Bill Text: MS SB2834 | 2010 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Sixteenth section school land leases; delete responsibility of board of supervisors to approve or reject rental value amount of.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2010-03-04 - Tabled [SB2834 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2010-SB2834-Engrossed.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2010 Regular Session
To: Education
By: Senator(s) Lee (35th)
Senate Bill 2834
(As Passed the Senate)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 29-3-1, 29-3-82, 29-3-29 AND 19-3-41, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DELETE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TO APPROVE OR REJECT THE RENTAL VALUE AMOUNT OF SIXTEENTH SECTION SCHOOL LAND LEASES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 29-3-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
29-3-1. * * * Sixteenth section school lands, or lands granted in lieu thereof, constitute property held in trust for the benefit of the public schools and must be treated as such. The board of education under the general supervision of the state land commissioner, shall have control and jurisdiction of said school trust lands and of all funds arising from any disposition thereof heretofore or hereafter made. It shall be the duty of the board of education to manage the school trust lands and all funds arising therefrom as trust property. Accordingly, the board shall assure that adequate compensation is received for all uses of the trust lands, except for uses by the public schools.
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SECTION 2. Section 29-3-82, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
29-3-82. The following procedure shall be followed for the leasing of sixteenth section school lands or lands granted in lieu thereof which are not classified as agricultural land:
(a) Any present leaseholder who desires to renew his lease, or any person who desires to lease sixteenth section or lieu lands, shall make application to the superintendent of education.
(b) Upon receipt of an application for the lease of such lands, the superintendent of education shall promptly give consideration to the application and he shall record his recommendation in writing and present it to the board of education at the next regular meeting of the board.
(c) The board of education, at its meeting, shall consider the application and recommendation of the superintendent of education and may receive any other information which it considers bearing upon the approval of the application and lease of such land. Within thirty (30) days of the receipt of an application, the board shall act on the application and if such action is favorable, the board of education shall submit to the superintendent of education a suggested lease agreement.
(d) (Deleted)
(e) (Deleted)
(f) (Deleted)
(g) All sixteenth section or lieu land leases shall be reduced to writing and signed in triplicate by * * * the president of the board of education and the superintendent of education. The chancery clerk shall certify one (1) copy of the lease to the superintendent of education and one (1) copy to the state land commissioner, and shall record the original on the deed records of the county and abstract the lease as a mesne conveyance * * *. The chancery clerk shall charge and collect from the lessee the full recording fees.
SECTION 3. Section 29-3-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
29-3-29. Before any sixteenth section school land or land granted in lieu thereof may be sold or leased for industrial development thereon, therein or thereunder under the provisions of this chapter, the board of education controlling such land shall first determine that such sale or lease will be fair market value. In the determination of the fair market value of said land the comparative sales method shall be used, and the highest and best use of said sixteenth section lands shall be determined on the basis of finding that said land shall be susceptible to any use that comparative land in private ownership may be used, that there will be prompt and substantial industrial development on, in, or under said land after the sale or lease, that the acreage to be sold or leased is not in excess of the amount of land reasonably required for immediate use and for such future expansion as may be reasonably anticipated, and that such sale or lease will be beneficial to and in the best interest of the schools of the district for which said land is held. All of said findings, including the amount of the sale price or gross rental for said land, shall be spread on the minutes of the board of education. Also, if the board of education proposes to sell said land, said board shall first enter into a contract or obtain a legal option to purchase, for a specified price not in excess of fair market value, other land in the county of acreage of equivalent fair market value, and such contract or option shall be spread on the minutes of said board. However, not more than one hundred (100) acres in any one (1) sixteenth section school lands in any county may be sold under this chapter for the purpose of being made an industrial park or a part of such industrial park, provided the provisions of this section and Sections 57-5-1 and 57-5-23 are fully complied with.
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There shall be reserved all minerals in, on, and under any lands conveyed under the provisions hereof. Provided, however, that in any county bordering on the State of Alabama, traversed by the Tombigbee River, in which U.S. Highway 82 intersects U.S. Highway 45 and in which is situated a state supported institution of higher learning, upon the sale of any sixteenth section lands for industrial purposes as provided by law, the board of education, the superintendent of education and the Mississippi Agricultural and Industrial Board, may sell and convey all minerals except oil, gas, sulphur and casinghead gas on, in and under the said sixteenth section lands so sold for industrial purposes. Said oil, gas, sulphur and casinghead gas shall be reserved together with such rights of use, ingress and egress as shall not unreasonably interfere with the use of the lands by the purchaser. Prior written approval for such use, ingress and egress, shall be obtained from the surface owner or, if such approval is unreasonably withheld, may be obtained from the chancery court of the county in which said land is located.
