MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1998 Regular Session

To: Municipalities; Elections

By: Senator(s) Woodfield

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 21-1-27 AND 21-1-39, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR MUNICIPAL ANNEXATION BY SPECIAL ELECTION; TO REPEAL SECTIONS 21-1-29, 21-1-31, 21-1-33, 21-1-35 AND 21-1-37, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, CONCERNING THE CHANCERY COURT AND ITS DECREE IN MUNICIPAL ANNEXATION CASES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.  

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 21-1-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

21-1-27. The limits and boundaries of existing cities, towns and villages shall remain as now established until altered in the manner hereinafter provided. When any municipality shall desire to enlarge or contract the boundaries thereof by adding thereto adjacent unincorporated territory or excluding therefrom any part of the incorporated territory of such municipality, the governing authorities of such municipality shall pass an ordinance defining with certainty the territory proposed to be included in or excluded from the corporate limits, and also defining the entire boundary as changed. In the event the municipality desires to enlarge such boundaries, such ordinance shall in general terms describe the proposed improvements to be made in the annexed territory, the manner and extent of such improvements, and the approximate time within which such improvements are to be made; such ordinance shall also contain a statement of the municipal or public services which such municipality proposes to render in such annexed territory. In the event the municipality shall desire to contract its boundaries, such ordinance shall contain a statement of the reasons for such contraction and a statement showing whereby the public convenience and necessity would be served thereby.

If twenty percent (20%) of the registered voters residing within a municipality petition the governing body of such municipality for a referendum on the question of such annexation or contraction of the municipal boundaries within ninety (90) days after public notice of the adoption of such ordinance, the governing body of such municipality shall hold a referendum of all registered voters residing within the municipality on the question of such annexation or contraction. Such public notice shall provide for public hearings and shall be given in the same manner and for the same length of time as provided in Section 21-1-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, for the creation of municipal corporations. Approval of the ordinance shall be by a majority vote of the qualified electors voting in such referendum, which shall be held within sixty (60) days from the date of filing and certification of the petition provided for herein on the question of such annexation or contraction. The referendum shall be held in the same manner as other municipal elections.

If twenty percent (20%) of the registered voters residing within the area to be annexed by a municipality petition the governing body of the county in which the area to be annexed is located for a referendum on the question of such annexation within ninety (90) days after public notice of the adoption of such ordinance, such governing body shall hold a referendum of all registered voters residing within the area to be annexed on the question of such annexation. Such public notice shall provide for public hearings and shall be given in the same manner and for the same length of time as provided in Section 21-1-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, for the creation of municipal corporations. Approval of the ordinance shall be by a majority vote of the qualified electors voting in such referendum, which shall be held within sixty (60) days from the date of filing and certification of the petition provided for herein on the question of such annexation. The referendum shall be held in the same manner as other county elections.

If a referendum on the annexation is required in both the municipality and in the county in which the area to be annexed is located, the ordinance will take effect only upon a majority vote approval in each of the referendums.

SECTION 2. Section 21-1-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

21-1-39. Whenever the corporate limits of any municipality shall be enlarged or contracted as * * * provided in Section 21-1-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, the governing body of the municipality, after the expiration of ten (10) days from the date of the determination of the results of the final referendum as provided for in Section 21-1-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, unless such referendum be challenged, shall forward to the Secretary of State a certified copy of the adopted ordinance, which shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State and shall remain a permanent record thereof. * * *

SECTION 3. Any action on an ordinance proposing the enlargement or contraction of municipal boundaries which is pending before a court on the effective date of this act as a result of any prior law shall be withdrawn, and an election as provided in Section 21-1-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, may be held.

SECTION 4. Sections 21-1-29, 21-1-31, 21-1-33, 21-1-35 and 21-1-37, Mississippi Code of 1972, concerning the chancery court and its decree in municipal annexation cases, are hereby repealed.

SECTION 5. The Attorney General of the State of Mississippi is hereby directed to submit this act, immediately upon approval by the Governor, or upon approval by the Legislature subsequent to a veto, to the Attorney General of the United States or to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in accordance with the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.

SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the date it is effectuated under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.