Bill Text: MS SB2695 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Forestry; abolish the Forestry Commission and transfer duties to the Division of Forestry in MS Department of Agriculture and Commerce.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2014-02-04 - Died In Committee [SB2695 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2014-SB2695-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2014 Regular Session
To: Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency
By: Senator(s) Sojourner
Senate Bill 2695
AN ACT TO ABOLISH THE STATE FORESTRY COMMISSION AND TRANSFER THE ADMINISTRATION OF ITS POWERS AND DUTIES TO THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE; TO ESTABLISH THE DIVISION OF FORESTRY SERVICES WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT; TO REPEAL SECTION 49-19-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH ESTABLISHES THE STATE FORESTRY COMMISSION AND PROVIDES FOR THE COMPOSITION OF ITS MEMBERSHIP; TO CREATE SECTION 49-19-2, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS; TO AMEND SECTIONS 49-19-3 THROUGH 49-19-15, 49-19-19, 49-19-21, 49-19-25, 49-19-27, 49-19-31, 49-19-65, 49-19-67, 49-19-71, 49-19-73, 49-19-111 THROUGH 49-19-117, 49-19-205 THROUGH 49-19-227, 49-19-305, 49-19-307, 49-19-351, 49-19-403, 49-19-407, 51-11-5, 51-11-9, 51-13-105, 51-13-107, 53-7-11, 53-7-29, 53-9-11, 55-3-1, 55-3-11, 55-3-19, 55-3-21, 55-3-23, 29-3-27, 29-3-45, 29-3-47, 29-3-49, 29-3-54, 29-3-87, 49-7-203,19-5-51, 25-58-21, 27-7-22.15, 29-3-85, 33-11-9, 33-11-18, 37-101-141, 43-27-11, 51-4-11, 51-9-107, 65-1-8, 65-1-123, 69-29-1, 69-46-3, 97-17-13 AND 69-1-61, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PRECEDING PROVISIONS TO REFLECT THE CHANGE IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE AND THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE UPON THE STATE FORESTRY COMMISSION BEING ABOLISHED; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) The State Forestry Commission is hereby abolished and all powers, duties, employees, equipment, buildings, facilities, inventory, funds and resources thereof shall be transferred to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce under the administration of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, which shall, hereafter be known as the Division of Forestry Services.
(2) (a) Members serving on the commission on July 1, 2014, shall continue to serve in an advisory capacity only to advise the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce on matters within their jurisdiction until such time that all duties and functions of the commission are successfully transferred to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, or until such time as the commissioner deems necessary for a proper transition of powers and duties.
(b) Until such time that members of the commission shall be discharged of their advisory duties, members shall receive a per diem plus expenses and mileage as authorized by law for each day devoted to the discharge of official duties. However, no member shall receive total per diem in excess of twenty-four (24) days' compensation per annum.
(3) Wherever the terms "State Forestry Commission" or "commission" appear in any law pertaining to the duties and functions of such commission, the same shall be construed to mean the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.
(4) For purposes of this act, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed in this section, unless context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce.
(b) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.
(c) "Division" means the Division of Forestry Services within the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.
SECTION 2. Section 49-19-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, which establishes the State Forestry Commission and provides for the selection of members, is repealed.
SECTION 3. The following section shall be codified as Section 49-19-2, Mississippi Code of 1972:
49-19-2. The following terms, as used in Chapter 19 of Title 49, shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this section:
(a) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce.
(b) "Department" means the Department of Agriculture and Commerce.
(c) "Division" means the Division of Forestry Services within the Department of Agriculture and Commerce.
SECTION 4. Section 49-19-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-3. The duties and
powers of the * * * commissioner, in assuming the administrative authority
of the State Forestry Commission shall be:
(a) To appoint or
employ a State Forester, who shall serve at the will and pleasure of the * * * commissioner and who is
qualified to perform the duties as set forth herein; and to pay him such salary
as is provided by the Legislature, and allow him such office expenses
incidental to the performance of his official duties as the * * * commissioner
may deem necessary; and to charge him with the immediate direction and control,
subject to the supervision and approval of the * * * commissioner, of all matters
relating to forestry as authorized herein. Any person appointed or employed
by the * * *
commissioner as State Forester shall have received a bachelor's degree
in forestry from an accredited school or college of forestry and shall be
licensed and registered under the provisions of the Mississippi Foresters
Registration Law (Section 73-36-1 et seq.) and in addition shall have had at
least five (5) years' administrative experience in a forestry-related field.
(b) To take such action and provide and maintain such organized means as may seem necessary and expedient to prevent, control and extinguish forest fires, including the enforcement of any and all laws pertaining to the protection of forests and woodland.
(c) To encourage forest and tree planting for the production of a wood crop, for the protection of water supply, for windbreak and shade, or for any other beneficial purposes contributing to the general welfare, public hygiene and comfort of the people.
(d) To cause to be made such technical investigations and studies concerning forest conditions, the propagation, care and protection of forest and shade trees, the care and management of forests, their growth, yield and the products and by-products thereof, and any other competent subject, including forest taxation, bearing on the timber supply and needs of the state, which the commission, in its discretion, may deem proper.
(e) To assist and
cooperate with any federal or state department or institution, county, town,
corporation or individual, under such terms as in the judgment of the * * * commissioner will best serve
the public interest, in the preparation and execution of plans for the
protection, management, replacement, or extension of the forest, woodland and
roadside or other ornamental tree growth in the state.
(f) To encourage
public interest in forestry by means of correspondence, the public press,
periodicals, the publication of bulletins and leaflets for general
distribution, the delivery of lectures in the schools and other suitable means,
and to cooperate to the fullest extent with the extension department services
of the state colleges in promoting reforestation. It shall be the duty of the
State Forester, as directed by the commissioner, to cooperate with
private timber owners in laying plans for the protection, management and
replacement of forests and in aiding them to form protection associations. It
shall be his duty to examine all timbered lands belonging to the state and its
institutions and report to the * * * commissioner upon their
timber conditions and actual value, and also whether some of these lands may
not be held as state forests. * * * The State Forester shall be
responsible for the protection and management of lands donated, purchased or
belonging to the state or state institutions, and all other lands reserved by
the state as state forests.
(g) To control the
expenditure of any and all funds appropriated or otherwise made available for
the several purposes set forth herein under suitable regulations and
restrictions by the * * *
department and to specifically authorize any officer or employee of the * * * department to incur necessary
and stipulated expenses in connection with the work in which such person may be
engaged.
(h) To submit annually to the Legislature a report of the expenditures, proceedings and results achieved, together with such other matters including recommendations concerning legislation as are germane to the aims and purposes of this chapter.
(i) To create,
establish and organize the State of Mississippi into forestry districts for the
most effective and efficient administration of the * * * department.
(j) To appoint or
employ, upon the State Forester's recommendation, * * * individuals who shall be designated * * *
forestry law enforcement officers who shall be vested with authority to
bear arms, investigate and make arrests; however, the * * * enforcement duties and authority of the
officers shall be limited to woods arson. The officers shall comply with
applicable minimum educational and training standards for law enforcement
officers. These officers may issue citations for any violation of those laws
for recklessly or with gross negligence causing fire to burn the lands of
another. A citation issued by a forestry * * * law enforcement officer shall be
issued on a uniform citation form consisting of an original and at least two
(2) copies. * * *
The citation shall show, among other necessary information, the name of
the issuing officer, the name of the court in which the cause is to be heard
and the date and time the person charged with a violation is to appear to
answer the charge. The uniform citation form shall make a provision on it for
information that will constitute a complaint charging the offense for which the
citation was issued and, when duly sworn to and filed with a court of competent
jurisdiction, prosecution may proceed under that complaint. For the purposes
of this paragraph, the fact that any person is found to have a brush or debris
pile or other material which is or was being burned and reasonable and prudent
efforts were not taken to prevent the spread of the fire onto the lands of
another shall be evidence that such person recklessly or with gross negligence
caused the land to burn.
* * *
(k) To discharge such duties, responsibilities and powers necessary to accomplish and implement the Forestry Inventory and Strategic Planning Act under Section 49-19-401 et seq.
SECTION 5. Section 49-19-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-5. The * * * Division of Forestry * * * Services with the Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce is hereby authorized and empowered
to acquire and dispose of property of all kinds in accordance with the
provisions of Section 29-1-1, in order to discharge the duties as set forth in
Section 49-19-3, and subsequent germane general laws of the State of
Mississippi. It is further authorized to sell, rent, lease, and dispose of any
property acquired by the * * *commission division upon approval by the commissioner, and
in consultation with the Department of Finance and Administration Bureau of
Building, Grounds and Real Property, all property to be sold or disposed of
shall be sold or disposed of in the manner provided by law for the sale or
disposition of surplus property by other state agencies. Any funds received
from the sale, rental or lease of any property herein authorized, to be
acquired, shall be paid into the State Treasury to the credit of a special
account, and the * * *
department is hereby authorized to use this fund for the replacement,
repairs, and upkeep of any property authorized to be acquired and owned under
this section.
SECTION 6. Section 49-19-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-7. (1) The * * * division
shall keep * * *
the commissioner informed as to the known varieties of pine beetles and
other timber insect pests and diseases, the origin, locality, nature and
appearance thereof, the manner in which they are disseminated, and approved
methods of treatment, control and eradication. The * * * commissioner shall from time
to time make rules and regulations for carrying out the provisions and
requirements of this section, including rules and regulations under which its
employees shall ( * * *i)
inspect places, timber, and timber products, and other things and substances
used or connected therewith, ( * * *ii) investigate, control, eradicate and
prevent the dissemination of pine beetles and other timber insect pests and
diseases, and ( * * *iii)
supervise or cause the treatment, cutting and destruction of timber or timber
products and other things infested or infected therewith. The * * * division's employees shall
have authority to carry out and execute the regulations and orders of the * * *
commissioner and
shall have authority, under direction of the * * * commissioner, to carry out
provisions of this section.
(2) The * * * department
and its employees shall have the authority to enter upon any and all
timberlands for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section.
(3) All known varieties of
pine beetles and other insect pests and diseases infesting or infecting or
likely to infest or infect timber or timber products in this state shall be
listed by the * * * department, and every such variety of
pine beetle and every such insect pest or disease listed and all timber and
timber products infested or infected therewith are hereby declared to be a
public nuisance.
(4) Before entering upon
any lands for the purpose of removing any infested or infected timber having a
value in excess of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), where the owner of such land
will not cause the removal of such infested or infected timber, the * * * department shall
first secure an order of the chancery court in termtime or in vacation authorizing
the * * *
department to effect such removal. Process on any resident owner in any
such proceeding shall be served as other process, and process on any
nonresident owner shall be had by mailing such process by registered mail,
return receipt requested, to the last-known address of such nonresident
or by publication in three (3) weekly issues of a newspaper published in
the county where such timberland is located if no mailing address is known.
Any hearing under provisions of this section may be set at any time five (5)
days after date of service of process, or in case of publication five (5)
days after completion of such publication.
(5) It is the purpose of
this section to authorize and empower the * * * department to
control disease or insect infections or infestations in timber and timber
products within this state. It is not the purpose of this section to transfer
any powers from the * * * Bureau of Plant Industry to the * * * Division of
Forestry Services. Use of the word "timber" shall be deemed to
refer to such trees as are normally used in the manufacture of lumber and the
term "timber products" shall be deemed to refer to products
manufactured from such trees normally used in the manufacture of lumber.
SECTION 7. Section 49-19-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-9. (1) The * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce through the Division of Forestry
Services is hereby authorized to extend fire protection services to the
Choctaw Indian lands located in Attala, Kemper, Leake, Neshoba, Newton, Jones
and Scott Counties, Mississippi.
(2) The * * * department is
authorized to accept from the Choctaw Agency adequate compensation for fire
detection and suppression, which sum may be used by the * * * department in its
fire protection work.
SECTION 8. Section 49-19-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-11. The * * * department is
hereby authorized to protect intermingled or adjacent state owned lands in the
same manner and form as other lands within the state and the expenses thereof
may be paid out of any appropriation made to the * * * department;
provided such expenditures are not greater per acre in any year than the
expenditures by the commission on account of the protection of any other lands
than that owned by the State of Mississippi.
The provisions of this
section shall not be applicable to the protection of established state parks,
state forests or other state owned lands when increased expenditure may be
necessary for the protection thereof in the opinion of the * * * commissioner.
It is hereby made the duty
of all agents and employees of the * * * division to
report to the * * *
commissioner any timber or other trespass discovered by such agent or
employees on state owned lands giving detailed information thereof in such
report.
SECTION 9. Section 49-19-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-13. The boards of
supervisors of the several counties are hereby authorized, in their discretion,
to appropriate and pay to the * * * department
from the general fund of the county each year a sum of money not exceeding
twenty-five percent (25%) of the forest severance tax received by the county
the preceding year. Such money so appropriated shall be used by the * * * division for
forestry work and protection in such county.
SECTION 10. Section 49-19-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-15. The State
Forestry Fund, when made available by proper appropriation by the
Legislature, shall be expended by the * * * department in carrying out
and enforcing all laws pertaining to the protection of forests as the * * * commissioner may direct, the
vouchers to be drawn and paid as by other departments of the state.
SECTION 11. Section 49-19-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-19. (1) To encourage
better land use, to assist in controlling headwaters, to prevent soil erosion,
to help increase community and individual farm incomes, and to assist schools
in forest education and timber management, the * * * department
is hereby authorized to produce and make available to farm owners and to
schools of this state, having lands contiguous to the school site suitable for
reforestation, free commercial tree seedlings not to exceed five thousand
(5,000) trees per farm owner per year, and not to exceed five thousand (5,000)
trees per school, providing the farm owner or owners and school trustees
desiring such seedlings enter into a cooperative agreement with the * * * commissioner
assuring the * * * commissioner of the proper planting, care, and
protection of all seedlings thus furnished from fire and wasteful cutting. The
minimum number of seedlings furnished any consignee under this section shall
not be less than one thousand (1,000).
(2) In its cooperative
agreement, the * * * department may provide for the payment to
it of a penalty of not exceeding Ten Dollars ($10.00) per thousand trees for
each thousand or part thereof planted in violation of the purposes and intent
of this section.
(3) The * * * department
is hereby authorized to use such funds as it may have available in carrying out
the intent and purposes of this section.
SECTION 12. Section 49-19-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-21. All monies
received from the United States government for protection of forest lands, for
reforestation of denuded areas, for extension of national forests, and to
promote the continuous production of timber shall be credited to said State
Forestry Fund, and expended by the * * * department as is directed by
the federal government.
SECTION 13. Section 49-19-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-25. ( * * *1) Any fire on any forested, cutover,
brushlands or grasslands burning uncontrolled is hereby declared a public nuisance
by reason of its menace to life and property. Any person, firm or corporation
negligently or * * *
willfully and maliciously responsible for the starting or the existence
of such fire on land other than his own is hereby required to control or
extinguish it immediately, and if said person, firm or corporation shall * * * willfully refuse, neglect or
fail to do so, any organized fire suppression agency recognized by the * * * department,
may summarily abate the nuisance thus constituted by controlling or
extinguishing the fire. The cost of abating such nuisance, with all costs and
reasonable attorney's fees to be allowed by the court, may be recovered from
the person, firm or corporation responsible for such nuisance by civil action
in the proper court, action for said recovery to be filed by the agency abating
the nuisance. This section shall not impair any remedy now allowed by law.
( * * *2) Any open cistern or well, which has
been abandoned or is no longer used for the purpose of a cistern or well is
hereby declared to be a public nuisance by reason of its menace to life and
property, and the * * * department is hereby authorized to seal
such cistern or well upon request of the landowner. A reasonable fee shall be
charged for this purpose and all fees collected shall be handled in the same
manner as other service charges collected by the commissioner.
SECTION 14. Section 49-19-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-27. (1) There is
created in the State Treasury a fund designated as the Tree Seedling Revolving
Fund. The * * * department shall use the fund to contract
for the production or purchase of tree seedlings, for resale to Mississippi
landowners for reforestation.
