§1916. Permit fee; transport registration; personnel qualifications fee

A. Every dealer shall annually, on or before the first day of the second month following the end of the permit period, pay to the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission a permit renewal fee which shall consist of a basic fee of three hundred dollars or a percentage fee of one-half of one percent of the gross annual sales of anhydrous ammonia during the preceding permit year, whichever is greater. A manufacturer of anhydrous ammonia, who is also a dealer within the meaning of this Part, shall not include within the term "gross sales" for the purpose of computing the permit fee as a dealer, those sales of anhydrous ammonia made by such manufacturer to other manufacturers of anhydrous ammonia. No permit nor any renewal thereof shall be issued by the commission except upon the payment of such fee.

B. Any person commencing business as a dealer shall pay the basic permit fee as provided for in this Section, which shall be valid for one calendar year from the date of issue, and shall be renewed annually thereafter as provided in Subsection A of this Section.

C. No tanker truck with a water capacity of one thousand gallons or more shall be used to transport anhydrous ammonia in Louisiana until it has been registered with the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission and an annual registration fee of fifty dollars has been paid 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 truck in a prominent location as provided by the regulations which the commission shall adopt. No dealer shall deliver any anhydrous ammonia from any transport motor vehicle to which a current registration decal is not permanently affixed.

D.(1) All service and installation personnel, fuel personnel, and tank truck drivers employed by a dealer shall have successfully completed 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, shall entitle him to a personnel competency card valid for the year in which it is issued. To renew his personnel competency card, each applicant shall pay an annual renewal fee of ten dollars to the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission.

(2) The commission may adopt rules to provide agreements with other states regarding examination requirements and accept as their own results the results of 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.

E. The Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission is hereby granted the authority and power to formulate and enforce necessary rules and regulations for the collection of said fees and shall remit all fees collected to the state treasury as provided for in Article VII, Section 9(A) of the Constitution of Louisiana.

F. The Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission shall use any increase in total fees from truck registrations, competency tests, and competency card renewals provided for in Subsections C and D herein, from Fiscal Year 1999 to Fiscal Year 2000, to reduce the liquefied petroleum gas permit fees authorized by R.S. 40:1849(A). The Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission shall, prior to January 1, 2000, promulgate rules to this effect. The reduction in liquefied petroleum gas permit fees shall be in an amount equal to or exceeding the increase in such truck registration, competency test, and competency card fees provided for in Subsections C and D herein. 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, as provided in this Section, shall be used in calculating the reduction in permit fees. The reduction in permit fees and 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 1950, No. 182, §5; Acts 1952, No. 74, §6; Acts 1954, No. 526, §1; Acts 1982, No. 124, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1983; Acts 1985, No. 795, §1, eff. July 22, 1985; Acts 1990, No. 247, §1; Acts 1993, No. 586, §1; Acts 1999, No. 585, §1; Redesignated by Acts 2010, No. 579, §4 from R.S. 3:1356.