created by Section 23-1-20.

(5) OBLIGATION LIMIT. That point in obligating or budgeting funds for projects that the Transportation Director may not exceed by approving any additional funding for projects.

(6) PROJECT. An undertaking to construct a particular portion of a highway.

(7) RESURFACING, RESTORATION, and REHABILITATION (RRR). Work undertaken primarily to preserve an existing facility. Restoration and rehabilitation is considered to be work required to return the existing pavement or bridge deck, including shoulders, to a condition of adequate structural support or to a condition adequate for placement of an additional state of construction (bridge deck protective system or resurfacing). Resurfacing consists of the placement of additional surface material over the existing, restored, or rehabilitated roadway or bridge deck to improve service-ability or to provide additional strength. RRR work may include changes to geometric features, such as widening, flattening curves, or improving sight distances.

(8) TRANSPORTATION DIRECTOR. The chief executive officer of the Department of Transportation authorized by Section 23-1-21.

(9) UNOBLIGATED FUNDS. That portion of an appropriation which has not been encumbered by a project budget or a project budget overrun.

(a) There is created within the state a program to be known as the Rural Access Program.

(b) The following revenues sources shall be allocated for use of the Rural Access Program.

(1) Motor fuel taxes distributed to the Department of Transportation and deposited in the Public Road and Bridge Fund under the provisions of Sections 40-17-13 and 40-17-222, in excess of 105 percent of the base year receipts, compounded annually. Fiscal year 1994-95 is the base year. Any motor fuel tax receipts that exceed 105 percent of the base year receipts compounded annually shall be allocated to the Rural Access Program for allocation to the 67 counties of the state.

(2) Other funds including, but not limited to, matching funds provided by counties.

(c) Allocation of the revenue received shall be as follows:

(1) Other funds shall be allocated and appropriated for the purposes for which they were received.

(2) Motor fuel taxes shall be allocated to the accounts of the 67 counties within the Rural Access Program by dividing 45.46 percent of the motor fuel tax receipts equally and the remaining 54.54 percent shall be allocated based on the ratio of the population of each county to the total population of the state according to the next preceding federal decennial census or any special federal census heretofore held in any county subsequent to the effective date of the 1990 Federal Decennial Census. The allocation provided for in this subsection shall be made by the Department of Transportation on or prior to the tenth day of each month with respect to receipts of motor fuel tax allocated to the Rural Access Program by the Department of Transportation during the preceding month.

(d) Funds allocated and appropriated for county roads shall be used to improve existing paved roads, to pave dirt roads, and for bridge replacement, but not for routine maintenance. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the portion of funds all counties may receive pursuant to subsection (c) shall be limited to 30 percent of the total amount of the base year receipts compounded annually pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (b).

(e) Funds allocated to each county in subsection (c) are for the purpose of improving existing paved county roads, paving dirt roads, and county bridge replacement.

(f) Appropriations for the Rural Access Program are capital outlay appropriations and do not revert at the end of the fiscal year, but shall remain in full force and effect until the purpose for which they were appropriated is either abandoned or completed.

(g) The cost of construction of county road projects shall be paid as follows: 20 percent of the cost shall be paid by the county from its own funds and 80 percent of the cost shall be paid from the funds allocated to the county pursuant to this section. The Transportation Director shall not cause a county project to be awarded to contract until the county share, 20 percent, of the project funding has been received by the Department of Transportation and the Rural Access Program share, 80 percent, has been allocated to the Rural Access Program.

(h) The county matching share for any federally funded county projects may be funded from funds allocated to the county in subdivision (2) of subsection (c) as follows: 50 percent from the Rural Access Program and 50 percent from funds available to the county from other sources.

(i) Each county shall not obligate any more than 90 percent of the current revenue from the year allocated and appropriated to that county plus any unobligated funds carried over from the previous years. The 10 percent reserve created by this obligation limit may be used to cover overruns when matched as provided in subsections (g) and (h).

(j) The Transportation Director shall have sole authority to promulgate rules and regulations for the operation of the Rural Access Program.

(k) The Department of Transportation under the direction of the Transportation Director shall specify design criteria for county projects.

(l) Any county, by proper resolution of its governing body, may make application to the Department of Transportation for aid in the construction of county roads. The Department of Transportation shall investigate and approve or disapprove the application. Upon approval of an application, the county engineer of the county so applying shall make a survey and prepare the plans and specifications at county expense as the Department of Transportation may require, and submit the plans and specifications to the Department of Transportation for approval.

(m) Any county to be eligible for aid under this article shall have a county engineer as provided by any general or local act under which a professional licensed engineer is employed and approved by the Department of Transportation.

(n) All construction and work done pursuant to this article and the purchase of materials and employment of labor shall be subject to periodic and final inspection, approval, and acceptance by the Department of Transportation. The county engineer shall have immediate supervision of the construction at the expense of the county.

(o) The county shall, at its own expense and without expense to the Department of Transportation, procure the right-of-way for the roads and the cost of right-of-way shall not be taken or considered as a part of the cost of construction. All deeds or other muniments or other evidence of title for right-of-way shall be filed and recorded in the office of the judge of probate of the county prior to the beginning of any construction of the roads.

(p) County projects shall be let to contract by the Department of Transportation.

(q) Each county may accumulate up to three fiscal years of revenue. At the end of each fiscal year any unobligated funds in excess of the past three fiscal years total revenue for each county shall be lost by that county. The funds shall be redistributed to all counties who have not lost funds for that fiscal year. The Transportation Director may extend the time period a county can accrue unobligated funds if it is being done for the purpose of accumulating funds for a major project.

Any county road constructed with Rural Access Program funds under this article shall be maintained by the county in which the road is located. At the time that an application for Rural Access Program funds in the construction of any county road or county roads is approved, the county shall make provisions for the maintenance of the road or roads thereafter in accordance with standards established by the Department of Transportation and shall enter into an agreement with the Department of Transportation pertaining thereto. In the event any county shall fail to maintain to the satisfaction of the Department of Transportation any county road constructed pursuant to this article, the Department of Transportation may thereafter decline to enter into further contracts pursuant to this article with the county so long as such failure on the part of the county continues.

The State Department of Transportation shall keep on file in its office copies of all plans and specifications prepared by the State Department of Transportation, and the files and records of such department shall, under reasonable regulations, be kept open for inspection of the public at all reasonable hours. Certified copies of records shall be received in evidence in all the courts of this state.

On or before April 1 in each year, the State Department of Transportation shall submit a printed report to the Governor, stating as nearly as possible the number of miles of road built or improved and also the culverts and bridges constructed during the preceding fiscal year, showing the cost and general character of same, and the location of material suitable for road construction, showing where such roads, culverts and bridges have been constructed. The department shall also recommend to the Governor and Legislature such legislation as it deems advisable and furnish any other information concerning road and bridge improvements as may be deemed expedient by the Governor and the Legislature.

It is the purpose of this article to facilitate the development of aeronautics, promote safety in aeronautics, and provide a uniform mechanism for overseeing and regulating aeronautics within the state by repealing existing statutes establishing the Alabama Department of Aeronautics and the Alabama Aeronautics Commission and transferring their functions, authority, and organization to the Alabama State Department of Transportation.

All matters of any nature whatsoever which have heretofore come under the authority, jurisdiction, or purview of, or have been administered, overseen, or executed by the Alabama Department of Aeronautics or the Alabama Aeronautics Commission, as well as all physical properties and funds allocated to or in the possession of the Alabama Department of Aeronautics or the Alabama Aeronautics Commission, are hereby transferred to the Alabama Department of Transportation. All real and personal properties and funds transferred pursuant to this article shall be used solely and exclusively for the purpose of executing the operations, functions, programs, and responsibilities of aeronautics as provided for in this article and for the general promotion of aeronautics in this state.

For the purpose of the laws of this state relating to aeronautics, the following words, terms, and phrases shall have the meanings herein given, unless otherwise specifically defined, or unless another intention clearly appears or the context requires otherwise:

(1) AERONAUTICS or AERONAUTICAL ACTIVITIES. The science and art of flight including, but not limited to, transportation by aircraft; the operation, construction, repair, or maintenance of aircraft, aircraft power plants and accessories, including the use, repair, packing, and maintenance of parachutes; the design, establishment, construction, expansion, operation, improvement, repair, or maintenance of airports, restricted landing areas or other air navigation facilities including the aerial and ground approaches thereto; and instruction in flying or ground subjects pertaining thereto.

(2) AERONAUTICAL INSTRUCTION. The imparting of aeronautical knowledge or information by any aeronautics instructor or in or by any flight school.

(3) AERONAUTICS INSTRUCTOR. Any individual engaged in giving instruction or offering to give instruction in aeronautics, either in flying or ground subjects, or both, pertaining to aeronautics. The term excludes any instructor in a public school, university, or institution of higher learning duly accredited and approved for carrying on collegiate work, who instructs in flying or ground subjects pertaining to aeronautics, only in the performance of the person's duties at a school, university, or institution.

(4) AIRCRAFT. Any contrivance now known, or hereafter invented, used or designed for navigation of or flight through the air.

(5) AIRCRAFT, CIVIL. Any aircraft other than a public aircraft.

(6) AIRCRAFT, COMMERCIAL. Any aircraft engaged in carrying passengers or property for compensation or hire.

(7) AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL. Any person or persons who are in charge of, or perform under the supervision of others, the inspection, overhauling, or repair of aircraft and aircraft component parts who have a valid license, certificate, or permit issued by the United States government to be engaged in aeronautical activity.

(8) AIRCRAFT OPERATOR. Any person, including the one in command, and any pilot, mechanic, or member of the crew, who engages in the navigation of aircraft while underway.

(9) AIRCRAFT, PUBLIC. Any aircraft used exclusively in the service of any government or any political subdivision thereof, including the government of any state, territory, or possession of the United States, or the District of Columbia, or aircraft of any foreign nation friendly to the United States, but not including any government owned aircraft engaged in carrying persons or property for compensation or hire.

(10) AIRCRAFT FUEL. Any or all distillates, benzine, naptha, benzol, fuel oil, or other volatile and inflammable liquids, gases, or any device or substitute therefor produced, compounded, and used as the propellant for an aircraft.

(11) AIRCRAFT, OPERATION OF. The use of aircraft for the purpose of air navigation and includes the navigation or piloting of aircraft. Any person who causes or authorizes the operation of aircraft, whether with or without the right of legal control, in the capacity of owner, lessee, or otherwise, of the aircraft, shall be deemed to be engaged in the operation of aircraft within the meaning of state law.

(12) AIR NAVIGATION. The operation or navigation of aircraft in the airspace over the lands and waters of the State of Alabama.

(13) AIR NAVIGATION FACILITY. Any facility used in, available for use in, or designed for use in, the aid of air navigation, including airports, restricted landing areas, and any structures, mechanisms, lights, beacons, markers, communicating systems, or other instruments or devices, or similar or different thing, used or useful as an aid or constituting an advantage or convenience to the safe taking off, flight, and landing of aircraft, or the safe and efficient operation or maintenance of an airport or restricted landing area, and any combination of any or all of such facilities.

(14) AIRPORT. Any area of land, water, or of mechanical construction, except a restricted landing area, which is used, made available, or designed for the landing and takeoff of aircraft, whether or not the facilities are provided for shelter, servicing, or repair of aircraft or for receiving and discharging passengers or cargo and which meets the minimum requirements as to size, design, surfacing, marking, equipment, and management as provided by the Alabama State Department of Transportation and all appurtenant areas used or suitable for airport buildings or other airport facilities and all appurtenant rights-of-way, whether heretofore or hereafter established.

(15) AIRPORT AUTHORITY. The governing body of an airport or restricted landing area that has been formed pursuant to the laws of this state.

(16) AIRPORT HAZARD. Any structure, object of natural growth, or use of land which obstructs the airspace required for the flight of aircraft in landing or taking off at an airport or is otherwise hazardous to a landing or taking off.

(17) AIRPORT HAZARD AREA. Any area of land or water upon which an airport hazard might be established within the vicinity of an airport, restricted landing area, or air navigation facility, if not prevented as provided in this article.