(2) The Tree Seedling
Revolving Fund shall be funded by monies received from the sale of contract
seedlings to Mississippi landowners. Monies collected from the sales shall be
deposited into the Tree Seedling Revolving Fund. The State Treasurer shall
make disbursements for payment of production or purchase of seedlings upon
requisition by the * * *commissioner and upon the issuance of warrants by
the Department of Finance and Administration.
(3) The Tree Seedling
Revolving Fund is created to supplement the * * * department's seedling
production capacity and not for its replacement.
SECTION 15. Section 49-19-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-31. (1) There is
hereby created a Joint Study Committee on Forestry in Mississippi. The
committee shall study and make recommendations, including recommended
legislation regarding the * * *Forestry Commission administration of forestry-related
duties of department, coordination of forestry policy, the coordination of
overlapping conservation practices by state agencies, the seedling shortage and
other matters related to the forestry industry.
(2) The committee shall be composed of the following members:
(a) The Chairman of the Senate Forestry Committee, Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and two (2) members of the Forestry Committee appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.
(b) The Chairman of
the House Forestry Committee, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee
and * * *
two (2) members of the * * * Forestry Committee
appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(c) The Chairman of
the Senate Forestry Committee and the Chairman of the House * * * Forestry Committee shall
serve as cochairs of the committee.
(3) The members of the joint committee shall be paid from the contingent expense funds of their respective houses in the same manner as provided for committee meetings when the Legislature is not in session and shall obtain the approval of their respective management committees for per diem and travel expense expenditures of the committee.
(4) The committee shall utilize clerical and legal staff employed by the Legislature and may utilize any assistance made available to it by any state agency.
(5) Upon presentation of its final report the committee shall be dissolved.
SECTION 16. Section 49-19-65, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-65. It shall be the
duty of the * * * department to give general publicity
throughout the state to Sections 49-19-51 through 49-19-75 and post notices
covering such sections in at least three (3) public places in each county, one
(1) of which shall be posted on the bulletin board at the front door of the
courthouse in each of the counties.
SECTION 17. Section 49-19-67, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-67. Sections 49-19-51
through 49-19-75 shall not apply to nor shall it prohibit the clearing of land
for bona fide use in crop production, nor the clearing of land for pasture
purposes where such pasture is enclosed with a standard wire fence of two (2)
or more strands, nor to the clearing for building sites, right-of-ways for
roads, power or communication lines or similar uses; nor shall such sections
apply to individuals cutting timber from their own lands for their own personal
use where there is no sale, commercial gain or profit involved, nor those
special cases where permission is obtained in writing from the * * * department
for the emergency removal of storm or disease damaged timber.
SECTION 18. Section 49-19-71, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-71. It shall be the
duty of the Mississippi * * * Forestry Commission department and its employees to
enforce the terms and provisions of Sections 49-19-51 through 49-19-75 and to
that end * * * the department or its employees are hereby
authorized to enter upon any and all forestry lands to make such inspection and
investigation as may be necessary for the proper enforcement of said sections
and, in addition to the other remedies, conferred by such sections or other
laws of the state, the * * * commissioner is
hereby authorized to enter suit on behalf of the state to enjoin any person,
partnership, firm, association or corporation from violating any of the terms
and provisions of such sections and in such suits the * * * department shall not be
required to give bond, and the * * * department is also
authorized to employ inspectors within the division and such other help
as may be necessary for the effective carrying out of the intent and purposes
of such sections.
SECTION 19. Section 49-19-73, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-73. In order to more
adequately enforce the provisions of Sections 49-19-51 through 49-19-75, it is
hereby made the duty of each sheriff, constable, conservation officer, district
attorney and county prosecuting attorney to make, from time to time, inquiry as
to any violation of Sections 49-19-51 through 49-19-75 and to promptly report
any violation to the * * * department and further to assist
the * * *
department, its officers and employees in enforcing any of the
provisions of the aforesaid sections and in prosecuting any violations
thereof. It shall be the duty of the various circuit judges at each convening
of the grand jury to call the grand jurors' attention to such sections and to
charge them to fully investigate any violations thereof.
SECTION 20. Section 49-19-111, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-111. For the purpose
of providing assistance to all farm woodland and timber landowners in the
state, including private ownership, and to promote the growing, managing and
harvesting of timber thereon, and to provide organized forest fire protection
in all counties, and to encourage the production and growth of timber on all
lands suitable therefor, and for the better management thereof, and to
encourage greater private ownership and promote forest education and timber
management and forest fire control, the * * * department is
hereby authorized to carry out the provisions of Sections 49-19-111 through 49-19-117.
SECTION 21. Section 49-19-113, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-113. In order to
carry out further the program herein authorized, the * * * department
is hereby authorized to organize, divide or set up forest districts and areas
throughout the state, which districts and areas shall be so organized, divided
or set up in accordance with the distribution of forestland and the location of
political boundaries as to best serve the interest of the state as a whole.
The * * *
commissioner shall appoint a district forester and assistant district
forester for each district and shall appoint an area forester for each forest
area, all of whom shall be charged with the duty of directing forestry
education, timber management, forest fire control and other necessary forestry
conservation activities and practices as the * * * commissioner shall deem necessary.
SECTION 22. Section 49-19-115, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-115. (1) The board
of supervisors of all counties are hereby directed to levy a special tax to be
known as "the forest acreage tax." Such tax shall be Two Cents (2¢)
per acre on all timbered and uncultivatable lands in the county in order to
receive the financial and supervisory cooperation of the * * * department in
carrying out organized forest fire control and other provisions of Sections 49-19-111
through 49-19-117.
(2) In addition to the tax levied under subsection (1) of this section, the board of supervisors of all counties are hereby directed to levy an additional forest acreage tax on all timbered and uncultivatable lands in the county beginning October 1, 1989, and continuing for three (3) succeeding years in the following amounts:
Total Acreage
Increase Tax
Fiscal year ending
September 30, 1990 3¢ per acre 5¢ per acre
Fiscal year ending
September 30, 1991 2¢ per acre 7¢ per acre
Fiscal year ending
September 30, 1992 2¢ per acre 9¢ per acre
Upon completion of the third year, the total acreage tax shall remain at the Nine Cents (9¢) per acre per year.
(3) Uncultivatable lands shall not include bogs, unreclaimed strip mine areas, coastal beach sands, tidal and freshwater marshes, beaver ponds and flood or flowage easements.
(4) Those homeowners described in Section 27-33-67(2), who qualify for the exemptions allowed in Article 1, Chapter 33, Title 27, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall be exempt from any forest acreage tax levied pursuant to this section.
(5) The provisions of this section and the tax levy required herein shall not be applicable to any counties which were not levying such forest acreage tax on January 1, 1989.
(6) This section shall be repealed on June 30, 2016.
SECTION 23. Section 49-19-117, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-117. (1) All forest
acreage taxes assessed and collected by such levy as provided for in Section 49-19-115
shall be remitted to the forest acreage account in the State Treasury and shall
be expended by the * * * department as the * * * commissioner may deem
necessary in carrying out the purpose and intent of Sections 49-19-111 through
49-19-117.
(2) The * * * department is
hereby authorized to use state funds appropriated for the purpose of Sections
49-19-111 through 49-19-117 in addition to any funds made available from county
forest acreage taxes, federal funds and other sources.
(3) The * * * department is
hereby authorized to expend the funds herein provided in such manner as to most
effectively carry out the provisions of Sections 49-19-111 through 49-19-117.
The forest acreage tax levied at the rate of Two Cents (2¢) per acre under
Section 49-19-115(1) shall be utilized on an economical and practical basis in
order to foster, encourage, promote and bring about forestry education, timber
management and organized forest fire control throughout the State of
Mississippi. The additional forest acreage tax levied under Section 49-19-115(2)
shall be utilized by the * * * State Forestry Commission department to purchase fire
support equipment, including transport trucks, tractors and other related fire
support equipment. The additional forest acreage tax levied under Section 49-19-115(2)
shall be appropriated under the appropriation process.
SECTION 24. Section 49-19-205, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-205. For purposes of Sections 49-19-201 through 49-19-227, the following words shall have the meaning ascribed herein unless the context requires otherwise:
(a) " * * * Commissioner" * * * means the * * * Commissioner of
Agriculture and Commerce.
(b) "State
Forester" * * *
means the forester appointed or employed by the * * * commissioner under the authority
of Section 49-19-3.
(c) "Eligible owner" shall mean either (i) a private individual, group or association, or (ii) an agency of state, local or municipal government, but the term shall not mean or include private corporations manufacturing products or providing public utility services of any type or any subsidiary of such corporations; provided, however, only one (1) owner of land owned in joint tenancy or tenancy in common and only one (1) member or officer of any group or association shall be eligible to apply for or receive cost-share assistance to be expended for development of any or all lands owned by such owners or group or association.
(d) "Eligible lands" shall mean (i) nonindustrial private lands owned by a private individual, group or association, and (ii) lands owned by the State of Mississippi or any political subdivision thereof, but shall not include lands owned by private corporations which manufacture products or provide public utility services of any type or any subsidiary of such corporations.
(e) "Cost-share
assistance" shall mean the partial financial assistance in such amounts as
the * * *
department, in its discretion, shall determine, subject to the
limitations of Sections 49-19-201 through 49-19-227.
(f) "Approved
practice" shall mean and include planting, seeding, timber stand
improvement, prescribed burning, site preparation, systematic planting of
hardwood trees for game preservation and development, or such other forest
resource development practice as the * * * commissioner shall approve
or determine proper generally or with regard to any particular applicant.
(g) "Forest development fund" shall mean the special fund established in the State Treasury, designated as the Forest Resource Development Fund, created by Section 49-19-227.
(h) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.
(i) "Division" means the Division of Forestry Services within the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.
SECTION 25. Section 49-19-207, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-207. The * * * department shall serve as
administrator of the provisions of Sections 49-19-201 through 49-19-227, and
shall serve as the disbursing agency for funds to be expended from and
deposited to the credit of the forest development fund.
SECTION 26. Section 49-19-209, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-209. The * * * commissioner is
authorized to employ such professional and clerical assistance as is needed to
implement the provisions of Sections 49-19-201 through 49-19-227, and to
compensate such individuals from funds appropriated for such purpose.
The * * * department is authorized
to purchase equipment, supplies and materials and to maintain and transport
equipment as is needed to implement the provisions of Sections 49-19-201
through 49-19-227, and to defray the expenses of such purchase and
transportation from any funds appropriated for such purpose.
SECTION 27. Section 49-19-211, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-211. The * * * commissioner shall * * * promulgate such rules and regulations
as are necessary for the implementation of Sections 49-19-201 through 49-19-227.
The * * *
department is authorized to conduct public hearings or otherwise seek
the advice, counsel and recommendations of interested owners, associations,
industrialists or other persons or groups. Adequate notice of any public
hearing must be provided within the general area of the site of the hearing.
The * * * department shall publish such
rules and regulations and shall make the same available upon request.
SECTION 28. Section 49-19-213, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-213. The * * * department is authorized to
use the money in the forest development fund to assist in implementing approved
practices, on a cost-sharing basis as provided in Sections 49-19-201 through 49-19-227,
on eligible lands in the State of Mississippi. However, no cost-share
assistance shall be provided an eligible owner to implement any approved
practice on any land or lands if the owner receives federal funds for such
practice and is using such federal funds for any forest resource development practice
on said land or lands. Eligible owners may use federal funds on other lands.
SECTION 29. Section 49-19-215, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-215. (1) The * * * department shall actively and
diligently encourage all eligible owners to use their own resources or to
employ the resources of private vendors to implement approved practices.
(2) The * * * department shall not enter
into active competition with eligible owners or private vendors for the on-the-ground
job of implementing any approved practice as it is the intent of the
Legislature to encourage private business, forest industries and the forestry
community to participate in the economic development which will be provided by
Sections 49-19-201 through 49-19-227.
SECTION 30. Section 49-19-217, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-217. If an eligible
owner cannot provide his own resources or procure a private vendor to implement
any approved practice, the * * * division, in * * * the discretion of the
commissioner, may act as vendor by utilizing employees, equipment,
materials and supplies of the * * * department. In such event,
the * * *
division shall charge the eligible owner a sum equal to the established
rate of the * * *
division for providing such service. Payments for such charge shall be
collected, received, and recorded in the same manner as other sales and
services funds received by the * * * department.
SECTION 31. Section 49-19-219, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-219. The * * * division shall have the
following powers and duties to implement the provisions of Sections 49-19-201
through 49-19-227:
(a) To determine which approved practices shall be eligible for cost-share assistance;
(b) To establish maximum sums, subject to the provisions of Section 49-19-221, which any one (1) eligible owner may receive for implementation of an approved practice;
(c) To review
periodically the costs of forest development practices and to make such
adjustment as, in the discretion of the * * * commissioner, is necessary in
the Thirty-seven Dollars and Fifty Cents ($37.50) per acre assistance allowed
in Section 49-19-221;
(d) Upon request of
the * * * commissioner, the Attorney General of the State of
Mississippi shall institute proper legal proceedings to recover any or all of
the cost-share assistance provided an eligible owner if the * * * division shall determine that
the owner failed to implement any portion of or all of the practice approved by
the * * *
division for such owner and if the * * * division determines that
legal proceedings are necessary and proper.
(e) To determine,
before approving any cost-share assistance for any eligible owner that such
approved practice is reasonable and is comparable to the actual cost of
implementing such practice in the general area in which the land is located.
Should the * * *
commissioner determine that the submitted cost of implementing the
approved practice is not reasonable, the * * * commissioner shall approve
cost-share assistance in an amount which is determined by the * * * commissioner to be
reasonable for the implementation of the approved practice in the general area
in which the land is located.
SECTION 32. Section 49-19-221, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-221. (1) An eligible
owner shall receive cost-share assistance as the * * * division, in its discretion,
shall determine and approve, but the * * * division shall not
approve * * * any
assistance in an amount which exceeds either: (a) a sum equal to
seventy-five percent (75%) of the owner's actual cost incurred in implementing
the approved practice approved by the * * * division for that owner on a
particular tract of land or lands, except that with respect to sixteenth
section school trust lands the * * * division may approve up to
one hundred percent (100%) cost-share for any school district that has less has
than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) in its Forestry Escrow Fund * * *; or (b) a sum equal to Thirty-seven
Dollars and Fifty Cents ($37.50) per acre of land on which the approved
practice is implemented by the owner; provided, however, that no eligible
owner, in any one (1) fiscal year, shall receive a sum total for all approved
practices implemented by the owner of more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00);
except that with respect to sixteenth section trust lands the * * * division, at its discretion,
may exceed * * *
the monetary limit in order to provide a total forest improvement
program within any county.
(2) The limitation of
Thirty-seven Dollars and Fifty Cents ($37.50) per acre, as set forth in * * * paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of
this section, may be changed by the * * * division under
the authorization of * * *
paragraph (c) of Section 49-19-219.
(3) During the reforestation of sixteenth section school trust lands classified as forestlands, no more than an average of twenty-five percent (25%) of Forest Resource Development Program funds will be spent on the reforestation of these school trust lands.
* * *
SECTION 33. Section 49-19-223, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-223. (1) Any
eligible owner who wishes to receive cost-share assistance shall file an
application with the * * *
division stating the practice to be implemented, the approximate cost of
such practice and a description of the land or lands upon which the practice is
to be implemented. The application shall be accompanied by a statement of
intent stating:
(a) That the owner
intends to utilize the cost-share assistance for long-range timber growing and
improvement * * *;
(b) That the owner is
not receiving or using federal funds for implementation of any approved
practice on the same acre of land or lands described in the application * * *; and
(c) That the owner, if an owner in joint tenancy or tenancy in common or if a member of a group or association owning the lands, has no knowledge of any application which has been filed for cost-share assistance to be used on the lands described in the application.
(2) The * * * division, upon completion of
the approved practice, shall tender all approved sums of the cost-share
assistance to the owner.
SECTION 34. Section 49-19-225, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-225. Any agency,
department, board, commission or other subdivision of government of the State
of Mississippi or any political subdivision thereof is authorized to implement
an approved practice on any lands suitable for forestry purposes owned by such
political entity or owned by the State of Mississippi and supervised or managed
by such entity. The governing authorities of such entity shall engage the
assistance of the county forester of the county in which the land is located in
the preparation of an application for submission to the * * * division. The * * * division shall treat any
such political entity as an individual owner for purposes of considering
applications, granting cost-share assistance and approving the practice
implemented.