Certified copies of the resolutions or orders * * * of the board of education and of the application to the Mississippi Development Authority shall be transmitted to the county superintendent of education, if there be one in the county, who, if he approves the proposed sale or lease, shall so certify and forward same to the Mississippi Development Authority. If there be no county superintendent of education in the county, then the board of education whose district embraces the entire county shall so certify and transmit said copies to the Mississippi Development Authority for further action.
Upon receipt of the aforesaid application and certified copies of the said resolution and orders, the Mississippi Development Authority shall make investigation to determine whether or not the proposed sale or lease of said land will promote prompt and substantial industrial development thereon, therein, or thereunder. If the Mississippi Development Authority finds that such sale or lease will promote prompt and substantial industrial development thereon, therein or thereunder, and further finds that the person, firm or corporation who proposes to establish said industry is financially responsible, and that the acreage to be sold or leased is not in excess of the amount of land reasonably required for immediate use and for such future expansion as may be reasonably anticipated, then the Mississippi Development Authority, in its discretion, may issue a certificate to the board of education of said district so certifying, and said certificate shall be the authority for the board of education to enter into the proposed sale or lease. If the Mississippi Development Authority does not so find, then it shall decline to issue said certificate which action shall be final.
The Mississippi Development Authority, when issuing a certificate to the county board of education certifying its findings and authorizing said sale or lease, may, nevertheless, in its discretion, make such sale or lease conditioned on and subject to the vote of the qualified electors of said district. Upon receipt of a certificate so conditioned upon an election, or upon a petition as hereinafter provided for, the board of education, by resolution spread upon its minutes, * * * shall call an election to be held in the manner now provided by law for holding county elections, and shall fix in such resolution a date upon which such an election shall be held, of which not less than three (3) weeks notice shall be given by the superintendent of schools by publishing a notice in a newspaper published in said county once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks preceding the same, or if no newspaper is published in said county, then in a newspaper having a general circulation therein, and by posting a notice for three (3) weeks preceding said election at three (3) public places in said county. At such election, all qualified voters of the county may vote, and the ballots used shall have printed thereon a brief statement of the proposed sale or lease of said land, including the description and price, together with the words "For the proposed sale or lease" and the words "Against the proposed sale or lease," and the voter shall vote by placing a cross (x) or check (ü) opposite his choice of the proposition. Should the election provided for herein result in favor of the proposed sale or lease by at least two-thirds (2/3) of the votes cast being in favor of the said proposition, * * * the board of education * * * may proceed forthwith to sell or lease said land in accordance with the proposition so submitted to the electors. If less than two-thirds (2/3) of those voting in such special election vote in favor of the said sale or lease, then said land shall not be sold or leased.
The board of education shall further be required, prior to passing of a resolution expressing its intent to sell said land, to publish a notice of intent to sell said land for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper published in said county or, if there be none, in a newspaper having a general circulation in said county, and to post three (3) notices thereof in three (3) public places in said county, one (1) of which shall be at the courthouse, for said time. If within the period of three (3) weeks following the first publication of said intent, a petition signed by twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of said county shall be filed with the board of education requesting an election concerning the sale, then an election shall be called as hereinabove provided.
SECTION 4. Section 19-3-41, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
19-3-41. (1) The boards of supervisors shall have within their respective counties full jurisdiction over roads, ferries and bridges, except as otherwise provided by Section 170 of the Constitution, and all other matters of county police. They shall have jurisdiction over the subject of paupers. They shall have power to levy such taxes as may be necessary to meet the demands of their respective counties, upon such persons and property as are subject to state taxes for the time being, not exceeding the limits that may be prescribed by law. They shall cause to be erected and kept in good repair, in their respective counties, a good and convenient courthouse and a jail. A courthouse shall be erected and kept in good repair in each judicial district and a jail may be erected in each judicial district. They may close a jail in either judicial district, at their discretion, where one (1) jail will suffice. They shall have the power, in their discretion, to prohibit or regulate the sale and use of firecrackers, roman candles, torpedoes, skyrockets, and any and all explosives commonly known and referred to as fireworks, outside the confines of municipalities. They shall have and exercise such further powers as are or shall be conferred upon them by law. They shall have authority to negotiate with and contract with licensed real estate brokers for the purpose of advertising and showing and procuring prospective purchasers for county-owned real property offered for sale in accordance with the provisions of Section 19-7-3.
