(A) All fines collected for a violation of division (A) of section 5589.21 or 5589.211 of the Revised Code shall be paid as follows:

(1) To the railroad grade crossing improvement fund of the county if the violation occurred in an unincorporated area of the county;

(2) To the railroad grade crossing improvement fund of the municipal corporation in which the violation occurred if the violation occurred in a municipal corporation.

(B) The board of county commissioners of each county and the legislative authority of each municipal corporation shall establish a railroad grade crossing improvement fund. The fund shall consist of fines paid to the county or municipal corporation under division (A) of this section and any other moneys allocated to the fund by the county or municipal corporation. Except as otherwise provided in this division, a county or municipal corporation shall use its railroad grade crossing improvement fund to pay any part of the cost assigned by the public utilities commission to the county or municipal corporation under section 4907.471 of the Revised Code. The county or municipal corporation also may use its railroad grade crossing improvement fund for other improvements to railroad grade crossings, including signs, signals, gates, or other protective devices, as the board of county commissioners or legislative authority of a municipal corporation determines to be appropriate.

If, during any fiscal year, the fines a county collects for violations of division (A) of section 5589.21 and section 5589.211 of the Revised Code equal three thousand dollars or less, during the subsequent fiscal year the county may use that amount of money in its railroad grade crossing improvement fund for any purpose that the board of county commissioners determines to be appropriate.

If, during any fiscal year, the fines a county collects for violations of division (A) of section 5589.21 and section 5589.211 of the Revised Code exceed three thousand dollars, during the subsequent two fiscal years the county shall use all the money in its railroad grade crossing improvement fund only for those purposes described in this division. In such a case, the amount of money the county collects for violations of division (A) of section 5589.21 and section 5589.211 of the Revised Code during the fiscal year immediately following the second of those two fiscal years shall determine the disposition under this division of the money the county collects during that fiscal year.

Effective Date: 10-27-2000 .