SECTION 35. Section 49-19-227, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-227. There is hereby
created in the State Treasury a special fund to be designated the Forest
Resource Development Fund, fiscal management and responsibility for which is
hereby vested in the * * * department and which shall consist
of that portion of the privilege tax on timber and timber products as
authorized by Section 27-25-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, and any funds
appropriated specifically therefor by the Legislature. The Legislature shall
appropriate such sums as it may deem necessary including any proceeds of
general obligation bonds which may be authorized by the Legislature for the
support of the Forest Resources Development Program provided for under Sections
49-19-201 through 49-19-227. Those funds appropriated by the Legislature
remaining in the special fund at the end of any fiscal year shall lapse into
the General Fund, but other funds shall remain in the special fund.
SECTION 36. Section 49-19-305, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-305. As used in Sections 49-19-301 through 49-19-307 unless the context requires otherwise:
(a) "Prescribed burning" means the controlled application of fire to naturally occurring vegetative fuels for ecological, silvicultural and wildlife management purposes under specified environmental conditions and the following of appropriate precautionary measures which cause the fire to be confined to a predetermined area and accomplishes the planned land management objectives.
(b) "Certified
prescribed burn manager" means an individual or county forester who
successfully completes the certification program approved by the Mississippi * * * Department of
Agriculture and Commerce.
(c) "Prescription" means a written plan for starting and controlling a prescribed burn to accomplish the ecological, silvicultural and wildlife management objectives.
SECTION 37. Section 49-19-307, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-307. (1) No property owner or his agent, conducting a prescribed burn pursuant to the requirements of this section, shall be liable for damage or injury caused by fire or resulting smoke unless negligence is proven.
(2) Prescribed burning conducted under the provisions of this section shall:
(a) Be accomplished only when at least one (1) certified prescribed burn manager is supervising the burn or burns that are being conducted;
(b) Require that a written prescription be prepared and notarized prior to prescribed burning;
(c) Require that a burning
permit be obtained from the Mississippi * * * Department of
Agriculture and Commerce; and
(d) Be considered in the public interest and shall not constitute a public or private nuisance when conducted pursuant to state air pollution statutes and rules applicable to prescribed burning.
(3) The * * * department
shall have the authority to promulgate rules for the certification of
prescribed burn managers and guidelines for a prescribed burn prescription.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the civil or criminal liability as provided in Section 97-17-13 and Section 95-5-25, Mississippi Code of 1972.
SECTION 38. Section 49-19-351, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-351. (1) In this
section, "drought or wildfire conditions" means the existence of a
deficit of moisture creating severe conditions with increased wildfire
occurrences as determined by the * * * Division of
Forestry Services through use of drought indices or models or the existence
of extreme wildfire conditions.
(2) If the * * * division
determines that drought or wildfire conditions exist in a county, the * * * Commissioner of Agriculture and
Commerce shall notify the board of supervisors of that county. The * * * commissioner may recommend
that a temporary outdoor burning ban or other restrictions be adopted by the
board of supervisors.
(3) The board of
supervisors may, by order, prohibit or restrict outdoor burning in all or part
of the unincorporated parts of the county if drought or wildfire conditions
have been determined to exist by the * * * division. An
order must specify the period during which burning is restricted. The * * * commissioner
shall notify the board of supervisors when the drought or wildfire conditions
no longer exist. Any order issued under this section shall expire upon the
determination that the drought or wildfire conditions no longer exist.
(4) Any person who knowingly and willfully violates an order under this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and may be fined not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00).
(5) The sheriff of the county shall enforce the order and may cite persons for violations of an order under this section.
SECTION 39. Section 49-19-403, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-403. (1) There is
hereby created the Mississippi Institute for Forest Inventory. The institute
shall be under the jurisdiction of the * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce. The budget of the institute shall
be funded through a separate line item within the general appropriation bill
for the support and maintenance of the * * * department.
(2) The institute shall be
headed by a director who shall be appointed by the * * * Commissioner of Agriculture
and Commerce. The advisory board shall submit three (3) qualified nominees
to the * * *
commissioner for the position of director. The * * * commissioner shall
appoint the director from the list of nominees submitted. The director shall
serve at the will and pleasure of the * * * commissioner.
(3) (a) There is hereby created an advisory board to the Mississippi Institute for Forest Inventory. The advisory board shall consist of eleven (11) members. The Director of the Mississippi Automated Resource Information System; the Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority, or his designee; the Director of the Forest and Wildlife Research Center at Mississippi State University, or his designee; and the State Forester, or his designee; shall be ex officio members with full voting power.
(b) The Governor shall appoint four (4) members from the state at large with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Governor shall appoint one (1) member from each of the following categories: a private nonindustrial forest landowner, a Mississippi registered forester, a certified wildlife or fisheries biologist, and a representative of an environmental organization. Appointments made after January 1, 2005, shall be for initial terms as follows: a private nonindustrial forest landowner, four (4) years; a Mississippi registered forester, three (3) years; a certified wildlife or fisheries biologist, two (2) years; and a representative of an environmental organization one (1) year. After the expiration of the initial terms, the terms shall be for four (4) years.
(c) The Lieutenant Governor shall appoint three (3) members from the state at large with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Lieutenant Governor shall appoint one (1) member from each of the following categories: the timber harvesting industry, the forest products industry, and a citizen with forestry related interests. Appointments made after January 1, 2005, shall be for initial terms as follows: timber harvesting industry, four (4) years; forest products industry, three (3) years; and a citizen with forestry related interests, two (2) years. After the expiration of the initial terms, the terms shall be for four (4) years.
(d) The advisory board shall elect a chairman from its membership.
(e) The advisory board shall advise, assist and recommend policies that aid the institute in the development and implementation of a statewide forest inventory.
(f) Members of the advisory board may be reimbursed for mileage and actual and necessary expenses as provided under Section 25-3-41.
(g) The Chairman of the Senate Forestry Committee and the Chairman of the House Forestry Committee shall serve as members of the Joint Institute for Forest Inventory Oversight Committee. For attending meetings, the legislators shall receive per diem and expenses from their respective contingent expense funds at the rate authorized for committee meetings when the Legislature is not in session. No per diem and expenses will be paid for attending meetings when the Legislature is in session.
(4) The * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce shall have the following powers:
(a) To apply for, accept and expend any funds, grants or gifts from any public or private sources in furtherance of the institute's duties;
(b) To expend funds by appropriation or directly from any federal, local or private sources;
(c) Enter into contracts and execute all instruments to carry out the duties of the institute; and
(d) To do all acts necessary to carry out the duties of the institute.
(5) All funds received by the institute shall be deposited in the State Treasury for the use of the institute.
SECTION 40. Section 49-19-407, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-407. The Executive
Directors of the Mississippi Institute for Forest Inventory, the Mississippi * * * Department of
Agriculture and Commerce, the Mississippi Development Authority, the MSU
Forest and Wildlife Research Center, and the Cooperative Extension Service
shall establish a procedure and guidelines for the coordination of outreach and
education programs. It shall be the duty of each agency to cooperate and to
promote a coordinated outreach and education program to increase the
utilization of private nonindustrial forest landowner forest resources and
increase profitability for such resources.
SECTION 41. Section 51-11-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
51-11-5. (1) All powers of the Pearl River Basin Development District, hereinafter referred to in this chapter as the district, shall be exercised by a board of directors to be selected and composed as follows:
(a) The Mississippi
Commission on Environmental Quality, the Mississippi Commission on Wildlife,
Fisheries and Parks, the * * * Forestry Commission Mississippi Department of Agriculture
and Commerce, and the State Board of Health of the State of Mississippi
shall each appoint one (1) director to serve on the board of directors of the
district, each such director to serve at the pleasure of the respective state
agency appointing him but not to exceed a six-year term.
(b) The board of supervisors of each county which elects to become a member of the district shall appoint two (2) directors from that county, each of whom shall serve for a term of six (6) years or until his successor is appointed by the board of supervisors of that county and qualified. In making its initial appointment of directors, the board of supervisors of each member county shall appoint one (1) of its two (2) directors to serve for a term of three (3) years or until his successor is appointed and qualified.
(c) In addition to the two (2) directors in paragraph (b), each county shall be entitled to additional representation on the board based on its annual contribution for the support of the district required under Section 51-11-31. If the annual contribution of a county as certified under Section 51-11-31 is more than One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), the county may appoint one (1) additional director for each increment of One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), to be contributed. Each additional director shall serve a term of six (6) years. If, in subsequent years, a county's contribution is reduced below One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), or a multiple thereof, a county's additional representation shall be reduced correspondingly. If a county's contribution representation is reduced, the board of supervisors of the county shall designate the director to be removed. No member county shall be entitled to more than three (3) additional directors under this paragraph.
(d) The Governor of the State of Mississippi shall appoint one (1) director residing within the district, who shall serve for a term of six (6) years or until his successor is appointed by the Governor and qualified.
(2) Each director shall take and subscribe to the general 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.
(3) Each director shall receive a per diem in the amount as provided in Section 25-3-69 for attending each day's meeting of the board of directors and for each day spent in attending to the necessary business of the district and, in addition, he shall receive reimbursement for actual expenses, including travel expenses, as provided in Section 25-3-41.
(4) The board of directors shall annually elect from its number a president and vice president of the district and such other officers as, in the judgment of the board of directors, are necessary. The president shall be the chief executive officer of the district and the presiding officer of the board of directors, and shall have the same right to vote as any other director. The vice president shall perform all duties and exercise all powers conferred by this chapter upon the president when the president is absent or fails or declines to act, except the president's right to vote. The board of directors shall also appoint a secretary and a treasurer who shall be members of the board of directors, and it may combine those officers. 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 may be required to give bond in the sum of not less than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), with sureties qualified to do business in this state, and the premiums on said bonds shall be an expense of the district. Each such bond shall be payable to the State of Mississippi; the condition of each such bond shall be that the treasurer or director will faithfully perform all duties of his office and account for all money or other assets which shall come into his custody as treasurer or director of the district.
(5) A majority of the total membership of the board of directors shall constitute a quorum at a regular meeting, or at any special meeting duly called and held for a specific purpose. All business of the district shall be transacted by the affirmative vote of a majority of the total membership of the board of directors.
(6) The State Auditor of Public Accounts shall annually audit the books and records of the district and make a report thereof to the Governor and the Legislature.
SECTION 42. Section 51-11-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
51-11-9. (1) Within twenty
(20) days after the passage of this chapter, the Mississippi Commission on
Environmental Quality, the Mississippi Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and
Parks, the * * * Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce,
and the State Board of Health of the State of Mississippi shall appoint their
respective members to the proposed district board of directors as provided in
Section 51-11-5. These four (4) appointive members, upon taking the oath as
provided, shall meet in the Office of the Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality in Jackson, Mississippi, within ten (10) days, and adopt
by a majority vote a resolution setting forth their intentions of creating the
district and shall forthwith send a certified copy of said resolution to:
(a) The Governor;
(b) Executive officers
of the Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality, Mississippi Commission
on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, * * * Mississippi Department
of Agriculture and Commerce, and State Board of Health; and
(c) The president of the board of supervisors and the chancery clerk of each county which is part of the Pearl River Basin. After receipt of said resolution, each of the four (4) state agencies hereinabove named may adopt its own resolution favorable or unfavorable to the creation of said district; and the respective boards of supervisors may, at their next regular meeting or at any subsequent meeting, likewise adopt a resolution favorable or unfavorable to creating said district. All said resolutions adopted shall be certified by adopting body's secretary, clerk, or executive officer, and certified copies shall be filed with each state agency and political subdivision named in this section.
(2) The board of supervisors of any county which is part of the Pearl River Basin and which desires to become a member of the district shall, upon receipt of the certified resolution to be adopted by the four (4) initial directors, declare said board's intentions by adopting a resolution expressing its desire to have said district created and stating that its county desires to be a member thereof and that said board desires and intends to levy a special ad valorem tax not to exceed one-half (1/2) mill on all taxable property within said county for the use and benefit of the Pearl River Basin Development District, if and in the event that other funds of that county are not available and appropriated to pay for that county's required contribution to said district. The said resolution shall be published once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks in some newspaper published in the county and having a general circulation therein. If within twenty-one (21) days after the date of the first publication of said resolution no petition signed by twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of the county is filed with the board of supervisors requesting the calling of an election on the question of the county's participation in the district and the levying of the special ad valorem tax not to exceed one-half (1/2) mill as aforesaid, then the board of supervisors may proceed to have the county made a member of said district and to levy the special ad valorem tax not to exceed one-half (1/2) mill if and when required; but if within twenty-one (21) days after the date of the first publication of said resolution a petition is filed, signed by at least twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of said county, requesting an election on the proposition of said county's becoming a member of the proposed district and the levying of the special ad valorem tax not to exceed one-half (1/2) mill as herein provided, then said election shall be held and conducted as now provided by law for such election. If such an election is held and a majority of those voting therein vote for the proposition, the board shall, by appropriate resolution, bring the county into the district and levy the special ad valorem tax not to exceed one-half (1/2) mill as provided by this chapter, if required. If the majority of those voting in such election shall vote against the proposition, then the county shall not become a member of the district nor levy the one-half (1/2) mill tax, and no further election shall be so conducted until the lapse of two (2) years after the last election.
(3) Whenever an aggregate of six (6) counties shall have become members of the Pearl River Basin Development District in the manner provided in this section, the said district shall be created as an agency of the state and a body politic and corporate with all the powers granted to it by statute; at which time the Governor shall appoint the four (4) directors to be appointed by him.
(4) Any eligible county may become a member of the district subsequent to its creation, in the manner that the original counties became members. New member counties shall have the same power and authority and be entitled to equal consideration of the district's board of directors, not inconsistent with the purpose of this chapter.
SECTION 43. Section 51-13-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
51-13-105. All powers of the district shall be exercised by a board of directors, to be composed of the following:
(a) Each member of the Tombigbee Valley Authority as created by virtue of Sections 51-13-1 through 51-13-9, whose county becomes a part of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District shall be a member of the Board of Directors of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District, and each state-at-large member of the Tombigbee Valley Authority shall become a member of the Board of Directors of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District when one or more entire counties become members of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District. Such directors shall serve on this board during their term of office on the Tombigbee Valley Authority. In addition, the board of supervisors of each county within the Tombigbee River Basin which elects to become a member of the district shall appoint one (1) board member to serve for a term of four (4) years or until his successor is named. The Governor shall appoint one (1) member from each county added to the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District which county is not now a member of the Tombigbee Valley Authority, and such member shall serve for a four-year term or until his successor is appointed.
(b) The Department of
Environmental Quality, the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, the * * * Mississippi Department
of Agriculture and Commerce, and the State Board of Health of the State of
Mississippi shall each appoint one (1) director from that department to serve
on the Board of Directors of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management
District, to serve at the pleasure of the entity appointing him but not to
exceed four-year terms.
(c) Each director shall take and subscribe to the general 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.
(d) Each director shall receive compensation at a per diem rate as provided in Section 25-3-69 for each day or fraction thereof spent in actual discharge of his official duties and shall be reimbursed for mileage and actual expenses incurred in the performance of his official duties in accordance with the requirements of Section 25-3-41.
(e) 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 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 those 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) with sureties qualified to do business in this state, 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 his office and account for all money or other assets which shall come into his custody as treasurer or director of the district.
SECTION 44. Section 51-13-107, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
51-13-107. (1) Within
twenty (20) days after the passage of this article, the Mississippi Commission
on Environmental Quality, State Board of Health, Mississippi Commission on
Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, and the * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce shall appoint their respective
members to the proposed district board of directors as provided in Section 51-13-105.
