Bill Text: MS SB2306 | 2023 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Flood and drainage control districts; revise number of directors for certain municipalities.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)
Status: (Passed) 2023-03-16 - Approved by Governor [SB2306 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2023-SB2306-Enrolled.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2023 Regular Session
To: Municipalities
By: Senator(s) Harkins, Horhn, Blount, Norwood, Simmons (12th)
Senate Bill 2306
(As Sent to Governor)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 51-35-317, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE NUMBER OF DIRECTORS FOR FLOOD AND DRAINAGE CONTROL DISTRICTS FOR CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 51-35-317, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
51-35-317. All powers of the district shall be exercised by a board of directors, to be composed of the following:
(a) In the event the proposed flood and drainage control district lies wholly within the limits of one (1) municipality, the governing authorities of said municipality shall appoint three (3) directors and the board of supervisors of the county in which said municipality lies shall appoint two (2) directors.
(b) In the event the proposed flood and drainage control district is comprised of lands lying partly in a municipality and partly outside the limits of a municipality but wholly in one (1) county, the governing authorities of said municipality shall appoint three (3) directors and the board of supervisors of the county in which said municipality lies shall appoint two (2) directors. However, should the assessed valuation of land and property and improvements in said district outside the municipality, according to the last preceding tax assessment roll for county and state taxes, exceed said assessment for the land and property and improvements of the district lying within the municipality, the board of supervisors of the county in which said district lies shall appoint three (3) directors and said municipality shall appoint two (2) directors.
(c) In the event the
proposed flood and drainage control district is comprised of lands lying, in
whole or in part, in one or more municipalities which are in existence at the
time of the creation of such district, and in one or more counties and not
falling within the description of paragraph (a) or (b) above, each such
municipality shall appoint one (1) director and the board of supervisors of
each county in which part of the lands of the proposed district lie shall
appoint one (1) director. If a district is enlarged under Section 51-35-315(w),
each municipality within the enlarged district with a population above one hundred
thousand (100,000), according to the most recent decennial census, shall have two
(2) additional directors, who shall be the emergency manager for such municipality
and the emergency manager for the county in which such municipality is located.
However, in the event that selection of directors in said manner results in an
even number of directors, the Governor of the State of Mississippi shall
appoint one (1) additional director * * * so
that there shall be an odd number of directors.
(d) Each director shall take and subscribe to the oath of office required by Section 268 of the Constitution of the State of Mississippi, before a chancery clerk, that he will faithfully discharge the duties of the office, which oath shall be filed with the said clerk and by him preserved.
(e) Each director shall receive a fee not to exceed such amount as set forth in Section 25-3-69 for attending each meeting of the board and for each day actually spent in attending to the necessary business of the district and shall receive reimbursement for actual expenses thus incurred upon express authorization of the board.
(f) The board of directors shall annually elect from its number a president and a vice president of the district and such other officers as in the judgment of the board are necessary. The president shall be the chief executive officer of the district and the presiding officer of the board, and shall have the same right to vote as any other director. The vice president shall perform all the duties and exercise all powers conferred by this article upon the president when the president is absent or fails or declines to act, except the president's right to vote. The board shall also appoint a secretary and a treasurer who may or may not be members of the board, and it may combine these offices. The treasurer shall give bond in the sum of not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), as set by the board of directors, and each director shall give bond in the sum of not less than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), and the premiums on said bonds shall be an expense of the district. The condition of each such bond shall be that the treasurer or director will faithfully perform all duties of the office and account for all money which shall come into his custody as treasurer or director of the district.
(g) In the event a county or municipality entitled to appoint a director or directors to the district shall not do so within twenty (20) days from the date of the order of the chancery court creating the district, the chancery court or the chancellor in vacation shall forthwith exercise the right of said county or municipality in appointing a director or directors.
(h) Each director shall hold office for a period of four (4) years from the date of his appointment. However, in order to insure continuity of experience among the members of the board of directors in any district created after March 26, 1981, one (1) member of the initial board of directors shall hold office for only one (1) year, one (1) member shall hold office for only two (2) years, and one (1) member shall hold office for only three (3) years, and, at the initial meeting of the board of directors, they shall determine by lot which of their members shall serve for only one (1), two (2), or three (3) years.
(i) No person shall be disqualified from serving as a member of the board of directors by virtue of his having previously served as a director, by virtue of his holding any other office, political or otherwise, or by virtue of his not residing in or owning lands in said district.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2023.