(18) AIRPORT MANAGER. Any person who is properly appointed and designated by the airport owner to oversee the operations and maintenance of airports and who is made responsible to the airport owner for the supervision and operation of the airport.

(19) AIRPORT PROTECTION PRIVILEGES. Easements through or other interests in airspace over land or water, interests in airport hazard areas outside the boundaries of airports and restricted landing areas and other protection privileges, the acquisition or control of which is necessary to insure safe approaches to the landing areas of airports and restricted landing areas and the safe and efficient operation thereof.

(20) AIRPORT PURPOSES. The term includes airport, restricted landing area, and other air navigation facility purposes.

(21) AIRSPACE, NAVIGABLE. Space in the air over the lands and waters of the State of Alabama that is necessary for aircraft to safely travel through the air above the minimum altitudes of flight that may be prescribed by the State of Alabama or the laws, rules, and regulations of the United States government.

(22) CALENDAR YEAR. The 12-month period from January 1 through December 31.

(23) COMMERCIAL AVIATION. The carriage by aircraft of persons or property for compensation.

(24) COMMISSION. The Alabama Aeronautics Commission.

(25) DEPARTMENT. The Alabama State Department of Transportation.

(26) DIRECTOR. The Director of the Alabama State Department of Transportation.

(27) ENPLANEMENT. Each paying passenger who boards an aircraft for flight at a particular location, excluding through passengers.

(28) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. The government of the United States of America.

(29) FLIGHT SCHOOL. Any person engaged in, giving, or offering to give instruction in aeronautics, either in flying or ground subjects, or both, for or without compensation, hire or reward, and advertising, representing, or holding himself or herself out as giving or offering to give instruction. The term excludes any public school or university of this state or any institution of higher learning duly accredited and approved for conducting collegiate work.

(30) GROUND SUBJECTS, GROUND INSTRUCTION. A school or a course of instruction in aeronautical subjects, given in a classroom or shop in preparation for, or in the advancement of piloting and navigation of aircraft or of the manufacture, maintenance, and repair of aircraft and their component parts.

(31) MUNICIPALITY. Any city, town, or incorporated village in the State of Alabama.

(32) PASSENGER. Any person riding in an aircraft but having no part in its operation.

(33) PERSON. Any individual, association, partnership, firm, company, corporation, or other association of individuals, or body politic, including any trustee, receiver, assignee, or other similar representative thereof.

(34) PILOT. The term includes aviator, aeronaut, balloonist, and every other person having any part in the navigation of aircraft while in flight.

(35) POLITICAL SUBDIVISION. Any municipality of this state and any other political subdivision, public corporation, authority, or district in this state which is or may be authorized by law to acquire, establish, construct, maintain, improve, and operate airports, restricted landing areas and other air navigation facilities.

(36) PUBLIC USE AIRPORT. Any area of land or water designed and set aside for the taking off and landing of aircraft and utilized or to be utilized in the interest of the public for such purposes.

(37) RESTRICTED LANDING AREA. Any area of land or water used for the taking off and landing of aircraft, but not limited to airports, the use and operation of which, in the interests of public health and safety, is restricted by the rules, regulations, and orders of the Alabama State Department of Transportation.

(38) RULES AND REGULATIONS. Any or all rules and regulations promulgated under this article by the Alabama State Department of Transportation or which may hereafter be promulgated by the department.

(39) STATE. The State of Alabama.

(40) STRUCTURE. Any object constructed by humans, including without limitation, buildings, towers, smokestacks, overhead transmission lines or any similar thing.

The current Director of the Alabama Department of Aeronautics shall be transferred to the Alabama State Department of Transportation into a Merit System position classified as Aeronautics Administrator, which position shall be assigned an appropriate pay range by the State Personnel Board as set forth in the Merit System Act and personnel board regulations, but in no event shall compensation be less than at salary range 86. The current Executive Assistant of the Alabama Department of Aeronautics shall be transferred to the Alabama State Department of Transportation into a Merit System position classified as Aeronautics Specialist, which position shall be assigned an appropriate pay range by the State Personnel Board as set forth in the Merit System Act and personnel board regulations, but in no event shall compensation be less than at salary range 75. The State Personnel Department shall take all necessary action to create and establish the positions within the state merit classification system. All other full-time personnel of the Alabama Department of Aeronautics and the Alabama Aeronautics Commission created pursuant to Section 4-2-30, shall be transferred to the Alabama State Department of Transportation in their current classifications. All transferred personnel shall be covered by the state Merit System and entitled to all privileges and responsibilities as other Merit System employees, and their service and removal shall be subject to the state Merit System rules and regulations.

The Alabama Aeronautics Commission previously created pursuant to Section 4-2-30, shall serve in an advisory capacity to the Director of the Alabama State Department of Transportation. The commission shall consist of the Director of Public Safety, the Director of the Alabama Development Office, and 12 members representing each congressional district appointed by the Governor. The Governor shall appoint the remaining five additional members, for a term of four years, a representative from the air carrier airport boards. The 12 members of the commission serving on May 13, 2000, shall continue to serve for the remainder of their terms of office as designated by the Governor at the time of their original appointment. Successor appointees shall serve for terms of four years in the same manner as their predecessors, except that any person appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which his or her predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of such term. Each member shall serve until the appointment of his or her successor. The members of the commission appointed by the Governor shall be citizens and bona fide residents of Alabama qualified by their knowledge of, and experience and interest in, aeronautics. At least two of the members shall be or shall have been experienced private, commercial, civil, or military aircraft pilots having had not less than 200 hours of solo flying. Members of the commission appointed by the Governor shall be paid in the amount of fifty dollars ($50) per day for each day they are engaged in the performance of their duties as commission members, but no member of the commission may receive more than twelve hundred dollars ($1,200) for such services in any one fiscal year. Reimbursement for mileage expenses shall be in accordance with state law and the rules and regulations of the department. The members of the commission serve at the pleasure of the Governor and may be removed by the Governor for inefficiency, neglect of duty, misuse of office or malfeasance in office, or for other good and just cause.

The commission shall serve in an advisory capacity to the Director of the Alabama State Department of Transportation and shall have the responsibility to advise the director in all phases of aeronautics and other matters that seriously affect aeronautical interests within the state.

(a) The commission shall hold a regular annual meeting on the second Tuesday in June at a time and place designated by the director. Additional meetings of the commission may be held as the needs of aeronautics may require at a time and place specified by the director. The director shall give written notice of all regular and special meetings to each commission member by mailing a notice seven days prior to the meeting date to each commission member at his or her known address. At all regular and special meetings of the commission, no action shall be taken by less than a majority of the commission. All regular and special meetings of the commission shall be open to the public and seven days' notice thereof shall be made to all persons who have signified in writing to the director their desire to receive notices by mailing to their last known address a written notice of meetings.

(b) At the regular annual meeting, the commission shall elect from among its members, a chair, vice-chair, and a secretary, each to serve for one year.

(a) The department shall have general supervision over all phases of aeronautics within the state pertaining to the planning and development of the state airport system plan and the inspection, acquisition, establishment, construction, expansion, improvement, maintenance, management and operation of airports, restricted landing areas and other air navigation facilities.

(b) The department shall cooperate with and assist the federal government, the political subdivisions of this state, and others engaged in aeronautics or in the promotion of safe aeronautical practices and shall seek to coordinate the aeronautical activities of these bodies. It shall assist in the development of aeronautics and aeronautical facilities within the state for the purpose of safeguarding the interest of the general public and those engaged in all phases of aeronautics.

(c) The department may perform such acts, issue and amend such orders and make, promulgate, or amend general or special rules, regulations, and procedures and establish minimum standards, consistent with the provisions of this article as it shall deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this article and to perform its duties hereunder, all commensurate with and for the purpose of protecting and insuring the general public interest, health, welfare, and safety.

In addition to all other responsibilities prescribed for the department by this article, the director shall have the following powers and duties with respect to aeronautics activities within this state:

(1) Cooperate with the United States government and any agency or department thereof in the acquisition, construction, improvement, maintenance, and operation of airports and other air navigation facilities in this state.

(2) Comply with the provisions of the laws of the United States and any rules or regulations made thereunder for the expenditure of federal monies upon airports and air navigation facilities.

(3) Enter or authorize the entering of land for the purpose of making surveys, inspections, and examinations relative to the establishment, construction, expansion, improvement, operation, and general safety of airports, restricted landing areas, and other air navigation facilities.

(4) Acquire easements through or other interests in airspace, land, or water in order to provide unobstructed airspace for the landing and taking off of aircraft utilizing airports and restricted landing areas acquired or operated under the provisions of this article and other airport protection privileges as are necessary to insure safe approaches to the landing areas of airports and restricted landing areas and the safe and efficient operation thereof.

(5) Enter into any contracts necessary to the execution of the powers granted under this article. Contracts shall be made pursuant to the laws of this state governing contracts, provided, however, that where the acquisition, construction, improvement, maintenance, and operation of any airport, restricted landing area, or other air navigation facility is financed wholly or partially with federal monies, the contracts shall be made in the manner prescribed by the federal authorities, acting under the laws of the United States and any rules or regulations made thereunder, notwithstanding any other state law to the contrary.

(6) Acquire or dispose of any personal or real property, such as airports, restricted landing areas, or any other air navigation facilities by sale, lease, or otherwise, in accordance with state laws governing the disposition of property of the state and in accordance with any restrictions that may be imposed upon property, airport, restricted landing area, or other navigation facility by the United States government. All proceeds from the disposal of any real property acquired in accordance with this section shall be deposited into the appropriate fund established by this article and used solely and exclusively for the purpose of promoting aeronautics or for funding the construction, improvement, expansion, maintenance, operation, or preservation of airports, restricted landing areas, or other air navigation facilities.

(7) Prepare a report to the Governor to be included in the department's annual report. The report shall contain a summary of the activities of aeronautics within the state during the preceding year, a summary of all revenues and expenditures made by the department pertaining to aeronautics activities in the state, other information as the director may deem necessary, and any additional information which may be requested by the Governor.

(a) The department may adopt all reasonable and necessary rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this article.

(b) The rules and regulations previously promulgated by the Alabama Department of Aeronautics and the Alabama Aeronautics Commission pursuant to authority granted under Section 4-2-37, shall upon May 13, 2000 become a part of the administrative regulations of the Department of Transportation with such amendments as necessary to comply with the provisions of this article.

Whenever responsibility for the construction, maintenance and repair of county roads and bridges is transferred by law from any county commission to the State Department of Transportation, the employees used by the State Department of Transportation in any such county in connection with the construction, maintenance and repair of the county's roads and bridges shall be drawn insofar as possible from residents of the county. In the event of a vacancy in any such position of employment in the classified service of the state, the personnel director, upon request of the Director of Transportation that the personnel director certify to him the names of persons eligible for appointment to the position, shall establish a county register of eligibles who are residents of the county in which the vacancy occurs, and the personnel director shall certify the names of persons appearing on the county register for appointment to the position. If, however, no appointment is made from the county register or if there is no county register, appointment shall be made from the statewide register.

The department pursuant to appropriations made for aeronautics and aeronautical activities, may render financial assistance, and, insofar as is reasonably possible, may offer engineering or other technical services of the department to any municipality or airport authority in connection with the acquisition, construction, expansion, maintenance or operation, or proposed acquisition, construction, expansion, maintenance or operation, of any public airport, restricted landing area, or other air navigation facilities.

(a) The department may accept, receive, and receipt for federal and other monies, for and on behalf of the state, any municipality, county, or airport authority thereof, for the acquisition, construction, expansion, improvement, maintenance, or operation of airports and other air navigation facilities, whether the work is done by the state, or by municipalities, counties, or airport authorities, or jointly, aided by grants of aid from the United States, upon the terms and conditions prescribed by the United States and any rules or regulations made thereunder.

