MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2003 Regular Session
To: Municipalities; County Affairs
By: Representative Robertson
AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF ANY COUNTY AND THE GOVERNING AUTHORITIES OF ANY MUNICIPALITY TO SELL, LEASE OR CONVEY, WITH OR WITHOUT CONSIDERATION, SURPLUS REAL OR PERSONAL PROPERTY BELONGING TO THE COUNTY OR MUNICIPALITY TO ANY NONPROFIT PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CLINIC FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING PRIMARY HEALTH CARE SERVICES TO RESIDENTS WHO ARE EMPLOYED OR TEMPORARILY OUT OF WORK AND WHO DO NOT HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE; TO AMEND SECTIONS 19-7-3, 19-7-5 AND 21-17-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) The governing body of any county or municipality, in its discretion, may sell, lease or convey, with or without consideration and upon such terms and conditions as the parties may agree, any land, buildings, fixtures, equipment or other real or personal property belonging to the county or municipality that is determined by the governing body as no longer needed by the county or municipality for governmental purposes, to any nonprofit primary health care clinic, which is exempt from federal income taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code located or to be located in the county for the purpose of assisting any such clinic to provide primary health care services to residents who are employed or temporarily out of work and who do not have health insurance. If such property is sold, leased or conveyed without consideration, the governing body of the county or municipality shall state in its minutes the purpose for which the property shall be used, and such property shall revert to the county or municipality whenever it ceases to be used for that stated purpose.
(2) As used in this section, the term "governing body" means the board of supervisors of any county and the governing authorities of any municipality.
(3) This section shall stand repealed from and after July 1, 2005.
SECTION 2. Section 19-7-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
19-7-3. In case any of the real estate belonging to the county shall cease to be used for county purposes, the board of supervisors may sell, convey or lease the same on such terms as the board may elect and may, in addition, exchange the same for real estate belonging to any other political subdivision located within the county. In case of a sale on a credit, the county shall have a lien on the same for the purchase money, as against all persons, until paid and may enforce the lien as in such cases provided by law. The deed of conveyance in such cases shall be executed in the name of the county by the president of the board of supervisors, pursuant to an order of the board entered on its minutes.
Before any lease, deed or conveyance is executed, the board shall publish at least once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks, in a public newspaper of the county in which the land is located, or if no newspaper be published in said county then in a newspaper having general circulation therein, the intention to lease or sell, as the case may be, the county-owned land and to accept sealed competitive bids for the leasing or sale. The board shall thereafter accept bids for the lease or sale and shall award the lease to the highest bidder in the manner provided by law. However, whenever the board of supervisors shall find and determine, by resolution duly and lawfully adopted and spread upon its minutes (a) that any county-owned property is no longer needed for county or related purposes and is not to be used in the operation of the county, (b) that the sale of the property in the manner otherwise provided by law is not necessary or desirable for the financial welfare of the county, and (c) that the use of the county property for the purpose for which it is to be sold, conveyed or leased will promote and foster the development and improvement of the community in which it is located and the civic, social, educational, cultural, moral, economic, or industrial welfare thereof, the board of supervisors of such county shall be authorized and empowered, in its discretion, to sell, convey, lease, or otherwise dispose of same for any of the purposes set forth herein.
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit, restrict or to prescribe conditions with regard to the authority granted under Section 1 of House Bill No. 860, 2003 Regular Session.
