Senate Bill 2030

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 19-5-105, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE PROCEDURES USED BY THE COUNTY BOARDS OF SUPERVISORS TO CLEAN PROPERTY THAT IS ADJUDICATED A MENACE TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE OF THOSE IN THE COUNTY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 19-5-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

19-5-105. (1) To determine whether property or a parcel of land located within a county is in such a state of uncleanliness as to be a menace to the public health, safety and welfare of the community, the board of supervisors of any county is authorized and empowered to conduct a hearing on its own motion, or upon the receipt of a petition requesting the board of supervisors to act signed by a majority of the residents eighteen (18) years of age or older, residing upon any street or alley, within reasonable proximity of any property alleged to be in need of cleaning, or within seven hundred fifty (750) feet of the precise location of the alleged menace situated on any parcel of land which is located in a populated area or in a housing subdivision and alleged to be in need of cleaning.

Notice shall be provided to the property owner by:

(a) United States mail two (2) weeks before the date of the hearing mailed to the address of the subject property and to the address where the ad valorem tax notice for such property is sent by the office charged with collecting ad valorem tax; and

(b) Posting notice for at least two (2) weeks before the date of a hearing on the property or parcel of land alleged to be in need of cleaning and at the county courthouse or another place in the county where such notices are posted.

The notice required by this subsection (1) shall include language that informs the property owner that an adjudication at the hearing that the property or parcel of land is in need of cleaning will authorize the board of supervisors to reenter the property or parcel of land for a period of one (1) year after the hearing without any further hearing, if notice is posted on the property or parcel of land and at the county courthouse or another place in the county where such notices are generally posted at least seven (7) days before the property or parcel of land is reentered for cleaning. A copy of the required notice mailed and posted as required by this subsection (1) shall be recorded in the minutes of the board of supervisors in conjunction with the hearing required by this subsection.

If at such hearing the board of supervisors shall in its resolution adjudicate such parcel of land in its then condition to be a menace to the public health and safety of the community, the board of supervisors may, if the owner not do so himself, proceed to have the land cleaned by cutting weeds, filling cisterns, and removing rubbish, dilapidated fences, outside toilets, dilapidated buildings and other debris, and draining cesspools and standing water. Thereafter, the board of supervisors may at its next regular meeting by resolution adjudicate the actual cost of cleaning the land and may also impose a penalty not to exceed One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00) or fifty percent (50%) of the actual cost, whichever is more. The cost and any penalty shall become an assessment against the property. The "cost assessed against the property" means either the cost to the county of using its own employees to do the work or the cost to the county of any contract executed by the county to have the work done, and administrative costs and legal costs of the county.

A county may reenter the property or parcel of land to maintain cleanliness without further notice of hearing no more than six (6) times in any twelve-month period with respect to removing dilapidated buildings, dilapidated fences and outside toilets, and no more than twelve (12) times in any twenty-four-month period with respect to cutting grass and weeds and removing rubbish, personal property and other debris on the land. The expense of cleaning the property shall not exceed an aggregate amount of Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) per year, or the fair market value of the property subsequent to cleaning, whichever is less. The board of supervisors may assess the same penalty each time the property or land is cleaned as otherwise provided in this subsection (1).

The penalty provided ~~herein~~ in this subsection (1) shall not be assessed against the State of Mississippi upon request for reimbursement under Section 29-1-145, nor shall a county clean a parcel owned by the State of Mississippi without first giving notice.

The assessment authorized by this subsection (1) shall be a lien against the property and may be enrolled in the office of the circuit clerk of the county as other judgments are enrolled, and the tax collector of the county shall, upon order of the board of supervisors, proceed to sell the land to satisfy the lien as now provided by law for the sale of lands for delinquent taxes. Furthermore, the property owner whose land has been sold pursuant to this subsection (1) shall have the same right of redemption as now provided by law for the sale of lands for delinquent taxes. All decisions rendered under the provisions of this subsection may be appealed in the same manner as other appeals from county boards.

If the board of supervisors of any county removes any personal property from a parcel of land adjudicated to be a menace to the public health, safety and welfare of the community, it shall, upon the receipt of any such personal property, cause the property to be stored in a reasonable manner, and cause to be posted, in three (3) public places in the county, notice that the property has been received. The notice shall contain an accurate and detailed description of the property and, if the board of supervisors knows who owns the property, a copy of the notice shall be mailed to the owner or owners in addition to being posted as required in this section. The owner may recover the property by paying any lien amount owed to the county for having cleaned the property and giving adequate assurances to the board of supervisors that the property will be properly stored to not be a menace to the public health, safety and welfare of the community. The owner is solely responsible for retrieving any property once he has paid any costs owed the county. Parties having adverse claims to the property may proceed according to law.