The four (4) appointive members, upon taking the oath as provided, shall meet
in the Office of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality in
Jackson, Mississippi, within ten (10) days and adopt by a majority vote a
resolution setting forth their intentions of creating the district and shall
forthwith send a certified copy of said resolution to: ( * * *a) each member of the Tombigbee Valley
Authority as now constituted, ( * * *b) the Governor, ( * * *c) executive officers of the
Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality, Board of Health, Mississippi
Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, and * * * Mississippi Department
of Agriculture and Commerce, and ( * * *d) the president of the board of
supervisors and chancery clerk of each county through which any part of the
Tombigbee River or any of its tributaries lie. The four (4) state agencies
herein named and the Tombigbee Valley Authority may, within ten (10) days from
receipt of said resolution, adopt its own resolution favorable or unfavorable
to the creation of said district; and the respective boards of supervisors may
at their next regular meeting likewise adopt a resolution favorable or
unfavorable to creating said district. All of said resolutions adopted shall
be certified by its secretary, clerk, or executive officer and shall be filed
with each state agency, political subdivision, or other agency named in Section
55-13-105.
(2) Every board of supervisors of those counties desiring to become members of the district, through which the Tombigbee River or any of its tributaries lie, shall, upon receipt of the certified resolutions mentioned in this section, declare said board's intentions by adopting a resolution expressing its desire to have said district created and to levy an ad valorem tax not to exceed one-half (1/2) mill on all the taxable property within the Tombigbee Watershed area of said county for the use and benefit of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District. The said resolution shall be published once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks in some newspaper published in the county and having a general circulation therein, and if no petition signed by twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of the county is filed with the board requesting the calling of an election on the question of the county's participation in the district and the levying of the one-half (1/2) mill tax levy aforesaid, the board may proceed to have the county become a member of said district and to levy the one-half (1/2) mill tax levy but if, within twenty-one (21) days after the date of the first publication of said resolution, a petition signed by at least twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of said county, requesting an election on the proposition of said county becoming a member of the proposed district and the levying of the one-half (1/2) mill tax as herein provided, is filed, said election shall be held and conducted as now provided by law for such elections. If such an election is held and a majority of those voting therein vote for the proposition, the board shall, by appropriate resolution, bring the county into the district and levy the one-half (1/2) mill tax as otherwise provided by law. If the majority of those voting in such election shall vote against the proposition, then the county shall not become a member of the district nor levy the one-half (1/2) mill tax; and no further election shall be so conducted until the lapse of two (2) years after the last election.
(3) Whenever an aggregate of six (6) counties have become members of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District in the manner provided in this section, the said district shall be created as an agency of the state and a body politic and corporate with all of the powers granted it by statute.
SECTION 45. Section 53-7-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
53-7-11. (1) The commission may adopt, modify, repeal, after due notice and hearing, and where not otherwise prohibited by federal or state law, make exceptions to and grant exemptions and variances from and may enforce rules and regulations pertaining to surface mining and reclamation operations to implement the provisions of this chapter.
(2) Adopting rules and regulations, the commission shall comply with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law, and in addition, may hold a public hearing. Notice of the date, time, place and purpose of the hearing shall be given thirty (30) days before the scheduled date of the hearing as follows:
(a) By mail to:
(i) All operators known by the commission to be actively engaged in surface mining in the state;
(ii) Persons who request notification of proposed actions regarding rules and regulations and any other person the commission deems appropriate; and
(iii) The
Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission, the Mississippi
Department of Environmental Quality, Mississippi Department of Wildlife,
Fisheries and Parks, * * * Mississippi Department of Archives and History,
Mississippi Department of Transportation and the Mississippi Department of
Agriculture and Commerce.
(b) By publication once weekly for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper having general circulation in the State of Mississippi.
(3) Any person may submit written comments or appear and offer oral comments at the public hearing. The commission shall consider all comments and relevant data presented at the hearing before final adoption of rules and regulations under this chapter. The failure of any person to submit comments within a time period as established by the commission shall not preclude action by the commission.
SECTION 46. Section 53-7-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
53-7-29. (1) The department shall file a copy of each permit application for public inspection with the chancery clerk of the county where any portion of the operation is proposed to occur after deleting the confidential information according to Section 53-7-75.
(2) The department shall
submit copies, excluding all confidential information, of the permit
application as soon as possible to: (a) the Mississippi Soil and
Water Conservation Commission, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries
and Parks, * * * Mississippi Department of Environmental
Quality, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Mississippi Department
of Transportation, Mississippi State Oil and Gas Board and Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce; (b) any other state agency whose
jurisdiction the department believes the particular mining operation may affect;
and (c) any person who requests in writing a copy of the application; and (d)
the owner of the land. The department shall require payment of a reasonable
fee established by the commission for reimbursement of the costs of reproducing
and providing the copy.
(3) Each agency shall review the permit application and submit, within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the application, any comments, recommendations and evaluations as the agency deems necessary and proper based only upon the effect of the proposed operation on matters within the agency's jurisdiction. The comments shall include a listing of permits or licenses required under the agency's jurisdiction. Comments and recommendations shall be made a part of the record and one (1) copy shall be furnished to the applicant. All comments and recommendations shall be considered by, but shall not be binding upon, the Permit Board. The failure of any agency to submit comments shall not preclude action by the Permit Board.
SECTION 47. Section 53-9-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
53-9-11. (1) The commission may adopt, modify, repeal and promulgate, after due notice and hearing and in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law, and where not otherwise prohibited by federal or state law, may make exceptions to and grant exemptions and variances from and may enforce rules and regulations necessary or appropriate to carry out this chapter. Those rules and regulations shall be consistent with rules and regulations promulgated by the United States Secretary of the Interior under the federal act. No exceptions, exemptions or variances shall be less stringent than rules and regulations promulgated under the federal act. Any rules and regulations adopted by the commission may be more stringent than those promulgated by the United States Secretary of the Interior as long as they are not otherwise inconsistent with this chapter. A rule or regulation adopted by the commission may differ in its terms and provisions regarding particular conditions, particular mining techniques, particular areas of the state, or any other conditions that appear relevant and necessary as long as the action taken is consistent with this chapter. Before adopting any rules and regulations under this chapter, the commission shall hold a public hearing. Notice of the date, time, place and purpose of the hearing shall be given thirty (30) days before the scheduled date of the hearing as follows:
(a) By mail:
(i) To all operators known by the commission to be actively engaged in surface coal mining operations in the state;
(ii) To persons who make written request for notification of the proposed regulations;
(iii) To the Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission, and to each local soil and water conservation district;
(iv) To the
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, * * * the
Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the Mississippi Department of
Transportation, the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, the
Mississippi State Oil and Gas Board, the Mississippi Department of Marine
Resources, and the Mississippi State Department of Health; and
(v) To any other state agency whose jurisdiction the commission feels the surface coal mining operations may affect;
(b) To other interested parties by publication of the notice once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in one (1) newspaper having general circulation in the state.
(2) Any person may submit written comments or appear and offer oral comments at the public hearing. The commission shall consider all comments and relevant data presented at the public hearing before final adoption of rules and regulations under this chapter. The failure of any person to submit comments within a time period as established by the commission shall not preclude action by the commission.
SECTION 48. Section 55-3-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
55-3-1. The Governor of the
state is authorized to accept gifts of land to the state, not to exceed ten
percent (10%) of the area of any county, to be held, protected, and
administered by the * * * Mississippi Department of Agriculture
and Commerce as state forests and parks and to be used to demonstrate their
practical utility for reforestation and as breeding places for wild game, and
he is authorized to accept gifts of land to be used and administered by the
commission as state parks. Such gifts must be absolute, except for the
reservation of any or all mineral rights, and in no case shall exceed ten
percent (10%) of the area of any county wherein such lands may be situated.
The Attorney General is directed to see that all deeds to the state are
properly executed and that the titles thereto are free and clear of all
encumbrances before the gift is accepted. When any donation exceeding six
hundred (600) acres is made, the name of the donor or any name he may suggest,
on the approval of the commission shall be given such donation as the
designation of such forest or park.
SECTION 49. Section 55-3-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
55-3-11. The * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce shall have the control and management
of any and all forests or public parks set aside and dedicated as provided for
in Section 55-3-7, and shall have authority to issue grazing or farming permits
or leases on said parks, and to make sales of timber and other forest products
of the soil from same. The Mississippi Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and
Parks shall have the control and management of any and all lands set aside and
dedicated for a fish and game refuge and/or preserve. The * * * Mississippi Department
of Agriculture and Commerce and the Mississippi Commission on Wildlife,
Fisheries and Parks shall cooperate in the utilization of any lands so
dedicated both for forestry and game and fish conservation purposes.
In the case of state forests
and/or state parks the * * * Mississippi Department of Agriculture
and Commerce, and, in the case of fish and game preserves, the Mississippi
Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, is hereby vested with authority to
institute proceedings against trespassers and others in the name of the State
of Mississippi, and to do all things necessary and proper to obtain the most
complete and advantageous developments of state forests, parks, and fish and
game preserves.
SECTION 50. Section 55-3-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
55-3-19. Where the federal
government and the state government or any subdivision thereof are cooperating
in the establishment of a major park and forest and game reserve, and where the
property owners in the territory therein involved have agreed to convey as much
as fifty percent (50%) of the area required for said purposes, the * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce, together with the Mississippi Commission
on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks or any subdivision of the state, are hereby
empowered to exercise the right of eminent domain in the manner now provided by
law to obtain the necessary lands needed.
SECTION 51. Section 55-3-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
55-3-21. There is hereby
established in the State Treasury a revolving fund to be used by the * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce to carry out the provisions of the
will of William W. Kurtz, dated July 12, 1940, which donated one thousand seven
hundred sixty (1,760) acres of forestland in Greene County to the State of
Mississippi to be held, protected, administered and improved by the * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce as a state forest. The fund shall
be called the Kurtz State Forest Revolving Fund, and money for the fund shall
accrue from any revenues derived from the Kurtz State Forest including, but not
limited to, timber sales, hunting leases, permit fees, and stump and naval
stores operations. The * * * State Forestry Commission Mississippi Department of
Agriculture and Commerce is authorized to expend a portion of the monies in
the fund to purchase in the name of the State of Mississippi other lands, not
to exceed five hundred (500) acres, which are contiguous to or located near the
lands donated by the Kurtz will, for the purpose of expanding the Kurtz State
Forest. The * * * Mississippi Department of Agriculture and
Commerce also may expend monies in the fund for the purposes described in
Section 55-3-23. The State Treasurer shall invest all monies in the fund, and
interest earned on the investments shall be paid back into the fund and not
into the General Fund. The fund shall be audited annually by the State
Auditor.
SECTION 52. Section 55-3-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
55-3-23. The Mississippi * * * Department of
Agriculture and Commerce is authorized, annually, to pay to the State Line
Cemetery Association, out of the proceeds and receipts derived from timber
sales in the Kurtz State Forest, an amount not to exceed Two Hundred Dollars
($200.00) for the upkeep of the cemetery in which W.W. Kurtz and wife, the
donors of Kurtz State Forest, are buried.
SECTION 53. Section 29-3-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
29-3-27. No sixteenth section lands or lands granted in lieu thereof, in whole or in part, situated within the school district holding or owning the same shall ever be sold, except that the board of education may, under the procedures hereinafter provided, sell such lands for industrial development thereon, therein, or thereunder to any persons, firms, or corporations in fee simple, or any lesser estate therein, for a purchase price not less than the fair market value thereof; and when any such sale is made, the deed shall be executed in the name of the State of Mississippi by the superintendent of the said board of education.
As used in this section and in Sections 29-3-29 and 29-3-61, the term "industrial development" shall include restoration as a tourist attraction the place where an organization was founded, which said organization has since been expanded to be national or international in its membership, scope, and influence.
The proceeds of the sale in
fee simple of any sixteenth section, or lands granted in lieu thereof, in whole
or in part, or such part of said proceeds as may be required to purchase
acreage of equivalent fair market value, shall be used by the board of
education, to purchase other land in the county, which land shall be held and
reserved by the State of Mississippi for the support of the township schools in
lieu of the land thus sold, as other sixteenth section lieu land is held, and
shall be subject to all laws applicable thereto. Every such sale and every
such purchase of land in lieu thereof shall be reported by the secretary of the
board of education to the State Land Commissioner and to the * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce within ninety (90) days after the
consummation of each such sale and purchase. Any funds from a sale in fee
simple of any sixteenth section land, or land granted in lieu thereof, in
excess of any amount used to purchase said land in lieu thereof, shall be
treated as corpus and shall be invested by the board of education as provided
by law. Only the income from such investment shall be expended for current
operating expenses of the schools.
SECTION 54. Section 29-3-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
29-3-45. (1) (a) The
board of education shall, by order placed upon its minutes, enter into an
agreement with the * * * Mississippi Department of Agriculture
and Commerce for the general supervision and management of all lands
classified as forest lands and of all timber or other forest products under the
control of the board on sixteenth section lands, and lieu lands which have not been
so classified. However, any school board may contract with private persons or
businesses for the reforestation of sixteenth section lands and may contract
with a registered forester to be paid from the 16th Section Interest Fund for a
review of any forestry management decision or forestry practice including the
sale of timber for sixteenth section forest land provided that any
implementation of a forestry management decision or forestry practice to be
taken as a result of the review described in this subsection shall be subject
to the approval of both the commission and the Secretary of State. When such
agreement has been entered into, no timber or other forest products shall be
sold from any of the sixteenth section lands or lieu lands except such as have
been marked or approved for cutting by the * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce's employees. The * * * department, or its
designated employee, shall fix the minimum total cash price or minimum price
per unit, one thousand (1,000) feet or other measure, at which the marked
timber or other forest products shall be sold. The sales may be made for a
lump sum or upon a unit price as in the opinion of the board may be calculated
to bring the greatest return. Sales shall be made upon such other terms and
conditions as to manner of cutting, damages for cutting of unmarked trees,
damages to trees not cut and other pertinent matters as the board of education
shall approve.
(b) The * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce shall have the sole authority and
control in scheduling of all cutting and harvesting of timber or other forest
products when such timber stands or other forest products are determined by the * * * department to
be economically ready for cutting and harvesting.
(c) Should a school
board disagree with the * * * Forestry Commission Mississippi Department of Agriculture
and Commerce concerning the time of cutting and harvesting, the board may
make an appeal to the * * *
department. If the school board is not satisfied after the appeal to
the * * *
department, the board may then appeal to the Secretary of State who will
make the final decision as to the time for cutting and harvesting. In the
event that the local school board is divested of its management authority under
subsection (3) hereof, the Secretary of State after due consultation with the * * * Mississippi Department
of Agriculture and Commerce shall retain the right to make final decisions
concerning the management and sale of timber and other forest products.
(d) It is hereby made
the duty of the * * * Mississippi Department of Agriculture and
Commerce, from time to time, to mark timber which should be cut from the
lands, to determine what planting, deadening or other forestry improvements
should be made, giving due consideration to food and habitat for wildlife, and
to report to the appropriate board of education. The * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce and the board of education shall
supervise the cutting of any timber or harvesting of other forest products sold
from the lands herein designated and shall have authority to require any timber-cutting
operations on the lands to cease until proper adjustment is made, whenever it
shall appear that timber is being cut in violation of the terms of the sale.
In the event that it is desired to lease any of such lands or standing timber
for turpentine purposes, such lease shall only cover such trees as the * * * Division of
Forestry Services shall designate, and the commission through its employees
shall approve the number of faces, method of chipping and boxing of such
timber, and shall fix a minimum total cash price or minimum price per unit.
(e) No sale of any timber, turpentine or other forest products lease shall be made until notice of same shall have been published once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in at least one (1) newspaper published in such county. The first publication of such notice shall be made not less than twenty-one (21) days prior to the date fixed for the sale, and the last publication shall be made not more than seven (7) days prior to such date. If no newspaper is published in such county, then such notice shall be given by publishing the same for the required time in some newspaper having a general circulation in such county and, in addition thereto, by posting a copy of such notice for at least twenty-one (21) days next preceding such sale at three (3) public places in such county.
(f) Notwithstanding
the above provision pertaining to the sale of any timber, turpentine or other
forest products, in the event that timber must be cleared from an existing road
or existing utility right-of-way, the public notice requirement may be waived.
Prior to waiver of the public notice requirement, the * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce must make a finding that, due to the
small area of timber to be cleared, a public notice sale would not be in the
best interest of the local board of education. If the * * * department
makes such a finding, then it shall set the value of the timber to be paid to
the local board of education by the party requesting the timber be removed.
