MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2024 Regular Session
To: Ways and Means
By: Representatives Crudup, Lamar
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 29-5-201, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF "IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS" TO ALLOW FOR THE DEMOLITION OF SLUM AND BLIGHTED STATE-OWNED PROPERTIES LOCATED WITHIN THE CAPITOL COMPLEX IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT; TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION SHALL ESTABLISH A PROGRAM TO PROVIDE GRANTS TO ASSIST DEVELOPERS IN PAYING COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT OF TAX-FORFEITED PROPERTY WITHIN THE CAPITOL COMPLEX IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT THAT HAS BEEN STRUCK OFF TO THE STATE FOR THE NONPAYMENT OF AD VALOREM TAXES, AND TO PLACE SUCH PROPERTY INTO USE AFTER DEVELOPMENT, WHICH WILL INCREASE THE VALUE OF THE PROPERTY AND PROMOTE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE PUBLIC INTEREST WITHIN THE DISTRICT; TO PROVIDE AN APPLICATION PROCESS FOR ENTITIES WHO DESIRE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GRANT PROGRAM; TO CREATE THE "CAPITOL COMPLEX IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT TAX-FORFEITED PROPERTY FUND" AS A SPECIAL FUND IN THE STATE TREASURY AND TO PROVIDE THAT MONIES IN THE SPECIAL FUND SHALL BE EXPENDED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION, UPON APPROPRIATION BY THE LEGISLATURE, TO PROVIDE GRANTS AUTHORIZED UNDER THIS ACT; TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION TO CONTRACT WITH A NONPROFIT CORPORATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF ASSISTING THE DEPARTMENT IN CARRYING OUT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; TO AUTHORIZE THE ISSUANCE OF STATE GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING FUNDS FOR THE "CAPITOL COMPLEX IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT TAX-FORFEITED PROPERTY FUND"; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 29-5-201, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
29-5-201. As used in Sections 29-5-201 through 29-5-217:
(a) "District" means the Capitol Complex Improvement District.
(b) "Improvement projects" means the following types of projects in the public areas of the district:
(i) Street reconstruction, resurfacing and other repairs to roadways, curbs and gutters;
(ii) Bridge construction, reconstruction and repair;
(iii) Reconstructing and repairing of surface water drainage systems including street drains, ditches, culverts and other components of the system;
(iv) Installing and replacing street lighting;
(v) Installing and replacing traffic signals;
(vi) Installation of new water and sewer lines and rehabilitation of existing water and sewer lines serving the district, including those portions extending beyond the district boundary required to perform the work;
(vii) Reconstruction and repair of parks and public rights-of-way;
(viii) Reconstruction and repair of sidewalks along public streets;
(ix) Planting and replacing landscaping materials, trees, and site amenities within public parks and rights-of-way;
(x) Relocation
underground of power and communication lines serving the district, including
those portions extending beyond the district boundary required to perform the
work; * * *
(xi)
Infrastructure, public safety, and other improvements as determined necessary by
the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration * * *; and
(xii) Demolition and removal of state-owned structures, property and debris designated by the Capitol Complex Improvement District Advisory Committee as slum or blight, which constitute a nuisance to public health, safety and welfare.
Before the Capitol Complex Improvement District Advisory Committee may designate any state-owned structure, property or debris as slum or blight, which constitute a nuisance to public health, safety or welfare, under paragraph (xii), the committee must provide notice to the Department of Finance and Administration of its intent to make such a designation and the department shall have fifteen (15) days from receipt of such notice to object to the designation. If the Department of Finance and Administration objects to the proposed designation, then the state-owned structure, property or debris may not be designated as blight or slum, which constitute a nuisance to public health, safety or welfare, except as agreed to by the Department of Finance and Administration and the Capitol Complex Improvement District Advisory Committee.
SECTION 2. (1) As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Department" means the Department of Finance and Administration.
(b) "Developer" means any person, firm, corporation, partnership or other entity who constructs, repairs, renovates, operates and/or maintains and/or procures the construction, repair, renovation, operation and/or maintenance of property such as buildings and other facilities.
(c) "District" means the Capitol Complex Improvement District created in Section 29-5-203, Mississippi Code of 1972.
