HB 299

Relating to Montgomery County, to authorize the Montgomery County Commission to levy and collect a rental tax against the lessees or renters of tangible personal property; to make legislative findings; to establish maximum rates of the rental tax; to provide that the rental tax is a direct tax on the lessee or renter though required to be collected by the lessor or vendor; to provide that the rental tax is not a gross receipts tax in the nature of a sales tax; to provide for exemptions from the tax; to provide for the collection, administration, and enforcement of the rental tax; to provide that the rental tax constitutes a debt due Montgomery County and may be collected in a civil suit, in addition to all other methods provided by law and in this act; to provide that the rental tax, together with any interest and penalties with respect thereto, shall constitute and be secured by a lien on the property of any person from whom the tax is due or who is required to collect the tax; to provide that state law that applies to the enforcement of liens for privilege, license, or excise taxes due to the state shall apply to the collection of the rental tax; to provide for the administration and collection of the rental tax at the same time and in the manner as the state rental tax is collected; to provide for the collection and enforcement of the rental tax by Montgomery County or a third party; to provide that the state rental tax statutes and related rules, and any other statutes that apply to or affect the administration and collection of the state rental tax, shall apply to the rental tax to the extent they are not inconsistent with the act; to require the rental tax to be added to the rental price and collected from the lessee or renter; to provide for the effective date for any levy of the rental tax; to provide that the rental tax received or collected shall be deposited into the county general fund to be expended as determined by the county commission; to provide that the Montgomery County Commission may issue bonds, warrants, or other forms of indebtedness and enter into funding agreements or other obligations with other governmental entities and public corporations and may secure its obligations thereunder with a pledge of the rental tax proceeds; to provide that any pledge of the rental tax proceeds for the payment of bonds, warrants, funding agreements, or other evidences of indebtedness or obligations issued or entered into by the Montgomery County Commission constitutes part of the contract with the holders of the obligations secured thereby and the contract shall be protected from impairment to the fullest extent provided in the federal Constitution and the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended; to provide that any debt obligations of Montgomery County payable from or secured by the rental tax proceeds shall be issued under the general laws of the state available for such purposes; to provide that the Montgomery County Commission shall have the further power to designate as the agent of Montgomery County any other governmental entity or public corporation in the state heretofore or hereafter organized to undertake any purpose as the Montgomery County Commission shall determine utilizing proceeds of the rental tax; to provide that when such a governmental entity or public corporation shall be so designated, the proceeds of the rental tax (or so much thereof as shall be allocated to the entity so designated) thereafter collected shall be paid over to it and shall be used by it for the purposes specified by the Montgomery County Commission for which the tax is herein authorized to be levied; to provide that said governmental entity or public corporation may anticipate the proceeds from the rental tax so required to be paid to it by issuing, for any of the purposes specified by the Montgomery County Commission for which the tax is herein authorized to be levied, funding or refunding bonds, warrants, certificates of indebtedness or other evidences of indebtedness of such governmental entity or public corporation, and may pledge for the payment of the principal thereof and interest thereon the proceeds from said tax so paid to it; to provide that the designation by the Montgomery County Commission of a governmental entity or public corporation to receive proceeds of the rental tax levied pursuant to this act, the payment of such proceeds over to the governmental entity or public corporation and the pledge of such proceeds by the governmental entity or public corporation for the payment of the principal of and interest on bonds, warrants, certificates of indebtedness or other evidences of indebtedness issued by such governmental entity or public corporation shall constitute a part of the contract with the holders of said bonds, warrants, certificates of indebtedness or other evidences of indebtedness and such contract shall be protected from impairment to the fullest extent provided by the federal Constitution and the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended; to provide that obligations of such a governmental entity or public corporation payable from or secured by the proceeds of the rental tax shall be issued under the general laws of the state available for those purposes; to provide that, to the extent any provision of Act 89 adopted during the 1975 Fourth Special Session of the Alabama Legislature is inconsistent with any provision of this act, such conflicting provision is superseded and repealed, but only to the extent of the conflict, and that Act 89 of the 1975 Fourth Special Session shall otherwise remain in full force and effect; to provide that Act Number 2017-465 of the 2017 Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature is hereby repealed; to provide that public officials and their family members shall not obtain personal gain from rental tax proceeds; to provide that the provisions of this act are severable; to provide for an effective date of the act.

