Bill Text: MS SB2017 | 2022 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Counties; authorize civil debt for cost of cleaning real property.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2022-02-01 - Died In Committee [SB2017 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2022-SB2017-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2022 Regular Session
To: County Affairs; Judiciary, Division A
By: Senator(s) Hill
Senate Bill 2017
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 19-5-105, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE COST AND ANY PENALTY AS A RESULT OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS CLEANING A PROPERTY MAY BECOME A CIVIL DEBT AGAINST THE PROPERTY OWNER; TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TO INSTITUTE A SUIT ON OPEN ACCOUNT AGAINST THE PROPERTY OWNER FOR THE COST AND ANY PENALTY, AND TO RECOVER COURT COSTS, REASONABLE ATTORNEY'S FEES AND INTEREST FROM THE DATE THAT THE PROPERTY WAS CLEANED; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 19-5-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
19-5-105. (1) To determine whether property or a parcel of land located within a county is in such a state of uncleanliness as to be a menace to the public health, safety and welfare of the community, the board of supervisors of any county is authorized and empowered to conduct a hearing on its own motion, or upon the receipt of a petition requesting the board of supervisors to act signed by a majority of the residents eighteen (18) years of age or older, residing upon any street or alley, within reasonable proximity of any property alleged to be in need of cleaning, or within seven hundred fifty (750) feet of the precise location of the alleged menace situated on any parcel of land which is located in a populated area or in a housing subdivision and alleged to be in need of cleaning.
(a) Notice shall be provided to the property owner by:
( * * *i) United States mail two (2) weeks
before the date of the hearing mailed to the address of the subject property and
to the address where the ad valorem tax notice for such property is sent by the
office charged with collecting ad valorem tax; and
( * * *ii) Posting notice for at least two (2)
weeks before the date of a hearing on the property or parcel of land alleged to
be in need of cleaning and at the county courthouse or another place in the county
where such notices are posted.
(b) The notice required by paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) shall include language that informs the property owner that an adjudication at the hearing that the property or parcel of land is in need of cleaning will authorize the board of supervisors to reenter the property or parcel of land for a period of one (1) year after the hearing without any further hearing, if notice is posted on the property or parcel of land and at the county courthouse or another place in the county where such notices are generally posted at least seven (7) days before the property or parcel of land is reentered for cleaning. A copy of the required notice mailed and posted as required by this subsection (1) shall be recorded in the minutes of the board of supervisors in conjunction with the hearing required by this subsection.
(c) If at such hearing
the board of supervisors shall in its resolution adjudicate such parcel of
land in its then condition to be a menace to the public health and safety of the
community, the board of supervisors may, if the owner not do so himself, proceed
to have the land cleaned by cutting weeds, filling cisterns, and removing rubbish,
dilapidated fences, outside toilets, dilapidated buildings and other debris, and
draining cesspools and standing water. Thereafter, the board of supervisors may
at its next regular meeting by resolution adjudicate the actual cost of cleaning
the land and may also impose a penalty not to exceed One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars
($1,500.00) or fifty percent (50%) of the actual cost, whichever is more. The cost
and any penalty * * *
may become either a civil debt against the property owner or an assessment
against the property or both, at the option of the board of supervisors.
The "cost assessed against the property" means either the cost to the
county of using its own employees to do the work or the cost to the county of any
contract executed by the county to have the work done, and administrative costs
and legal costs of the county.
(d) A county may reenter the property or parcel of land to maintain cleanliness without further notice of hearing no more than six (6) times in any twelve-month period with respect to removing dilapidated buildings, dilapidated fences and outside toilets, and no more than twelve (12) times in any twenty-four-month period with respect to cutting grass and weeds and removing rubbish, personal property and other debris on the land. The expense of cleaning the property shall not exceed an aggregate amount of Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) per year, or the fair market value of the property subsequent to cleaning, whichever is less. The board of supervisors may assess the same penalty each time the property or land is cleaned as otherwise provided in this subsection (1).
