(a) The county commission is authorized to levy and impose, in addition to all other taxes, including municipal gross receipts license taxes now imposed by law, a special county privilege license tax paralleling the state sales and use tax, such privilege license tax to be determined by the application of rates against gross sales or gross receipts, as the case may be. The rate of such tax shall not be more than one percent. Such tax shall become effective July 1, 1989, and shall remain in effect through September 30, 1991, unless a majority of the qualified electors of Crenshaw County vote in favor of the continuation of collection of the tax in a referendum held at the same time as the general election in November of 1990. Notice of the referendum shall be given by the Judge of Probate of Crenshaw County, which notice shall be published once a week for three successive weeks before the day of the election. On the ballots to be used at the election, the proposition to be voted on shall be stated substantially as follows:

"Do you favor the continuation of the additional sales and use tax authorized to be levied by Act No. 486 of the 1989 Regular Session?"

(b) If a majority of the votes cast at the election are affirmative votes, this subpart shall continue to be in full force and effect past September 30, 1991. If a majority of the votes cast are in the negative, this act shall have no further legal effect past September 30, 1991. The Judge of Probate of Crenshaw County shall certify the results of the election to the Secretary of State and to the Crenshaw County Commission.

(c) There are exempted, however, from this section and from the computation of the amount of the additional tax imposed in this section, the gross receipts of any business and the gross proceeds of all sales which are presently exempted under the state sales and use tax statutes from the computation of the amount of tax.