A.(1) There shall be established in the state treasury the “Mineral Revenue Audit and Settlement Fund”, hereinafter referred to as the “fund”. Of revenues received in each fiscal year by the state through settlements or judgments which equal, in both principal and interest, five million dollars or more for each such settlement or judgment, resulting from underpayment to the state of severance taxes, royalty payments, bonus payments, or rentals, the treasurer shall make the following allocations as required:

            (a) To the Bond Security and Redemption Fund as provided in La. Const. Art. VII, § 9(B) .

            (b) To the political subdivisions of the state as provided in Article VII, Sections 4(D) and (E) of the Constitution of Louisiana.

            (c) As provided by the requirements of Article VII, Sections 10-A, 10.1, 10.2, and 10.3 of the Constitution of Louisiana.

            (2) For purposes of this Section, a settlement or judgment concerning royalty payments shall be defined as including those issues and amounts raised by the state in audit exception billings to payors of royalties or lessees, resulting from audits on particular properties and production. Issues and amounts included in said audit exception and billings may not, for purposes of this Section, be arbitrarily separated or divided into two or more settlements or judgments.

            B. After making the allocations provided for in Subsection A of this Section, the treasurer shall then deposit in and credit to the Mineral Revenue Audit and Settlement Fund any such remaining revenues. Any revenues deposited in and credited to the fund shall be considered mineral revenues from severance taxes, royalty payments, bonus payments, or rentals for purposes of determining deposits and credits to be made in and to the Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Fund as provided in Article VII, Section 10.2 of the Constitution of Louisiana. Any revenues deposited in and credited to the fund shall not be considered mineral revenues for purposes of the Budget Stabilization Fund as provided in Article VII, Section 10.3 of the Constitution of Louisiana. Money in the fund shall be invested as provided by law. The earnings realized in each fiscal year on the investment of monies in the Mineral Revenue Audit and Settlement Fund shall be deposited in and credited to the Mineral Revenue Audit and Settlement Fund.

            C. After making the allocations provided for in Subsection A of this Section, the treasurer shall credit thirty-five million dollars to the Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Fund, and thereafter any monies credited to the fund in any fiscal year may be annually appropriated by the legislature only for the purposes of retirement in advance of maturity through redemption, purchase, or repayment of debt of the state, pursuant to a plan proposed by the State Bond Commission to maximize the savings to the state; for payments against the annual amortization of the unfunded accrued liability of the public retirement systems, required by La. Const. Art. X, § 29 ; and for deposit in the Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Fund.

            Acts 1993, No. 350, §1, eff. June 3, 1993; Acts 1997, No. 1149, §2, eff. June 1, 1997; Acts 2003, No. 560, §2, eff. June 27, 2003; Acts 2003, No. 1195, §1, eff. July 1, 2004, and §4, eff. July 3, 2003; Acts 2015, No. 465, §1, special eff. date.