(b) The department shall act as the agent for each municipality, county, and airport authority for the purpose of applying for, receiving, and disbursing federal funds made available pursuant to the provisions of the Airport and Airway Development Act of 1970, 49 U.S.C. § 1701 et seq., as amended, unless a municipality, county, or airport authority owns an airport having a minimum of 10,000 originating enplanements in a calendar year on regularly scheduled airline carriers as certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, in which event the municipality, county, or airport authority may act as principal with respect to any airport owned by it, or it may designate the department as its agent for the purpose aforementioned.

(c) All funds received by the department from the United States government shall be deposited in the State Treasury to be kept and disbursed in a manner consistent with the provisions of this article and with federal requirements.

(d) All monies accepted for disbursement by the department pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the State Treasury, and, unless otherwise prescribed by the authority from which it is received, shall be kept in separate funds, designated according to the purposes for which monies were made available and held by the state in trust for such purposes. All monies are hereby appropriated for the purposes for which the same were made available, to be expended in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and with this article. The department may, whether acting for the state or as the agent of any of its municipalities, counties, or airport authorities, or when requested by the United States government or any agency or department thereof, disburse monies for the designated purposes, but this shall not preclude any other authorized method of disbursement.

The department may audit the financial records of any municipality, county, and airport authority which receives any of the funds appropriated or allocated by the state insofar as may be necessary to determine that the funds are used solely and exclusively for the purpose of improving, maintaining, or preserving the state airport system in the state and for no other purpose. In the event any municipality, county, or airport authority refuses the department or its representative's right to make an audit, or in the event any municipality, county, or airport authority has misused funds, the department may direct the withholding of any further distribution of state funds to a municipality, county, or airport authority until a time as it has reimbursed and restored to the state the amount misused. The State Treasurer, Director of Finance, and the Commissioner of Revenue shall comply with any withholding orders issued by the department under this section.

The department may receive grants, donations, gifts, and loans of funds, monies, equipment, materials, and services from any state, county, or municipal governments or any agencies thereof, or from any other person, and the department shall keep a record of all grants and donations. The department may expend the funds solely and exclusively for the general promotion, advancement, and safety of aeronautics and for the construction, improvement, expansion, or maintenance of public use airports or other air navigation facilities or services in the state, which shall include the joint establishment or provision of aeronautical facilities in cooperation with other state or federal departments or with other political subdivisions of the state, separately or together.

A fund known as the State Airports Development Fund is hereby created. The following shall be deposited in the fund to the credit of the department:

(1) The revenue received from all taxes levied on aircraft fuel and other aeronautical facilities or services or persons engaged in aeronautical activities.

(2) All other funds appropriated or allocated by the state specifically for the engineering, construction, expansion, improvement, maintenance, and operation of airports either alone or jointly with municipalities, counties, or airport authorities of the state or with the federal government, or both.

(3) The proceeds from the sale of all bonds which may be issued for the aforementioned purposes.

(4) Any grants and donations received pursuant to Section 23-1-361.

All monies deposited into the State Airports Development Fund shall be expended for the purposes for which the monies are allocated in accordance with this article. In addition to the State Airports Development Fund, other special funds shall be created into which shall be deposited any and all federal grants-in-aid funds which may be allocated to the state for airport development or other aeronautical purposes, which funds shall be handled and accounted for in the manner prescribed by the United States government and its appropriate agencies.

(a) The distributions, expenditures, withdrawals, and disbursements of any state appropriated funds in the State Treasury to the credit of, or under the supervision and control of, the department as specified by this article shall be only in the amounts and for the purpose as provided in the general appropriation bill, and any and all expenses incurred by the department in the administration of laws, rules, and regulations pertaining to aeronautics shall be budgeted, allotted and expended pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 4 of Title 41.

(b) Subsection (a) shall not be construed to apply to any funds deposited into the Surplus Military Fields Fund pursuant to any sale or lease of property deeded to the state by the United States of America. The use of funds shall be governed by any restrictions or agreements imposed by the government of the United States or its appropriate agencies. The director shall determine the amounts and in which depositaries to invest the funds. All interest or revenues accruing from investments shall be used only for acquiring, constructing, expanding, improving, or maintaining the state airport system but within the restrictions imposed by the United States government. Any income or revenues from the sale or lease of any real property of any military airport surplus land shall be deposited into the Surplus Military Fields Fund.

(c) The sale or lease of any real property of any military airport surplus land shall be accomplished in compliance with any restrictions imposed by, or agreements with, the United States government, and the laws of this state.

It shall be the duty of the director, and every state, county, and municipal officer charged with the enforcement of state and municipal laws to enforce and assist in the enforcement of this article and of all rules and regulations issued pursuant thereto and of all other laws of this state relating to aeronautics. The director may, in the name of the state, enforce the provisions of this article and the rules and regulations issued pursuant thereto by injunction in the courts of the state. The director may use the facilities and services of other agencies of the state to the utmost extent possible, and agencies are authorized and directed to make available the facilities and services.

The director may conduct investigations and hold inquiries relating to this article. All investigations conducted shall be open to the public. The director may administer oaths and affirmations, certify official acts, issue subpoenas, and compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of papers, books, and documents. In case of failure to comply with any subpoena or order issued under the authority granted by this article, the director may invoke the aid of any circuit court of the state. The court may order the witness to comply with the requirements of the subpoena or order or to give evidence relating to the matter in question. Any failure to obey the order of the court may be punished by the court as contempt thereof.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, in order to facilitate the making of investigations by the director in the interest of public safety and promotion of aeronautics, the public interest requires, and it is therefore provided, that the reports of investigations or hearings or any part thereof shall not be admitted in evidence or used for any purpose in any suit, action, or proceeding growing out of any matter referred to in the investigation, hearing, or report thereof, except in case of criminal proceedings instituted on behalf of the department or of the state under this article and other laws of the state relating to aeronautics, nor shall the director or any officer or employee of the department be required to testify to any facts ascertained in, or information gained by reason of, his or her official capacity, or be required to testify as an expert witness in any suit, action, or proceeding involving any aircraft or air navigation facility. Subject to the foregoing provisions, the director may make available to appropriate federal and state agencies information and material developed in the course of hearings and investigations.

The State Department of Transportation may work convicts in the construction or maintenance of public roads and bridges of Alabama, as may now or may hereafter be provided by law, or may work convicts in the construction, repairing or maintaining public roads or bridges by contract or agreement with the Department of Corrections as to the number of convicts required to do such work; provided, that the charge for labor of such convicts shall be in accordance with the terms of the contract which shall be negotiated by and between the Director of the State Department of Transportation and the Department of Corrections, with the approval of the Governor, and no other expense incurred by the use of such convicts shall be chargeable to the State Department of Transportation, except such necessary tools and implements used in the construction, repairing or maintaining of the public roads and bridges upon which the convicts are employed.

The department may participate as a party plaintiff or defendant, or as an intervener on behalf of the state or any municipality or citizen thereof, in any controversy concerning any claimed encroachment by the federal government or any foreign state upon any state or individual rights pertaining to aeronautics.

(a) The Legislature finds that an airport hazard endangers the lives and property of the general public, the users of airports, and the occupants of land in their vicinity, and reduces the size of the area available for the landing, taking off, and maneuvering of aircraft, thus tending to destroy or impair the utility of the airport and the public investment therein. Accordingly, the creation, establishment, or maintenance of an airport hazard is a public nuisance and harms the community served by the affected airport; it is therefore necessary in the interest of the public health and safety and general welfare that the creation or establishment of airport hazards be prevented and both the prevention of the creation or establishment of airport hazards and the elimination, removal, alteration, mitigation, abatement, or marking or lighting of existing airport hazards are public purposes for which political subdivisions may raise and expend public funds and acquire land or property rights therein.

(b) The department shall formulate, adopt, and revise airport approach plans for each public use airport in this state. Each airport approach plan shall determine and indicate the circumstances in which structures and trees are airport hazards, the airport hazard area within which measures for the protection of the airport's aerial approaches should be taken, and what the height limits and other objectives of measures should be taken. In adopting or revising a plan, the department shall consider, among other factors, the character of the flying operations to be conducted at the airport, the nature of the terrain, the height of existing structures and trees above the elevation of the airport, and the possibility of lowering or removing existing structures that create an airport hazard. The department may obtain and consider the views or findings of the agency of the federal government charged with the fostering of civil aeronautics, as to the aerial approaches necessary to the safe flying operations at the airport.

(c) In the interest of protecting the public health and safety and general welfare, the department may declare or set aside airspace reservations over specific land and water areas.

(a) The Legislature finds that airports, restricted landing areas, and other air navigation facilities shall be suitable for the purposes for which they are designated and licensed, and the advantages of uniform regulation make it desirable that airports, restricted landing areas, and other air navigation facilities shall be constructed and maintained in conformity, as nearly as may be, with current federal laws, rules, and regulations governing civil aeronautics in the United States.

(b) The department shall approve sites for airports and restricted landing areas, and shall license airports, restricted landing areas, and air navigation facilities in accordance with this article and the rules and regulations promulgated by the department at the recommendation of the commission. The licenses issued shall be renewed annually by the department. Licenses granted to airports, restricted landing areas, and other air navigation facilities prior May 13, 2000, and pursuant to Section 4-2-72 and Section 4-2-73, shall remain in force, subject to renewal by the department. Licenses shall be granted for airports and restricted landing areas which were being actively operated on July 9, 1945, without the requirement of a certificate of approval, unless the department determines that the operation of an airport or restricted landing area is hazardous to persons operating, using, or traveling in aircraft, or to persons and property on the ground. The department shall not charge a fee for site approval certificates of proposed property acquisitions for airport or restricted landing area purposes or for the issuance of original licenses or renewals thereof for airports or restricted landing areas.

In determining whether to issue a certificate of approval or license for any proposed airport or restricted landing area, the director may consider proposed location, size, and layout, the relationship of the proposed airport or restricted landing area to other airports that may exist in the area and to a comprehensive plan for statewide and nationwide airport development, whether there are safe areas available for expansion purposes, whether the adjoining area is free from obstructions or airport hazards based upon appropriate aircraft performance characteristics, and the nature of the terrain, the estimated cost of preparation of the land and the airport's approach and departure paths, and the nature of the uses to which the proposed airport or restricted landing area will be put subject to the possibilities for other future aeronautical development.

In any case where the director refuses to issue a certificate of approval, license, or renewal of license for an airport, restricted landing area, or other air navigation facility, or refuses to allow any aircraft to be operated, or in any case where the director shall issue any order requiring certain things to be done, or revoking any license or certificate, the director shall set forth the reasons therefor and shall state the requirements to be met before approval will be given, license granted, or order modified or changed. Any order made by the director pursuant to this article shall be delivered either in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the interested persons. Any person aggrieved by an order of the director may request a hearing pursuant to Alabama Administrative Procedure Act, Section 41-22-1, et seq. A hearing shall be requested within 30 days after receipt of the order. If no timely request for a hearing is made, the order of the director shall be final. Any appeal from a final order of the director shall be made to the Circuit Court of Montgomery County and shall be governed by the provisions of the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this article, a person or a municipality, officer, or employee of a municipality may not operate an airport, restricted landing area, or other air navigation facility without a license issued by the department. All proposed airports, restricted landing areas, and other air navigation facilities shall be licensed by the department prior to use and operation. Any municipality, county, airport authority, or person acquiring property for the purpose of constructing or establishing an airport or restricted landing area shall, prior to acquisition, apply to the department for a certificate of approval of the site selected and the general purpose or purposes for which the property is to be acquired, to insure that the property and its use conform to minimum standards of safety and serve the public interest. The operations conducted on a licensed airport may be limited by the department to an extent consistent with the public interest, health, safety and welfare, and any other factors deemed relevant by the director.

(b) Airport licenses issued in accordance with this article shall be prominently displayed in the principal administrative office, hangar, or other building at the airport at all times.

The director may conduct public hearings for the purpose of gathering information and public comment on the consideration of an application for approval of an airport or a restricted landing area, or an original license to use or operate an airport, restricted landing area, or other air navigation facility. Notice of any public hearing shall be published not less than 15 days prior to the date of any public hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in Montgomery County, Alabama, or county seat of the county in which the proposed airport, restricted landing area, or other air navigation facility is proposed to be situated. The notice of public hearing shall provide the date, time, and place of public hearing, a statement of the purpose of the public hearing and notice that any interested party shall be provided an opportunity to make comments, either for or against, the matters to be considered at the public hearing.