Section 1

This act shall only apply to Montgomery County.

Section 2

(a) It is the intention of the Legislature by the passage of this act to authorize the county to levy and provide for the collection of, in addition to all other taxes authorized by law, a rental tax not to exceed the rate set forth herein. (b) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the rental tax authorized by this act (1) is not a gross receipts tax in the nature of a sales tax, as such term is defined in Section 40-2A-3(8) of the Code of Alabama 1975, as amended, and used in Section 11-51-209 of the Code of Alabama 1975, as amended, and (2) is not a tax on gross proceeds described in Act 89 of the 1975 Fourth Special Session, but is instead a direct tax on the lessee or renter collected by the lessor or vendor for ease of administration. (c) This act shall be liberally construed in conformity with the intentions and findings expressed in this section.

Section 3

(a) As used in this act, the following words, terms, and phrases where used shall have the following respective meanings except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning: (1) BUSINESS. All activities engaged in, or caused to be engaged in, by any person with the object of gain, profit, benefit, or advantage, either direct or indirect to such person. (2) COUNTY. Montgomery County, Alabama. (3) COUNTY COMMISSION. The Montgomery County Commission. (4) GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT. The empty weight of the truck or truck tractor, plus the heaviest load to be carried and, in the case of combinations, the empty weight of the heaviest trailer with which the power unit shall be placed in combination, plus the heaviest load to be carried. (5) LEASING or RENTING. A transaction whereunder the person who owns or controls the possession of tangible personal property permits another person to have the possession or use thereof for a consideration and for the duration of a definite or indefinite period of time without transfer of the title to such property. The detention by the user thereof of freight cars, oxygen and acetylene tanks, and similar property, in respect of which detention a demurrage or per diem charge is made against the user of such property, shall not be deemed to constitute a transaction whereunder property is leased or rented to another within the meaning of this act. (6) LESSEE or RENTER. Any person leasing or renting tangible personal property from a lessor or vendor. (7) LESSOR or VENDOR. Any person engaging or continuing in the business of leasing or renting tangible personal property. (8) PERSON. Any natural person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, receiver, trust, estate, or other entity, or any other group or combination of any thereof acting as a unit. (9) RENTAL PASSENGER VEHICLE. An automotive vehicle designed to carry 15 or fewer passengers and used primarily for the transportation of persons on public roads and highways that is rented or leased without a driver, regardless of where such vehicle is licensed. (10) RENTAL REVENUE. The value proceeding or accruing from the lessee or renter in each transaction involving the leasing or renting tangible personal property, not including any license, privilege, or excise tax passed on to a lessee or renter by a lessor or vendor, without any deduction on account of the cost of the property so leased or rented, the cost of materials used, labor or service cost, interest paid, or any other expenses whatsoever, and without any deduction on account of loss, and shall also include on the part of any person claiming an exemption under subdivision (4) of Section 5 an amount equal to the amount of rental paid on any tangible personal property acquired under such exception and thereafter diverted to the use of such person. (11) RENTAL TAX. The privilege, license, or excise tax authorized by this act. (12) RENTAL TRUCK. An automotive vehicle designed primarily for the transportation on public roads and highways of property in or upon its own structure and having a gross vehicle weight under 26,000 pounds, including, without limitation, an automotive vehicle commonly known as a "pickup" or "pickup truck," that is rented or leased without a driver, regardless of where such vehicle is licensed. (13) STATE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE. The Alabama Department of Revenue, or any such successor agency commissioned by the Legislature to administer the state rental tax. (14) STATE RENTAL TAX. The tax levied by Article of Chapter 12 of Title 40, Code of Alabama 1975, as amended. (15) TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY. Personal property which may be seen, weighed, measured, felt, or touched, or is in any other manner perceptible to the senses. The term does not include stocks, bonds, notes, insurance, or other contracts or securities. (b) All definitions of words, terms, and phrases in, or incorporated into, the statutes levying the State Rental Tax and in any related rules of the state Department of Revenue shall apply to this act, except as otherwise expressly provided herein or where the context clearly indicates a different meaning.

