(1) It is hereby found and determined by the Seventy-Eighth General Assembly and the Ninety-First General Assembly that all property owned by the State Highway Commission or the Arkansas Department of Transportation is public property used exclusively for public purposes.
(2) Since neither the commission nor the department pursuant to Arkansas Constitution, Article 16, § 5, is required to pay real or personal property taxes on real estate and tangible personal property owned by that commission or department, likewise, notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the commission and department shall not be required to pay any improvement district assessments that may be assessed against the commission or department as a result of such ownership.