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(a) Any lands acquired by the Commissioner of State Lands in any county through tax sale, which are deemed by the Arkansas Forestry Commission to be suitable for forest purposes, may be conveyed to the state as forestlands by the proper officers of the county without reimbursement therefor.
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(b) Upon the acquisition of any lands in the furtherance of this subchapter, a survey of the tax returns to the county from each tract of land for the previous ten (10) consecutive years shall be made to determine the average annual tax income to the county and the political subdivisions therein from each tract involved. In making this study, taxes rendered upon improvement value shall not be included.
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(c)
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(1) The Arkansas Forestry Commission shall cause a record to be opened and kept showing, by counties, all lands in the State of Arkansas administered and managed by the commission as state forests and shall, annually on July 1, cause to be remitted to each county an amount equal to the average annual tax as determined in subsection (b) of this section. This amount is to be distributed as provided in subdivision (c)(2) of this section.
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(2) The income received by each county shall be distributed as follows:
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(A) Fifty percent (50%) to the county general fund; and
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(B) Fifty percent (50%) to the county school fund to be distributed by the county treasurer, within thirty (30) days from the date of receipt thereof, to the respective school districts of the county in the proportion that the area of state forestlands located in each school district bears to the total area of state forestlands within the county.
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