(1) PERSONAL USE. Sections 23-1-371, 23-1-372, 23-1-373, 23-1-375, 23-1-376, and 23-1-382 shall not apply to restricted landing areas on private property, designated for the use of the property owner and his or her immediate family.

(2) UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT. Sections 23-1-371, 23-1-372, 23-1-373, 23-1-375, 23-1-376, and 23-1-382 shall not apply to any airport, restricted landing area, or other air navigation facility owned or operated by the United States government within this state.

(a) The department may on behalf of and in the name of the state, within the limitation of appropriations or other funds available, acquire, by purchase, gift, devise, lease, condemnation proceedings or otherwise, property, real or personal, for the purpose of establishing and constructing airports, restricted landing areas, and other air navigation facilities and to acquire, own, control, establish, construct, enlarge, improve, maintain, equip, operate, regulate, and police airports, restricted landing areas, and other air navigation facilities within the state; make investigations, surveys or plans prior to any acquisition; and erect, install, construct, and maintain at airports facilities for the servicing of aircraft and for the comfort and accommodation of air travelers.

(b) The department may not acquire, or take over any airport, restricted landing area, or other air navigation facility owned or controlled by a municipality, county, or airport authority of the state, or person, without the consent of the municipality, county, airport authority, or person. The department shall not condemn lands as described in subsection (a) within the police jurisdiction of cities with a population of 7,500 persons or less, when suitable lands for its purposes may be obtained by purchase, nor shall the right of condemnation be exercised as to any lands within the police jurisdiction of any city or town except after a resolution approving the proposed condemnation has been adopted by the governing body of the city or town. The right of condemnation conferred by this article shall not be exercised as to lands within two statute miles of the corporate limits of any city or town of 6,000 population or less, nor within four statute miles of the corporate limits of any city or town of more than 6,000 population.

(c) The right of entry on any lands condemned under this section shall not exist until the condemned lands have been paid for in full, except where all the parties in interest agree otherwise.

(d) The department may erect, equip, operate, and maintain on any airport the buildings and equipment necessary and proper to establish, maintain, and conduct airport and air navigation facilities connected therewith. The department shall not grant exclusive right for the use of any state-owned airport, restricted landing area, or other air navigation facility. This section shall not prevent the making of leases in accordance with this article.

Where necessary, in order to provide unobstructed airspace for the landing and taking off of aircraft utilizing airports and restricted landing areas acquired or operated under this article, the department may acquire, in the same manner as provided in Section 23-1-378, easements through or interests in airspace over land or water, interests in airport hazard areas outside the boundaries of the airports or restricted landing areas, and other airport protection privileges as necessary to insure safe approaches to the landing areas of airports and restricted landing areas and the safe and efficient operation thereof. The department may acquire, in the same manner, the right or easement, for a term of years or perpetually, to place or maintain suitable marks for the daytime marking and suitable lights for the nighttime marking of airport hazards, including the right of ingress and egress to or from airport hazards for the purpose of maintaining and repairing lights or marks. The authority granted to the department shall not be construed to limit the right, power, or authority of the state or any municipality to zone property adjacent to any airport or restricted landing area pursuant to any law of this state now existing or hereafter enacted.

Any officer or employee of the State Department of Transportation who pays or authorizes to be paid the expense account of any person not employed by the State Department of Transportation shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

For purposes of acquiring any property, the department may exercise the right of eminent domain, in the name of the state, pursuant to Chapter 1A, Title 18. The fact that the property needed has been acquired by the owner under the power of eminent domain shall not prevent the property's acquisition by the department by the exercise of the right of eminent domain herein conferred. For purposes of making surveys and examinations relative to any condemnation proceedings, it shall be lawful to enter upon any land, doing no unnecessary damage. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other statute or the charter of any municipality, the department may take possession of any property to be acquired at any time after the filing of the petition describing the same in condemnation proceedings. It shall not be precluded from abandoning the condemnation of any property in any case where possession thereof has not been taken.

The department may lease for operation for a term not exceeding 30 years, state-owned airports or other air navigation facilities or real property acquired or set apart for airport purposes to any person, municipality, county, airport authority, state government agency or to the federal government or agency thereof. The department may lease or assign for a term not exceeding 30 years to a person, municipality, county, airport authority, state government body, or the federal government, or to any agency of either thereof, for operation or use consistent with this article, space, area, improvements or equipment on an airport; may sell any part of an airport or other air navigation facilities to a municipality or state government, or to the United States government or any agency or instrumentality thereof, for aeronautical purposes or purposes incidental thereto. The department may confer the privileges of concessions of supplying upon the airports goods, commodities, things, services, and facilities; provided, that in each case in so doing, the public is not deprived of its rightful, equal, and uniform use thereof.

(a) The federal license, certificate, rating, or permit required to operate an aircraft shall be kept in the personal possession of an aircraft operator when he or she is operating an aircraft within the state and the license, certificate, rating, or permit shall be presented for inspection upon the demand of any passenger, law enforcement officer of the state or a political subdivision thereof, the director or his or her designee, or any official, manager, or person in charge of an airport in the state upon which the aircraft operator may land.

(b) The federal aircraft license, certificate, or permit required for aircraft by the United States government shall be carried in every aircraft operating in the state at all times and shall be conspicuously posted therein where it may readily be seen by passengers or inspectors and shall be presented for inspection upon the demand of any passenger, law enforcement officer of the state or a political subdivision thereof, the director or his or her designee, any member, authorized official, airport manager or person in charge of any airport in the state upon which the aircraft lands.

(c) Except as hereinafter provided, no civil aircraft may engage in air navigation in the state unless it has first been certified by the United States government as being airworthy for the uses to which it is, or will be, put.

(d) Except as hereinafter provided, a person may not operate or cause or authorize to be operated any civil aircraft within the state unless the aircraft has a license, certificate, or permit issued by the United States government. A person may not engage in aeronautics or operation of an aircraft or act as an aircraft operator in the state unless he or she has an appropriate license, certificate, rating, or permit issued by the United States government authorizing him or her to engage in the particular phase of aeronautics or flight in which he or she is engaged. Violation of this subsection is a Class C misdemeanor.

(e) A flight school or aeronautics instructor may not operate an air or ground school or give instructions in flying or ground subjects in the state unless the school or instructor is the holder of a license, certificate, rating, or permit issued by the United States government authorizing him or her to engage in the particular class of flight or ground instruction in which he or she is engaged. Violation of this subsection is a Class C misdemeanor.

(f) An aircraft maintenance personnel or facility engaged in manufacturing, repairing, or restoring aircraft or aircraft engines, components, and parts may not perform work in the state unless the person or facility is the holder of a license, certificate, or permit issued by the United States government authorizing him or her to engage in the particular aeronautical activity which he or she is engaged. Violation of this subsection is a Class C misdemeanor.

(g) This section does not apply to any of the following:

(1) Public Aircraft. Any aircraft owned by a state or political subdivision thereof, or any aircraft of the United States government and its personnel unless the government-owned aircraft is engaged in carrying persons or property for commercial purposes.

(2) Military and Foreign. Military aircraft and personnel of the United States government or any aircraft or personnel licensed by a foreign country with which the United States has reciprocal relations; provided, however, that the aircraft and aircraft operators are not engaged in any commercial activity within this state.

All crimes, torts, and other wrongs committed by or against an airman or passenger while in flight over the state and the question of whether damage occasioned by or to an aircraft while in flight over the state constitutes a tort, crime, or other wrong by or against the owner of an aircraft shall be determined by the laws of the state. No action or suit in tort shall be brought or maintained against the state, governmental entity, or any municipality thereof or the officers, agents, servants, or employees of the state, governmental entity or any municipality thereof, on account of any act done in or about the planning, construction, maintenance, expansion, operation, superintendence, or management of any airport or other navigation facility.

All contractual and other legal relations entered into by pilots or passengers while in flight over the state shall have the same effect as if entered into on the land or water beneath.

An owner or keeper of any domestic animal or fowl may not allow a domestic animal or fowl to run at-large and enter or be upon any premises constituting an airport, restricted landing area, or other aeronautical facility. Violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor.

(a) A person may not trespass upon the area within the boundaries of any airport or operate any vehicles upon or drive across any licensed airport, restricted landing area, or other aeronautical facility, unless the areas are used for administrative, inspection, and maintenance purposes and are operated by the municipalities, counties, airport authorities, department personnel, or municipal law enforcement officers having jurisdiction.

(b) A person may not willfully damage, deface, or extinguish any beacon, marker, navigational light, directional sign, or landing area lights provided or erected in the state for the guidance of aircraft.

(c) Violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor.

A person may not hunt, pursue, harass, wound, kill, or otherwise harm any wild waterfowl or other birds or animals by any means whatever during the time the person is on any kind of aircraft. Violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor.

A person who operates any aircraft within the airspace over, above, or upon the lands and waters of the state, carelessly and heedlessly in willful or wanton disregard of the rights or safety of others or without due caution and circumspection or in a manner so as to endanger or be likely to endanger any person or property, shall be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor.

A person who willfully and without authority takes possession of or uses an aircraft or unlawfully removes or takes any component parts of an aircraft and any person who shall assist in, or be a party to, the taking, illegal possession of, or use of an aircraft or component parts belonging to another shall be guilty of a Class C felony.

The State Department of Transportation shall have a seal and shall have the power to administer oaths, take affidavits and make certificates.

Except as herein otherwise provided, any person subject to this article who fails to comply with the requirements of, or violates this article, or of any of the rules, regulations, or orders issued pursuant thereto shall be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor. A violation of each rule, regulation, or order shall be considered a separate offense. A person found guilty of a misdemeanor under this article shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500) or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or both, with or without revocation of a certificate or license action by the director.

All contractual rights, obligations of, and unexpended balances of appropriations and other funds or allocations of the Alabama Aeronautics Commission and the Alabama Department of Aeronautics shall be transferred to the Alabama Department of Transportation within 30 days after the passage of Act 2000-220 under the provisions of Act 2000-220 and as specified for those funds in any appropriations bill or as otherwise specified by law.

No state-controlled road shall be dug up or used for laying pipelines, pole lines, sewers, railways or for other similar purposes without the written permit of the State Department of Transportation, and such work shall be done only in accordance with the regulations prescribed by the department, and the cost of replacing the road in as good condition as it was before such work was done shall be paid by the person, firm or corporation to whom or in whose behalf such permit was given. Such person, firm or corporation so desiring such work shall furnish the state with a cash deposit or certified check upon a solvent bank or surety bond in guaranty company qualified to do business in Alabama, in the amount required by the State Department of Transportation, conditioned that the sum is to be forfeited to the state in the event that said road is not placed in as good condition as it was prior to said work being done, within 15 days from the time said work is completed.

(a) It shall be the duty of the State Department of Transportation to designate the roads to be constructed, repaired and maintained and to construct, standardize, repair and maintain roads and bridges of this state; and it shall have authority to make contracts or agreements to construct or pave the roadway only of the street or streets which will serve to connect the state highway constructed or repaired by the State Department of Transportation within any municipality in the State of Alabama.

(b) In such municipalities in which the State Department of Transportation has not designated the street or streets which are a part of the state highways constructed or repaired by the State Department of Transportation, it shall be the duty of the State Department of Transportation to designate such street or streets. The State Department of Transportation may also cooperate or contract with any municipality or county in the paving or improving of any street or streets, highway or highways or walkway or walkways upon which a state educational or eleemosynary institution, or the property thereof, may front or abut; provided, that where said state educational or eleemosynary institution or the property thereof fronts or abuts on both sides of such street or streets, highway or highways or walkway or walkways, the State Department of Transportation is hereby authorized to and shall expend an amount of money sufficient to cover the entire cost thereof; provided further, that where such institution or the property thereof fronts or abuts on only one side of such street or streets, highway or highways or walkway or walkways, the said department shall expend an amount of money sufficient to cover only one half of the cost thereof; provided, that in such case, with the special approval of the Governor, said department shall be authorized to expend a sum of money sufficient for the entire cost and, provided further, the said department may also, with the special approval of the Governor, improve or pave any street or streets, driveway or driveways, including curb and gutter, and walkway or walkways on, by or through the grounds upon which a state educational or eleemosynary institution is located and to pay the entire cost thereof.

