13-0303 – Tax on State-Owned Underwater Lands Held Under Lease or Franchise for Shellfish Cultivation.

§ 13-0303. Tax  on  state-owned  underwater  lands  held  under lease or
           franchise for shellfish cultivation.
1. Tax. There shall be an annual tax of one dollar  per  acre  on  all
  state-owned   underwater   lands   held   by   franchise  for  shellfish
  cultivation. The tax shall be levied  and  assessed  by  the  department
  before  February  1  each  year  on  such  lands held on August 1 of the
  preceding year. Written notice shall be mailed to each  grantee  showing
  the  number  of  acres  so  assessed  and the amount of tax thereon. The
  department shall keep an assessment book showing annually the names  and
  addresses  of  all  grantees,  the  number and location of acres held by
  each, the amount of tax payable and date and amount of any tax paid.
2. Payment. Such tax shall be paid on or before  April  1  each  year.
  Such  tax  shall  be a first lien upon all the property subject thereto,
  including the shellfish thereon from February 1 in the year levied.
3. Collection of tax. If any tax shall not be paid on or before  April
  1,  the  department  shall  issue a warrant for collection thereof, with
  interest thereon at one per centum per  month  from  the  day  such  tax
  became  due  and  payable until paid, together with all fees incurred in
  collecting such tax, and deliver such warrant  to  the  sheriff  of  the
  county  within  whose jurisdiction the lands are situate for collection.
  All moneys received by the department in payment of taxes  and  interest
  thereon  shall be accounted for and paid by it, within thirty days after
  its receipt, to the Division of Finance in the  Department  of  Taxation
  and Finance, for the benefit of the state.
4.  Reversion  of  lands  for  non-payment  of taxes. Land under water
  granted to individuals by franchise for  shellfish  cultivation  by  the
  department  shall  revert  to  state-owned  public  grounds if the owner
  defaults in payment of franchise taxes for a period of  one  year  after
  such tax became due and payable.
5.  Franchises not transferable. Franchised lands under water held for
  shellfish cultivation when returned to the state by default  in  payment
  of  taxes may not be assigned, reassigned, or transferred to a new owner
  or owners. Such lands may be leased  by  the  department  for  shellfish
  cultivation as provided in section 13-0301.
6.  Tax  in lieu of other taxes. The tax imposed by this section shall
  be in lieu of all other taxes on the property on which  it  is  imposed,
  and no other tax except as provided herein shall be levied or imposed on
  such lands, or the shellfish thereon, by any authority whatsoever.