(a) On and after October 1, 1978, with respect to ad valorem taxes levied by the state, and, unless otherwise provided, with respect to ad valorem taxes levied by a county, municipality, or other taxing authority other than the state, all taxable property shall be divided into the following classes and no other and shall be assessed for ad valorem tax purposes at the following ratios of assessed value to the fair and reasonable market value of such property, or, as may be provided by law, to the current use value of such property:

CLASS I. All property of utilities used in the business of such utilities, 30 percent.

CLASS II. All property not otherwise classified, 20 percent.

CLASS III. All agricultural, forest, and residential property, and historic buildings and sites, 10 percent.

CLASS IV. All private passenger automobiles and motor trucks of the type commonly known as 'pickups' or 'pickup trucks' owned and operated by an individual for personal or private use and not for hire, rent, or compensation, 15 percent.

(b) As used herein, the following terms shall have the following meanings, respectively, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1) AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST PROPERTY. All real property used for raising, harvesting, and selling crops or for the feeding, breeding, management, raising, sale of, or the production of livestock, including beef cattle, sheep, swine, horses, ponies, mules, poultry, fur-bearing animals, honeybees, and fish, or for dairying and the sale of dairy products, or for the growing and sale of timber and forest products, or any other agricultural or horticultural use or animal husbandry and any combination thereof.

(2) HISTORIC BUILDINGS AND SITES. Regardless of the use to which such property is put, all buildings or structures (i) determined eligible by the state historic preservation officer for listing on the National Register of Historic Places; or (ii) located in a registered historic district and certified by the United States Secretary of the Interior as being of historic significance to the district.

(3) PRIVATE PASSENGER AUTOMOBILES AND MOTOR TRUCKS OF THE TYPE COMMONLY KNOWN AS 'PICKUPS' OR 'PICKUP TRUCKS' OWNED AND OPERATED BY AN INDIVIDUAL FOR PERSONAL OR PRIVATE USE AND NOT FOR HIRE, RENT, OR COMPENSATION. All private passenger automobiles, as that term is defined in Sections 40-12-240, subdivision (12), and 40-12-241; and all motor trucks of the type commonly known as 'pickups' or 'pickup trucks,' weighing not exceeding 8,000 pounds gross weight.

(4) PROPERTY NOT OTHERWISE CLASSIFIED. All real and personal property which does not fall within any one or more of Classes I, III, and IV.

(5) PROPERTY OF UTILITIES. All property assessed for taxation by the Department of Revenue pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 21 of this title; provided, that after September 30, 1979, and only to the extent required by Title III, §306 of Pub. L. 94-210 (the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976, codified as 49 U.S.C. §26c), 'transportation property,' as that term is defined in the aforesaid statute, as heretofore or hereafter amended, or in any subsequent statute of similar import, shall not be assessed as Class I property and customer-owned coin-operated telephone companies shall not be assessed as Class I property.

(6) RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY. Only real property, used by the owner thereof exclusively as the owner's single-family dwelling.

(c) Wherever any statute provides for, limits, or measures the power or authority of any county, municipality, or other taxing authority to levy taxes, borrow money, or incur indebtedness in relation to the assessment of property therein for state taxes or for state and county taxes, such provision shall mean as assessed for county or municipal taxes.

(d) The following property shall be exempted from ad valorem taxation: The real and personal property of the state, counties, and municipalities and real and personal property devoted exclusively to religious, education, or charitable purposes. The property of Masonic lodges, Knights of Columbus homes, and union halls shall be exempt when used exclusively for the purposes and business of such organizations. All property now exempt by law shall continue to be exempt from taxation until changed by law.

(e) The Department of Revenue shall have authority to promulgate rules and regulations for the uniform identification and assessment of manufactured homes.

The rate of taxation for state purposes shall be sixty-five one-hundredths of one percent per annum on the assessed value of the taxable property within this state.

There is hereby levied for the purpose and upon the property hereinafter named and not specifically exempted from taxation annual taxes, as follows:

(1) For the maintenance of the public schools of this state, $.30 on each $100 of the assessed value of taxable property.