(g) Provided, however,
in the case of damage by fire, windstorm or other natural causes which would
require immediate sale of the timber, because the time involved for
advertisement as prescribed herein would allow decay, rot or destruction
substantially decreasing the purchase price to be received had not such delay
occurred, the advertisement provisions of this section shall not apply. The
local board of education, with a written recommendation from a designated
employee of the * * * Mississippi Department of Agriculture and
Commerce filed in the minutes of the local board of education, shall
determine when immediate sale of the timber is required. When the board of
education shall find an immediate sale necessary for the causes stated herein,
it shall, in its discretion, set the time for receipt of bids on the purchase
of the timber, but shall show due diligence in notifying competitive bidders so
that a true competitive bid shall be received.
(2) (a) A local board of
education having control of the sixteenth section lands in the Hurricane
Katrina Disaster of 2005 shall be granted emergency powers to take any and all
actions of a reasonably prudent trustee acting under emergency conditions to
recover damaged timber, prevent further loss or damage to timber, and to
minimize economic loss. All such actions shall be taken in consultation with
and shall be subject to the prior approval from the Secretary of State and the * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce. The emergency powers shall be as
follows:
(i) Contract with any individual or entity for management advice, sale of timber, clearing of damage to timber producing lands, transporting of timber, repairing access roads to timber lands, conducting aerial spraying, or taking any other type of action to prevent further loss of timber or diminution in value of existing timber as the result of the incident which necessitated the declaration of a natural disaster. In contracting with any individual or entity, the local board of education shall use its best efforts to ensure that all costs incurred are reasonable and that a fair price is received for all sales.
(ii) Enter into agreements with any individual, private company, or other governmental entities for the pooling of resources, or the sharing of costs so as to maximize the mitigation of loss and minimize the expense of mitigating the loss of timber.
(iii) Apply for any state, federal, or private party grant or nonrepayable funds to cover costs associated with emergency management contracts, sale timber, including loss for diminution of value, transporting of timber, replanting of timber, repairing access roads to timber, conducting aerial spraying, or reimbursement for any other action taken to prevent further timber damage, as well as mitigating the loss of funds due to damage.
(b) The emergency powers granted herein shall be for a period of one (1) year from the date of designation as a disaster area due to Hurricane Katrina. The emergency powers may be extended for one (1) additional one-year period upon prior written approval from the Secretary of State.
(c) The emergency powers shall also apply to the management of timber by the Secretary of State pursuant to subsection (3) of this section.
(d) In the event a
local board of education is unable to acquire the services of the * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce or the Secretary of State to meet an
immediate need to salvage, remove or take other appropriate action on damaged
timber, the local board of education shall unilaterally be granted the
authority to take such actions as necessary regarding the management or sale of
timber or other forest products.
(e) In exercising emergency powers, a local board of education or the Secretary of State shall exercise the general powers of a trustee with the same general restrictions and general liabilities of a trustee and shall exercise the care and skill of an ordinary prudent person to protect the beneficiaries of the trust under such emergency circumstances.
(f) Any contractor with a local board of education or the Secretary of State shall be entitled to rely on representations by such board of education or the Secretary of State as to who has authority to enter contracts for the management or sale of timber or other forest products, and reliance on such representations shall not be grounds for voiding any contract.
(3) (a) In the event that any member of a local board of education may have a personal interest, either direct or indirect, in the decisions regarding the management or sale of timber or other forest products or in a contract for the sale of timber or other forest products from sixteenth section school lands under the jurisdiction and control of the board, then the board of education shall automatically be divested of all authority and power to manage and sell timber or other forest products on sixteenth section lands under its control and jurisdiction. The divestiture shall extend for the period of service, and for one (1) year thereafter, of the board member having a direct or indirect personal interest in the sale or decision to sell timber or other forest products.
(b) During the time in which any local board of education may be divested of authority and power to manage and sell timber and other forest products, such authority and power shall be vested in the Secretary of State, as supervisory trustee of sixteenth section lands. Upon the appointment or election of a member of a local board of education who may have such an appointment or election of a member of a local board of education who may have such an interest in decisions and contracts regarding the management and sale of timber or other forest products, the board of education shall immediately notify the Secretary of State in writing. Likewise, the board shall give written notification to the Secretary of State within thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of any such divestiture period. Any contractor with a local board of education or the Secretary of State shall be entitled to rely on representations by such board or the Secretary of State as to who has authority to enter contracts for the management or sale of timber or other forest products, and reliance on such representations shall not be grounds for voiding any contract.
(c) The laws providing
for the management and sale of timber and other forest products by local boards
of education shall apply to the management and sale of timber and other forest
products by the Secretary of State. The Mississippi * * * Department of
Agriculture and Commerce shall provide the Secretary of State with advice
and services in the same manner as provided to local boards of education.
(d) The Secretary of State shall be paid all monies derived from the sale of timber or other forest products and shall promptly forward the same to the superintendent of education for such school district with instructions for the proper settlement, deposit and investment of the monies. Such local school board shall reimburse the Secretary of State for all direct costs relating to the management and sale of timber or other forest products, and in the case of a sale of timber or other forest products, the Secretary of State may deduct such direct cost from the proceeds of sale. The Secretary of State shall furnish an itemized listing of all direct cost charged to the local school district.
SECTION 55. Section 29-3-47, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
29-3-47. For its services
the * * * Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce
shall be entitled to receive its actual expenses incurred in the discharge of
the duties herein imposed. In order to provide funds with which to pay for the
general supervision and sale of forest products, fifteen percent (15%) of all
receipts from the sales of forest products shall be placed by the board in a
Forestry Escrow Fund and reserved to pay for work performed by the * * * department.
Such payments shall be equal to the actual expenses incurred by the commission
as substantiated by itemized bills presented to the board.
Money in the Forestry Escrow Fund may be used to pay for any forestry work authorized during the period of the agreement and shall not be subject to lapse by reason of county budget limitations.
In each school district
having need of tree planting and timber stand improvement, the board of
education is authorized to place additional amounts in the Forestry Escrow Fund
to reimburse the * * * Mississippi Department of Agriculture
and Commerce for actual expenses incurred in performing this work, or to
pay for any work done under private contract under the supervision of said
commission. Such additional amounts may be made available from forest products
sales receipts, funds borrowed from the sixteenth section principal fund as is
provided for in Section 29-3-113, or any other funds available to the board of
education excluding minimum foundation program funds. Expenditures from the
Forestry Escrow Fund for tree planting, timber stand improvement, and other
forestry work will be limited to payment for work recommended by the * * * department and
agreed to by the board of education.
When it becomes evident that
the amount of money in the Forestry Escrow Fund is in excess of the amount
necessary to accomplish the work needed to achieve the goals set by the board
of education and the * * * Mississippi Department of Agriculture and
Commerce, the * * * department shall advise said board
to release any part of such funds as will not be needed, which may then be
spent for any purpose authorized by law.
SECTION 56. Section 29-3-49, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
29-3-49. It shall be the
duty of the * * * Mississippi Department of Agriculture and
Commerce, in the manner provided in Section 29-3-45, to enter into
agreements for timber improvement purposes with the board of education upon the
request of the board. The contract shall provide for the carrying out of a
long-term program of timber improvement, including any or all of the
following: The deadening of undesirable hardwoods, the planting of trees, the
cutting and maintaining of fire lanes, and the establishment of marked
boundaries on all lands classified as forest lands in the agreements, which
provide for the reimbursement of all current costs incurred by the * * * department
and the carrying out of the duties required by such agreements. In the
alternative, the * * * department, in its discretion, may have the option
to contract with a private contractor, subject to the approval of the board, to
perform this work under the supervision of the commission. Payment of the
reimbursements as hereinabove set forth to the * * * department, or of
compensation due under any such contract with private contractors shall be made
upon presentation of itemized bills by the commission or the private
contractors, as the case may be, and may be made out of any sixteenth section
funds to the credit of, or accruing to, any school district in which such work
shall be done, or out of any other funds available to such district, excluding
minimum foundation program funds.
SECTION 57. Section 29-3-54, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
29-3-54. Any leaseholder of
sixteenth section land, or land granted in lieu thereof, shall be authorized to
post such land against trespassers; provided that such posting shall not
prohibit the inspection of said lands by individuals responsible for the
management or supervision thereof acting in their official capacity. In the
event hunting or fishing rights have been leased on lands classified as forest
land, the holder of such rights and the * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce shall be authorized to post such
land against trespassers.
SECTION 58. Section 29-3-87, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
29-3-87. Notwithstanding the provisions of this or any other statute, the several boards of education are hereby authorized and empowered, in their discretion and by resolution spread upon the minutes, to set aside, reserve, and dedicate any available sixteenth section lands or lands in lieu thereof for use by such school district as a site for school buildings, which such dedication and reservation shall be for such length of time, not exceeding fifty (50) years, and upon such terms and conditions as the board of education, in its discretion, shall deem proper. Any such reservation or dedication of sixteenth section lands shall automatically cease and terminate if, at any time, the land involved shall cease to be used for the purpose for which the dedication or reservation is made. The reservation or dedication shall cover the surface of said lands only and shall not prevent the board of education from leasing said lands for oil, gas, and mineral exploration and development in a manner otherwise provided by law.
In the same manner and
subject to the same provisions hereinabove set forth the board of education
having a timber management and marketing agreement with the * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce or National Forest Service, may set
aside, reserve and dedicate any available sixteenth section lands or lands
granted in lieu thereof, which has been classified as forest land under the
provisions of Section 29-3-31 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972, to be utilized
for public parks and recreation areas. The board of supervisors or the
governing authorities of any municipality wherein such lands or any portion
thereof lie may expend any funds otherwise available for park or recreational
areas in the construction and maintenance of improvements to be located
thereon.
The setting aside, reservation and dedication of any such sixteenth section lands, or lands granted in lieu thereof by a board of education to the State Park Commission for the purpose of locating a state park thereon may be for a length of time not exceeding ninety-nine (99) years.
No sixteenth section or lieu land which is subject to an existing lease shall be set aside, dedicated, and reserved as a school building site or for public park or recreational purposes under the provisions of this section unless the school district involved shall acquire the unexpired leasehold interest from the leaseholder, or unless such lease and leasehold interest shall be surrendered and relinquished by the leaseholder.
SECTION 59. Section 49-7-203, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-7-203. (1) There is
created the Beaver and Wild Hog Control Advisory Board which shall be composed
of the administrative heads of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife,
Fisheries and Parks, * * * Department of Agriculture and Commerce,
Mississippi Department of Transportation and Mississippi State Cooperative
Extension Services, the Executive Director of the Mississippi Association of
Supervisors, the Executive Vice President of Delta Council and the President of
the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation. In addition, the board shall include,
as advisory, and nonvoting members:
(a) The Chairmen of the House and Senate Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Committees;
(b) The Chairmen of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees; and
(c) One (1) at-large member of the House and Senate appointed by the Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House.
(2) The board shall elect a chairman from among its members, who shall preside over meetings.
(3) The members of the board shall serve without compensation but all members of the board shall be entitled to reimbursement for all actual and necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties, including mileage as authorized by law.
(4) The board shall have the following duties and responsibilities:
(a) To adopt rules and regulations governing times and places for meetings and governing the manner of conducting its business;
(b) To develop a beaver and wild hog control program to be administered by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce or by any agency or agencies under an agreement with the board for that purpose;
(c) To designate the areas of the state having the greatest need for beaver and wild hog control or eradication and establish a list of priority areas on an annual basis;
(d) To establish, assess and collect any fees charged to participating landowners; and
(e) To function in an advisory capacity to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce or any agency or agencies administering the beaver and wild hog control program.
(5) The board shall have the authority to develop any programs and implement any regulations and policies. The board may develop what it deems necessary to address beaver and wild hog control within the state.
SECTION 60. Section 69-29-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-29-1. (1) (a) There is established the Mississippi Agricultural and Livestock Theft Bureau.
(b) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce shall appoint a director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Livestock Theft Bureau. Such director shall have at least five (5) years of law enforcement experience. Such director shall be responsible solely to the supervision of the Commissioner of Agriculture and to no other person or entity. Such director may be discharged only for just cause shown.
(c) The director may employ nine (9) agricultural and livestock theft investigators, one (1) from each highway patrol district, and each investigator is required to reside within the highway patrol district from which he or she is selected. Each investigator shall be certified as a law enforcement officer, successfully completing at least a nine-week training course, in accordance with Section 45-6-11. The curriculum for the training of constables shall not be sufficient for meeting the certification requirements of this paragraph. In the selection of investigators under this section, preference shall be given to persons who have previous law enforcement experience.
(d) The director appointed under this section, under the direction, control and supervision of the commissioner, and the investigators employed under this section shall perform only the duties described in subsection (2) of this section and shall not be assigned any other duties.
(2) The director appointed under this section and the investigators employed under this section shall have the following powers, duties and authority:
(a) To enforce all of the provisions of Sections 69-29-9 and 69-29-11, and particularly those portions requiring persons transporting livestock to have a bill of sale in their possession; to make investigations of violations of such sections and to arrest persons violating same;
(b) To enforce all of the laws of this state enacted for the purpose of preventing the theft of livestock, poultry, timber and agricultural, aquacultural and timber products and implements; to make investigations of violations thereof and to arrest persons violating same;
(c) To cooperate with all regularly constituted law enforcement officers relative to the matters herein set forth;
(d) To serve warrants and other process emanating from any court of lawful jurisdiction, including search warrants, in all matters herein set forth;
(e) To carry proper credentials evidencing their authority, which shall be exhibited to any person making demand therefor;
(f) To make arrests without warrant in all matters herein set forth in cases where same is authorized under the constitutional and general laws of this state;
(g) To handle the registration of brands of cattle and livestock;
(h) To investigate, prevent, apprehend and arrest those persons anywhere in the state who are violating any of the laws administered by the Department of Agriculture and Commerce, including, but not limited to, all agriculture-related crimes.
(i) To access and examine records of any person, business or entity that harvests, loads, carries, receives or manufactures timber products as defined in this section. Each such person or entity shall permit the director or any investigator of the Mississippi Agricultural and Livestock Theft Bureau to examine records of the sale, transfer or purchase of timber or timber products, including, but not limited to, contracts, load tickets, settlement sheets, drivers' logs, invoices, checks and any other records or documents related to an ongoing investigation of the Mississippi Agricultural and Livestock Theft Bureau.
(3) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce shall furnish such investigators with such vehicles, equipment and supplies as may be necessary. All expenses of same, and all other expenses incurred in the administration of this section, shall be paid from such appropriation as may be made by the Legislature.
(4) The * * * Department of Revenue
and its agents and employees shall cooperate with such investigators by
furnishing to them information as to any possible or suspected violations of
any of the laws mentioned herein, including specifically Section 69-29-27, and
in any other lawful manner.
(5) The conservation officers of the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks are authorized to cooperate with and assist the agricultural and livestock theft investigators in the enforcement and apprehension of violators of laws regarding agricultural and livestock theft.
(6) The * * * Division of
Forestry Services employees are excluded from any timber and timber
products theft investigative responsibilities except when technical expertise
is needed and requested through the State Forester or his designee.
(7) For the purposes of this section, "timber product" means timber of all kinds, species or sizes, including, but not limited to, logs, lumber, poles, pilings, posts, blocks, bolts, cordwood and pulpwood, pine stumpwood, pine knots or other distillate wood, crossties, turpentine (crude gum), pine straw, firewood and all other products derived from timber or trees that have a sale or commercial value.
SECTION 61. Section 69-1-61, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-1-61. There is hereby
created a Council of State Agencies on Agriculture for the primary purpose of
coordinating all information, programs, activities and services in the broad
field of agriculture and forestry which are authorized by state law and
supported by public appropriations therefor. The council shall consist of the
Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, State Chemist, Secretary of the Mississippi
Commission on * * * Environmental Quality, Directors of Mississippi
State University's Extension Service and Agricultural Experiment Stations,
Secretary of the Marketing Council of the * * * Mississippi
Development Authority, the State Forester, Dean of Mississippi State
University College of Agriculture, Dean of Mississippi State University School
of Forestry, and Commissioner of Higher Education. The chairman shall be
elected annually from the membership of the council. The commission shall meet
not less than one (1) time each quarter and the members' actual and necessary
expenses incurred, if any, shall be paid from their respective agency or
department funds. The council will endeavor to combine and coordinate their
individual and collective talents and experiences and of their respective
agencies in order to promulgate plans for more orderly growth and development
of all state agricultural and forestry enterprises to diminish unnecessary
overlapping or duplication of programs among the ten (10) departments
represented on the council. The Legislature hereby declares that there has
been found to be a need for this council as an advisory group for and on behalf
of the state government, and that it is charged with a broad responsibility in
improving efficiency, effectiveness and success in both the production and
marketing of agricultural and forestry products and thereby enhance the
economic growth of this state and its citizens. The chairman is charged with
the duty and responsibility of maintaining and disseminating all necessary and
requisite minutes, proceedings, records and recommendations, as in the judgment
of the committee are required under this section, and make a report to the
Governor and the Legislature not later than December 1 of each year.