(b) An entity desiring assistance under the grant program established under this section must submit an application to the department. The application must contain a development plan that provides:
(i) A description of:
1. The property to be acquired and developed as well as documentation from the Office of the Secretary of State verifying that the property is tax-forfeited property that has been struck off to the state for the nonpayment of ad valorem taxes, and
2. The type of work the applicant will perform as part of development of the property and the purpose or purposes for which the property will be placed into use after development;
(ii) The costs required for the applicant to acquire the property and the costs associated with the development of the property for which the applicant is requesting assistance;
(iii) The amount of grant funds requested; and
(iv) Any other information requested by the department.
(c) The department shall review such application and determine whether the applicant is eligible to participate in the grant program. If the department approves the applicant for participation in the grant program, it shall issue a certificate of participation to the applicant designating the applicant as a developer under the program. The department may provide grant funds to the applicant in an amount as determined by the department; however, the amount of a grant cannot exceed twenty percent (20%) of the aggregate costs for the acquisition and development of the property for which the grant is provided. Eligible costs for which grant proceeds may be used include, but are not limited to, costs associated with construction, repairs, renovations, operation and/or maintenance and/or procuring the construction, repair, renovation, operation and/or maintenance of property such as buildings and other facilities.
(3) In addition to any other authority granted under this section or any other provision of law, the department may contract with a nonprofit corporation for the purpose of assisting the department in carrying out the provisions of this section.
(4) There is created in the State Treasury a special fund, to be designated as the "Capitol Complex Improvement District Tax-Forfeited Property Fund", which shall consist of funds made available by the Legislature in any manner. The fund shall be maintained by the State Treasurer as a separate and special fund, separate and apart from the General Fund of the state. Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned or investment earnings on amounts in the fund shall be deposited into such fund. Monies in the fund shall be disbursed, upon appropriation by the Legislature, in the discretion of the Department of Finance and Administration, to provide grants for the purposes described in this section.
(5) The department shall have all powers necessary to implement and administer the program established under this section, and the department shall promulgate rules and regulations, in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law, necessary for the implementation of this section.
SECTION 3. (1) As used in this section, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Accreted value" of any bond means, as of any date of computation, an amount equal to the sum of (i) the stated initial value of such bond, plus (ii) the interest accrued thereon from the issue date to the date of computation at the rate, compounded semiannually, that is necessary to produce the approximate yield to maturity shown for bonds of the same maturity.
(b) "State" means the State of Mississippi.
(c) "Commission" means the State Bond Commission.
(2) (a) The commission, at one time, or from time to time, may declare by resolution the necessity for issuance of general obligation bonds of the State of Mississippi to provide funds for the grant program authorized in Section 2 of this act. Upon the adoption of a resolution by the Department of Finance and Administration, declaring the necessity for the issuance of any part or all of the general obligation bonds authorized by this subsection, the department shall deliver a certified copy of its resolution or resolutions to the commission. Upon receipt of such resolution, the commission, in its discretion, may act as the issuing agent, prescribe the form of the bonds, determine the appropriate method for sale of the bonds, advertise for and accept bids or negotiate the sale of the bonds, issue and sell the bonds so authorized to be sold and do any and all other things necessary and advisable in connection with the issuance and sale of such bonds. The total amount of bonds issued under this section shall not exceed Six Million Dollars ($6,000,000.00); however, not more than Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00) of such bonds may be issued during any fiscal year.
(b) Any investment earnings on amounts deposited into the special fund created in Section 2 of this act shall be used to pay debt service on bonds issued under this section, in accordance with the proceedings authorizing issuance of such bonds.
(3) The principal of and interest on the bonds authorized under this section shall be payable in the manner provided in this subsection. Such bonds shall bear such date or dates, be in such denomination or denominations, bear interest at such rate or rates (not to exceed the limits set forth in Section 75-17-101, Mississippi Code of 1972), be payable at such place or places within or without the State of Mississippi, shall mature absolutely at such time or times not to exceed twenty-five (25) years from date of issue, be redeemable before maturity at such time or times and upon such terms, with or without premium, shall bear such registration privileges, and shall be substantially in such form, all as shall be determined by resolution of the commission.
(4) The bonds authorized by this section shall be signed by the chairman of the commission, or by his facsimile signature, and the official seal of the commission shall be affixed thereto, attested by the secretary of the commission. The interest coupons, if any, to be attached to such bonds may be executed by the facsimile signatures of such officers. Whenever any such bonds shall have been signed by the officials designated to sign the bonds who were in office at the time of such signing but who may have ceased to be such officers before the sale and delivery of such bonds, or who may not have been in office on the date such bonds may bear, the signatures of such officers upon such bonds and coupons shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all purposes and have the same effect as if the person so officially signing such bonds had remained in office until their delivery to the purchaser, or had been in office on the date such bonds may bear. However, notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, such bonds may be issued as provided in the Registered Bond Act of the State of Mississippi.