If no person claims the property within twenty-one (21) days from the date the notice is given, the board of supervisors shall cause the property to be sold at public auction to the highest bidder for cash after first posting notice of the sale in three (3) public places in the county at least ten (10) days before the date of the sale. The notice shall contain a detailed and accurate description of the property to be sold and shall be addressed to the known owners or other persons interested in the property to be sold. The notice shall also set forth the date, time and place that the sale is to be conducted and shall designate the sheriff to make the sale.

The sheriff, promptly upon completion of the sale, shall deliver to the chancery clerk a copy of the notice authorizing the sale, a list of the property sold, the amount paid for each item, the person to whom each item was sold, and all monies received from such sale. The clerk shall then deposit the monies into the county treasury. The proceeds of the sale shall be first applied to the necessary costs and expenses of the sale and then to the assessment lien for the cost of cleaning the parcel of land, together with any penalty with the remaining monies to be returned to the known property owner. Should the property owner be unknown to the board of supervisors, the remainder shall be placed in the county general fund. The chancery clerk shall file the information concerning the sale among the other records of his office. No action shall be maintained against the county or any of its officers or employees or the purchaser at the sale for any property sold or the proceeds therefrom after the expiration of one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of the sale as authorized in this section.

Any property not sold at the properly noticed public sale may be deemed surplus property of the county and the board of supervisors may dispose of such property by any means in accordance with Section 17-25-25.

(2) (a) If private property or a parcel of land located within a county is a perpetual care cemetery subject to Section 41-43-1 et seq., the board of supervisors of the county may proceed pursuant to the same provisions of subsection (1) of this section used to determine whether a property is a public health menace to instead determine if the perpetual care cemetery and all structures on the cemetery are not being properly maintained and have become detrimental to the public health and welfare. A perpetual care cemetery that is "not being properly maintained and has become detrimental to the public health and welfare" means a perpetual care cemetery that shows signs of neglect, including, without limitation, the unchecked growth of vegetation, repeated and unchecked acts of vandalism, unusable entrances and exits, excess rubbish or debris, or the disintegration of grave markers or boundaries. Upon notice and opportunity to be heard as provided in subsection (1) of this section, the board of supervisors of the county may adjudicate the property or parcel of land in its then condition to be not properly maintained and detrimental to the public health and welfare, and if the owner does not do so itself, may proceed to clean the property or parcel of land as provided in subsection (1) of this section. When cleaning the property or parcel of land of a perpetual care cemetery pursuant to this subsection (2), the penalty or penalties provided in subsection (1) of this section shall not be assessed against owners of the perpetual care cemeteries.

(b) The board of supervisors of a county that cleans property or parcel of land of a perpetual care cemetery pursuant to this subsection (2) may make application to the Secretary of State for an order directing the trustee of the perpetual care cemetery trust fund to release accrued interest or principal of the trust fund sufficient to reimburse the county for only the actual cleanup costs incurred by the county. The application to the Secretary of State shall include a statement by the county that all of the requirements of this section have been met.

(c) If the Secretary of State is satisfied that the notice and hearing requirements of this section have been met, and that the application for an order directing the trustee to release accrued interest of the perpetual care cemetery trust fund does not threaten the ability of the trust fund to provide for the care and maintenance of the cemetery, the Secretary of State may order the trustee to release up to the total amount of accrued interest of the trust fund in an amount sufficient to reimburse the county for the actual costs of cleanup performed by the county.

(d) If the Secretary of State is satisfied that the notice and hearing requirements of this section have been met, but makes a determination that the accrued interest of the perpetual care cemetery trust fund is insufficient to reimburse the county for the actual costs of cleanup performed by the county, or that an order to release accrued interest would threaten the ability of the trust fund to provide for the care and maintenance of the cemetery, the Secretary of State may consider an order directing the trustee to reimburse the county from the principal of the trust fund. If the Secretary of State determines that an order to the trustee to release principal from the trust fund will not threaten the solvency of the trust fund, the Secretary of State may order the trustee to release principal of the trust fund in an amount sufficient to reimburse the county for the actual costs of cleanup performed by the county.

(i) The Secretary of State may not order the trustee to release an amount of more than fifteen percent (15%) of principal of the trust fund to reimburse the county for the actual costs of cleanup performed by the county.

(ii) The provisions of this section may be utilized no more than once in a four-year period.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2022.