The Legislature has passed and the Governor has signed Act No. 2000-731.

Section 1 of Act No. 2000-731 contains a finding and declaration by the Legislature that the discounts provided by Section 40-23-36 are provided to encourage timely remittance of sales taxes by license holders and not to reimburse license holders for their costs of collecting and remitting sales taxes.

Section 2 of Act No. 2000-731 amends Section 40-23-36(b) to provide that the Governor may, by executive order, authorize the Department of Revenue to provide by rule for a maximum discount amount or rate to any license holder. This legislation also amends Section 40-23-35 to further provide for the distribution and expenditure of the revenue increase accruing to the state due to the discount cap established pursuant to Section 40-23-36(b) for periods on and after June 1, 2000.

Act No. 2000-731 does not change the current discount cap of $900. A change in the discount cap must be accomplished by an executive order of the Governor and the resulting rules promulgated by the Department of Revenue. Should such a change occur, the new discount cap could be either an amount other than $900 or a percentage rate less than the maximum rate authorized in Section 40-23-36(a).

Act No. 2000-731 became effective May 23, 2000.