MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1999 Regular Session

To: Local and Private; Finance

By: Senator(s) Lee

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE CREATION OF THE STONE COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROMOTING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM IN STONE COUNTY; TO PROVIDE FOR THE MEMBERSHIP AND TERMS OF OFFICE FOR THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE PARTNERSHIP; TO PRESCRIBE THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE PARTNERSHIP; TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF STONE COUNTY TO IMPOSE A TAX ON THE GROSS PROCEEDS OF CERTAIN SALES BY RESTAURANTS AND ON ROOM RENTALS BY HOTELS AND MOTELS, IN ORDER TO FUND THE PARTNERSHIP; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. The following terms shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this section unless the context requires otherwise:

(a) "Hotel" or "motel" means places of lodging for transient guests on a daily or weekly basis and are known in the trade as such and includes hotels, motels, campgrounds, travel courts, camping areas, motor home parks, recreational vehicle parks, bed and breakfast inns and other transient lodgings.

(b) "Partnership" means the Stone County Economic Development Partnership established pursuant to this act.

(c) "Prepared food" means food prepared on the premises of a restaurant.

(d) "Restaurant" means any place including, but not limited to, delicatessens, where prepared food and drink are sold for consumption either upon or off the premises, and which are known in the trade as such.

SECTION 2. There is hereby established the Stone County Economic Development Partnership, which shall organize under the general laws of this state as a not-for-profit corporation qualified as tax exempt and chartered for the purpose of combining the economic development effort of Stone County.

SECTION 3. (1) The governing authority of the partnership shall be composed of a board of directors consisting of seventeen (17) members. The membership of the board of directors of the partnership shall be as follows:

(a) Five (5) members appointed by the Board of Supervisors of Stone County.

(b) Three (3) members appointed by the Board of Aldermen of the City of Wiggins.

(c) The President of the Board of Supervisors of Stone County.

(d) The Mayor of the City of Wiggins.

(e) The Superintendent of the Stone County School District who shall be a nonvoting member.

(f) The President of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, or his designee, who shall be a nonvoting member.

(g) Five (5) members who shall be initially elected by a majority vote of the members in good standing of the Stone County Economic Development Foundation. After the initial term of members elected pursuant to this paragraph expire, subsequent members elected pursuant to this paragraph shall be elected by a majority vote of the members in good standing of the partnership.

(2) (a) The initial terms of the members appointed pursuant to subsection (1)(a) of this section shall be as follows:

(i) Two (2) members shall be appointed for a term of two (2) years;

(ii) One (1) member shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years; and

(iii) Two (2) members shall be appointed for a term of four (4) years.

The Board of Supervisors of Stone County shall designate the initial terms of the members it appoints.

(b) The initial terms of the members appointed pursuant to subsection (1)(b) of this section shall be as follows:

(i) One (1) member shall be appointed for a term of two (2) years;

(ii) One (1) member shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years; and

(iii) One (1) member shall be appointed for a term of four (4) years.

The Board of Aldermen of the City of Wiggins shall designate the initial terms of the members it appoints.

(c) The initial terms of the members elected pursuant to subsection (1)(g) of this section shall be as follows:

(i) One (1) member shall be elected for a term of two (2) years;

(ii) Two (2) members shall be elected for a term of three (3) years; and

(iii) Two (2) members shall be elected for a term of four (4) years.

The Stone County Economic Development Foundation shall designate the initial terms of the members it elects.

(3) Subsequent terms of the members of the board of directors shall be for four (4) years or until a successor is appointed and qualified. Any vacancy that occurs in such positions shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment and shall be made for the unexpired term.

(4) Any member who is absent from three (3) or more consecutive meetings or who is absent from fifty percent (50%) or more of all meetings of the board of directors in any given calendar year shall be deemed to have vacated such position, unless otherwise excused by action of the board of directors.

(5) The members of the board of directors shall serve without salary or compensation, but the members and the employees of the partnership may be reimbursed for actual expenses, including mileage and travel expenses, whether within or without the State of Mississippi, incurred in the performance of their duties, as authorized by Section 25-3-41, Mississippi Code of 1972.

SECTION 4. (1) Within sixty (60) days after all initial appointments have been made, the president of the Board of Supervisors of Stone County shall call the first meeting of the board of directors of the partnership, and the members of the board shall meet and elect from among their number a chairman, vice-chairman and secretary-treasurer. The board of directors shall record and retain minutes of all meetings. A majority of the board of directors shall constitute a quorum to conduct business and all actions of the board of directors shall require a majority vote of the members present and voting.

(2) The board of directors shall adopt a set of bylaws which may include provisions they deem appropriate but shall include provisions for the following:

(a) Procedures and times for its meetings. Unless otherwise provided therein the board shall follow Roberts Rules of Order at its meetings. The board shall comply with the state Open Meetings Law, Section 25-41-1 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972.

(b) The secretary-treasurer making a monthly report to the board concerning the current operation and financial status of the partnership.

(c) The board of directors annually causing a full and complete examination of all the books and accounts of the commission to be made by an independent, certified public accountant and providing a copy of the examination to the Board of Supervisors of Stone County, the governing authorities of the City of Wiggins and to the Department of Audit of the State of Mississippi.

(3) Before entering upon the duties of office, each member of the board of directors shall take and subscribe to the oath of office required by Section 268, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, and give bond in a sum of not less than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), conditioned upon the faithful performance of his duties, such bond to be made payable to and approved by the chancery clerk of the county. The cost of all such bonds shall be paid by the partnership.