SECTION 62. Section 19-5-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
19-5-51. Any board of supervisors may, in its discretion, by appropriate resolution spread upon its minutes, offer a bounty not to exceed Five Dollars ($5.00) for each nutria, beaver or bobcat destroyed, where such board finds and determines that nutria, beaver or bobcats are in such quantities that the preservation of trees and other properties requires such bounties to be offered. Upon presentation to the sheriff of the complete tail of a nutria, beaver or bobcat, the sheriff shall execute a receipt therefor. Upon filing of such receipt with the chancery clerk, the amount of such bounty may be allowed by the board of supervisors as are other accounts against the county.
There is further provided a bounty on beaver not to exceed Five Dollars ($5.00) for each beaver to be paid in the following manner: upon the presentation of the tail of any beaver, any conservation officer of the state shall issue a receipt in such form as prescribed by the Mississippi Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks to the person presenting such tail. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks shall redeem such receipts by paying to such person a sum not to exceed Five Dollars ($5.00) for each such receipt as bounty. The redemption of such receipts shall be paid only from funds especially appropriated for this purpose and it is expressly provided that no such bounty shall be paid from any regular receipts, funds and appropriations of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.
For the purposes of carrying
out the purposes of this section, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife,
Fisheries and Parks and the * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce are authorized, empowered and
directed, when requested by the board of supervisors or any property owner, to
utilize funds, personnel and equipment under reasonable terms and conditions.
No bounty shall be paid when
funds, personnel or equipment of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife,
Fisheries and Parks, the * * *State Forestry Commission Mississippi Department of
Agriculture and Commerce or the county are employed in capturing and
killing such animals.
SECTION 63. Section 25-58-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
25-58-21. (1) There is established the Mississippi Coordinating Council for Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems, hereinafter referred to as the "council." The council shall set and assure enforcement of policies and standards to make it easier for remote sensing and geographic information system users around the state to share information and to facilitate cost-sharing arrangements to reduce the costs of acquiring remote sensing and geographic information system data. The council shall not oversee or regulate the activities of higher education entities where it relates to the fields of teaching or research; however, the council shall be informed of these activities for the purpose of coordinating these higher education activities with other public remote sensing and GIS initiatives to achieve the maximum benefit for the State of Mississippi and its taxpayers. The council's responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
(a) Coordination of remote sensing and geographic information system activities within Mississippi;
(b) Establishing policies and standards to guide Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services (MDITS) in the review and approval of state and local government procurement of both hardware and software development relating to remote sensing and geographic information systems;
(c) Oversight of MDITS' implementation of these responsibilities;
(d) Preparing a plan, with proposed state funding priorities, for Mississippi's remote sensing and geographic information system activities, including development, operation and maintenance of the Mississippi Digital Earth Model;
(e) Oversight of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality's development and maintenance of the Mississippi Digital Earth Model, including establishing policies and standards for the procurement of remote sensing and geographic information system data by state and local governmental entities and establishing the order in which the seven (7) core data layers shall be developed;
(f) Designating Mississippi's official representative to the National States Geographic Information Council and to any other national or regional remote sensing or geographical information system organizations on which Mississippi has an official seat;
(g) Establishing and
designating the members of an advisory committee made up of policy level
officials from major state, local, regional and federal agencies, including,
but not limited to, the National Association of Space Administration, the
Mississippi Institute for Forestry Inventory, the Mississippi Department of
Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, the Mississippi Public Utilities Staff, the
Department of Marine Resources, the county E911 coordinator, the State Health
Officer, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, the * * * Department of Revenue,
the Council of Consulting Engineers and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw
Indians, as well as members of the private sector;
(h) Creating a staff level technical users committee, in which any public or private sector entity in Mississippi interested in remote sensing and geographic information may be allowed to participate;
(i) Coordinating with
the * * * Department of Revenue to assure that state and
local governmental entities do not have to comply with two (2) sets of
requirements imposed by different organizations.
(2) The Mississippi Coordinating Council for Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems will be composed of the following members:
(a) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality;
(b) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services;
(c) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Transportation;
(d) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency;
(e) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority;
(f) The Secretary of State;
(g) The * * *
State Forester;
(h) The Director of the Mississippi State Board of Registered Professional Geologists;
(i) A representative from the Institutions of Higher Learning, appointed by the Commissioner of the Institutions of Higher Learning;
(j) One (1) mayor, serving a municipality, appointed by the Executive Director of the Mississippi Municipal League;
(k) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Municipal League or his designee who will serve as the member;
(l) One (1) county supervisor appointed by the Executive Director of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors;
(m) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors or his designee who will serve as the member;
(n) A member of the Tax Assessors/Collectors Association or the executive director of the association, to be appointed by the president of that association;
(o) A representative of the Planning and Development Districts, appointed by the Governor;
(p) A Senator, as a nonvoting member, appointed by the Lieutenant Governor;
(q) A Representative, as a nonvoting member, appointed by the Speaker of the House;
(r) A county surveyor who is a member of the Mississippi Association of Professional Surveyors, appointed by the president of the association; and
The members listed in paragraphs (a) through (g) may appoint a designee, but the designee must be the head of an office, bureau, division or branch within the member's agency.
The members of the council shall serve for a term concurrent with their service as an elected or appointed official or concurrent with the term of the appointing official.
The Executive Director of the Department of Environmental Quality shall serve as council chair and the Executive Director of Information Technology Services as vice chair for the first two (2) years. After the first two (2) years, the council shall elect from its members a chair and vice chair, for terms to be specified by the council.
With regard to the designee chosen by the Executive Director of the Mississippi Municipal League or the Executive Director of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors, the designee shall become a permanent member of the council for a term concurrent with the term of the appointing executive director.
(3) At the direction of the
chairman of the council and contingent upon the availability of sufficient
funds, each member may receive reimbursement for reasonable expenses, including
travel expenses in accordance with rates established pursuant to Section 25-3-41,
incurred in attending meetings of the council. Any member of the council who
is also a state employee may not receive per diem compensation for attending
meetings of the * * * council, but may be reimbursed in accordance with
Section 25-3-41 for mileage and actual expenses incurred in the performance of
the duties, if authorized by vote, at a meeting of the council, which action
must be recorded in the official minutes of the meeting. Legislative members
of the council will be paid from the contingent expense funds of their respective
houses in the same amounts as provided for committee meetings when the
Legislature is not in session.
(4) The council may accept money from any source, public or private, to be expended in implementing the duties under this section.
(5) The council may utilize staff employed by the agencies affected by this section and any other assistance made available to it.
SECTION 64. Section 27-7-22.15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
27-7-22.15. (1) As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to herein unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) "Approved reforestation practices" means the following practices for establishing a crop of trees suitable for manufacturing into forest products:
(i) "Pine and hardwood tree planting practices" including the cost of seedlings, planting by hand or machine, and site preparation.
(ii) "Mixed-stand regeneration practices" to establish a mixed-crop of pine and hardwood trees by planting or direct seeding, or both, including the cost of seedlings, seed/acorns, planting, seeding and site preparation.
(iii) "Direct seeding practices" to establish a crop of pine or oak trees by directly applying seed/acorns to the site including the cost of seed/acorns, seeding and site preparation.
(iv) "Post-planting site preparation practices" to reduce or control undesirable competition within the first growing season of an established crop of trees.
Approved reforestation practices shall not include the establishment of orchards, Christmas trees or ornamental trees.
(b) "Eligible tree species" means pine and hardwood commercial tree species suitable for manufacturing into forest products.
(c) "Cost-share assistance" means partial financial payment for approved reforestation practices from the state government as authorized under Sections 49-19-201 through 49-19-227, or the federal government.
(d) "Eligible owner" means a private individual, group or association, but the term shall not mean private corporations which manufacture products or provide public utility services of any type or any subsidiary of such corporations.
(e) "Eligible lands" means nonindustrial private lands owned by a private individual, group or association, but shall not mean lands owned by private corporations which manufacture products or provide public utility services of any type or any subsidiary of such corporations.
(f) "Reforestation prescription or plan" means a written description of the approved reforestation practices that the eligible owner plans to use and includes a legal description and map of the area to be reforested, a list of the tree seedling or seed species to be used in the reforestation and the site preparation practices that will be utilized.
(2) Subject to the
limitations provided in subsection (3) of this section, upon submission to the * * * Department of Revenue
of the written verification provided for in subsection (5) of this section and
such other documentation as the * * * Department of Revenue
may require, any eligible owner who incurs costs for approved reforestation
practices for eligible tree species on eligible lands shall be allowed a
credit, in an amount equal to the lesser of fifty percent (50%) of the actual
costs of the approved reforestation practices or fifty percent (50%) of the
average cost of approved practices as established by the Mississippi * * * Department of
Agriculture and Commerce under Section 49-19-219, against the taxes imposed
pursuant to this chapter for the tax year in which the costs are incurred.
(3) The maximum amount of the credit provided for in subsection (2) of this section that may be utilized in any one (1) taxable year shall not exceed the lesser of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) or the amount of income tax imposed upon the eligible owner for the taxable year reduced by the sum of all other credits allowable to the eligible owner under this chapter, except credit for tax payments made by or on behalf of the eligible owner. Any unused portion of the credit may be carried forward for succeeding tax years. The maximum dollar amount of the credit provided for in subsection (2) of this section that an eligible owner may utilize during his lifetime shall be Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00) in the aggregate.
(4) If an eligible owner receives any state or federal cost share assistance funds to defray the cost of an approved reforestation practice, the cost of that practice on the same acre or acres within the same tax year is not eligible for the credit provided in this section unless the eligible owner's adjusted gross income is less than the federal earned income credit level.
(5) To be eligible for the tax credit, an eligible owner must have a reforestation prescription or plan prepared for the eligible lands by a graduate forester of a college, school or university accredited by the Society of American Foresters or by a registered forester under the Foresters Registration Law of 1977. The forester must verify in writing that the reforestation practices were completed and that the reforestation prescription or plan was followed.
SECTION 65. Section 29-3-85, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
29-3-85. In all surface
leases of sixteenth section land made by the board of education, whether such
leases be original leases or extensions of existing leases, title to all
timber, minerals, oil, and gas on such lands shall be reserved, together with
the right of ingress and egress to remove same, whether such provisions be
included in the terms of any such lease or not; and no timber shall be cut and
used by the lessees except for fuel and necessary repairs and improvements on
the leased premises. The board of education, notwithstanding the fact that
such land may have been leased for other purposes, shall have the right, from
time to time, to sell all merchantable timber on such lands in the manner
hereinabove provided. In all cases where surface leases were outstanding on
June 28, 1958, and have at least five (5) years remaining of the term thereof
wherein the right to sell timber has not been reserved, either expressly or by
operation of law, the board may, by agreement with the lessee, sell such timber
under the procedure herein set out. In all such cases the * * * Department of
Agriculture and Commerce shall only cause to be marked for cutting such
timber as, in its judgment, should be harvested in the best interest of the
reversionary estate, and the board may agree to pay to the lessee a portion of
the proceeds of such sales from time to time, not to exceed fifty percent (50%)
thereof after the deduction of the fifteen percent (15%) escrow money,
hereinbefore mentioned, and all other costs of the sale. In any surface lease,
the board of education shall reserve the right to grant or sell rights-of-way
across any of said land for a road, highway, railroad, or any public utility
line, provided only that the leaseholder be paid a reasonable rental for the
unexpired term of his lease by the grantee of such right-of-way. If any
surface lessee of any such sixteenth section land shall commit, cause to be
committed, or permit the commission of any act of waste on any sixteenth
section lands under lease to such lessee, then such lease shall thereupon, as
to such lessee, cease and terminate and shall thenceforth be null and void; and
the board of education shall have the right to institute an action in any court
of competent jurisdiction to secure the cancellation of same of record, to
recover damages for such waste, and to maintain an action in ejectment to
recover possession of the same. To this end, the board of education is hereby
authorized and empowered to employ competent counsel to institute and maintain
any such action or actions on behalf of the board.
SECTION 66. Section 33-11-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
33-11-9. Whenever it shall
become necessary or desirable to lease any lands to provide National Guard
training facilities, the Adjutant General of Mississippi is hereby authorized
and empowered to place in such leases any indemnity clauses that may be
required to indemnify any owners of such lands for damages caused to such lands
from training uses. Payment for any such damages shall only be made after
written appraisal and estimate of such damages by representatives of the
Mississippi * * * Department of Agriculture and Commerce.
Such payment shall only be made from such funds as the Adjutant General may
have available for such purposes or from such funds as may be appropriated by
the legislature of the State of Mississippi for such purposes. If either the
Adjutant General or the owner are dissatisfied with the amount of such damages
as estimated by the State * * * forestry commission Forester representative, then the
Adjutant General or such owner may appeal to the circuit court of the county in
which the land is located within thirty (30) days from the receipt of such
written appraisal and estimate for trial and determination, and either the
owner or Adjutant General may appeal to the state supreme court from an adverse
decision in the circuit court as provided by law.
SECTION 67. Section 33-11-18, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
33-11-18. (1) In order to
conserve and promote timber development at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, the * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce is directed to lend its services,
advice and recommendations to the Adjutant General of Mississippi in developing
a sound timber management program on state-owned lands in said military
reservation.
(2) The Adjutant General is
authorized and empowered to sell such trees, timber, stumps, naval stores faces
or other forest products on state-owned lands in the military reservation at
Camp Shelby, Mississippi, as shall be recommended by the State Forestry
Commission and to secure the services of the State Forestry Commission in the
reforestation and use of planting, cutting and practices recommended by the
State * * * Forester. The Adjutant General, however, is
empowered to cut timber to provide clearing for military purposes and for
rights-of-way without recommendation of the State * * * Forester, and is
authorized to sell such timber at the prevailing scale without advertising for
bids, when the value thereof is estimated at less than One Thousand Five
Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00) by the State * * * Forester. Based on
the recommendation and value estimate of the State Forestry Commission, the
Adjutant General is authorized to sell at the prevailing price, without
advertising for bids, timber which has been damaged by storm, fire, insect,
disease or otherwise. Based on recommendations by the State * * * Forester, as
provided by the Timber Management Program, the Adjutant General may dispose of
nonmarketable timber that is diseased or has been deadened by the State * * * Forester,
authorizing noncommercial public cutting when considered in the best interest
of the state. Provided, however, that before any other sale of timber may be
made as herein authorized, the Adjutant General shall advertise for bids on
said timber in a newspaper of general circulation in the State of Mississippi
at least once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks prior to the date upon
which bids are to be received.
The Adjutant General is
hereby authorized to pay all of the funds derived from any timber and other
forest product sales on state-owned lands in said reservation into a special
fund in the State Treasury, which shall be a revolving fund, to be used for the
maintenance, development and improvement of said military reservation at Camp
Shelby, Mississippi, and out of which the Adjutant General may pay the * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce the cost incurred by the * * * department in
selecting and cutting trees, tree planting, elimination of undesirable trees
and shrubs, construction of fire lanes, control of insect and disease
outbreaks, and other desirable aspects of forest management practices on this
military reservation for the benefit of this military reservation.
The Adjutant General of Mississippi, with concurrence of the Commission of Budget and Accounting, may pay from available Camp Shelby timber funds, restitution for timber and/or minerals cut and/or removed without permission, by employees or authorized agents of the State Military Department, from private property whose sales, use or damage shall have enriched and/or benefited the State Military Department.