Section 4

(a) The county commission is authorized, by resolution duly adopted, to levy, in addition to all other taxes now imposed or authorized by law, and to collect as herein provided, a privilege, license, or excise tax (herein called a "rental tax”) on the leasing or renting tangible personal property within the county. Though required to be collected by the lessor or vendor, the rental tax shall conclusively be presumed to be a direct tax on the lessee or renter, pre-collected for the purpose of convenience only. Each individual transaction involving the lease or rental of tangible personal property to a lessee or a renter shall constitute the basis for computing the rental tax. As such, the rental tax shall not be construed as a tax on the gross receipts or gross proceeds of a lessor or a vendor. (b) The rental tax may be imposed at the following rates: (1) In each transaction involving the leasing or renting of any automotive vehicle or truck trailer, semi-trailer, or house trailer, up to three quarters of one percent of the rental revenue paid by the lessee or renter of the automotive vehicle, truck trailer, semi-trailer, or house trailer; provided, however, that the leasing or renting of rental passenger vehicles and rental trucks shall be exempt from the rental tax. (2) In all other transactions subject to the tax, up to two percent of the rental revenue paid by the lessee or renter in each transaction subject to the tax. (c) The rate of taxation shall be set by a resolution of the county commission within the limits prescribed in this section. (d) The rental tax shall not apply to any leasing or rental in which the state, or any municipality or county in the state, or any public corporation organized under the laws of the state, is the lessee or vendee or the lessor or vendor. (e) Subject to subsections (g) and (h), when a lessor or vendor in the county (1) leases tangible personal property to a lessee or renter outside the county, (2) the property is to be used outside the county, and (3) the lessor's or vendor's records in the county show that the property is so leased to be used outside the county, the transaction is not subject to the rental tax. (f) Subject to subsections (g) and (h), when a lessor or vendor (1) is located outside of the county, (2) leases or rents tangible personal property to a lessee or renter within the county, and (3) the property so leased or rented is to be used in the county, the transaction is subject to the rental tax. (g) Except for rental passenger vehicles and rental trucks, the leasing or renting of any automotive vehicle, truck trailer, semi-trailer, or house trailer within the county is subject to the rental tax, although the automotive vehicle, truck trailer, semi-trailer, or house trailer may be returned to the lessor or vendor outside the county. Where any automotive vehicle, truck trailer, semi-trailer, or house trailer is leased outside the county and turned in to the lessor or vendor in the county, the transaction is not subject to the rental tax. (h) Except for rental trucks, when a lessor or vendor leases or rents a truck, truck trailer, or semi-trailer to a motor carrier in the county, the transaction is subject to the rental tax, although the truck, truck trailer, or semi-trailer may occasionally travel outside of the county. Where the lessor or vendor leases a truck, truck trailer, or semi-trailer to a motor carrier outside the county, the transaction is not subject to the rental tax, although the truck, truck trailer, or semi-trailer may occasionally travel in the county. (i) The rental tax received or collected shall be deposited into the county general fund to be expended as determined by the county commission.

