House Bill 711

AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT A REFERENDUM SHALL BE HELD IN EACH MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT AT THE ELECTION IN 2018 ON WHETHER A .50% GENERAL SALES TAX SHOULD BE IMPOSED WITHIN THE DISTRICT TO FUND ROAD IMPROVEMENTS; TO PROVIDE THAT 25% OF THE SPECIAL TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT SALES TAX REVENUE SHALL BE DISTRIBUTED TO THE COUNTIES AND MUNICIPALITIES WITHIN EACH DISTRICT AND THAT 75% OF THE REVENUE SHALL BE USED BY THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO FUND PROJECTS WITHIN THE DISTRICT; TO CREATE A DISTRICT COMMISSION WITHIN EACH DISTRICT THAT APPROVES THE REFERENDUM TO SET THE PRIORITY OF PROJECTS THAT THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION WILL UNDERTAKE WITH FUNDS FROM THE SPECIAL SALES TAX DESIGNATED TO THE DEPARTMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. For purposes of this chapter:

(a) "District" means the six (6) districts of the Mississippi Department of Transportation as they exist on July 1, 2018.

(b) "Executive director" means the executive director of the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

SECTION 2. (1) (a) Subject to the provisions of this chapter, a special transportation district sales tax may be imposed upon all persons as a privilege for engaging or continuing in business or doing business within each district of the state at a rate of one-half of one percent (.50%) of the gross proceeds of sales or gross income of the business, as the case may be, derived from any of the activities taxed under the Mississippi Sales Tax Law, Section 27-65-1 et seq.

(b) The tax levied under this section shall apply to every person making sales of tangible property or services within the district, but shall not apply to:

(i) Retail sales of food for human consumption not purchased with food stamps issued by the United States Department of Agriculture, or other federal agency, but which would be exempt under Section 27-65-111(o) from the taxes imposed by Chapter 65, Title 27, Mississippi Code of 1972, if the food items were purchased with food stamps;

(ii) Sales exempted by Sections 27-65-19, 27-65-101, 27-65-103, 27-65-105, 27-65-107, 27-65-109 and 27-65-111 of the Mississippi Sales Tax Law; and

(iii) Gross proceeds of sales that are subject to any tax, other than a general sales tax upon all sales and services within a municipality, levied and collected under the authority of a local and private law of the State of Mississippi, and which tax is collected and paid to the Department of Revenue in the same or similar manner that state sales taxes are collected and paid.

(2) (a) Before any tax authorized under this chapter may be imposed, there shall be a referendum in each district, to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November 2018. If a majority of the qualified electors in a district, as determined by the Secretary of State, approves the measure imposing the special transportation district sales tax, then the tax shall be imposed within the district beginning on February 1, 2019.

(b) The ballots used at the election shall have printed thereon a brief description of the special transportation district sales tax, the amount of the sales tax levy, a description of the purposes for which the tax revenue may be used and expended and the words "FOR THE SPECIAL TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT SALES TAX" and "AGAINST THE SPECIAL TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT SALES TAX" and the voter shall vote by placing a cross (X) or check mark (ü) opposite his choice on the proposition.

SECTION 3. (1) (a) The revenue derived from the special transportation district sales tax authorized by this article shall be collected by the Department of Revenue, and the revenue derived from the tax collected from each district shall be accounted for separately from other districts and the amount of any other sales tax. Twenty-five percent (25%) of the revenue derived from the special transportation district sales tax from a district shall be distributed to the municipalities and counties within the district in proportion to the amount of revenue generated within such county and municipality and seventy-five percent (75%) shall be allocated to the Mississippi Department of Transportation. Revenue generated from the special transportation district sales tax that is distributed to the municipalities and counties shall only be expended on projects for the construction, reconstruction or improvement of roads, streets and bridges within the county or municipality. Revenue generated from the special transportation district sales tax that is distributed to the Department of Transportation shall only be expended on projects for the construction, reconstruction or improvement of roads, streets and bridges within the district in accordance with the priority set by the special transportation district sales tax regional commission established in Section 4 of this act.

SECTION 4. (1) In any district that approves the imposition of the special transportation district sales tax there shall be created a district commission.

(2) Each district commission shall be composed of five (5) voting members as follows:

(a) The Mississippi Department of Transportation district engineer of that district;

(b) A representative of the county engineers of those counties that comprise the district;

(d) A representative of the mayors of those municipalities that are within the district; and

(e) A representative of the business community within the district, appointed by the Governor. The term of the member of the commission appointed by the Governor shall be concurrent with the term of the appointed Governor, however, the member may be reappointed.

(3) A quorum shall consist of three (3) members of the commission. Each commission shall adopt such rules and regulations as may govern the time and place for holding meetings, regular and special.

(4) The duty of the commission is to determine the priorities of projects that the Mississippi Department of Transportation shall undertake within the district with the special transportation district sales tax revenue allocated to the department.

SECTION 5. (1) The tax authorized by this chapter shall not be subject to any allocation or balancing of state and federal funds provided for by general law, nor may such proceeds be considered or taken into account in any such allocation or balancing.

(2) The approval of the special transportation district sales tax shall not in any way diminish the percentage of any other funds allocated to a Mississippi Department of Transportation district or any of the local governments within a transportation district. The amount of funds expended in a transportation district shall not be decreased due to the use of proceeds from the special transportation district sales tax.

SECTION 6. All provisions of the Mississippi Sales Tax Law applicable to filing of returns, discounts to the taxpayer, remittances to the Department of Revenue, enforced collection, rights of taxpayers, recovery of improper taxes, refunds of overpaid taxes or other provisions of law providing for imposition and collection of the state sales tax shall apply to the special transportation district sales tax authorized by this chapter, except where there is a conflict, in which case the provisions of this chapter shall control. Any damages, penalties or interest collected for the nonpayment of taxes imposed under this chapter, or for noncompliance with the provisions of this chapter, shall be paid to the municipality, county or the Department of Transportation, as the case may be, on the same basis and in the same manner as the tax proceeds. Any overpayment of tax for any reason that has been disbursed to a municipality, county or the Department of Transportation or any payment of the tax to a municipality, county or the Department of Transportation in error may be adjusted by the Department of Revenue on any subsequent payment to the municipality pursuant to the provisions of the Mississippi Sales Tax Law. The Department of Revenue may, from time to time, make such rules and regulations not inconsistent with this chapter as may be deemed necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter, and such rules and regulations shall have the full force and effect of law.

SECTION 7. Sections 1 through 6 of this act shall be codified as a new chapter in Title 27, Mississippi Code of 1972.

SECTION 8. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2018.