(c) The State Department of Transportation shall cause to be made and kept in its office a general highway map of the state which shall show all state roads.

(d) The State Department of Transportation shall collect information and prepare statistics relative to the mileage, character and condition of the roads and bridges in all counties of the state.

(e) The State Department of Transportation shall investigate and determine the methods of road construction best adapted to the various sections of the state and shall establish standards for the maintenance of roads and bridges which have been constructed with state aid.

(f) The State Department of Transportation may, at all reasonable times, be consulted by county and municipal officials relative to any matter relating to the construction of roads and bridges or culverts, and the department may also call on all county and municipal officials for any information or assistance it may require and it shall be their duty to supply the same.

(g) The State Department of Transportation shall determine the character and have the general supervision over the construction and maintenance of all the public roads, bridges and culverts in the state where the funds of the state are used and shall have a general supervision over the expenditure of any funds apportioned to any county of the state for the construction and maintenance of all public roads, bridges and culverts in each county.

(a) The State Department of Transportation is authorized and empowered and may, with the approval of the Governor provide for a self-insurance program covering a certain amount to be paid to the employees of the State Department of Transportation who may be killed or injured in the line and scope of their employment; provided, that the amount paid to any such party on account of death or injury shall not exceed the amount or amounts as provided by the Workers' Compensation Act of this state. The Director of Transportation may, with the approval of the Governor, enter into an agreement with an agency, company or corporation qualified to administer a self-insured Workers' Compensation program to administer the program or, in the alternative, the director may elect to administer the program with State Department of Transportation personnel. The cost of this program shall be paid out of the funds of the State Department of Transportation as provided by law, and to that end and for that purpose, the department may, with the consent and approval of the Governor, disburse any moneys appropriated or set apart for the construction, repair or maintenance of the public roads, bridges and highways of this state.

(b) The provisions of the 1981 amendments to this section shall be retroactive to February 1, 1980.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, any reinsurance policies which are in effect as of May 17, 1981, shall continue in force until September 30, 1981.

(a) The roads and streets, drives and parking areas located on the campus of any state institution of higher learning, the Alabama state hospitals, the Partlow State School and Hospital and the Alabama Agricultural Center in the City of Montgomery shall be deemed a part of the state highway system and may be constructed, maintained and repaired by the State Department of Transportation in the same manner as other highways and roads in the state highway system.

(b) The State Department of Transportation or the director thereof is hereby authorized and empowered to expend any funds in the Public Road and Bridge Fund to effectuate the purpose of this section, provided such expenditure is first approved by the Governor.

The State Department of Transportation shall construct, repair and maintain all roads on land owned by the state which is located within the boundaries of any state agricultural experiment station or of any branch or substation, and such roads shall be considered a part of the state highway system.

(a) All officers and employees of the State Department of Transportation are hereby authorized and empowered to enter upon and go across the lands of any individual or corporation in the State of Alabama for the purpose of making any and all surveys necessary for the construction of any highways, roads and bridges to be constructed by it or under its supervision and to enter upon the property of individuals or corporations for the purpose of securing samples of the land to determine if same can be used as a source of material for the construction, maintenance and improvement of public highways, roads and bridges.

(b) Such officers or employees are not relieved of civil liability for any damages caused by any acts authorized in subsection (a) of this section.

(c) Such officers or employees may erect or place such stobs, stakes, monuments or other markers as may be required in carrying out such survey.

Any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, the Director of Transportation shall have authority to acquire the rights-of-way deemed necessary by the State Department of Transportation for the construction of a state road, either by purchase or by the exercise of the right of eminent domain in condemnation proceedings as provided under the laws of this state, or the county or municipality in which such road deemed necessary by the Director of Transportation is located shall acquire such rights-of-way deemed necessary by the Director of Transportation, when requested to do so by said Director of Transportation. Should the county or municipality fail or refuse to acquire said rights-of-way, the state Director of Transportation shall have authority to acquire such rights-of-way as first above authorized. Rights-of-way acquired under the provision of this section shall be paid for in the manner prescribed by law.

The State Department of Transportation shall have full authority to make such changes or additions to the system of state roads to conform to the requirements of the federal aid law as it may deem proper and construct or maintain the same with state aid under the provisions of this title.

(a) It is hereby declared by the Legislature of Alabama that all city and town streets and roads in the State of Alabama, including viaducts, bridges and culverts, do now, and will in the future, serve a state purpose and are of benefit to the people of the state, that said streets and roads, including viaducts, bridges and culverts, are public highways and bridges and that it is a proper and legitimate function for the state to provide for the cost of maintaining, improving, constructing and reconstructing such streets and roads in cooperation with the city or town involved.

(b) The State Department of Transportation, hereinafter referred to as the department, in cooperation with the city or town involved, is hereby authorized and empowered to make expenditures from its funds for all, or any part of, the costs of maintaining, improving, repairing, constructing and reconstructing all or any portion of the streets and roads, including viaducts, bridges and culverts, in every city and town in the State of Alabama; provided, however, that nothing contained in this section shall require the department to maintain, improve, repair, construct or reconstruct the streets and roads or portions thereof in any city or town in the state; and provided further, that nothing contained in this section shall affect the duties and obligations of the department to maintain and repair the streets and roads or any portion thereof in any city or town which are or may hereafter be designated as connecting link roads under the provisions of Article 4 of this chapter.

Whenever a county commission shall desire that a state road or bridge on a state road in said county be constructed or maintained with state aid, written application shall be made by the county to the State Department of Transportation under such rules and regulations as the department may prescribe. Such application, when made, shall be considered by the department and, if approved by it, the commissioners shall direct an engineer to view said road or bridge and cause to be made surveys, plans, specifications and estimates of the cost of construction or maintenance, and the State Department of Transportation may thereupon appropriate out of the State Highway Fund such part of the estimated cost of such work as it may deem proper, and the State Department of Transportation shall proceed to do such work by contract or with its own force. If it deems best, the department may accept appropriations from the county for said work, which shall be paid into the State Treasury to the credit of the State Highway Fund, before the work begins. Whenever a county fails to make application for the construction or maintenance of a road or bridge or the department deems it best for such work to be done, it may proceed to construct or maintain any part of the state road or bridge upon a state road and pay part or all of the cost of such work out of the State Highway Fund.

The State Department of Transportation shall furnish a competent engineer, when needed, during the progress of road or bridge construction, repair or maintenance in any county under the provisions of this title, who shall supervise said work and see that the plans and specifications are complied with.

(a) Whenever the Director of Transportation shall determine and order that the relocation of any utility facility is necessitated by the construction of any project on the national system of interstate and defense highways, including the extensions thereof within urban areas, the utility owning or operating the utility facility shall relocate the facility in accordance with the order of the Director of Transportation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the cost of the utility facility relocation is eligible and approved for reimbursement by the federal government, the cost of the relocation of the utility facility shall be paid by the state as a part of the cost of the construction of the project out of the funds then or thereafter available for the highway construction after the utility has furnished the Director of Transportation with all papers, records, or other supporting documents required by the director. After the final federal Bureau of Public Roads' audit, the utility shall repay to the state the difference, if any, between the total amount paid by the state to the utility for the relocation and the total amount collected by the state from federal participation on the utility relocation, plus the state's matching share of the federal participation.

(b) Whenever the Director of Transportation shall determine and order that the relocation of any utility facility is necessitated by the construction of any highway, road, or street, other than the highways that are a part of the national system of interstate and defense highways referred to in subsection (a) of this section, the utility owning or operating the facility shall relocate the facility in accordance with the order of the Director of Transportation at its own expense. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the facilities to be relocated are owned by any utility which had a gross income of two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) or less for the calendar year immediately preceding the relocation, or in the case of utilities which may be hereafter organized and created, which have a gross income of two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) or less in their first complete year of operation or in the calendar year immediately preceding the relocation or, in the case of utilities owned or operated by a corporation organized pursuant to Article 8, Chapter 50, Title 11, the cost of the relocation of the utility facility shall be paid by the state as a part of the cost of the construction of the project out of the funds then or thereafter available for the highway construction after the utility has furnished the Director of Transportation with all papers, records, or other supporting documents required by the director. After the final federal Bureau of Public Roads' audit, the utility shall repay to the state the difference, if any, between the total amount paid by the state to the utility for the relocation and the total amount collected by the state from federal participation on the utility relocation, plus the state's matching share of the federal participation.

(c) The Director of Transportation may enter into contracts or agreements and conform any existing contracts or agreements with utilities in order to effectuate the purposes of this section.

(d) The word 'utility' shall include publicly, privately, and cooperatively owned utilities. The words 'cost of relocation' shall include the entire amount paid by the utility properly attributable to the relocation after deducting therefrom any increase in the value of the new facility and any salvage value derived from the old facility. The words 'national system of interstate and defense highways' mean the national system of interstate and defense highways or interstate system described in subsection (d) of Section 103 of Title 23, United States Code.

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to give the State Department of Transportation authority to accumulate depreciation, equipment replacement allowances, and salvage value on road machinery and equipment sufficient to upgrade, replace, or make extraordinary repairs to the road machinery and equipment of the State Department of Transportation, as determined by a road machinery and equipment management program to be developed by the department.

(b) Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following words and phrases will have the following meanings:

(1) STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION DIVISIONS. Those divisions of the Department of Transportation responsible for road construction and maintenance over a specified geographic area of the state.

(2) DEPRECIATION. That process of allocating the original cost per fixed asset over the productive life of the asset using some generally accepted method of depreciation.

(3) EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT SURPLUS RESERVE ACCOUNT. A special revolving account or fund to be established in the Public Road and Bridge Fund of the State Department of Transportation to accumulate depreciation, equipment replacement allowances, and salvage value to be used to upgrade, replace, or make extraordinary repairs to road machinery and equipment.

(4) EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT ALLOWANCE. An amount, when added to the depreciation and salvage value of a unit of road machinery and equipment and accumulated in a special account, that will provide the funds to upgrade, replace, or make extraordinary repairs to that unit of road machinery and equipment.

(5) EXTRAORDINARY REPAIRS. Repairs made to extend an asset's useful life beyond that which was originally estimated.

(6) GENERAL OFFICE. Those general and administrative offices of the State Department of Transportation located in Montgomery, Alabama.

(7) ROAD MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT. Self-propelled equipment or other equipment commonly referred to in the State Department of Transportation as rental equipment, including aircraft.

(8) SALVAGE VALUE. That portion of a unit of road machinery and equipment's cost that is recovered at the end of its productive life.

(c) There is created in the Public Road and Bridge Fund of the State Department of Transportation an Equipment Management Surplus Reserve Account. The director of the department is directed to establish a road machinery and equipment management program which shall determine the type, number, and distribution between the general office and department divisions of the road machinery and equipment necessary to carry out the mission of the State Department of Transportation in an efficient manner. This system shall also determine the productive life of all of the road machinery and equipment and establish depreciation rates, equipment replacement allowance, and salvage value which, when accumulated in the Equipment Management Surplus Reserve Account, will provide the necessary funds to upgrade, replace, or make extraordinary repairs to road machinery and equipment.

(d) The Equipment Management Surplus Reserve Account shall be subdivided into subaccounts as follows: one for the general office and one each for each of the department divisions. Depreciation, equipment replacement allowance, and salvage value shall be credited to the account of the general office or department division to which the unit of road machinery and equipment is assigned and shall not be commingled or transferred between the department division and the general office. The funds in each of these subaccounts of the general office and department divisions shall be available to the appropriate office or division to upgrade, replace, or to make extraordinary repairs to road machinery and equipment.