The funds derived from any timber and other forest product sales as herein provided shall be paid by the State Treasurer upon warrants issued by the State Auditor of Public Accounts and the said auditor shall issue his warrant upon requisitions signed by the proper person, officer or officers in the manner provided by law for funds appropriated for support of the Mississippi National Guard.
The Adjutant General shall make an annual report to the Legislature on receipts and disbursements in connection with all funds derived from minerals, timber and other forest product sales on state-owned lands at the Camp Shelby military reservation.
SECTION 68. Section 37-101-141, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-141. The Board of
Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning is hereby authorized and
empowered, in its discretion, to sell and dispose of the timber, trees, dead
wood and stumps standing, growing and being upon the lands granted to the State
of Mississippi for the use and benefit of the University of Mississippi by an
act of Congress of the United States approved June 20, 1894, and upon the lands
granted to the State of Mississippi for the use and benefit of Mississippi
State College for Women by an act of Congress of the United States approved
March 2, 1895, and upon the lands granted to the State of Mississippi for the
use and benefit of Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied
Science, and Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College by an act of Congress
of the United States approved February 20, 1895, whenever the sale or
disposition of such timber shall be to the best advantage of the institutions
named herein. Such timber shall be sold and disposed of under the direction
and specifications of the * * *State Forestry Commission Department of Agriculture and
Commerce in accordance with sound and efficient principles of forestry
management and conservation.
SECTION 69. Section 43-27-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-27-11. The Mississippi
Department of Human Services shall succeed to the exclusive control of all
records, books, papers, equipment and supplies, and all lands, buildings and
other real and personal property now or hereafter belonging to or assigned to
the use and benefit or under the control of the Oakley Youth Development
Center, and shall have the exercise and control of the use, distribution and
disbursement of all funds, appropriations and taxes now or hereafter in
possession, levied, collected or received or appropriated for the use, benefit,
support and maintenance of * * * the institution,
and the department shall have general supervision of all the affairs of the * * * institution herein
named, and the care and conduct of all buildings and grounds, business methods
and arrangements of accounts and records, the organization of the
administrative plans of * * *each the institution, and all other matters incident to
the proper functioning of the * * * institution. The
department shall have full authority over the operation of any and all farms at * * * the institution
and over the distribution of agricultural, dairy, livestock and any and all
other products therefrom and over all funds received from the sale of hogs and
livestock. All sums realized from the sale of products manufactured and fabricated
in the shops of the vocational departments of * * * the institution shall
be placed in the revolving fund of the * * * institution in
which said products were manufactured, fabricated and sold.
The department shall be
authorized to lease the lands for oil, gas and mineral exploration, and for
such other purposes as the department deems to be appropriate, on such terms
and conditions as the department and lessee agree. The department may contract
with the * * * Department of Agriculture and Commerce
for the proper management of forest lands and the sale of timber, and the
department is expressly authorized to sell timber and forestry products. The
department is further authorized to expend the net proceeds from incomes from
all leases and timber sales exclusively for the instructional purposes or
operational expenses, or both, at the * * * institution under
its jurisdiction.
The granting of any leases for oil, gas and mineral exploration shall be on a public bid basis as prescribed by law.
SECTION 70. Section 51-4-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
51-4-11. (1) After the Legislature has designated a stream as a state scenic stream, the department shall publish a notice of the designation and provide written notice to the affected units of local government and landowners. Notice of the designation also must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the state to apprise interested parties of the opportunities under this chapter. The notice must describe the boundaries of the stream or stream segment.
(2) (a) The department and
the advisory council shall develop a cooperative voluntary stewardship plan for
the scenic stream. The department shall consult and cooperate with the State
Soil and Water Conservation Commission and the State * * * Forester in developing the
stewardship options utilizing current best management practices. Any other
affected state agency may also make recommendations to the department. The
plan shall identify current and traditional uses along the stream and outline
goals, objectives and action strategies to address the management of resources
along the stream.
(b) The plan shall utilize best management practices to maintain the scenic values of the stream while ensuring the rights of riparian landowners to continue existing agriculture, forestry, water supply, recreational, commercial and industrial uses and any other uses identified in the plan.
(3) (a) The plan shall provide several stewardship options for a landowner. The options shall vary in length of commitment, degree of involvement and enforceability. An option may be modified to meet the needs of a landowner based on the individual attributes of the stream.
(b) Participation in the stewardship plan is voluntary. A landowner is under no obligation to participate in the plan. A participating landowner must give at least thirty (30) days' notice of his intent to terminate a nonbinding option and to withdraw from the program.
(4) (a) The department may receive by gift, devise, grant or dedication, conservation easements or other interest in real property for the State Scenic Streams Stewardship Program.
(b) If any land is donated to the state for the Scenic Streams Stewardship Program and the land ceases to be used in the program, the title to the land reverts to the donor.
(5) Any lands placed in the State Scenic Streams Stewardship Program may be obtained only from private or corporate owners voluntarily. Land placed in the State Scenic Streams Stewardship Program shall not be obtained by eminent domain.
SECTION 71. Section 51-9-107, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
51-9-107. All powers of the district shall be exercised by a board of directors, to be composed of the following:
(a) Each member of the Pearl River Industrial Commission whose county becomes a part of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District shall be a member of the Board of Directors of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District. Such directors shall serve on this board during their term of office on the Pearl River Industrial Commission. In addition, the board of supervisors of each county that becomes a part of the district shall appoint one (1) additional member, who shall serve for a term concurrent with the terms of the members of the board of supervisors. The members shall be appointed at the first meeting of the board of supervisors in January after the supervisors take office. The members appointed from Madison County and Rankin County shall be persons who reside on and are holders of residential leases from the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District that are located in Madison County and Rankin County, respectively, or who reside in established subdivisions in Madison County and Rankin County, respectively, in which some of the residential property of the subdivision is leased from the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District.
The members appointed from Madison County and Rankin County who are serving on July 1, 2012, shall continue to serve until January 1, 2013, after which date the Board of Supervisors of Madison County and the Board of Supervisors of Rankin County each shall appoint one (1) member who meets the residency requirements of this section. The persons appointed under the provisions of this paragraph shall serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.
(b) The Mississippi
Commission on Environmental Quality, the Mississippi Commission on Wildlife,
Fisheries and Parks, * * * Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce
and the State Board of Health of the State of Mississippi shall each appoint
one (1) director from that department to serve on the Board of Directors of the
Pearl River Valley Water Supply District to serve at the pleasure of the
respective board appointing him. From and after January 1, 2013, each of the
members appointed under this paragraph (b) shall be a person who resides on and
is a holder of a residential lease from the Pearl River Valley Water Supply
District.
(c) 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 clerk and by him preserved.
(d) Each director shall receive per diem compensation in the amount as provided in Section 25-3-69 for attending each meeting of the board and for each day spent in attending to the necessary business of the district and shall be reimbursed for actual expenses thus incurred upon express authorization of the board, including travel expenses, as provided in Section 25-3-41.
(e) 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 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 those 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 those 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 office and account for all money which shall come into his custody as treasurer or director of the district.
SECTION 72. Section 65-1-8, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
65-1-8. (1) The Mississippi Transportation Commission shall have the following general powers, duties and responsibilities:
(a) To coordinate and develop a comprehensive, balanced transportation policy for the State of Mississippi;
(b) To promote the coordinated and efficient use of all available and future modes of transportation;
(c) To make recommendations to the Legislature regarding alterations or modifications in any existing transportation policies;
(d) To study means of encouraging travel and transportation of goods by the combination of motor vehicle and other modes of transportation;
(e) To take such actions as are necessary and proper to discharge its duties pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 496, Laws of 1992, and any other provision of law;
(f) To receive and provide for the expenditure of any funds made available to it by the Legislature, the federal government or any other source.
(2) In addition to the general powers, duties and responsibilities listed in subsection (1) of this section, the Mississippi Transportation Commission shall have the following specific powers:
(a) To make rules and regulations whereby the Transportation Department shall change or relocate any and all highways herein or hereafter fixed as constituting a part of the state highway system, as may be deemed necessary or economical in the construction or maintenance thereof; to acquire by gift, purchase, condemnation or otherwise, land or other property whatsoever that may be necessary for a state highway system as herein provided, with full consideration to be given to the stimulation of local public and private investment when acquiring such property in the vicinity of Mississippi towns, cities and population centers;
(b) To enforce by mandamus, or other proper legal remedies, all legal rights or rights of action of the Mississippi Transportation Commission with other public bodies, corporations or persons;
(c) To make and publish rules, regulations and ordinances for the control of and the policing of the traffic on the state highways, and to prevent their abuse by any or all persons, natural or artificial, by trucks, tractors, trailers or any other heavy or destructive vehicles or machines, or by any other means whatsoever, by establishing weights of loads or of vehicles, types of tires, width of tire surfaces, length and width of vehicles, with reasonable variations to meet approximate weather conditions, and all other proper police and protective regulations, and to provide ample means for the enforcement of same. The violation of any of the rules, regulations or ordinances so prescribed by the commission shall constitute a misdemeanor. No rule, regulation or ordinance shall be made that conflicts with any statute now in force or which may hereafter be enacted, or with any ordinance of municipalities. A monthly publication giving general information to the boards of supervisors, employees and the public may be issued under such rules and regulations as the commission may determine;
(d) To give suitable numbers to highways and to change the number of any highway that shall become a part of the state highway system. However, nothing herein shall authorize the number of any highway to be changed so as to conflict with any designation thereof as a U.S. numbered highway. Where, by a specific act of the Legislature, the commission has been directed to give a certain number to a highway, the commission shall not have the authority to change such number;
(e) (i) To make proper and reasonable rules, regulations, and ordinances for the placing, erection, removal or relocation of telephone, telegraph or other poles, signboards, fences, gas, water, sewerage, oil or other pipelines, and other obstructions that may, in the opinion of the commission, contribute to the hazards upon any of the state highways, or in any way interfere with the ordinary travel upon such highways, or the construction, reconstruction or maintenance thereof, and to make reasonable rules and regulations for the proper control thereof. Any violation of such rules or regulations or noncompliance with such ordinances shall constitute a misdemeanor;
(ii) Except as otherwise provided for in this paragraph, whenever the order of the commission shall require the removal of, or other changes in the location of telephone, telegraph or other poles, signboards, gas, water, sewerage, oil or other pipelines; or other similar obstructions on the right-of-way or such other places where removal is required by law, the owners thereof shall at their own expense move or change the same to conform to the order of the commission. Any violation of such rules or regulations or noncompliance with such orders shall constitute a misdemeanor;
(iii) Rural water districts, rural water systems, nonprofit water associations and municipal public water systems in municipalities with a population of ten thousand (10,000) or less, according to the latest federal decennial census, shall not be required to bear the cost and expense of removal and relocation of water and sewer lines and facilities constructed or in place in the rights-of-way of state highways. The cost and expense of such removal and relocation, including any unpaid prior to July 1, 2002, shall be paid by the Department of Transportation;
(iv) Municipal public sewer systems and municipal gas systems owned by municipalities with a population of ten thousand (10,000) or less, according to the latest federal decennial census, shall not be required to bear the cost and expense of removal and relocation of lines and facilities constructed or in place in the rights-of-way of state highways. The cost and expense of such removal and relocation, including any unpaid prior to July 1, 2003, shall be paid by the Department of Transportation;
(f) To regulate and abandon grade crossings on any road fixed as a part of the state highway system, and whenever the commission, in order to avoid a grade crossing with the railroad, locates or constructs said road on one side of the railroad, the commission shall have the power to abandon and close such grade crossing, and whenever an underpass or overhead bridge is substituted for a grade crossing, the commission shall have power to abandon such grade crossing and any other crossing adjacent thereto. Included in the powers herein granted shall be the power to require the railroad at grade crossings, where any road of the state highway system crosses the same, to place signal posts with lights or other warning devices at such crossings at the expense of the railroad, and to regulate and abandon underpass or overhead bridges and, where abandoned because of the construction of a new underpass or overhead bridge, to close such old underpass or overhead bridge, or, in its discretion, to return the same to the jurisdiction of the county board of supervisors;
(g) To make proper and reasonable rules and regulations to control the cutting or opening of the road surfaces for subsurface installations;
(h) To make proper and reasonable rules and regulations for the removal from the public rights-of-way of any form of obstruction, to cooperate in improving their appearance, and to prescribe minimum clearance heights for seed conveyors, pipes, passageways or other structure of private or other ownership above the highways;
(i) To establish, and have the Transportation Department maintain and operate, and to cooperate with the state educational institutions in establishing, enlarging, maintaining and operating a laboratory or laboratories for testing materials and for other proper highway purposes;
(j) To provide, under the direction and with the approval of the Department of Finance and Administration, suitable offices, shops and barns in the City of Jackson;
(k) To establish and have enforced set-back regulations;
(l) To cooperate with proper state authorities in producing limerock for highway purposes and to purchase same at cost;
(m) To provide for the purchase of necessary equipment and vehicles and to provide for the repair and housing of same, to acquire by gift, purchase, condemnation or otherwise, land or lands and buildings in fee simple, and to authorize the Transportation Department to construct, lease or otherwise provide necessary and proper permanent district offices for the construction and maintenance divisions of the department, and for the repair and housing of the equipment and vehicles of the department; however, in each Supreme Court district only two (2) permanent district offices shall be set up, but a permanent status shall not be given to any such offices until so provided by act of the Legislature and in the meantime, all shops of the department shall be retained at their present location. As many local or subdistrict offices, shops or barns may be provided as is essential and proper to economical maintenance of the state highway system;
(n) To cooperate with the Department of Archives and History in having placed and maintained suitable historical markers, including those which have been approved and purchased by the State Historical Commission, along state highways, and to have constructed and maintained roadside driveways for convenience and safety in viewing them when necessary;
(o) To cooperate, in its discretion, with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks in planning and constructing roadside parks upon the right-of-way of state highways, whether constructed, under construction, or planned; said parks to utilize where practical barrow pits used in construction of state highways for use as fishing ponds. Said parks shall be named for abundant flora and fauna existing in the area or for the first flora or fauna found on the site;
(p) Unless otherwise prohibited by law, to make such contracts and execute such instruments containing such reasonable and necessary appropriate terms, provisions and conditions as in its absolute discretion it may deem necessary, proper or advisable, for the purpose of obtaining or securing financial assistance, grants or loans from the United States of America or any department or agency thereof, including contracts with several counties of the state pertaining to the expenditure of such funds;
(q) To cooperate with the Federal Highway Administration in the matter of location, construction and maintenance of the Great River Road, to expend such funds paid to the commission by the Federal Highway Administration or other federal agency, and to authorize the Transportation Department to erect suitable signs marking this highway, the cost of such signs to be paid from state highway funds other than earmarked construction funds;
(r) To cooperate, in
its discretion, with the Mississippi * * * Department of
Agriculture and Commerce and the School of Forestry, Mississippi State
University, in a forestry management program, including planting, thinning,
cutting and selling, upon the right-of-way of any highway, constructed,
acquired or maintained by the Transportation Department, and to sell and
dispose of any and all growing timber standing, lying or being on any right-of-way
acquired by the commission for highway purposes in the future; such sale or
sales to be made in accordance with the sale of personal property which has
become unnecessary for public use as provided for in Section 65-1-123,
Mississippi Code of 1972;
(s) To expend funds in cooperation with the Division of Plant Industry, Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, the United States government or any department or agency thereof, or with any department or agency of this state, to control, suppress or eradicate serious insect pests, rodents, plant parasites and plant diseases on the state highway rights-of-way;
(t) To provide for the placement, erection and maintenance of motorist services business signs and supports within state highway rights-of-way in accordance with current state and federal laws and regulations governing the placement of traffic control devices on state highways, and to establish and collect reasonable fees from the businesses having information on such signs;
(u) To request and to accept the use of persons convicted of an offense, whether a felony or a misdemeanor, for work on any road construction, repair or other project of the Transportation Department. The commission is also authorized to request and to accept the use of persons who have not been convicted of an offense but who are required to fulfill certain court-imposed conditions pursuant to Section 41-29-150(d)(1) or 99-15-26, Mississippi Code of 1972, or the Pretrial Intervention Act, being Sections 99-15-101 through 99-15-127, Mississippi Code of 1972. The commission is authorized to enter into any agreements with the Department of Corrections, the State Parole Board, any criminal court of this state, and any other proper official regarding the working, guarding, safekeeping, clothing and subsistence of such persons performing work for the Transportation Department. Such persons shall not be deemed agents, employees or involuntary servants of the Transportation Department while performing such work or while going to and from work or other specified areas;
(v) To provide for the administration of the railroad revitalization program pursuant to Section 57-43-1 et seq.;
(w) The Mississippi Transportation Commission is further authorized, in its discretion, to expend funds for the purchase of service pins for employees of the Mississippi Transportation Department;
(x) To cooperate with
the * * * Department of Revenue by providing for weight
enforcement field personnel to collect and assess taxes, fees and penalties and
to perform all duties as required pursuant to Section 27-55-501 et seq.,
Sections 27-19-1 et seq., 27-55-1 et seq., 27-59-1 et seq. and 27-61-1 et seq.,
Mississippi Code of 1972, with regard to vehicles subject to the jurisdiction
of the Office of Weight Enforcement. All collections and assessments shall be
transferred daily to the * * * State Tax Commission Department of Revenue;
(y) The Mississippi Transportation Commission may delegate the authority to enter into a supplemental agreement to a contract previously approved by the commission if the supplemental agreement involves an additional expenditure not to exceed One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00);
(z) (i) The Mississippi Transportation Commission, in its discretion, may enter into agreements with any county, municipality, county transportation commission, business, corporation, partnership, association, individual or other legal entity, for the purpose of accelerating the completion date of scheduled highway construction projects.
