House Bill 1247

AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING, ACTING BY AND THROUGH THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI, AND SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, IN ITS CAPACITY AS THE BOARD, AND THE MISSISSIPPI STATE PORT AUTHORITY, TO LEASE AND SUBLEASE ALL OR PORTIONS OF CERTAIN STATE-OWNED REAL PROPERTY AND ANY IMPROVEMENTS THEREON LOCATED IN HARRISON COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI, AND ADMINISTERED BY THE MISSISSIPPI STATE PORT AUTHORITY AT GULFPORT; TO PROVIDE AUTHORITY FOR THE UNIVERSITY TO DO AND PERFORM ALL THINGS REASONABLY NECESSARY AND APPURTENANT TO EFFECTUATE SAID LEASE AND SUBLEASES; TO PROVIDE A MAXIMUM TERM OF SAID LEASES AND SUBLEASES; TO PROVIDE THAT SAID LEASES AND SUBLEASES ARE NOT AFFECTED BY THE BINDING SUCCESSOR DOCTRINE; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 59-5-35 AND 59-5-37, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENTS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. (1) The Board of Trustees of the State Institutions of Higher Learning, acting by and through the University of Southern Mississippi, and subject to the approval of the Mississippi Development Authority and Mississippi State Port Authority, is authorized to lease or sublease, to public or private entities, all or portions of various parcels of certain state-owned real property and any improvements thereon under the possession and control of the University of Southern Mississippi located in Harrison County, Mississippi, as such property is administered by the Mississippi State Port Authority at Gulfport, Harrison County, Mississippi, and being more particularly described as follows:

Port of Gulfport: The Mississippi State Port Authority's deep-water port is comprised of approximately 300 acres of land, 10 structures, three electric STS gantry cranes, and 10 berths. The property is located south of HWY 90 with the main gate located at 1000 30th Ave. South Extension, Gulfport, Harrison County, Mississippi.

Cotton Compress: Approximately 38 acres of property located at 2809 34th Avenue, Gulfport, Harrison County, Mississippi. This site is largely undeveloped, is used for truck parking and transloading as well as serving as a hurricane evacuation space for some of the MSPA's tenants.

North Port Property: Approximately 145 acres of property located north of 33rd Street and east of 34th Avenue in North Gulfport. This property is undeveloped and mostly wetlands. Thirty-three acres of this property is under a Corrective Action Plan with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality due to it being the former location of a fertilizer plant.

Discovery Bay Property: Approximately 153 acres of property located north of Bayou Portage in West Harrison County, Mississippi. This property is wetlands and was purchased for wetland mitigation purposes.

Property North of Highway 90: Approximately 6.5 acres of property located immediately North of HWY 90 and west of 27th Avenue in Gulfport. This property was very recently acquired and is undeveloped.

29th Avenue and 19th Street: Approximately 3.75 acres of property located in Gulfport. This property was very recently acquired and is undeveloped.

(2) The University of Southern Mississippi, with the approval of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, shall work collaboratively with the Mississippi State Port Authority to negotiate all aspects of any lease and sublease and any terms and ancillary agreements, in accordance with Sections 59-5-35 and 59-5-37, pertaining to any lease and sublease as may be reasonably necessary to effectuate the intent and purposes of this section and to ensure a fair and equitable return to the state.

(3) Any lease and sublease approved and entered into on the university's behalf shall not exceed a term of forty (40) years and shall not be cancelled by successor boards based on the binding successor doctrine.

(4) The State of Mississippi shall retain all mineral rights to the real property leased or subleased under this section.

(5) The Mississippi Development Authority and the Mississippi State Port Authority, as administrators of the properties described in subsection (1), are authorized to correct any discrepancies in the legal descriptions of such properties as deemed necessary.

(6) The Mississippi State Port Authority may recover its costs associated with the transaction authorized by

this section from the proceeds of the lease or sublease of the real property described in subsection (1) of this section, and the net proceeds of the lease or sublease shall be deposited into a special fund in the State Treasury and shall be expended only for the benefit of the University of Southern Mississippi.