Section 5

The rental tax authorized by this act does not apply to the following transactions: (1) The leasing or rental of a film or films by a lessee who charges, or proposes to charge, admission for viewing the film or films. (2) The use of docks or docking facilities furnished for boats or other craft operated on waterways. (3) Any charge paid by a tenant to a landlord in respect of the leasing or furnishing of tangible personal property to be used on the premises of real property leased by the same landlord to the same tenant for use as a residence or dwelling place, including a mobile home. (4) The leasing or rental of tangible personal property to a lessee who acquires possession of the property for the purpose of leasing or renting to another the same property under a leasing or rental transaction subject to this act. (5) Any charge paid by a tenant to a landlord in respect of the leasing or furnishing of tangible personal property to be used on the premises of any room or rooms, lodging, or accommodations leased or rented to transients in any hotel, motel, inn, tourist camp, tourist cabin, or any other place in which rooms, lodgings, or accommodations are regularly furnished to transients for a consideration. (6) The leasing or rental of tangible personal property which the county or the state is prohibited from taxing under the Constitution or laws of the United States or under the constitution of the state. (7) The leasing or rental of nuclear fuel assemblies together with the nuclear material contained therein and other nuclear material used or useful in the production of electricity and assemblies containing ionizing radiation sources together with the ionizing radiation sources contained therein used or useful in medical treatment or scientific research. (8) A transaction whereunder the lessor leases a truck or tractor-trailer or semi-trailer for operation over the public roads and highways and the lessor furnishes a driver or drivers for the vehicle shall be deemed to constitute the rendition of service and not a leasing or rental within the meaning of this act. (9) The leasing or rental of vehicles in interchange between regulated motor carriers on a per diem basis. (10) The leasing or rental of all structures, devices, facilities, and identifiable components of any thereof acquired primarily for the control, reduction, or elimination of air or water pollution, and the leasing or rental of all materials used or intended for use in structures built primarily for the control, reduction, or elimination of air and water pollution. (11) The leasing or rental of tangible personal property when the lessor and lessee, including a sublessee, are wholly owned subsidiary corporations of the same parent corporation or one is the wholly owned subsidiary of the other; provided, that the appropriate sales or use tax, if any was due, has been paid on such item of personal property; and provided further, that in the event of any subsequent subleasing of such tangible personal property to any person other than any such sister, parent, or subsidiary corporation, any tax due and payable with respect to the subsequent subleasing under this act is paid. (12) The leasing or rental of vessels or railroad equipment engaged in interstate or foreign commerce, or both. (13) The leasing or rental of aircraft, replacement parts, components, systems, sundries, and supplies affixed or used on the aircraft and all ground support equipment and vehicles used by or for the aircraft to or by a certificated or licensed air carrier with a hub operation within this state, for use in conducting intrastate, interstate, or foreign commerce for transporting people or property by air. For the purpose of this subdivision, the phrase "hub operation within this state" shall be construed to have all of the following criteria: a. There originates from the location 15 or more flight departures and five or more different first-stop destinations five days per week for six or more months during the calendar year; and b. Passengers or property, or both, are regularly exchanged at the location between flights of the same or a different certificated or licensed air carrier. (14) The leasing or rental of any other tangible personal property that would be exempted or excluded from the computation of the state rental tax. (15) The leasing or rental of rental passenger vehicles and rental trucks.

Section 6

Each person engaging or continuing in the business of leasing or renting tangible personal property subject to the rental tax shall add to the rental price and collect from the renter or lessee the amount of tax owed by such renter or lessee. It shall be unlawful for any person engaging or continuing in the business of leasing or renting tangible personal property subject to the rental tax to fail or refuse to (1) add the rental tax to the rental price, and (2) collect from the lessee or renter the amount of tax required to be added to the rental price. It shall be unlawful for any person engaging or continuing in the business of leasing or renting tangible personal property subject to the rental tax authorized to be levied by this act to refund or offer to refund all or any part of the amount collected or to absorb or advertise directly or indirectly the absorption or refund of any portion of such tax. The rental tax authorized by this act shall conclusively be presumed to be a direct tax on the retail consumer, pre-collected for the purpose of convenience only.

Section 7

The county commission shall administer, enforce, and collect the tax herein authorized to be levied and collected, or shall cause such tax to be administered, enforced, and collected by the state Department of Revenue or a private collection agency at the same time and in the same manner as the state rental tax, pursuant to, and in accordance with, the applicable provisions of Article 1 of Chapter 3 of Title 11 of the Code of Alabama 1975, as amended, except as otherwise provided in this act. All provisions of the state rental tax statutes and all other statutes which expressly apply to, or purport to affect, the administration, enforcement, and collection of the state rental tax, and any related rules of the state Department of Revenue that are not inconsistent with this act when applied to the rental tax, as such statutes and rules may be amended, shall apply to the rental tax and are incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof as if fully set forth herein. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the county commission or other collection agency shall have the same rights, remedies, power, and authority, including the right to adopt and implement the same procedures, as would be available to the state Department of Revenue if the rental tax was being administered, enforced, and collected by the state Department of Revenue. The county commission may retain or may pay to the state Department of Revenue or a private collection agency, as its fee for the cost of collecting such tax, an amount not to exceed five percent of the gross proceeds of the tax so collected, subject to any limitations provided in the general law of the state; provided, however, that if the county commission or the state Department of Revenue shall administer, enforce, and collect the tax, the amount retained by the county commission or paid to the state Department of Revenue shall not exceed the actual cost of collection, whichever is less.

