§1849. Permit fees; minimum; maximum; transport registration fees; personnel qualification fees; Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission Rainy Day Dedicated Fund Account

            A. Except as provided for in Subsection E of this Section, every applicant for a permit shall, at the time of the issuance of the permit by the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission and annually thereafter pay to the commission a permit fee which shall be fixed by the commission in an amount which shall not exceed four-tenths of one percent of the gross annual sales of liquefied petroleum gas of such dealer or permit holder. The minimum permit fee shall be not less than seventy-five dollars. No permit or renewal permit shall be issued by the commission except upon payment of such fee as herein provided. The commission may formulate and enforce necessary rules and regulations for the renewal of permits and the collection of the fees.

            B. No tanker truck with a water capacity of one thousand gallons or more shall be used to transport liquefied petroleum gas, including anhydrous ammonia, in Louisiana until it has been registered with the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission and an annual registration fee of fifty dollars for each vehicle has been paid therefor to the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission. Upon payment of the fee, the commission shall issue a registration decal valid for the year of issuance. This registration decal shall be permanently affixed to the motor vehicle in a prominent location as provided by the regulations which the commission shall adopt. No dealer shall deliver any liquefied petroleum gas from any transport motor vehicle to which a current registration decal is not permanently affixed.

            C.(1)(a) All service and installation personnel, fuel transfer personnel, carburetion mechanics, and tank truck drivers employed by a dealer shall have successfully taken the personnel competency test administered by the commission and shall possess a current personnel competency card, which must be renewed annually. Each applicant to take the personnel competency test shall pay to the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission a personnel qualification fee of twenty dollars, the payment of which shall entitle him to take the test one time and, upon receipt of a satisfactory score, he shall be entitled to a personnel competency card valid for the year in which it is issued. Each applicant to renew his personnel competency card shall pay an annual renewal fee of ten dollars to the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission.

            (b) The provisions of this Paragraph shall not apply to drivers transporting three hundred gallons or less of liquefied petroleum gas, in twenty-five gallon or more, maximum liquefied petroleum gas capacity containers, which containers conform to United States Department of Transportation specifications, if the driver's normal and routine duties are not the transportation of liquefied petroleum gases.

            (2) The commission may adopt rules to provide for reciprocal agreements with other states regarding examination requirements and accept as its own the reciprocal state's examination. The commission shall ensure that the reciprocal state's examination contains substantially equivalent requirements. Each participating state in any such reciprocal agreement shall retain its own fee structure regarding examinations and other applicable fees.

            D.(1) Except for the assessment established in R.S. 40:1851, all fees, penalties, and other revenues received by the commission shall be deposited immediately upon receipt in the state treasury.

            (2) After compliance with the requirements of Article VII, Section 9(B) of the Constitution of Louisiana relative to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund, and prior to the monies being placed in the state general fund, an amount equal to the funds received shall be credited to the special statutorily dedicated fund account hereby created in the state treasury to be known as the "Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission Rainy Day Dedicated Fund Account", hereafter referred to in this Section as the "account". The monies in the account shall be used solely as provided in this Subsection, and only in the amounts appropriated by the legislature. The monies in the account shall be invested by the state treasurer in the same manner as the monies in the state general fund. Subject to the provisions of, and after compliance with, Article VII, Section 9(B) of the Constitution of Louisiana, all interest earned on the monies in the account shall be credited to the account. Monies deposited into the account shall be categorized as fees and self-generated revenue for the sole purpose of reporting related to the executive budget, supporting documents, and general appropriation bills and shall be available for annual appropriation by the legislature.

            (3) At the end of each fiscal year, the unexpended and unencumbered monies which remain in the account, up to a maximum of two hundred fifty thousand dollars, shall remain in the account and shall be used by the commission for the purposes set forth in this Subsection.

            (4) The monies in the account shall be used for the following purposes:

            (a) For all purposes provided for under this Part.

            (b) For covering all reasonable administrative costs, as determined by the deputy secretary of public safety services, of transferring data from the commission to the information system established under the Hazardous Materials Information Development, Preparedness, and Response Act, R.S. 30:2361 et seq. Monies authorized for this purpose shall be transferred through an interagency transfer through the appropriate form and expedited procedures through the budgetary process.

            (5) At the end of each fiscal year, the unexpended and unencumbered monies which remain in the account in excess of the two hundred fifty thousand dollar maximum provided in Paragraph (3) of this Subsection, not to exceed three hundred thousand dollars, shall be deposited in the separate interest-bearing account established under the authority of R.S. 40:1851(D) and shall be used solely for market development purposes as required by R.S. 40:1851.1(B).

            E. In order to offset any projected increase in the total fees collected from truck registrations, competency tests, and competency card renewals from Fiscal Year 1999 to Fiscal Year 2000, the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission shall, prior to January 1, 2000, promulgate rules to reduce the liquefied petroleum gas permit fees authorized in Subsection A of this Section. The reduction in permit fees shall be in an amount equal to or exceeding the increase in truck registration, competency test, and competency card fees provided for in Subsections B and C of this Section. The actual 1998-1999 Fiscal Year sales dollars for permit fee calculations, number of truck registrations, number of competency tests given, and number of competency cards renewed shall be used in calculating the reduction in permit fees. The reduction in permit fees as well as the increase in truck registration fees, competency test fees, and competency card renewal fees set forth in this Section, shall become effective on January 1, 2000.

            Amended by Acts 1997, No. 1446, §1; Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 127, §1, eff. May 5, 1998; Acts 1999, No. 584, §1; Acts 1999, No. 600, §1, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 2003, No. 798, §1; Acts 2007, No. 273, §1, eff. July 6, 2007; Acts 2021, No. 144, eff. July 1, 2021; Acts 2021, No. 114, §10, eff. July 1, 2022.