(e) The penalty provided in this subsection (1) shall not be assessed against the State of Mississippi upon request for reimbursement under Section 29-1-145, nor shall a county clean a parcel owned by the State of Mississippi without first giving notice.
(f) If the board of supervisors declares, by resolution, that the cost and any penalty shall be collected as a civil debt, the board of supervisors may authorize the institution of a suit on open account against the owner of the property in a court of competent jurisdiction in the manner provided by law for the cost and any penalty, plus court costs, reasonable attorney's fees and interest from the date that the property was cleaned.
(g) The assessment authorized by this subsection (1) shall be a lien against the property and may be enrolled in the office of the circuit clerk of the county as other judgments are enrolled, and the tax collector of the county shall, upon order of the board of supervisors, proceed to sell the land to satisfy the lien as now provided by law for the sale of lands for delinquent taxes. Furthermore, the property owner whose land has been sold pursuant to this subsection (1) shall have the same right of redemption as now provided by law for the sale of lands for delinquent taxes. All decisions rendered under the provisions of this subsection may be appealed in the same manner as other appeals from county boards.
(2) (a) If private property or a parcel of land located within a county is a perpetual care cemetery subject to Section 41-43-1 et seq., the board of supervisors of the county may proceed pursuant to the same provisions of subsection (1) of this section used to determine whether a property is a public health menace to instead determine if the perpetual care cemetery and all structures on the cemetery are not being properly maintained and have become detrimental to the public health and welfare. A perpetual care cemetery that is "not being properly maintained and has become detrimental to the public health and welfare" means a perpetual care cemetery that shows signs of neglect, including, without limitation, the unchecked growth of vegetation, repeated and unchecked acts of vandalism, unusable entrances and exits, excess rubbish or debris, or the disintegration of grave markers or boundaries. Upon notice and opportunity to be heard as provided in subsection (1) of this section, the board of supervisors of the county may adjudicate the property or parcel of land in its then condition to be not properly maintained and detrimental to the public health and welfare, and if the owner does not do so itself, may proceed to clean the property or parcel of land as provided in subsection (1) of this section. When cleaning the property or parcel of land of a perpetual care cemetery pursuant to this subsection (2), the penalty or penalties provided in subsection (1) of this section shall not be assessed against owners of the perpetual care cemeteries.
(b) The board of supervisors of a county that cleans property or parcel of land of a perpetual care cemetery pursuant to this subsection (2) may make application to the Secretary of State for an order directing the trustee of the perpetual care cemetery trust fund to release accrued interest or principal of the trust fund sufficient to reimburse the county for only the actual cleanup costs incurred by the county. The application to the Secretary of State shall include a statement by the county that all of the requirements of this section have been met.
(c) If the Secretary of State is satisfied that the notice and hearing requirements of this section have been met, and that the application for an order directing the trustee to release accrued interest of the perpetual care cemetery trust fund does not threaten the ability of the trust fund to provide for the care and maintenance of the cemetery, the Secretary of State may order the trustee to release up to the total amount of accrued interest of the trust fund in an amount sufficient to reimburse the county for the actual costs of cleanup performed by the county.
(d) If the Secretary of State is satisfied that the notice and hearing requirements of this section have been met, but makes a determination that the accrued interest of the perpetual care cemetery trust fund is insufficient to reimburse the county for the actual costs of cleanup performed by the county, or that an order to release accrued interest would threaten the ability of the trust fund to provide for the care and maintenance of the cemetery, the Secretary of State may consider an order directing the trustee to reimburse the county from the principal of the trust fund. If the Secretary of State determines that an order to the trustee to release principal from the trust fund will not threaten the solvency of the trust fund, the Secretary of State may order the trustee to release principal of the trust fund in an amount sufficient to reimburse the county for the actual costs of cleanup performed by the county.
(i) The Secretary of State may not order the trustee to release an amount of more than fifteen percent (15%) of principal of the trust fund to reimburse the county for the actual costs of cleanup performed by the county.
(ii) The provisions of this section may be utilized no more than once in a four-year period.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2022.