Section 8

The rental tax shall constitute a debt due the county and may be collected in a civil suit, in addition to all other methods provided by law and in this act. The tax, together with any interest and penalties with respect thereto, shall constitute and be secured by a lien upon the property of any person from whom the tax is due or who is required to collect the tax. All the provisions of the revenue laws of the state which apply to the enforcement of liens for privilege, license, or excise taxes due the state shall apply fully to the collection of the rental tax. The county commission, the state Department of Revenue, or private collection agency, as determined by the county commission, shall collect the tax and enforce this act, and the county commission or any private collection agency collecting the tax shall have and exercise all rights and remedies that the state Department of Revenue would have if the rental tax were being administered, enforced, and collected by the state Department of Revenue. The county commission, the state Department of Revenue, or private collection agency, as applicable, may employ special counsel as it deems necessary from time to time to enforce the collection of the rental tax and otherwise to enforce this act, including the institution, prosecution, and defense of any litigation involving this act. The county commission, the state Department of Revenue, or private collection agency shall pay the special counsel such fees as it deems necessary and proper from the proceeds of the rental tax.

Section 9

(a) The rental tax, except where otherwise provided in this act, shall be due and payable in monthly installments on or before the twentieth day of the month next succeeding the month in which the tax accrues. (b) Except where otherwise provided in this act, on or before the twentieth day of each month, every person who is charged with the collection of the rental tax shall render to the county, on a form or forms prescribed by the county commission, a true and correct statement showing any information the county commission may require, and at the time of making the monthly report the person shall pay the county commission the amount of tax then due to be remitted. (c) When the total rental tax that a lessor or vendor must collect under this act averages less than two hundred dollars ($200) per month during the preceding calendar year, a quarterly return and remittance in lieu of the monthly returns may be made, by election of the lessor or vendor to the county, on or before the twentieth day of the month next succeeding the end of the quarter for which the tax is due under any rules and regulations as may be prescribed. The election to file quarterly shall be made in writing no later than February 20 of each year and shall be filed with the county. Notwithstanding the foregoing, but subject to the final sentence of this subsection, no rental tax return shall be due until January 20 of each year unless the total rental tax that a lessor or vendor was required to collect under this act during the preceding calendar year exceeds ten dollars ($10). In order to qualify for quarterly or annual filing status, the lessor or vendor shall have (1) been in business for the entire preceding calendar year, (2) been subject to the requirement to collect the rental tax for the entire preceding calendar year, and (3) filed the required returns covering the entire preceding calendar year upon which the calculation of the average monthly tax or annual tax required to be collected is based. (d) The county commission, for good cause, may extend the time for making any return required by this act, but the time for filing such return shall not be extended for a period greater than 30 days from the date such return is due to be made. Section 10. Any person who is charged with collecting the rental tax and who makes cash or credit leases or rentals, may report such cash leases or rentals when made, and shall thereafter include in each monthly report all credit collections made during the month preceding, and shall remit the tax due thereon at the time of filing such report, but in no event shall the tax be owed by the lessor or vendor until collections of the credit leases or rentals have been made. Section 11. It shall be the duty of every person required to collect the rental tax to keep and preserve suitable records of the rental revenues of the business and the rental tax collected, and such other books or accounts as may be necessary to determine the amount of rental tax that he or she collected, and was required to collect, from lessees or renters hereunder. It shall be the duty of every person to keep and preserve all invoices of tangible personal property leased or rented, and all such books, invoices, and other records shall be open for examination at any time by the county commission or its duly authorized agent. Any person leasing, who in addition leases for releasing, shall keep his or her books so as to show separately such transactions and the rental revenues of leasing for releasing. All transactions involving the leasing and rental of tangible personal property shall be subject to the rental tax in the absence of such separate records. Section 12. Any person subject to the provisions hereof who shall sell out his or her business or stock of rental goods, or shall quit business, shall be required to make out the return provided for by this act within 30 days after the date he or she sold out his or her business or stock of rental goods, or quit business, and his or her successor in business shall be required to withhold sufficient of the purchase money to cover the amount of tax due and unpaid under this act until the time the former owner produces a receipt from the county commission showing that the tax has been paid, or a certificate that no tax is due. If the purchaser of a business or stock of rental goods fails to withhold purchase money and the tax is due and unpaid after the 30-day period allowed, he or she shall be personally liable for the payment