(ii) Such an agreement may permit the cost of a highway construction project to be advanced to the commission by a county, municipality, county transportation commission, business, corporation, partnership, association, individual or other legal entity, and repaid to such entity by the commission when highway construction funds become available; provided, however, that repayment of funds advanced to the Mississippi Transportation Commission shall be made no sooner than the commission's identified projected revenue schedule for funding of that particular construction project, and no other scheduled highway construction project established by statute or by the commission may be delayed by an advanced funding project authorized under this paragraph (z). Repayments to a private entity that advances funds to the Mississippi Transportation Commission under this paragraph (z) may not include interest or other fees or charges, and the total amount repaid shall not exceed the total amount of funds advanced to the commission by the entity.
(iii) In considering whether to enter into such an agreement, the commission shall consider the availability of financial resources, the effect of such agreement on other ongoing highway construction, the urgency of the public's need for swift completion of the project and any other relevant factors.
(iv) Such an agreement shall be executed only upon a finding by the commission, spread upon its minutes, that the acceleration of the scheduled project is both feasible and beneficial. The commission shall also spread upon its minutes its findings with regard to the factors required to be considered pursuant to subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph (z);
(aa) The Mississippi Transportation Commission, in its discretion, may purchase employment practices liability insurance, and may purchase an excess policy to cover catastrophic losses incurred under the commission's self-insured workers' compensation program authorized under Section 71-3-5. Such policies shall be written by the agent or agents of a company or companies authorized to do business in the State of Mississippi. The deductibles shall be in an amount deemed reasonable and prudent by the commission, and the premiums thereon shall be paid from the State Highway Fund. Purchase of insurance under this paragraph shall not serve as an actual or implied waiver of sovereign immunity or of any protection afforded the commission under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act;
(bb) The Mississippi Transportation Commission is further authorized, in its discretion, to expend funds for the purchase of promotional materials for safety purposes, highway beautification purposes and recruitment purposes;
(cc) To lease antenna space on communication towers which it owns;
(dd) To receive funds from the Southeastern Association of Transportation Officials and from other nonstate sources and expend those funds for educational scholarships in transportation related fields of study. The commission may adopt rules or regulations as necessary for the implementation of the program. A strict accounting shall be made of all funds deposited with the commission and all funds dispersed.
SECTION 73. Section 65-1-123, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
65-1-123. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (10) of this section, whenever any personal property has been acquired in any manner by the Mississippi Transportation Commission for public use and in the opinion of the commission, all or any part of the property becomes unnecessary for public use, the commission is authorized to dispose of such property for a fair and reasonable cash market price. Any such sale shall be a sale upon the receipt of sealed bids after reasonable advertisement for bids in such manner and at such time and place as the commission may deem proper and advisable, except that the commission may sell at private sale any such personal property not necessary for public purposes the cash market value of which is less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00); however, if the personal property is timber, the commission may sell at private sale any such timber not necessary for public purposes the cash market value of which is less than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), except that whenever persons, groups or agencies are permitted to remove a quantity of timber from highway rights-of-way, and the cash market value of the timber is estimated by the commission to be less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), it shall not be necessary to have the timber cruised or appraised and the commission may sell the timber at private sale. The commission shall have the right to reject any and all bids in its discretion and to sell the property theretofore advertised at private sale for not less than the highest of the rejected bids, or to readvertise.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this section, whenever real property, with the exception of easements for highway purposes, has been acquired by the Mississippi Transportation Commission, in any manner, for public use and in the opinion of the commission all or any part thereof becomes unnecessary for public use, the same shall be declared on the minutes of the commission as excess property and shall be sold at private sale at market value. If the excess property was a total take from the original owner, then the commission shall offer to such owner, in writing, the first right of refusal to purchase such excess property; however, if after due diligence the original owner cannot be located, then the commission shall offer the first right of refusal to purchase the property to the adjoining property owner or owners. If the excess property was a partial take from the current owner of the parcel of real property from which the excess property was originally taken, then the commission shall be required to offer in writing the first right of refusal to purchase such excess property to such owner. If within forty-five (45) days any owner to whom the commission has offered the first right of refusal under the provisions of this subsection fails to accept the offer to purchase, the property shall then be offered to the adjoining property owner or owners. If within forty-five (45) days an adjoining property owner fails to accept the offer to purchase, then the excess property shall be sold to the highest bidder upon the receipt by the commission of sealed bids after reasonable advertisement for bids in such manner and at such time and place as the commission deems proper and advisable; however, the commission shall have the right to reject any and all bids in its discretion and to sell the property theretofore advertised at private sale for not less than the highest of the rejected bids, or to readvertise. Upon payment of the purchase price, the executive director of the department, upon due authorization by the commission entered on its minutes, may execute a quitclaim deed conveying such property to the purchaser.
(3) Whenever the commission acquires by fee simple interest any property determined to be an uneconomic remnant outside the right-of-way, then the commission may sell the property to the adjoining property owner or owners for an amount not less than the market value established by the county tax assessor or a state licensed or certified appraiser.
(4) Whenever the commission desires to sell any real property used as maintenance lots, the property shall be sold to the highest bidder upon the receipt by the commission of sealed bids and after reasonable advertisement for bids in such manner and at such time and place as the commission deems proper and advisable; however, the commission, in its discretion, may reject any and all bids and sell the property advertised at private sale for not less than the highest of the rejected bids, or may readvertise. Upon payment of the purchase price, the executive director of the department, upon authorization by the commission entered on its minutes, may execute a quitclaim deed conveying the property to the purchaser.
(5) All easements for highway purposes shall be released when they are determined on the minutes of the commission as no longer needed for such purposes, and when released, they shall be filed by the department in the office of the chancery clerk in the county where the property is located.
(6) In no instance shall any part of any property acquired by the commission, or any interest acquired in such property, including, but not limited to, easements, be construed as abandoned by nonuse, nor shall any encroachment on such property for any length of time constitute estoppel or adverse possession against the state's interests.
(7) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Transportation Commission shall declare property it has acquired and which is no longer needed for public purposes as excess and to sell and/or dispose of such excess property in accordance with the provisions of this section as soon as practicable after such property becomes excess in fact. Unnecessary or excess property or property interests shall be disposed of only upon order of the Transportation Commission on its minutes as provided in this section.
(8) Whenever any real property has been acquired by the Transportation Commission and in the opinion of the commission all or any part of the property will not be utilized in the near future, the property shall be so declared by the Transportation Commission on its minutes and the commission may lease or rent the property for its market value.
(9) This section shall not apply to any sale, donation, exchange or other conveyance of real property when the Legislature otherwise expressly authorizes or directs the commission to sell, donate, exchange or otherwise convey specifically described real property.
(10) (a) As an alternative
to the sale of timber under subsection (1) of this section, the Mississippi
Transportation Commission may enter into an agreement with the * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce for the general supervision and
management of timber on selected portions of the rights-of-way of the
interstate highway system and those completed segments of four-lane highways in
the state. Such an agreement may prescribe the details of, and authority and
control over, the full range of forestry management practices. Seventy-five
percent (75%) of any money collected from the sale of timber on rights-of-way,
less any expenses associated therewith, shall be deposited into the Education
Enhancement Fund created in Section 37-61-33, and the remainder shall be
deposited into the State Highway Fund to be expended solely for the repair,
maintenance, construction or reconstruction of highways.
(b) Subject to the
provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection, the Mississippi Transportation
Commission may, after consultation with the * * * Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce, adopt such rules and regulations
with regard to the management, sale or disposal of timber on highway rights-of-way
as it considers appropriate; provided, however, such rules and regulations
shall be uniform throughout the state and shall be designed to maximize the
value of such timber or minimize the cost of removing such timber.
SECTION 74. Section 69-29-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-29-1. (1) (a) There is established the Mississippi Agricultural and Livestock Theft Bureau.
(b) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce shall appoint a director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Livestock Theft Bureau. Such director shall have at least five (5) years of law enforcement experience. Such director shall be responsible solely to the supervision of the Commissioner of Agriculture and to no other person or entity. Such director may be discharged only for just cause shown.
(c) The director may employ nine (9) agricultural and livestock theft investigators, one (1) from each highway patrol district, and each investigator is required to reside within the highway patrol district from which he or she is selected. Each investigator shall be certified as a law enforcement officer, successfully completing at least a nine-week training course, in accordance with Section 45-6-11. The curriculum for the training of constables shall not be sufficient for meeting the certification requirements of this paragraph. In the selection of investigators under this section, preference shall be given to persons who have previous law enforcement experience.
(d) The director appointed under this section, under the direction, control and supervision of the commissioner, and the investigators employed under this section shall perform only the duties described in subsection (2) of this section and shall not be assigned any other duties.
(2) The director appointed under this section and the investigators employed under this section shall have the following powers, duties and authority:
(a) To enforce all of the provisions of Sections 69-29-9 and 69-29-11, and particularly those portions requiring persons transporting livestock to have a bill of sale in their possession; to make investigations of violations of such sections and to arrest persons violating same;
(b) To enforce all of the laws of this state enacted for the purpose of preventing the theft of livestock, poultry, timber and agricultural, aquacultural and timber products and implements; to make investigations of violations thereof and to arrest persons violating same;
(c) To cooperate with all regularly constituted law enforcement officers relative to the matters herein set forth;
(d) To serve warrants and other process emanating from any court of lawful jurisdiction, including search warrants, in all matters herein set forth;
(e) To carry proper credentials evidencing their authority, which shall be exhibited to any person making demand therefor;
(f) To make arrests without warrant in all matters herein set forth in cases where same is authorized under the constitutional and general laws of this state;
(g) To handle the registration of brands of cattle and livestock;
(h) To investigate, prevent, apprehend and arrest those persons anywhere in the state who are violating any of the laws administered by the Department of Agriculture and Commerce, including, but not limited to, all agriculture-related crimes.
(i) To access and examine records of any person, business or entity that harvests, loads, carries, receives or manufactures timber products as defined in this section. Each such person or entity shall permit the director or any investigator of the Mississippi Agricultural and Livestock Theft Bureau to examine records of the sale, transfer or purchase of timber or timber products, including, but not limited to, contracts, load tickets, settlement sheets, drivers' logs, invoices, checks and any other records or documents related to an ongoing investigation of the Mississippi Agricultural and Livestock Theft Bureau.
(3) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce shall furnish such investigators with such vehicles, equipment and supplies as may be necessary. All expenses of same, and all other expenses incurred in the administration of this section, shall be paid from such appropriation as may be made by the Legislature.
(4) The * * * Department of Revenue
and its agents and employees shall cooperate with such investigators by
furnishing to them information as to any possible or suspected violations of
any of the laws mentioned herein, including specifically Section 69-29-27, and
in any other lawful manner.
(5) The conservation officers of the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks are authorized to cooperate with and assist the agricultural and livestock theft investigators in the enforcement and apprehension of violators of laws regarding agricultural and livestock theft.
(6) The Mississippi Forestry Commission employees are excluded from any timber and timber products theft investigative responsibilities except when technical expertise is needed and requested through the State Forester or his designee.
(7) For the purposes of this section, "timber product" means timber of all kinds, species or sizes, including, but not limited to, logs, lumber, poles, pilings, posts, blocks, bolts, cordwood and pulpwood, pine stumpwood, pine knots or other distillate wood, crossties, turpentine (crude gum), pine straw, firewood and all other products derived from timber or trees that have a sale or commercial value.
SECTION 75. Section 69-46-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-46-3. (1) There is created the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Board, hereinafter referred to as "the board," for the purpose of assisting Mississippi agricultural industry in the development, marketing and distribution of agricultural products.
(2) The board shall be composed of the following members:
(a) The Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, or a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee designated by the chairman, as a nonvoting member;
(b) The Chairman of the House of Representatives Agriculture Committee or a member of the House of Representatives Agriculture Committee designated by the chairman, as a nonvoting member;
(c) The Chairman of the Senate Forestry Committee, or a member of the Senate Forestry Committee designated by the chairman, as a nonvoting member;
(d) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority, or his designee;
(e) The Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, or his designee;
(f) The President of the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, or his designee;
(g) The Director of the Cooperative Extension Service at Mississippi State University, or his designee;
(h) The Executive Director of the Agribusiness and Natural Resource Development Center at Alcorn State University, or his designee;
(i) The Director of the Agricultural Finance Division of the Mississippi Development Authority, or his designee;
(j) The Director of the Agriculture Marketing Division of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, or his designee;
(k) The * * *
State Forester, or his designee; and
(l) Three (3) individuals appointed by the Governor who are active producers of Mississippi land, water or timber commodities. The Governor shall appoint one (1) such person from each Supreme Court district.
(3) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority and the Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce shall serve as co-chairmen of the board.
(4) The board shall meet at least once each calendar quarter at the call of the co-chairmen. A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum at all meetings. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members present and voting is required in the adoption of any actions taken by the board. All members must be notified, in writing, of all regular and special meetings of the board, which notices must be mailed at least ten (10) days before the dates of the meetings. All meetings shall take place at the State Capitol in Jackson, Mississippi. The board shall provide a copy of the minutes of each of its meetings to the Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee and the Chairman of the House of Representatives Agriculture Committee.
(5) Members of the board shall not receive compensation. However, each member may be paid travel expenses and meals and lodging expenses as provided in Section 25-3-41, for such expenses incurred in furtherance of their duties. Travel expenses and meals and lodging expenses and other necessary expenses incurred by the board shall be paid out of funds appropriated to the Mississippi Development Authority.
(6) In carrying out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Act, the board may utilize the services, facilities and personnel of all departments, agencies, offices and institutions of the state, and all such departments, agencies, offices and institutions shall cooperate with the board in carrying out the provisions of such act.
SECTION 76. Section 97-17-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-17-13. (1) If any person willfully, maliciously, and feloniously sets on fire any woods, meadow, marsh, field or prairie, not his own, he is guilty of a felony and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to the State Penitentiary for not more than two (2) years nor less than one (1) year, or fined not less than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or both, in the discretion of the court.
(2) (a) If any person recklessly or with gross negligence causes fire to burn any woods, meadow, marsh, field or prairie, not his own, he is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, on conviction, be fined not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or imprisoned in the county jail not more than three (3) months, or both, in the discretion of the court.
(b) If a person has a brush or debris pile or other material which is or was being burned and reasonable and prudent efforts were not taken to prevent the spread of the fire onto the lands of another shall be evidence that such person recklessly or with gross negligence caused the land to burn.
(3) In addition to the
penalties provided in this section, upon conviction, a person shall be ordered
to reimburse and pay in restitution directly to any organized fire suppression
agency recognized by the Mississippi * * * Department of
Agriculture and Commerce all the costs the agency incurred related to the
suppression and abatement of the fire.
SECTION 77. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2014.
