(a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:

(1) The State of Alabama has a great need from time to time to have access to financing for economic development and industrial recruitment that does not involve improvements to revenue-producing facilities.

(2) It is desirable and in the public interest to establish a state-level authority with the power to issue bonds for such general purposes.

(3) The Alabama Supreme Court has held, in effect, that only when the debt of a public corporation is payable out of a new revenue source will such debt not be considered a debt of the state in contravention of Section 213 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901; the State of Alabama expects to receive in the near future new revenues from the settlement of certain litigation between the state and the tobacco industry.

(4) By the passage of this division, it is the intention of the Legislature to:

a. Provide for the creation of a special fund known as the Alabama 21st Century Fund into which tobacco revenues will be deposited.

b. Authorize the incorporation of the Alabama 21st Century Authority, which will have the power to issue bonds in limited amounts as provided in this division and for the purpose of promoting economic development and industrial recruitment, subject to legislative approval by separate act, which bonds may be payable out of specified monies held in the Alabama 21st Century Fund and other monies and property available to the authority.

c. Appropriate annually for the payment of such bonds a portion of the revenues held in the Alabama 21st Century Fund.

(b) The Legislature further finds and declares that it is desirable and in the public interest that tobacco revenues in an amount of up to $60,000,000 in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2000, up to $65,000,000 in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2001, and up to $70,000,000 in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, and in each fiscal year thereafter be transferred to the Children First Trust Fund to be appropriated by the Legislature, upon the recommendation of the Governor, for programs authorized by the Children First Act, Section 41-15B-1.

(c) The Legislature further finds and declares that it is desirable and in the public interest that tobacco revenues remaining each fiscal year after the distributions in subsection (a)(4)c. and subsection (b) be distributed to the Alabama Senior Services Trust Fund and the State General Fund for Medicaid purposes.