of the tax accrued and unpaid on the transactions engaged in by the former owner. If the county commission deems it necessary to collect the taxes due the county, it may make a jeopardy assessment as provided in Chapter 29 of Title 40 of the Code of Alabama 1975, as amended. Section 13. If the governing body of the county elects to levy and impose the rental tax, it shall specify in the resolution levying and imposing the rental tax the first day of the second calendar month next following the month during which the tax levy is made as the effective date of the levy. The resolution may provide such other terms or provisions relating to the levy, collection, administration, and enforcement of the rental tax as are not contrary to or inconsistent with this act. Section 14. The tax authorized to be levied by this act shall be conclusively presumed to be a direct tax on the lessee or renter, precollected for the purposes of convenience and facility only, and shall not be construed as a gross receipts or gross proceeds tax on the lessor or vendor charged with the collection or remittance of this tax. To the extent that Act 89, adopted during the 1975 Fourth Special Session, is inconsistent with any provision of this act, such conflicting provision of Act 89 of the 1975 Fourth Special Session is superseded and repealed, but only to the extent of the conflict, and Act 89 of the 1975 Fourth Special Session shall otherwise remain in full force and effect. Act Number 2017-465 of the 2017 Regular Session is hereby repealed. Section 15. (a) The county commission may anticipate the proceeds from the tax so required to be paid to it by issuing funding or refunding bonds, warrants, or other evidences of indebtedness of the county, and may enter into funding agreements or other obligations to governmental entities or public corporations payable from such proceeds, for any purpose for which the tax proceeds may be used, and may pledge for the payment thereof the proceeds from the tax so paid to it. The pledge of such proceeds by the county commission for payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds, warrants, funding agreements, or other evidences of indebtedness or other obligations issued or entered into by the county commission shall constitute a part of the contract with the holders of the bonds, warrants, evidences of indebtedness, or other obligations secured thereby and such contract shall be protected from impairment to the fullest extent provided by the federal Constitution and the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended. Obligations of the county payable from or secured by the proceeds of the rental tax shall be issued under the general law of the state available for those purposes, including, without limitation, Chapter 28 of Title 11 of the Code of Alabama 1975, as amended. (b) The county commission shall have the further power to designate as the agent of the county any other governmental entity or public corporation in the state heretofore or hereafter organized to undertake any purpose as the county commission shall determine utilizing proceeds of the rental tax. When such a governmental entity or public corporation shall be so designated, the proceeds of the rental tax (or so much thereof as shall be allocated to the entity so designated) thereafter collected shall be paid over to it and shall be used by it for the purposes specified by the county commission for which the tax is herein authorized to be levied. Said governmental entity or public corporation may anticipate the proceeds from the rental tax so required to be paid to it by issuing, for any of the purposes specified by the county commission for which the tax is herein authorized to be levied, funding or refunding bonds, warrants, certificates of indebtedness or other evidences of indebtedness of such governmental entity or public corporation, and may pledge for the payment of the principal thereof and interest thereon the proceeds from said tax so paid to it. The designation by the governing body of the county of a governmental entity or public corporation to receive proceeds of the rental tax levied pursuant to this act, the payment of such proceeds over to the governmental entity or public corporation and the pledge of such proceeds by the governmental entity or public corporation for the payment of the principal of and interest on bonds, warrants, certificates of indebtedness or other evidences of indebtedness issued by such governmental entity or public corporation shall constitute a part of the contract with the holders of said bonds, warrants, certificates of indebtedness or other evidences of indebtedness and such contract shall be protected from impairment to the fullest extent provided by the federal Constitution and the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended. Obligations of such a governmental entity or public corporation payable from or secured by the proceeds of the rental tax shall be issued under the general laws of the state available for those purposes. Section 16. No public official or family member of a public official shall obtain personal gain from the expenditure of the proceeds of the rental tax levied by this act. Section 17. The provisions of this act are severable. If a court of competent jurisdiction adjudges invalid or unconstitutional any clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part of this act, the judgment or decree shall not affect, impair, invalidate, or nullify the remainder of this act, but the effect of the decision shall be confined to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part of this act adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional. Section 18. The county commission may prescribe all necessary or appropriate rules and regulations for the implementation of this act, including all rules and regulations as may be necessary by reason of any alteration of law in relation to this act. Section 19. This act shall become effective immediately following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.