Section 2-3-20

Acquisition of sites and erection of facilities; storage; charges for space; services and facilities; disposition of funds collected.

The Board of Agriculture and Industries is hereby authorized to acquire by purchase, donation, lease or condemnation, for and in the name of the State of Alabama a suitable site or sites accessible to highways and railroad and air terminal facilities and to erect and install thereon such structures, facilities and equipment as may be necessary for the inspection, grading, standardization, classification, refrigeration, dehydration (for both food and feed), canning, packing, processing, cold storage and marketing of agricultural products, including all staple food crops, fruits, vegetables, poultry, dairy products, fish and kindred products and to let or lease space and facilities in such markets for the storage of such products pending inspection, grading, packing, canning, processing, classification, refrigeration, dehydration (for both food and feed) and marketing of such products and to make such charges for such space, services and facilities as will cover the reasonable costs of operation and maintenance of such markets, equipment and facilities; provided that such charges shall not be made with a view to producing any revenue or profit to the State of Alabama or to the board but shall be based exclusively upon the reasonable cost of operation and maintenance and liquidation of costs of construction.

All collections of such charges shall be deposited monthly in the State Treasury to the credit of the Agricultural Fund, and shall be used for payment of the expenses of operation and maintenance and liquidation of costs of construction of such markets and facilities, upon requisition upon the State Comptroller, to be paid by the warrant of the Comptroller upon the Treasury. Any moneys remaining after payment of the above expenses may be used for the payment of principal and interest on any bonds issued for the purpose of construction of a farmers market facility, upon requisition upon the State Comptroller, to be paid by warrant of the Comptroller upon the State Treasury. Said collections received from operations of a farmers market facility are hereby appropriated for the above uses.

(Acts 1943, No. 32, p. 25, §§3, 4; Acts 1984, No. 84-239, p. 360, §1.)