SECTION 3. Section 19-7-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
19-7-5. The board of supervisors shall have the power to sell and dispose of at public sale for cash, any personal property belonging to the county or any subdivision thereof when the same shall have ceased to be used for county purposes or when, in the judgment of said board, a sale thereof would promote the best interest of the county. Said sale shall be advertised by posting notices at three (3) public places in the county, at least ten (10) days prior to such sale, one (1) of which said notices shall be posted at the courthouse. The proceeds of said sale shall be placed in the county depository to the credit of the proper fund. Where said property shall not exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) in value the same may be sold and disposed of by the boards of supervisors at a private sale by the unanimous vote of the members of said board of supervisors and the proceeds thereof disposed of as above provided. However, if the board of supervisors find consistent with fact that the fair-market value of the personal property is zero and this finding is duly entered on the minutes of the board, then the personal property in question may be disposed of as deemed to be appropriate and in the best interest of the county, provided that no county official or employee derives any personal economic benefit from such disposal. If any of such property may be of use or benefit to the United States government in its national defense effort, the board of supervisors is hereby authorized in its discretion to turn over such property to the United States government by way of a donation thereto.
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit, restrict or to prescribe conditions with regard to the authority granted under Section 1 of House Bill No. 860, 2003 Regular Session.
SECTION 4. Section 21-17-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
21-17-1. (1) Every municipality of this state shall be a municipal corporation and shall have power to sue and be sued; to purchase and hold real estate, either within or without the corporate limits, for all proper municipal purposes, including parks, cemeteries, hospitals, schoolhouses, houses of correction, waterworks, electric lights, sewers and other proper municipal purposes; to purchase and hold personal property for all proper municipal purposes; to acquire equipment and machinery by lease-purchase agreement and to pay interest thereon, if contracted, when needed for proper municipal purposes; to sell and convey any real and personal property owned by it, and make such order respecting the same as may be deemed conducive to the best interest of the municipality, and exercise jurisdiction over the same.
(2) In case any of the real property belonging to a municipality shall cease to be used for municipal purposes, the governing authorities of the municipality may sell, convey or lease the same on such terms as the municipal authorities may elect. In case of a sale on a credit, the municipality shall charge appropriate interest as contracted and shall have a lien on the same for the purchase money, as against all persons, until paid and may enforce the lien as in such cases provided by law. The deed of conveyance in such cases shall be executed in the name of the municipality by the governing authorities of the municipality pursuant to their order entered on the minutes of their meetings. In any sale or conveyance of real property, the municipality shall retain all mineral rights that it owns, together with the right of ingress and egress to remove same. Before any such lease, deed or conveyance is executed, the governing authorities of the municipality shall publish at least once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks, in a public newspaper of the municipality in which the real property is located, or if no newspaper be published as such, then in a newspaper having general circulation therein, the intention to lease or sell, as the case may be, the municipally owned real property and to accept sealed competitive bids for the leasing or sale. The governing authorities of the municipality shall thereafter accept bids for the lease or sale and shall award the lease or sale to the highest bidder in the manner provided by law. However, whenever the governing authorities of the municipality shall find and determine, by resolution duly and lawfully adopted and spread upon its minutes (a) that any municipally owned real property is no longer needed for municipal or related purposes and is not to be used in the operation of the municipality, (b) that the sale of such property in the manner otherwise provided by law is not necessary or desirable for the financial welfare of the municipality, and (c) that the use of such property for the purpose for which it is to be sold, conveyed or leased will promote and foster the development and improvement of the community in which it is located and the civic, social, educational, cultural, moral, economic or industrial welfare thereof, the governing authorities of the municipality shall be authorized and empowered, in their discretion, to sell, convey or lease same for any of the purposes set forth herein without having to advertise for and accept competitive bids. In any case in which a municipality proposes to sell, convey or lease real property under the provisions of this section without advertising for and accepting competitive bids, consideration for the purchase, conveyance or lease of the property shall be not less than the average of the fair-market price for such property as determined by three (3) professional property appraisers selected by the municipality and approved by the purchaser or lessee. Appraisal fees shall be shared equally by the municipality and the purchaser or lessee.
