(a) Levy. - The Commission may, by resolution, after not less than 10 days' public notice and a public hearing, levy an annual registration tax of five dollars ($5.00) on motor vehicles with a tax situs within the Region. A tax levied under this section is in addition to any other motor vehicle license or registration tax.

The tax applies to vehicles required to pay a tax under G.S. 20-88, except trailers, and G.S. 20-87(1), (2), (4), (5), (6), and (7). The tax situs of a motor vehicle for the purpose of this section is its ad valorem tax situs. If the vehicle is not subject to ad valorem tax, its tax situs for the purpose of this section is the ad valorem tax situs it would have if it were subject to ad valorem tax.

(b) Effective Date; Expiration. - The effective date of a tax levied under this section shall be no earlier than July 1, 1994. The effective date of a tax levied under this section must be the first day of a calendar month set by the Commission in the resolution levying the tax, and shall be no earlier than the first day of the third calendar month after the adoption of the resolution.

The authority of the Region to levy a tax under this section expires five years after the effective date of the first tax levied under this section. A tax levied under this section expires when the Region's authority to levy the tax expires. The expiration of the tax does not affect the rights or liabilities of the Region, a taxpayer, or another person arising under this section before the expiration of the tax; nor does it affect the right to any refund or credit of a tax that would otherwise have been available under this section before the expiration of the tax.

(c) Repeal of Tax. - The Commission may, by resolution, repeal a tax levied under this section. The effective date of the repeal must be the first day of a calendar month set by the Commission in the resolution repealing the tax, and shall be no earlier than the first day of the third calendar month after the adoption of the resolution. Repeal of the tax does not affect the date the Region's authority to levy the tax expires under subsection (b) of this section. Repeal of the tax does not affect the rights or liabilities of the Region, a taxpayer, or another person arising under this section before the effective date of the repeal; nor does it affect the right to any refund or credit of a tax that would otherwise have been available under this section before the effective date of the repeal.

(d) Administration. - The Division of Motor Vehicles of the Department of Transportation shall collect and administer a tax levied under this section. Immediately after adopting a resolution levying or repealing a tax under this section, the Commission shall deliver a certified copy of the resolution to the Division of Motor Vehicles. If the Secretary of State issues an amended certificate of incorporation adding a county to the Region pursuant to G.S. 158-33.1, the Commission shall deliver a certified copy of the amended certificate immediately to the Division of Motor Vehicles. If the Commission receives a resolution from a county withdrawing from the Region pursuant to G.S. 158-41, the Commission shall deliver a certified copy of the resolution immediately to the Division of Motor Vehicles.

A tax levied under this section is due at the same time and subject to the same restrictions as the tax levied in G.S. 20-87 and G.S. 20-88. The tax shall be prorated in accordance with G.S. 20-95. The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles may adopt rules necessary to administer the tax.

(e) Distribution of Tax Proceeds. - The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall credit the proceeds of the tax levied under this section to a special account and distribute the net proceeds on a quarterly basis to the Region. Interest on the special account shall be credited quarterly to the Highway Fund to reimburse the Division of Motor Vehicles for the cost of collecting and administering the tax. The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall provide the Region with an accounting of the percentage of proceeds collected in each county of the Region in each quarter.

(f) Use of Tax Proceeds. - The Region may use the proceeds of the tax levied under this section only for economic development projects and infrastructure construction projects that are within the territorial jurisdiction of the Region but not within the Global TransPark Complex. The Region shall use the tax proceeds only for public purposes authorized by this Article.

The Region shall place fifteen percent (15%) of the tax proceeds distributed to it under this section in a general funds account and the remaining eighty-five percent (85%) in an interest-bearing trust account. Each county shall be the beneficial owner of a share of the principal of the trust account in proportion to the amount of tax proceeds collected in that county.

The Region may not disburse the principal of the trust account except pursuant to a contract that provides that, within a reasonable time not to exceed 20 years, the Region will recover or be repaid the amount disbursed. The Region may, in its discretion, set reasonable terms and conditions for the repayment of the principal disbursed, including provisions for securing the debt and the payment of interest.

(g) Disbursement of Tax Proceeds. - Upon receipt of a resolution adopted by a participating county's board of county commissioners, the Region shall disburse to the county its net share of tax proceeds placed in trust under this section. A participating county's net share of tax proceeds is the total amount in the trust fund attributable to that county less the total amount of outstanding loans from the Region to the county and less any amount attributable to an appropriation made to the Region by the General Assembly. If this calculation results in a negative amount, the county is not entitled to a disbursement under this subsection. Funds disbursed under this subsection may be used only for economic development purposes. For purposes of this subsection, "economic development purposes" includes the provision of land, buildings, facilities, programs, information and data systems, or infrastructure required to promote business or industry in the county.

This subsection applies only to Carteret, Craven, Duplin, Edgecombe, Greene, Jones, Lenoir, Nash, Onslow, Pamlico, Pitt, Wayne, and Wilson Counties. (1993, c. 544, s. 1; 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 751, s. 3; c. 761, s. 33; 1995, c. 465, s. 1; 2005-364, s. 1; 2013-256, ss. 1, 2.1; 2013-360, s. 15.28(a); 2013-363, s. 5.7(a).)