§ 19-5-1019 - County Solid Waste Management System Aid Fund. - Arkansas Statutes

19-5-1019. County Solid Waste Management System Aid Fund.

(a) (1) There is established in the State Treasury a fund to be known as the County Solid Waste Management System Aid Fund, to consist of such special or general revenues or other moneys that may be deposited in it as provided by the General Assembly, to be used for the purpose of providing financial assistance to counties in the manner provided in this section, for the establishment, expansion, maintenance, and operation of county solid waste collection and disposal systems.

(2) (A) A "solid waste management system" shall be defined as the entire process of storage, collection, transportation, processing, treatment, and disposal of solid waste.

(B) As used in this section, the term "county solid waste collection and disposal system" or the term "county solid waste management system" shall mean and include either of the following:

(i) A county-owned and operated solid waste management and disposal system funded by moneys appropriated by the quorum court;

(ii) A municipally owned and operated solid waste management and disposal system located within the county or adjoining counties, operated under contract with the county whereby the county is provided access thereto, and the quorum court appropriates funds to defray the county's share of the cost of operating such facility;

(iii) A privately owned solid waste management and disposal system located within the county, or an adjoining county, in which the county has entered into a contract providing access and services of such facilities for the use and benefit of the county under the terms of which the county's share of the operating cost is funded by an appropriation made by the quorum court of the county; or

(iv) A solid waste collection and disposal system operated by two (2) or more counties, or by one (1) or more counties and one (1) or more municipalities, or operated by a private owner, under a compact or agreement whereby each of the participating counties and municipalities has access to the facilities of the system, and appropriates, through its governing body, funds to defray their respective shares of the cost of such facility.

(b) All of the general revenues and special revenues and other funds deposited in the County Solid Waste Management System Aid Fund during each fiscal year shall be allocated by the Treasurer of State to each of the counties in the state, to be distributed to the counties only as provided in this section, on the basis of seventy-five percent (75%) divided equally among the seventy-five (75) counties of the state and twenty-five percent (25%) on the basis of population according to the most recent federal decennial census, with each county to receive an allocation of the funds in the proportion that its population bears to the total population of the state.

(c) (1) Before any county shall be eligible to receive its portion of the moneys in the County Solid Waste Management System Aid Fund during any fiscal year, the county, on or before the first day of the fiscal year, shall furnish the Treasurer of State the following information on forms to be developed by the Treasurer of State:

(A) Proof that the county operates, or is in the process of establishing, a solid waste management system for that county and that such solid waste management system is available to serve the residents of the county and may be available for service to various cities and towns within the counties through interlocal agreements, compacts, or authorities;

(B) That the quorum court of the county has established and approved a budget for the operation of the county solid waste management system for the fiscal year and has appropriated funds for it in an amount sufficient to support not less than fifty percent (50%) of the costs of operating the solid waste management system and that the funds appropriated for this purpose will be used solely for the cost of establishing, operating, and maintaining the solid waste system, and for the hiring of personnel and for the acquisition of equipment and land required to operate the solid waste management system and disposal; and

(C) That the amount of funds allocated to the county for the year under this section will be used exclusively for establishing, operating, and maintaining the solid waste management system, meeting the requirements of this section, including the acquisition of land, and acquisition, maintenance, repair, and operation of equipment used in connection with the operation of the solid waste management system.

(2) If any county shall fail, during any fiscal year, to expend an amount of county funds equal to at least fifty percent (50%) of the cost of operating its solid waste management system, or shall use any of the state funds allocated under the provisions of this section for any purpose other than as intended by it, the county shall be ineligible to receive moneys during the next-following fiscal year from the County Solid Waste Management System Aid Fund. However, the quorum court may make reapplication for state assistance funds during the year thereafter, upon offering the appropriate assurances in writing that it will meet the full requirements of the intent and purposes of this section in the use of such funds.

(d) (1) The moneys saved from legislation enacted by the Seventy-fifth General Assembly which reduced contributions made by the state for state employees who are employed by a state agency funded, in whole or in part, with general revenues shall be set aside and implemented by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State and the Treasurer of State in the amount and in accordance with procedures set forth in this subsection:

(A) Beginning the month after the month in which the reductions in retirement contributions occur, the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State shall determine the amount of such general revenue savings, by fund or fund account, based upon the previous month's payroll deductions for retirement contributions to the Arkansas Public Employees' Retirement System;

(B) During each fiscal year, the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State shall cause to be transferred on the books and those of the Treasurer of State the amount of such monthly general revenue savings from each affected fund or fund account to the Revenue Holding Fund Account of the State Apportionment Fund before the close of business on the last day of each month until an aggregate of five million dollars ($5,000,000) of such general revenue savings during a fiscal year has been transferred to the Revenue Holding Fund Account from such sources. Monthly transfers of such general revenue savings to the Revenue Holding Fund Account shall thereupon cease for the remainder of the fiscal year; and

(C) After providing for the distribution of general revenues available for distribution, the Treasurer of State shall transfer the total amount of such general revenue savings as certified to the Treasurer of State by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State from the Revenue Holding Fund Account to the County Solid Waste Management System Aid Fund. This amount shall be used to make monthly distributions from it in the manner provided by law to the respective counties of this state to be used for the support of the county solid waste management system as provided in this section.

(2) If any county shall fail to qualify for its proportionate share of the moneys in the County Solid Waste Management System Aid Fund during any fiscal year, the moneys shall be reapportioned among various counties which qualify to receive their proportionate shares of the County Solid Waste Management System Aid Fund moneys during the fiscal year, in accordance with the distribution formula set forth in subsection (b) of this section. The Treasurer of State shall monthly distribute moneys to the eligible counties as authorized in this section in the same manner as other county aid funds are distributed, and they shall be credited and used solely for the support and operation of the county solid waste management system.