(3) Whenever the governing authorities of the municipality shall find and determine by resolution duly and lawfully adopted and spread upon the minutes that municipally owned real property is not used for municipal purposes and therefore surplus as set forth hereinabove:
(a) The governing authority may donate such lands to a bona fide not-for-profit civic or eleemosynary corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service and may donate such lands and necessary funds related thereto to the public school district in which the land is situated for the purposes set forth herein. Any deed or conveyance executed pursuant hereto shall contain a clause of reverter providing that the bona fide not-for-profit corporation or public school district may hold title to such lands only so long as they are continued to be used for the civic, social, educational, cultural, moral, economic or industrial welfare of the community, and that title shall revert to the municipality in the event of the cessation of such use for a period of two (2) years. In any such deed or conveyance, the municipality shall retain all mineral rights that it owns, together with the right of ingress and egress to remove same;
(b) The governing authority may donate such lands to a bona fide not-for-profit corporation (such as Habitat for Humanity) which is primarily engaged in the construction of housing for persons who otherwise can afford to live only in substandard housing. In any such deed or conveyance, the municipality shall retain all mineral rights that it owns, together with the right of ingress and egress to remove same;
(c) In the event the governing authority does not wish to donate title to such lands to the bona fide not-for-profit civic or eleemosynary corporation, but wishes to retain title to the lands, the governing authority may lease the lands to a bona fide not-for-profit corporation described in paragraph (a) or (b) for less than fair-market value;
(d) Nothing contained in this subsection (3) shall be construed to prohibit, restrict or to prescribe conditions with regard to the authority granted under Section 1 of House Bill No. 860, 2003 Regular Session.
(4) Every municipality shall also be authorized and empowered to loan to private persons or entities, whether organized for profit or nonprofit, funds received from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under an urban development action grant or a community development block grant under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-383), as amended, and to charge interest thereon if contracted, provided that no such loan shall include any funds from any revenues other than the funds from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; to make all contracts and do all other acts in relation to the property and affairs of the municipality necessary to the exercise of its governmental, corporate and administrative powers; and to exercise such other or further powers as are otherwise conferred by law.
(5) The governing authorities of any municipality may contract with a private attorney or private collection agent or agency to collect any type of delinquent payment owed to the municipality, including, but not limited to, past due fees and fines. Any such contract debt 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 municipality and shall not be reduced by any collection costs or fees. Any private attorney or private collection agent or agency contracting with the municipality under the provisions of this subsection shall give bond or other surety payable to the municipality in such amount as the governing authorities of the municipality deem sufficient. Any private attorney with whom the municipality 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 municipality contracts under the provisions of this subsection must meet all licensing requirements for doing business in the State of Mississippi. Neither the municipality nor any officer or employee of the municipality shall be liable, civilly or criminally, for any wrongful or unlawful act or omission of any person or business with whom the municipality has contracted under the provisions of this subsection. The Mississippi Department of Audit shall establish rules and regulations for use by municipalities in contracting with persons or businesses under the provisions of this subsection. If a municipality uses its own employees to collect any type of delinquent payment owed to the municipality, then from and after July 1, 2000, the municipality 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 municipality may utilize credit cards or electronic fund transfers. The municipality may pay any service fees for the use of such methods of collection from the collection fee, but not from the delinquent payment. There shall be due to the municipality from any person whose delinquent payment is collected under a contract executed as provided in 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.
(6) In addition to such authority as is otherwise granted under this section, the governing authorities of any municipality 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.
(7) The governing authorities of any municipality may, in its discretion, donate personal property or funds to the public school district or districts located in the municipality for the promotion of educational programs of the district or districts within the municipality.
(8) In addition to the authority to expend matching funds under Section 21-19-65, the governing authorities of any municipality, in their discretion, may expend municipal funds to match any state, federal or private funding for any program administered by the State of Mississippi, the United States government or any nonprofit organization that is exempt under 26 USCS Section 501(c)(3) from paying federal income tax.
(9) The powers conferred by this section shall be in addition and supplemental to the powers conferred by any other law, and nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit, or to prescribe conditions concerning, any practice or practices authorized under any other law.
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.