(e) There is appropriated all of the funds created to the Equipment Management Surplus Reserve Accounts, due to the depreciation, equipment replacement allowance, and salvage value of road machinery and equipment, for upgrading, replacement, or extraordinary repairs to road machinery and equipment. These funds shall not revert at the end of each fiscal year, but shall carry over to each succeeding year. It is the intent of the Legislature that funds appropriated from the Equipment Management Surplus Reserve Account be used only to upgrade, replace, or make extraordinary repairs to road machinery and equipment, and that they not be used to increase the number of units of equipment of the State Department of Transportation. It is the further intent of the Legislature to use these funds to maintain the present level of road maintenance, as opposed to using the funds to place the state in a competitive position with private enterprise. Specific funds shall be appropriated by the Legislature to increase the number of units of road machinery and equipment. It is specifically provided that the aircraft, pickup truck, and three automobiles transferred from the Department of Finance to the State Department of Transportation, pursuant to Executive Order No. 12, dated December 21, 1993, shall be added to and become a part of the Department of Transportation Road Machinery and Equipment Management Program and Equipment Management Surplus Reserve Account.

(f) Any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, at the end of the productive life of a unit of road machinery or equipment covered by the equipment management surplus reserve account established as provided for in this section, the unit of road machinery or equipment shall be sold at the discretion of the director, either at public auction, as provided for by the laws of the State of Alabama, or by a negotiated sale between the State Department of Transportation and any other state department or agency, and the proceeds from any sale, whether at public auction or by such negotiation, shall be paid into the equipment management surplus reserve account and credited to the subaccount to which the unit of road machinery or equipment is credited.

Subject to the provisions of Chapter 4, Title 41, the State Department of Transportation is authorized to rent, construct, or purchase such buildings, stock, machinery, tools, materials and other equipment as it may find necessary for use in carrying out the provisions of this chapter and pay for the same out of the State Highway Fund. It shall also, subject to the provisions of Chapter 4 of Title 41, pay out of said fund the necessary expenses of the department of every description, including traveling expenses of the officials and engineers, superintendents, foremen and clerks, etc., while in the actual performance of their duties authorized or imposed by this chapter and also the cost of all supplies or materials furnished for said department and for the maintenance of all machinery used by the department or its agent.

(a) All motor fuels, oils, greases and lubricants bought by or for the State Department of Transportation for use in each county in which the construction, maintenance and repair of the county roads and bridges have been transferred to the State Department of Transportation shall be purchased from vendors and suppliers residing in the county where such motor fuels, oils, greases and lubricants are to be used. All such purchases shall be made on the basis of competitive bids, and contracts and purchase orders shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder as provided by law.

(b) The Division of Purchases and Stores of the state Finance Department, with the approval of the State Department of Transportation, shall make rules and regulations relating to the manner of advertising for bids, receiving bids and executing contracts for such items as are enumerated in subsection (a) of this section.

(c) Any contract entered into or any purchase order issued prior to August 26, 1965, shall remain in full force and effect until the terms thereof have been complied with.

Motor vehicles used by the State Department of Transportation, its officials or engineers, shall not be subject to any state, county or municipal license.

The State Department of Transportation may enter into contracts with any of the counties of the state or with any of the municipalities of this state, as it may with individuals, firms or private corporations, to do any work in the construction, repair or maintenance of the roads, bridges or highways in this state.

Every contract for road or bridge construction, repair or maintenance under the provisions of this chapter shall be made in the name of the State of Alabama, approved by the State Department of Transportation and the Governor.

No contracts for construction, repair or renewals of highways, bridges or culverts shall be let without the approval of the Governor and until after all necessary right-of-way for such highways and right for material for construction and right-of-way for ingress and egress to said material have been legally procured and all documents covering such procurement have been placed on file with the Director of Transportation.

(a) Prequalifications of contractors. The Director of Transportation shall require all bidders to furnish a statement under oath, on such forms as the State Department of Transportation may prescribe, of detailed information with respect to their financial resources, equipment, past record and experience of both the firm and personnel of the organization, together with such other information as the State Department of Transportation may deem necessary for carrying out the provisions of this chapter. Such forms shall include a financial statement actually prepared by a certified public accountant (C.P.A.) or any independent licensed public accountant approved by the Alabama State Department of Transportation, an inventory of equipment listing its location and book value, a listing of material and equipment houses with whom a line of credit is established as well as those firms from whom principal materials and equipment have been purchased during the past three years, a listing of completed construction projects and bonding companies with whom business has been done for the past three years and a combined statement of the applicant that includes other wholly owned or substantially owned interest, as well as any other pertinent information required by the State Department of Transportation. Should the applicant's financial statement fail to substantiate the limits required, further consideration may be given to the present market value in lieu of book value of listed assets when properly supported with substantiating evidence. A statement of an independent licensed public accountant shall not be required for the issuance of certificates under $50,000.00.

(b) Furnishing forms; certificate of qualification. Any bidder desiring to submit a bid for the performance of any contract or contracts which the State Department of Transportation proposes to let shall apply to the State Department of Transportation for qualifications and shall use for that purpose the form prescribed and furnished by the State Department of Transportation. The State Department of Transportation shall be required to act promptly upon the application for qualification and must act thereon within 30 days after the same is presented to them. Upon the receipt of any application for qualification, the State Department of Transportation shall cause the same to be examined and the statements therein to be verified and shall, thereupon, determine whether the applicant is competent, responsible and possesses the financial resources which satisfy the terms of this chapter. If the applicant is found to possess the qualifications prescribed by this chapter and by the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Department of Transportation, the State Department of Transportation shall issue to him a certificate of qualification, which shall be valid for a period of one year or such shorter period of time as the State Department of Transportation may prescribe, unless thereafter revoked by the State Department of Transportation for cause as provided in subsection (c) of this section. The certificate of qualification shall contain a statement fixing the actual amount of work in terms of estimated cost which the applicant will be permitted to have on contract with the State Department of Transportation and not completed at any one time. Such certificate of qualification shall authorize the holder to bid on all work on which bids are taken by the State Department of Transportation during the period of time therein specified.

(c) Revocation of certificate. A certificate of qualification may be revoked by the State Department of Transportation only after notice to the qualified bidder and an opportunity to be heard. The notice shall be in writing and shall state the grounds of the proposed revocation and may be served by any sheriff of the State of Alabama or by registered or certified mail, as the State Department of Transportation shall direct. Any qualified bidder aggrieved by the decision of the State Department of Transportation upon the matter revoking his certificate may appeal from such decision to the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Alabama, in the manner provided in subsection (f) of this section.

(d) Prerequisites to award of certificate. No bidder shall be given a certificate of qualification unless his financial statement and the investigation made by the State Department of Transportation shall show that he possesses net worth sufficient in the judgment of the State Department of Transportation to render it probable that he can satisfactorily execute his contracts and meet his obligations therein incurred. The maximum amount of work that an applicant will be permitted to have on contract with the State Department of Transportation and not completed at any one time shall be not more than 10 times the net worth as shown by the applicant's latest financial statement. In the discretion of the State Department of Transportation, the certificate may contain a statement limiting such bidder to the submission of bids upon a certain class or classes of work. All applicants for qualifications shall expressly authorize the State Department of Transportation to obtain all the information which they may deem pertinent with respect to the financial worth and assets and liabilities of the applicant from banks or other financial institutions, surety companies, dealers in materials, equipment or supplies or other persons having business transactions with any applicant and shall expressly authorize all such financial institutions or other persons to furnish any such information requested from them by the State Department of Transportation. All information filed with, or furnished to, the State Department of Transportation by applicants or other persons in connection with the administration of this chapter shall be kept in confidence by the State Department of Transportation and shall not be revealed to any person except upon the proper subpoena or order of a court of competent jurisdiction. All applications shall be accompanied by satisfactory evidence that the applicant has complied with the workers' compensation law and is not in default in the payment of any sum due from him under the provisions of such law. Where the applicant is a foreign corporation, the application shall be accompanied by a certificate of the Secretary of State that such corporation is authorized to do business in this state. The State Department of Transportation may require all qualified bidders to file financial statements from time to time, at such intervals as it may prescribe. This chapter shall be administered without reference to the residence of applicants, and its provisions and the rules and regulations of the State Department of Transportation, adopted pursuant thereto, shall apply equally to residents and nonresidents of the State of Alabama. This chapter shall not apply to the purchase of material, equipment or supplies.

(e) Rules and regulations. For the purpose of carrying into effect the terms of this chapter and insuring to the state and public the award of all contracts to competent and responsible bidders, the State Department of Transportation shall be empowered to prepare and promulgate such rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the terms of this chapter, as it may deem proper. Such rules and regulations may cover the requirements of the State Department of Transportation with respect to equipment, past record and experience of applicant, personnel or organization and such other matters as the State Department of Transportation may deem necessary to enable it to pass upon the qualifications of applicants. The State Department of Transportation may, in its discretion, make public from time to time a list of qualified bidders, but such list shall be general in character and shall not indicate the size of contract or character of work with respect to which such bidders have been qualified.

(f) Appeal from final action of awarding authority. All applicants for qualifications shall be promptly notified by the State Department of Transportation of its final action upon their applications. Any applicant aggrieved by the decision of the State Department of Transportation may, within 10 days after receiving notice of such decision, request in writing a reconsideration of his application by the State Department of Transportation and may submit additional evidence bearing upon his qualifications. The State Department of Transportation shall, thereupon, again consider the matter and may either adhere to or modify its previous decisions. The State Department of Transportation shall act upon any request for reconsideration within 15 days after the filing thereof and shall forthwith notify the applicant of the action taken. Upon being notified of the final action of the State Department of Transportation upon such reconsideration, the applicant who is still aggrieved by the decision of the State Department of Transportation may, within 10 days after receiving notification of such decision, take an appeal therefrom to the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Alabama. Such appeal shall be perfected by the filing of a bond with the clerk of said court in such amount as the clerk may fix, conditioned upon the payment by the appellant of the cost of the appeal in case the decision of the State Department of Transportation shall be sustained. An issue shall be made up under the direction of the court between the applicant and the State Department of Transportation. The court shall hear the evidence offered by the appellant and the State Department of Transportation and decide the case without the intervention of a jury. If the court finds that there is no ground for the correction, modification or reversal of the decision of the State Department of Transportation, it shall dismiss the appeal; otherwise, it shall make the order with respect to the qualification which it finds should have been made by the State Department of Transportation, which order shall be binding upon the State Department of Transportation. An appeal from such decision may be prosecuted to the Court of Civil Appeals or Supreme Court of Alabama in the same way and manner that appeals in civil cases are provided for by law and by the Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure. Any applicant who has been refused qualification or who is dissatisfied with the State Department of Transportation's decision as to the actual amount of work that he will be permitted to have under contract at any one time or any limitation as to the class or classes of work on which he is authorized to bid may, at any time, file a new application for qualification. Such new application shall be promptly considered and acted upon by the State Department of Transportation.

(g) Unqualified bidders. The State Department of Transportation shall not be authorized to consider any bid filed with it by any person who has not been qualified under the terms of this chapter. Bids from unqualified bidders discovered by the State Department of Transportation prior to the reading thereof to be from such person shall be returned without being read. If the State Department of Transportation finds, subsequent to the opening of the bids, that facts exist which would disqualify the lowest bidder or that such bidder is not competent and responsible, the State Department of Transportation shall reject such bid despite the fact of prior qualification of such bidder. It shall be unlawful to award any contract to any bidder not qualified to bid thereon at the time fixed for receiving bids.

(h) False representations as to financial position. It shall be unlawful for any applicant for qualification to knowingly make a false statement with respect to his financial worth in any application for qualification, financial statement or other written instrument filed by him with the State Department of Transportation under the terms of this chapter, or the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto. Any person violating the provisions of this subsection shall, upon conviction, be fined not less than $100.00 nor more than $500.00, and shall be disqualified from submitting bids on contracts advertised for letting by the State Department of Transportation for a period of two years following the date of his conviction.