(2) For the relief of needy Confederate soldiers and sailors, resident citizens of Alabama and their widows, $.10 on each $100 of the assessed value of taxable property of which one percent of the gross amount collected will be expended by the Alabama Historical Commission to provide for capital improvements and maintenance at the Confederate Memorial Park at Mountain Creek, Chilton County, Alabama.

(3) For the use of the state and to raise revenue therefor, $.25 on each $100 of the assessed value of taxable property.

(a) During the ad valorem tax year beginning October 1, 1978, with respect to any ad valorem tax levied by a county, municipality, or other taxing authority other than the state, the governing body of any such county, municipality, or other taxing authority may at any time, effective for ad valorem tax years beginning on and after October 1, 1978, increase or decrease the ratio of assessed value to the fair and reasonable market value or, as may otherwise be provided by law, to the current use value, as the case may be (herein called 'the assessment ratio'), of any class of taxable property within the limits prescribed in the Constitution; provided, that the county, municipality, or other taxing authority meets the criteria contained in this section. If the receipts from any ad valorem tax with respect to which any assessment ratio has been so adjusted by any taxing authority during the ad valorem tax year beginning October 1, 1978, exceed by more than five percent, or are less than 95 percent of, the receipts from such ad valorem tax for the ad valorem tax year beginning October 1, 1977, then for the ad valorem tax years beginning on and after October 1, 1979, the taxing authority may adjust any assessment ratio with respect to such ad valorem tax in the manner provided for adjustments made during the ad valorem tax year beginning October 1, 1978. On and after October 1, 1979, the governing body of any county, municipality, or other taxing authority may at any time increase or decrease the assessment ratio applicable to any class of taxable property; provided, that any proposed adjustment to an assessment ratio to be made pursuant to this sentence, whether an increase or a decrease, shall have been (1) proposed by the governing body of the taxing authority after a public hearing on such proposal, (2) thereafter approved by an act of the Legislature and (3) subsequently approved by a majority vote of the qualified electors residing in the taxing authority who vote on the proposal at a special election called and held in accordance with the law governing special elections; and provided further, that the county, municipality, or other taxing authority meets the criteria contained in this section.

(b) In determining whether any assessment ratio applicable to any class of taxable property may be increased or decreased by any such county, municipality, or other taxing authority pursuant to this section, the following criteria shall be applied:

(1) If, on any October 1, the total assessed value of all property classified in any one class of taxable property located in the county, municipality, or other taxing authority constitutes more than 50 percent of the assessed valuation of all taxable property in the county, municipality, or other taxing authority, the assessment ratio with respect to that class of taxable property may be decreased up to a maximum of five percent differential from the rates set forth in subsection (a) of Section 40-8-1, as amended.

(2) If, on any October 1, the total assessed value of all properties classified in any one class of taxable property located in the county, municipality, or other taxing authority constitutes less than 20 percent of the assessed valuation of all taxable property in the county, municipality, or other taxing authority, the assessment ratio with respect to that class of taxable property may be increased up to a maximum of five percent differential from the rates set forth in subsection (a) of Section 40-8-1, as amended.

(3) If, on any October 1, the total assessed value of all properties classified in any one class of taxable property located in the county, municipality, or other taxing authority constitutes more than 75 percent of the assessed valuation of all taxable property in the county, municipality, or other taxing authority, the assessment ratio with respect to that class of taxable property may be decreased up to a maximum of five percent differential, and each assessment ratio of properties classified in any class of taxable property other than the aforementioned class of taxable property may be increased up to a maximum of five percent differential, from the rates set forth in subsection (a) of Section 40-8-1, as amended.

(c) Any action authorized by this section to be taken by a taxing authority or the governing body thereof shall, if there is no such governing body, be taken by resolution of the governing body of the county in which such taxing authority is located acting on behalf of such taxing authority.

Each taxpayer who was assessed and who paid a higher amount of state, county, or municipal ad valorem tax as a result of the completion of a countywide property reappraisal, and the implementation of the newly appraised property values as the tax base in that county, between October 1, 1975, and November 7, 1978, shall be entitled to a credit against his tax liability arising under the same tax or taxes, in the amount of the increase which resulted from said reappraisal, to be used during such tax year or years as the taxpayer elects until the credit is exhausted.