(2) The board of supervisors of any county, in its discretion, may contract with a private attorney or private collection agent or agency to collect any type of delinquent payment owed to the county including, but not limited to, past due fees and fines, delinquent ad valorem taxes on personal property and delinquent ad valorem taxes on mobile homes that are entered as personal property on the mobile home rolls. Any such contract may provide for payment contingent upon successful collection efforts or payment based upon a percentage of the delinquent amount collected; however, the entire amount of all delinquent payments collected shall be remitted to the county and shall not be reduced by any collection costs or fees. There shall be due to the county from any person whose delinquent payment is collected pursuant to a contract executed under this subsection an amount, in addition to the delinquent payment, of not to exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the delinquent payment for collections made within this state and not to exceed fifty percent (50%) of the delinquent payment for collections made outside of this state. However, in the case of delinquent fees owed to the county for garbage or rubbish collection or disposal, only the amount of the delinquent fees may be collected and no amount in addition to the delinquent fees may be collected if the board of supervisors of the county has notified the county tax collector under Section 19-5-22 for the purpose of prohibiting the issuance of a motor vehicle road and bridge privilege license tag to the person delinquent in the payment of such fees. Any private attorney or private collection agent or agency contracting with the county under the provisions of this subsection shall give bond or other surety payable to the county in such amount as the board of supervisors deems sufficient. Any private attorney with whom the county contracts under the provisions of this subsection must be a member in good standing of The Mississippi Bar. Any private collection agent or agency with whom the county contracts under the provisions of this subsection must meet all licensing requirements for doing business in the State of Mississippi. Neither the county nor any officer or employee of the county shall be liable, civilly or criminally, for any wrongful or unlawful act or omission of any person or business with whom the county has contracted under the provisions of this subsection. The Mississippi Department of Audit shall establish rules and regulations for use by counties in contracting with persons or businesses under the provisions of this subsection.
(3) In addition to the authority granted under subsection (2) of this section, the board of supervisors of any county, in its discretion, may contract with one or more of the constables of the county to collect delinquent criminal fines imposed in the justice court of the county. Any such contract shall provide for payment contingent upon successful collection efforts, and the amount paid to a constable may not exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the amount which the constable collects. The entire amount of all delinquent criminal fines collected under such a contract shall be remitted by the constable to the clerk of the justice court for deposit into the county general fund as provided under Section 9-11-19. Any payments made to a constable pursuant to a contract executed under the provisions of this section may be paid only after presentation to and approval by the board of supervisors of the county.
(4) If a county uses its own employees to collect any type of delinquent payment owed to the county, then from and after July 1, 1999, the county may charge an additional fee for collection of the delinquent payment provided the payment has been delinquent for ninety (90) days. The collection fee may not exceed fifteen percent (15%) of the delinquent payment if the collection is made within this state and may not exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the delinquent payment if the collection is made outside this state. In conducting collection of delinquent payments, the county may utilize credit cards or electronic fund transfers. The county may pay any service fees for the use of such methods of collection from the collection fee, but not from the delinquent payment.
(5) In addition to such authority as is otherwise granted under this section, the board of supervisors of any county may expend funds necessary to maintain and repair, and to purchase liability insurance, tags and decals for, any personal property acquired under the Federal Excess Personal Property Program that is used by the local volunteer fire department.
(6) The board of supervisors of any county, in its discretion, may expend funds to provide for training and education of newly elected or appointed county officials before the beginning of the term of office or employment of such officials. Any expenses incurred for such purposes may be allowed only upon prior approval of the board of supervisors. Any payments or reimbursements made under the provisions of this subsection may be paid only after presentation to and approval by the board of supervisors.
(7) The board of supervisors of any county may expend funds to purchase, maintain and repair equipment for the electronic filing and storage of filings, files, instruments, documents and records using microfilm, microfiche, data processing, magnetic tape, optical discs, computers or other electronic process which correctly and legibly stores and reproduces or which forms a medium for storage, copying or reproducing documents, files and records for use by one (1), all or any combination of county offices, employees and officials, whether appointed or elected. (8) (Deleted)
(9) The board of supervisors of any county may perform and exercise any duty, responsibility or function, may enter into agreements and contracts, may provide and deliver any services or assistance, and may receive, expend and administer any grants, gifts, matching funds, loans or other monies, in accordance with and as may be authorized by any federal law, rule or regulation creating, establishing or providing for any program, activity or service. The provisions of this paragraph shall not be construed as authorizing any county, the board of supervisors of any county or any member of a board of supervisors to perform any function or activity that is specifically prohibited under the laws of this state or as granting any authority in addition to or in conflict with the provisions of any federal law, rule or regulation.
(10) The board of supervisors of any county may provide funds from any available source to assist in defraying the actual expenses to maintain an office as provided in Section 9-1-36. The authority provided in this subsection shall apply to any office regardless of ownership of such office or who may be making any lease payments for such office.
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2010.