(i) Persons not qualified not to receive proposals. It shall be unlawful for the State Department of Transportation or any servant, agent or employee or any other person to furnish or deliver any proposal relating to a highway, road or bridge job to any person other than a duly qualified bidder or his authorized representative. The name of the proposed bidder shall be inserted in the face of the proposal, and such proposal shall not be transferable. No proposal shall be issued later than 24 hours before the hour set for the opening of bids. Any violation of the provisions of this subsection shall constitute a misdemeanor, and the person adjudged guilty shall be fined not more than $500.00 and imprisoned for not more than six months, one or both, at the discretion of the court.

The State Department of Transportation may enter into agreements and contracts with adjoining states and the federal government relative to the acquisition, construction, maintenance and repair of bridges across any river or stream forming the boundary between this state and an adjoining state upon the following terms and conditions:

(1) Any bridge, the subject of such agreement or contract, shall be open to the public and no toll or other charge shall be levied for the privilege of crossing it.

(2) Any bridge, the subject of such agreement or contract, shall connect a highway in this state designated as a 'state highway' or a 'United States highway' with a highway in the adjoining state designated as a 'state highway' or a 'United States highway.'

(3) The agreement or contract may fix the amount the State of Alabama will pay, but the amount so agreed upon shall not be governed by the distance of the boundary from the bank of the stream, and the amount agreed upon shall be paid solely from funds made available to the State Department of Transportation for the construction of roads and bridges.

(4) Any contract made pursuant to this section shall also conform to all federal laws, rules and regulations governing agreements or contracts between states relative to the acquisition, construction, maintenance and repair of interstate bridges and shall contain such terms and stipulations as are requisite to securing the maximum amount of aid from the federal government, subject only to the limitations contained in this section.

Neither the director nor any other person in the employ of the Department of Transportation shall be, either directly or indirectly, interested in any contract or agreement for the construction or maintenance of any road or bridge in this state or in the sale of any machinery, material or anything whatever entering into the construction, repair or maintenance of the roads and bridges of this state.

(a) The State Department of Transportation shall have the right and power to adopt all reasonable and necessary rules and regulations for the better construction, repair and maintenance of the public roads and bridges in Alabama under the jurisdiction of the department which the department shall deem proper. The department shall have the power to enter into contracts and agreements with the owners or operators of telegraph or telephone lines, community antenna television systems, power transmission lines, gas districts, gas, water, sewer or other pipelines which are constructed, to be constructed or operated along or across the right-of-way of public roads, bridges and highways of this state and to prescribe all reasonable rules and regulations as to the construction, repair or maintenance of the poles, wires and lines of such telegraph, telephone, community antenna television systems or power companies and pipelines of gas districts, gas, water, sewer or other pipeline companies so as to insure the safety of the travelling public in using the roads, bridges and highways in this state.

(b) The State Department of Transportation may prescribe any reasonable rules and regulations so as to prevent unnecessary trespassing upon or injury to any of the public roads, bridges or highways of the state upon which state money may be expended or appropriated or upon any part of the right-of-way of any of the public roads or highways in the state upon which state money may be expended or appropriated.

(c) The State Department of Transportation may prescribe rules and regulations as to the weight or tonnage of vehicles to be used upon any of the public roads, bridges or highways of the state upon which state money may be expended or appropriated, except as may be otherwise provided by law.

(d) The State Department of Transportation, in addition to the right, authority and powers conferred upon it by this title, is authorized to make all such reasonable rules and regulations as the department may deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this title.

Signs, markers and advertising on the rights-of-way of state controlled highways are prohibited except those official signs or markers placed thereon by the State Department of Transportation or under its authority.

The following implementation of the provisions of the State Department of Transportation standard specifications for highways and bridges is hereby adopted as a statutory provision, any and all other laws in conflict notwithstanding:

(1) ALTERATION OF PLANS OR CHARACTER OR WORK. The Director of Transportation shall have the authority to make, at any time during the progress of any construction on any highway project under his jurisdiction, such changes or alterations of construction details, including alterations in grade or alignment of roadway or bridges, or both, as may be necessary or desirable for the successful completion of the project. The aforementioned changes or alterations may or may not increase or decrease the original planned quantities; however, under no circumstances shall changes or alterations involve any work beyond the termini of the original construction project, except as may be necessary to satisfactorily complete the project in the most feasible and economical manner, in the judgment of the Director of Transportation.

(2) EXTRA WORK. The Director of Transportation shall have the authority to determine the need for new or additional work not contemplated or included in the original construction contract. This new or additional work shall not extend beyond the termini of the original construction project, except as may be necessary to satisfactorily complete the project in the most feasible and economical manner, in the judgment of the Director of Transportation.

(3) SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT OR FORCE ACCOUNT ORDER. The Director of Transportation shall have the authority to enter into a supplemental contract with the prime contractor, setting forth the estimated quantities of extra work and specifying the unit prices or lump sum agreed upon by the parties involved; provided, that such supplemental contract shall not be subject to any competitive bid laws of this state. If a satisfactory unit price or lump sum cannot be agreed upon, the Director of Transportation shall have the authority to direct that extra work be performed on a force account basis, as defined by the State Department of Transportation standard specifications for highways and bridges.

There is hereby appropriated to the State Department of Transportation for its use the entire net revenue derived by the state from the sale of motor vehicle, trailer and tractor licenses, and such other appropriations or funds received by the State Department of Transportation shall be expended and accounted for as provided in this article. Said State Highway Fund shall be paid out of the Treasury on the Comptroller's warrant drawn upon presentation to him of the certificate of the department approved by the Governor.

(a) All proceeds arising from the sale of state highway bonds and the revenue appropriated to the State Department of Transportation, when received by the State Treasurer, shall be set aside in a special fund known as the State Highway Fund and be used for no other purpose than in the carrying out of the provisions of this chapter. The revenue derived by the state from the sale of motor vehicle, trailer and tractor licenses and all other appropriations shall be used for the following purposes:

(1) To provide a sinking fund sufficient for the retirement of the said road bonds as they shall mature;

(2) For the expense of the State Department of Transportation and for the maintenance of roads and bridges constructed under the provisions of this chapter; and

(3) For the purchase of supplies and material, livestock and machinery, and any balance for the construction of roads and bridges.

(b) Annually, at such times as it may deem most convenient or suitable, the State Department of Transportation shall, out of said revenues, set apart a sum sufficient for the providing of said sinking fund and for the further expenses of the State Department of Transportation and the maintenance of roads and bridges, and the sum so set apart shall be used for no other purposes whatever. The proceeds of the sale of state road bonds and the moneys appropriated by Congress under the act known as the federal aid law shall be used exclusively for the purpose of constructing highways and bridges and the acquisition of bridges and of material.

The Director of Transportation shall not, on the inauguration date of an incoming Governor, have outstanding obligations, encumbrances or commitments or shall have authorized the obligating, encumbering or committing of, except for debt service, any more than seven twenty-fourths of the total estimated revenue available to the State Department of Transportation for the first fiscal year of an incoming state administration.

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 41-16-120 to 41-16-125, inclusive, the State Department of Transportation shall be responsible for the distribution, transfer, or disposal of all surplus personal property owned by the department.

(b) The State Department of Transportation may promulgate the administrative rules and regulations as deemed necessary to carry out this section and Sections 23-1-65 and 23-1-66, including, but not limited to, rules and regulations relating to all of the following:

(1) Promotion of surplus personal property.

(2) Shipment of surplus personal property.

(3) Storage of surplus personal property.

(4) Length of retention of surplus personal property.

(5) Public auction of surplus personal property.

(6) Other rules and regulations as may be necessary.

(c) The State Department of Transportation may sell surplus personal property at fair market value, as established by the State Department of Transportation, and set out its published rules to incorporated cities, counties, volunteer fire departments, boards of education, civil defense agencies and state departments, boards, bureaus, commissions, or agencies. Payment for purchases by any of the aforementioned entities shall be made within 30 days after the purchase. If payment is not made within 30 days after a purchase, then the purchase shall be declared void and in default, and the property shall be returned immediately by the defaulting purchaser to the State Department of Transportation.

(d) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the governing body of any municipality or county shall be given preference on the disposal of all surplus motor vehicles owned by the State Department of Transportation except those motor vehicles sold to other state agencies.

(e) Municipalities and counties shall notify the State Department of Transportation, in writing, of the type motor vehicle needed. A list shall be maintained by the State Department of Transportation of the needs on a first-come, first-served basis and shall be used to notify the municipalities or counties when needed vehicles become available. Any municipality or county so notified shall have seven work days in which to reply to the notice and accept or refuse the available vehicle.

(a) Surplus personal property shall be made available at such times and places as determined to be appropriate by the State Department of Transportation for inspection and acquisition by the agencies determined to be eligible for the acquisition under criteria developed and published by the State Department of Transportation.

(b) The State Department of Transportation shall periodically publish a list of all surplus personal property held by it at the time of the publication.

(c) The published list shall be made available to all state departments, boards, bureaus, commissions, institutions, corporations, or agencies.

(d) The published list shall also be made available to all eligible counties, cities, boards of education, civil defense agencies, and volunteer fire departments.

(e) The State Department of Transportation shall determine the manner in which the list of surplus personal property shall be published.

(a) This section shall apply only to the property which has been held by the State Department of Transportation for a period of not less than 60 days from the date the property is first published in the list of surplus personal property, as set out in subsection (b) of Section 23-1-65 and not purchased by any agency as set out in subsection (c) of Section 23-1-64.

(b) All contracts made by, or on behalf of, the State Department of Transportation for the sale or disposal of tangible personal property owned by the State Department of Transportation, other than types of property, the disposal of which is otherwise provided for by law, or which, by nature, are incapable of sale by auction or bid, shall be let by free and open competitive public auction or sealed bids.

(c) Every proposal to make a sale covered by this section shall be advertised for at least two weeks in advance of the date fixed for receiving bids. The advertisement shall appear at least once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the sale shall be consumated, and a copy of the proposal shall simultaneously be posted on a readily accessible public bulletin board at the main office of the State Department of Transportation. Advertisements for bids shall state the item or items to be sold, by class and description, where the property is located and the dates, time, and place the property may be inspected. The advertisements shall further state the date, time, and place of auction or opening of sealed bids, and no bid shall be received at any time after the time advertised. The bids shall be publicly taken or opened, in case of sealed bids, by the State Department of Transportation and all bidders shall be entitled to be present in person or by representative. The award of the contract shall be made to the successful bidder within 72 hours after taking of the bids. The bid of the successful bidder so marked, as well as the bids of the unsuccessful bidders, in the case of sealed bids, shall be placed on file open to public inspection and shall become matters of public record. If a successful bidder shall fail to accept award of a contract, then he or she shall be prohibited from bidding at any sale held by the State Department of Transportation for a period of 12 months following the failure to accept.

(d) The State Department of Transportation may sell all items by lot or by individual item, whichever method, in the opinion of the Director of Transportation would bring the highest return for the items so advertised. In the event all bids received are less than the estimated market value of the property, the State Department of Transportation shall reject all bids and readvertise and rebid.

(e) Nothing in this section or Sections 23-1-64 and 23-1-65 shall be construed to prevent the State Department of Transportation from contracting with the highest bidder for any type of property to sell to that bidder all of that type of property at his or her bid price during the same fiscal year if such an arrangement was included in the initial request for bids.

(f) All property advertised under this section shall be available for inspection at a location designated in the advertisement during the normal state office hours for at least 48 hours prior to the sale.

(g) All property sold under this section shall be paid for by the purchaser or his or her representative by cashier's check, bank draft, certified check, United States currency, or notarized bank letter stating that the holder may purchase surplus personal property and also stating a maximum amount, at the time of acceptance of bid and award of contract, and the removal shall be not later than seven days after the awarding of the contract, except that the time limit of seven days shall not be applicable to sales of standing timber.

(h) All proceeds from sales made under this section shall be paid into the State Treasury to the credit of the State Department of Transportation.

(i) No officer or employee of the State of Alabama or any of its departments, boards, bureaus, commissions, institutions, corporations, or agencies shall act as agent for any bidder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the officers or employees shall not be excluded from bidding on or purchasing state property at public sale of sealed bid.