SECTION 2. Section 59-5-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

59-5-35. The board, acting jointly with the state port authority, is authorized to set aside, or lease all or portions of any lands, roads, docks, sheds, warehouses, elevators, compresses, floating dry docks, graving docks, marine railways, tugboats, or any other necessary or useful improvements constructed or acquired by it to individuals, firms, or corporations, public or private, for port, harbor, commercial or industrial purposes for a period not to exceed ninety-nine years, or to execute a conveyance of sale, except as otherwise limited by law, on such terms and conditions and with such safeguards as would best promote and protect the public interest. Any industrial lease of lands may be executed upon such terms and conditions and for such monetary rental or other consideration as may be found adequate and approved by the board in orders or resolutions authorizing the same. Any covenants and agreements of the lessee to make expenditures in determined amounts, and within such time or times, for improvements to be erected upon the land, by such lessee and to conduct thereon industrial and/or other operations in such aggregate payroll amounts and for such period of time as may be determined and defined in such lease, and to give preference in employment where practical to residents of the State of Mississippi, and to qualified residents of the city and of the county in which such port or harbor is located, shall if included in such lease constitute and be deemed sufficient consideration for the execution of any such lease in the absence of monetary rental or other considerations; and such instrument may contain reasonable provisions giving the lessee the right to remove its or his improvements upon the termination of the lease. All leases theretofore made by any port commission, port authority, or other public agency authorized by law to execute leases for port, harbor, commercial or industrial improvements, which leases are now in effect or which may be hereafter executed by any such public agency or by the board, and all structures and all improvements and other permanent facilities erected, installed or located by such lessees or their successors or assignees within the limits of any port, harbor or part thereof, may be free and exempt from all state, county, and municipal ad valorem taxes if so stipulated in such lease, and for such period as may be fixed in such lease.

SECTION 3. Section 59-5-37, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

59-5-37. (1) The board or State Port Authority, in the performance of its duties, may employ such personnel and make all contracts and purchases incidental to or necessary for the advancement, promotion, development, establishment, insurance, maintenance, repair, improvement and operation of any ports, harbors, rivers, channels and waterways including, if required for its protection, retirement benefits, workers' compensation insurance and other employee benefits for the benefit of any employees of the board or State Port Authority. The board or State Port Authority may establish a trade development and promotion account to pay all direct and necessary expenses for the promotion and development of the state port. The authority is granted the power to sue and be sued in its own name.

(2) (a) The board or State Port Authority may, in its discretion, make such contracts or purchases according to the state purchasing laws. Contracts let for any port, harbor, river, channel or waterway improvements shall be advertised as required by law for the letting of public contracts, and such contracts shall be awarded to the lowest and best bidder who shall make bond as shall be required by the board or State Port Authority conditioned for the faithful prosecution and completion of work according to such contracts, such bond to be furnished by a corporate surety company qualified to do business in this state. However, the board may negotiate and enter into contracts with responsible lessees for the construction of facilities by lessees, such as those referred to in Section 59-5-11, and the acquisition thereof by the board upon such terms and conditions and for such amount as may be approved by the board.

(b) The State Port Authority shall be considered to be a "governing authority" under the state public purchasing laws as that term is defined in Section 31-7-1 and used in Sections 31-7-1 through 31-7-73, and shall not be subject to the jurisdiction of the Department of Finance and Administration, the Public Procurement Review Board or the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management under the provisions of Sections 27-104-7, 29-5-2 and 31-11-3.

(3) (a) The board or State Port Authority, in its discretion, may use the design-build method of contracting for the renovation, repair and/or making of other improvements to not more than one (1) freezer and related equipment and/or facilities at the State Port at Gulfport, Mississippi. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any port or port commission may use the design-build method of contracting for the renovation, repair and/or making of other improvements to equipment and/or facilities at the port. For the purposes of this subsection (3), the term "design-build method of contracting" means a contract that combines the design and construction phases of a project into a single contract and the contractor is required to satisfactorily perform, at a minimum, both the design and construction of the project.

(b) This subsection (3) shall stand repealed from and after July 1, 2024.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.