House Bill 1082

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 89-6-3 AND 89-6-13, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY HOW PLANE COORDINATE VALUES MAY BE EXPRESSED; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 89-6-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

89-6-3. The plane coordinate values for a point on the earth's surface, used to express the geographic position or location of such point in the appropriate zone of the systems described in Section 89-6-1, shall consist of two (2) distances expressed in United States Survey Feet and decimals of a foot when using the Mississippi Coordinate System of 1927 and expressed in meters and decimals of a meter or United States Survey Feet and decimals of a foot when using the Mississippi Coordinate System of 1983. One (1) of these distances, to be known as the "Y" or "N-coordinate," shall give the position in a north and south direction; the other, to be known as the "X" or "E-coordinate," shall give the position in an east and west direction. These coordinates shall be made to depend upon and conform to the plane rectangular coordinate values for the monumented points of the National Geodetic Reference System as published by the National Ocean Service/National Geodetic Survey (formerly the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey), or its successors, and whose plane coordinates have been computed on the system defined in this chapter.

SECTION 2. Section 89-6-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

89-6-13. For purposes of describing the location of any point in the State of Mississippi, it shall be considered a complete, legal and satisfactory description of such location to give the position of such point on the system of plane coordinates defined in this chapter, provided the connection to the Mississippi Coordinate System is made in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and the Standards of Practice for Surveying as adopted by the Mississippi Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors. Whenever coordinates are affixed to any point which has previously been described by another system, the coordinates shall be construed as additional evidence of the location of the same point. In the event of any conflict as to the point or its location, the common rules of evidence shall be used to resolve the conflict. When used to reference the position of a point to be cited in recorded description of real property, the description must be written in a form that is tied to the existing land system.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2006.