(4) The board of directors shall conduct drives to bolster private sector membership in the partnership, thereby continuing the private sector's monetary and leadership contributions.

(5) The board of directors may employ such personnel and take other acts they deem necessary to carry out the purpose of the partnership. The board of directors shall set the level of the compensation to be paid to the partnership's employees.

SECTION 5. (1) The purpose of the partnership is to promote economic development in Stone County; to develop, promote, and/or expand existing businesses and industries in Stone County; to promote tourism in Stone County; and to assist and support the development of infrastructure and community services to accommodate a growing economy and community.

(2) The board of directors may take any and all actions to effectuate the purposes of this act.

(3) The partnership shall be subject to the public purchasing laws of this state with the respect to the expenditure of funds derived from public sources; however, in the expenditure of funds derived solely from private sources, the partnership shall not be subject to any of the public purchasing laws of this state, nor shall the expenditure of such funds derived from private sources be subject to any laws regulating the expenditure of public funds. Funds derived from private sources shall be kept separate from and accounted for separately from funds derived from public sources.

SECTION 6. The partnership, in addition to the monies that may be received by it from Stone County as taxes as provided for in Section 9 of this act, may accept from any public or private agency, or from any individual, grants or contributions, from any source, of money or property or other things of value to be held, used and applied for the purposes for which such grants or contributions may be made.

SECTION 7. Upon dissolution of the Stone County Economic Development Foundation, Inc., the partnership may exercise and assume the powers, duties and responsibilities of such foundation and if the partnership assumes the powers, duties and responsibilities of such foundation, all records, property, unexpended balances of such foundation's funds and obligations of such foundation shall be transferred to the partnership.

SECTION 8. (a) The portion of the annual budget of the partnership regarding the expenditure of the tax revenue received by the partnership, and any amendments to that portion of the annual budget, shall be presented to the governing authorities of the City of Wiggins and the Board of Supervisors of Stone County. The governing authorities of the City of Wiggins and the Board of Supervisors of Stone County shall have the authority to approve or disapprove of all or any portion of the budget presented pursuant to this subsection and no expenditure of such tax revenue shall be made unless it is contained in a portion of such budget that is approved by the governing authorities of the City of Wiggins and the Board of Supervisors of Stone County.

(b) Not less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the tax revenue received by the partnership shall be allocated to capital acquisitions and improvements and revenue allocated for such purpose may be accumulated in a capital fund.

SECTION 9. (1) For the purpose of providing funds for the partnership to conduct its activities, the Board of Supervisors of Stone County may, in its discretion, levy and collect from every person, firm or corporation hereinafter specified, a tax, which shall be in addition to all other taxes now imposed. The tax shall be imposed as follows:

(a) A tax upon every person, firm or corporation operating a motel or hotel in Stone County, at a rate not to exceed two percent (2%) of the gross proceeds of sales from room rentals for each such motel or hotel.

(b) A tax upon every person, firm or corporation operating a restaurant in Stone County, at a rate not to exceed two percent (2%) of the gross proceeds of sales of any such restaurant.

(2) Before the taxes authorized by this section may be imposed, the Board of Supervisors of Stone County shall adopt a resolution declaring its intention to levy the taxes and establishing the amount of the tax levy and the date on which the taxes initially will be levied and collected. This date shall be the first day of a month but not earlier than the first day of the second month from the date of adoption of the resolution. Notice of the proposed tax levy shall be published once each week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper having a general circulation in the county. The first publication of the notice shall be made not less than twenty-one (21) days before the date fixed in the resolution on which the board of supervisors proposes to levy the tax, and the last publication of the notice shall be made not more than seven (7) days before that date. If, within the time of giving notice, twenty percent (20%) or fifteen hundred (1500), whichever is less, of the qualified electors of the county file a written petition against the levy of the tax, then the tax shall not be levied unless authorized by a majority of the qualified electors of the county, voting at an election to be called and held for that purpose. Before the effective date of the tax levy approved as provided in this section, the board of supervisors shall furnish to the Chairman of the State Tax Commission a certified copy of the resolution evidencing the tax levy.

(3) Persons, firms or corporations liable for the taxes under this section shall add the amount of the tax to the sales price and, in addition thereto, shall collect, insofar as practicable, the amount of the tax due by them from the person receiving the services at the time of payment therefor.

(4) All such taxes shall be collected by and paid to the

State Tax Commission on a form prescribed by the State Tax Commission in the same manner that state sales taxes are computed, collected and paid. The full enforcement provisions and all other provisions of Chapter 65, Title 27, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall apply as necessary to the implementation and administration of this act.

(5) The proceeds of such taxes, less three percent (3%) to be retained by the State Tax Commission to defray the costs of collections, shall be paid to Stone County on or before the fifteenth day of the month following the month in which collected and shall be disbursed by Stone County to the partnership within thirty (30) days of receipt by Stone County.

(6) The proceeds of such taxes shall not be considered by the county as general fund revenue but shall be dedicated to and used by the partnership solely for the purpose of carrying out programs and activities of the partnership.

SECTION 10. The Board of Supervisors of Stone County shall submit this act, immediately upon approval by the Governor, or upon approval by the Legislature subsequent to a veto, to the Attorney General of the United States or to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in accordance with the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.

SECTION 11. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the date it is effectuated under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.