(a) Upon the request of the Director of the Bureau of Tourism and Travel, the Director of the State Department of Transportation may cause to be constructed and erected along state highways appropriate directional markers designating major tourist attractions of Alabama.

(b) The Director of the Bureau of Tourism and Travel shall determine the attractions to be so designated and shall upon the recommendation of the Director of the State Department of Transportation determine the number of markers needed and the location of such markers.

(c) Expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of this section shall be paid from that portion of the proceeds of the privilege license tax levied on lodgings by Chapter 26 of Title 40, earmarked for state travel advertising and travel promotion by the Bureau of Tourism and Travel for tourist advertising and shall be paid upon warrants drawn by the State Comptroller, upon the approval of the Director of the Bureau of Tourism and Travel, not to exceed $10,000.00 per fiscal biennium.

(d) This section shall not be construed as repealing the provisions of Chapter 7 of Title 41 which prohibit the purchase of advertising in newspapers, magazines, programs or other periodicals published in the state with funds appropriated for tourist advertising.

After September 1, 1979, no state funds shall be expended in this state for purposes of erecting and maintaining signs designating roads, bridges or buildings in honor or in memory of any individual; provided, however, that the State Department of Transportation may continue to prepare and erect such signs so long as the actual cost of such preparation and maintenance is paid for by private funds or city or county government funds.

All highways built or maintained by and through federal or state aid shall be designated by numbers and by names, where such highways are known by names, on the directional signs erected along said highways and upon the maps authorized and published by the state. Memorial or other distinctive highways built or maintained by federal or state aid, such as the Bankhead Highway, Craft Highway, Bee Line Highway, Spanish Trail Highway, Brandon Highway, Jefferson Davis Highway, Dixie Highway, Jackson Highway, Lee Highway and such other memorial roads as may hereafter be designated, shall be designated on such markers, signs and maps by names as well as by numbers.

The county commissions of the several counties of this state have general superintendence of the public roads, bridges and ferries within their respective counties so as to render travel over the same as safe and convenient as practicable. To this end, they have legislative and executive powers, except as limited in this chapter. They may establish, promulgate and enforce rules and regulations, make and enter into such contracts as may be necessary or as may be deemed necessary or advisable by such commissions to build, construct, make, improve and maintain a good system of public roads, bridges and ferries in their respective counties, and regulate the use thereof; but no contract for the construction or repair of any public roads, bridge or bridges shall be made where the payment of the contract price for such work shall extend over a period of more than 20 years.

(a) The county commission of each county is invested with authority to purchase or establish toll bridges, free bridges, causeways, and ferries or free ferries within their respective jurisdictions as provided in this article and may levy a special tax to purchase or build the bridges and causeways when, in the opinion of the county commission, the public good requires it.

(b) The county commission of each county may also license any individual, group of individuals, partnership, corporation, association, or any other legal entity to establish or to operate toll roads, toll bridges, ferries, or causeways and authorize the licensee to establish and fix the rates of toll. Toll roads and toll bridges that are licensed by a county and which are on or over the line between any two counties shall be licensed by both counties.

(c) The State Department of Transportation may license any individual, groups of individuals, partnership, corporation, association, or any other legal entity to establish or operate toll roads, toll bridges, ferries, or causeways and authorize the licensee to establish and fix the rates of toll.

(d) After a license is issued pursuant to subsection (b) or (c) by a county commission or the State Department of Transportation, no further license of any type from any governmental body or agency, including, but not limited to, a business license, shall be required to construct, own, or operate the toll road or the toll bridge, ferry or causeway and no further license, tax, or fee may be imposed by any governmental body or agency.

(e) No toll bridge shall be established over the same watercourse within two miles of any other toll bridge.

(f) Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to limit the authority of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to grant easements and licenses with respect to the placement of bridges on state land.

The county commissions of the several counties of the state are given the right of eminent domain for the purpose of establishing and changing public roads, bridges and ferries in their respective counties, except in cases where the State Department of Transportation has jurisdiction over such highways. When an appeal is taken from any assessment in a condemnation proceeding brought by a county, such appeal shall not deprive the county obtaining the judgment of condemnation of a right of entry for any and all purposes named in the condemnation proceeding provided the amount of damages assessed shall have been paid into court in money and a bond shall have been given in not less than double the amount of damages assessed, with good and sufficient sureties, to be approved by the clerk of the court to which the appeal is taken, conditioned to pay such damages as the owner of the property may sustain. Said amount of damages may be paid into court and said bond in double the amount of such damages, with good and sufficient sureties, may be given at the time of taking the appeal or at any time thereafter that the applicant may desire the right of entry pending the appeal; provided, however, that in condemnation proceedings in which any county having a population of 400,000 inhabitants or more, according to the last or any subsequent federal census, is a party and where an appeal is taken, such county shall have the immediate right of entry pending said appeal as if a good and sufficient right of entry bond had been filed.

The county commission of any county in this state may transfer to the road fund of the county any surplus of the general funds of the county in the county treasury or any part of such surplus whenever, in the judgment of such commission, it will promote the interest of the county to make such transfer. Any surplus of the general fund so transferred shall be used only for the working of the public roads or the building of bridges or otherwise improving the roads of such counties.

(a) The several counties of the state are hereby authorized to expend the funds derived from fees, excises or license taxes levied by the state relating to the registration, operation or use of motor vehicles upon the public highways, and also the money derived from any fees, excises or license taxes levied by the state relating to fuels used for propelling such vehicles, for the cost of constructing, reconstructing, maintaining and repairing of public roads and bridges.

(b) It is the intention of the Legislature by the passage of this section to implement the provisions of Amendment 93 to the Constitution of Alabama 1901.

(c) The provisions of this section are retroactive.

The right-of-way is granted to any person or corporation having the right to construct electric transmission, telegraph or telephone lines within this state to construct them along the margin of the right-of-way of public highways, subject to the removal or change by the county commission of the county, except in cases where the State Department of Transportation has jurisdiction over such highway.

The county commission of any county, with the consent or permission of the city council or governing body of any municipality, may establish, construct and maintain any road, street or bridge within the corporate limits of such municipality except in cases where the State Department of Transportation has jurisdiction over such road, street or bridge.

Whenever a bridge, ferry or causeway is necessary on the line between two counties, the same must be built at the joint expense of such counties, in proportion to the amount of taxable property in each. When the cost of building any county line bridges is so great that it cannot be paid by the counties which such stream divides, which fact may be determined by the county commission of either county, such counties, or either of them, may make such contracts and incur such debt as may be necessary, within constitutional limits, to procure for the use of such counties, or either of them, or the inhabitants thereof, the free use of a thoroughfare for vehicles and foot passengers over or across any bridge that may be built by any person, firm or corporation over any stream forming the dividing line between such counties; and to pay any debt that may be thereby incurred, any county may issue its bonds when such issue is authorized by vote as required by law. A county line bridge or ferry, in the meaning of this section, shall be construed to be a bridge or ferry across a stream or slough between two counties whether the actual dividing line between said counties runs on either bank or in the center of said stream or slough. If a toll bridge, ferry or causeway is in operation on any such line, the same may be purchased by either county alone or at the joint expense of the counties connected thereby, in proportion to the taxable property in each.

Adjoining counties may purchase, establish, build, maintain and operate bridges and ferries or public highways across streams, swamps, waters or marshes which form the boundary between two counties upon such terms as may be agreed upon by the county commissions of the adjoining counties.

The county commission of any county in the state that will be benefited by the establishment of such means of communication as are set forth in Section 23-1-88 may also extend aid in the purchase, establishment, construction and maintenance of such means of communication, although no part of such bridges, highways or ferries may be located in such county. The county commission of any county is made the sole judge as to whether the county would be benefited by the bridge, ferry or other improvement as is provided for in this article.

Whenever the funds of the state are being expended for the construction, maintenance or repair of a public highway, the State Department of Transportation shall have the power and authority to compel all railways operating in this state to construct viaducts, tunnels, underpasses or bridges to the full extent of the width of the right-of-way and over the tracks as owned or operated by any railway when, in the judgment of the State Department of Transportation, such viaducts, tunnels, underpasses or bridges are necessary for the safety of the general public and whereby a dangerous grade crossing is eliminated. The State Department of Transportation may appropriate out of the funds credited to the State Department of Transportation for the construction and maintenance of highways an amount not to exceed 50 percent of the cost to construct said viaducts, tunnels, underpasses or bridges to the full extent of the width of the right-of-way and over the tracks as owned or operated by any railway in this state. If after due notice to a railroad that such a viaduct, tunnel, underpass or bridge, in the judgment of the State Department of Transportation, is necessary to be built or constructed across the width of the right-of-way and over the tracks of the railway and such railway fails or refuses to comply with the order of the State Department of Transportation as provided in this section, the State Department of Transportation is empowered and authorized to forthwith build or construct such viaducts, tunnels, underpasses or bridges, and the amounts so expended for such construction as provided in this section, shall constitute a charge against such railway and the State Department of Transportation shall render a bill to such railway stating the amounts expended and for what purpose; and upon the failure or refusal of such railway to make payment of the amount due the state, the State Department of Transportation shall forward all data and information to the Attorney General of this state, who shall immediately institute an action in the name of the State of Alabama, as provided by law, for the recovery of the amount as reported by the State Department of Transportation as due by the railway for the funds to be expended in the construction of viaducts, tunnels, underpasses or bridges across the width of the right-of-way and over the tracks of such railway. Upon the recovery of such funds, the amount shall be paid into the State Treasury and credited to the account of the State Department of Transportation from which such funds were withdrawn; but said railway shall not be required to pay exceeding 50 percent of the cost thereof.

The governing authority of any municipality that would be benefited by the purchase, establishment, construction or maintenance of the bridges, causeways, highways or ferries, or combination of same, mentioned in this article may extend aid to the establishment, construction or maintenance of the same.

The county commission of any county or governing body of any municipality in this state is hereby authorized, upon the adoption by a majority vote of a resolution duly recorded in its minutes, to aid and participate in the development of any access roads or bridges to any project undertaken by any public athletic or recreational board for the promotion of athletics, recreation, race tracks and related facilities in any other contiguous county or in aid of the development in any other contiguous county or any industrial site or access roads and bridges of any project undertaken pursuant to the provisions of Sections 11-54-80 through 11-54-101 or pursuant to Sections 11-54-20 through 11-54-32. In any county, including the county in which said project is located, the county commission may appropriate county funds or authorize the use of equipment and employees of the county to aid in the promotion of any project which comes within the purview of this section, and any municipal governing body may likewise appropriate municipal funds or authorize the use of equipment and employees of the municipality to aid in the promotion of any such project.

No contract where the estimated cost of the work will exceed $250.00 shall be made except after advertisement for 30 days in some newspaper published in the county, describing the character of the work to be done and the time and place of letting, and then only to the lowest reasonable and responsible bidder for such work, who shall enter into bond in double the amount of such bid, conditioned for the proper performance of such contract according to the plans and specifications and within the time prescribed by the order of the county commission of such work, which bond shall be approved by the judge of probate of said county. Where the estimated cost of the work exceeds $2,500.00, advertisement as above must also be made in a daily paper published in this state of at least 5,000 daily circulation once a week for 30 days. The county commission shall have the right to reject any or all bids.

In the event of the destruction of a bridge, or damage thereto, rendering the same impassable, or in any other emergency, the county commission may contract for the repair or rebuilding of such bridge without advertisement if the public good requires it, except in cases where the State Department of Transportation has jurisdiction over such bridges.

Nothing in this article shall be construed to authorize the county commissions of the several counties to establish, promulgate or enforce any rules, regulations or laws which may be in conflict with a local or special law providing for the working, maintenance, change, discontinuance or improvement of the public roads, bridges or ferries of such county now in force or which may hereafter be enacted, except in cases where the State Department of Transportation has jurisdiction over such highways.

No person shall violate any rule, regulation or law which may be adopted or promulgated by the county commission of any county under the authority conferred by this article relating to the use, control, care, operation or maintenance of any such public road, bridge or ferry, except in cases where the State Department of Transportation has jurisdiction over such highways.