(a) Special Account. - The Unauthorized Substances Tax Account is established as a special nonreverting account. The Secretary shall credit the proceeds of the tax levied by this Article to the Account.
(b) Distribution. - The Secretary shall distribute unencumbered tax proceeds in the Unauthorized Substances Tax Account on a quarterly or more frequent basis. Tax proceeds in the Account are unencumbered when they are collectible under G.S. 105-241.22. The Secretary shall distribute seventy-five percent (75%) of the unencumbered tax proceeds in the Account that were collected by assessment to the State or local law enforcement agency that conducted the investigation of a dealer that led to the assessment. If more than one State or local law enforcement agency conducted the investigation, the Secretary shall determine the equitable share for each agency based on the contribution each agency made to the investigation. The Secretary shall credit the remaining unencumbered tax proceeds in the Account to the General Fund.
(c) Refunds. - The refund of a tax that has already been distributed shall be drawn initially from the Unauthorized Substances Tax Account. The amount of refunded taxes that were distributed to a law enforcement agency under this section and any interest shall be subtracted from succeeding distributions from the Account to that law enforcement agency. The amount of refunded taxes that were credited to the General Fund under this section and any interest shall be subtracted from succeeding credits to the General Fund from the Account.