(a) The bureau shall calculate a uniform assessment per ground transport for each ambulance provider pursuant to subsection (b).

(b) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c), each quarter of the state fiscal year, the assessment due from each ambulance provider will equal the rate set in subsection (e) multiplied by each provider's total transports reported from the most recent available completed quarter of transport data recorded by the office of emergency medical services. Ambulance providers will be required to submit a quarterly reporting of all transports to the office of emergency medical services in a manner determined by the office of emergency medical services and the bureau.

(c) In the event that quarterly transport data is not adequate or available for the calculation of assessments, the bureau shall use total transports submitted to the office of emergency medical services for calendar year 2018. The adequacy and availability of the data shall be determined solely by the bureau.

(d) The bureau shall apply any annual changes to the assessment rate, calculated as described in subsection (b), uniformly to all assessed ambulance providers.

(e) The assessment shall generate the lesser of:

(1) Nine dollars and nine cents ($9.09) per transport that is part of a provider's total transports as that term is defined in § 71-5-1502; or

(2) In the event that nine dollars and nine cents ($9.09) per transport causes the statewide assessment to exceed six percent (6%) of statewide net operating revenues, the per transport assessment will equal an amount that shall generate six percent (6%) of statewide net operating revenues.

(f) No more than ninety (90) days after the end of each calendar year, each ambulance provider shall submit revenue reports to the bureau for that entity's most recent fiscal year that ended at least ninety (90) days before this due date.

(g) The comptroller is granted audit authority to test the accuracy of any and all net patient service revenue reports submitted to the bureau for the purposes of this assessment. The bureau is authorized to impose penalties on providers that do not submit revenue reports, including, but not limited to, fines determined by the bureau.