(5) All bonds and interest coupons issued under the provisions of this section have all the qualities and incidents of negotiable instruments under the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code, and in exercising the powers granted by this section, the commission shall not be required to and need not comply with the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code.
(6) The commission shall act as the issuing agent for the bonds authorized under this section, prescribe the form of the bonds, determine the appropriate method for sale of the bonds, advertise for and accept bids or negotiate the sale of the bonds, issue and sell the bonds so authorized to be sold, pay all fees and costs incurred in such issuance and sale, and do any and all other things necessary and advisable in connection with the issuance and sale of such bonds. The commission is authorized and empowered to pay the costs that are incident to the sale, issuance and delivery of the bonds authorized under this section from the proceeds derived from the sale of such bonds. The commission may sell such bonds on sealed bids at public sale or may negotiate the sale of the bonds for such price as it may determine to be for the best interest of the State of Mississippi. All interest accruing on such bonds so issued shall be payable semiannually or annually.
If such bonds are sold by sealed bids at public sale, notice of the sale of any such bonds shall be published at least one time, not less than ten (10) days before the date of sale, and shall be so published in one or more newspapers published or having a general circulation in the City of Jackson, Mississippi, to be selected by the commission.
The commission, when issuing any bonds under the authority of this section, may provide that bonds, at the option of the State of Mississippi, may be called in for payment and redemption at the call price named therein and accrued interest on such date or dates named therein.
(7) The bonds issued under the provisions of this section are general obligations of the State of Mississippi, and for the payment thereof the full faith and credit of the State of Mississippi is irrevocably pledged. If the funds appropriated by the Legislature are insufficient to pay the principal of and the interest on such bonds as they become due, then the deficiency shall be paid by the State Treasurer from any funds in the State Treasury not otherwise appropriated. All such bonds shall contain recitals on their faces substantially covering the provisions of this subsection.
(8) Upon the issuance and sale of bonds under the provisions of this section, the commission shall transfer the proceeds of any such sale or sales to the special fund created in Section 2 of this act. The proceeds of such bonds shall be disbursed solely upon the order of the Department of Finance and Administration under such restrictions, if any, as may be contained in the resolution providing for the issuance of the bonds.
(9) The bonds authorized under this section may be issued without any other proceedings or the happening of any other conditions or things other than those proceedings, conditions and things which are specified or required by this section. Any resolution providing for the issuance of bonds under the provisions of this section shall become effective immediately upon its adoption by the commission, and any such resolution may be adopted at any regular or special meeting of the commission by a majority of its members.
(10) The bonds authorized under the authority of this section may be validated in the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi, in the manner and with the force and effect provided by Chapter 13, Title 31, Mississippi Code of 1972, for the validation of county, municipal, school district and other bonds. The notice to taxpayers required by such statutes shall be published in a newspaper published or having a general circulation in the City of Jackson, Mississippi.
(11) Any holder of bonds issued under the provisions of this section or of any of the interest coupons pertaining thereto may, either at law or in equity, by suit, action, mandamus or other proceeding, protect and enforce any and all rights granted under this section, or under such resolution, and may enforce and compel performance of all duties required by this section to be performed, in order to provide for the payment of bonds and interest thereon.
(12) All bonds issued under the provisions of this section shall be legal investments for trustees and other fiduciaries, and for savings banks, trust companies and insurance companies organized under the laws of the State of Mississippi, and such bonds shall be legal securities which may be deposited with and shall be received by all public officers and bodies of this state and all municipalities and political subdivisions for the purpose of securing the deposit of public funds.
(13) Bonds issued under the provisions of this section and income therefrom shall be exempt from all taxation in the State of Mississippi.
(14) The proceeds of the bonds issued under this section shall be used solely for the purposes herein provided, including the costs incident to the issuance and sale of such bonds.
(15) The State Treasurer is authorized, without further process of law, to certify to the Department of Finance and Administration the necessity for warrants, and the Department of Finance and Administration is authorized and directed to issue such warrants, in such amounts as may be necessary to pay when due the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on, or the accreted value of, all bonds issued under this section; and the State Treasurer shall forward the necessary amount to the designated place or places of payment of such bonds in ample time to discharge such bonds, or the interest thereon, on the due dates thereof.
(16) This section shall be deemed to be full and complete authority for the exercise of the powers herein granted, but this section shall not be deemed to repeal or to be in derogation of any existing law of this state.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.