MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2000 Regular Session

To: Local and Private; Fees, Salaries and Administration

By: Senator(s) Jackson

AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 837, LOCAL AND PRIVATE LAWS OF 1984, AS AMENDED, TO EXEMPT CONTRACTS BY THE KEMPER COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY FOR THE ACQUISITION, PURCHASE, CONSTRUCTION, IMPROVEMENT, EQUIPPING AND FURNISHING OF A PROJECT FROM PUBLIC BIDDING REQUIREMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Chapter 837, Local and Private Laws of 1984, as amended by Chapter 909, Local and Private Laws of 1985, is amended as follows:

Section 1. Whenever used in this act, unless a different meaning clearly appears in the context, the following terms, whether used in the singular or plural, shall be given the following meanings:

(a) "Authority" shall mean the economic development authority established under the provisions of this act.

(b) "Board of supervisors" shall mean the board of supervisors of the county.

(c) "Bonds" shall mean debt obligations of the county issued under the provisions of this act, and shall include bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness authorized by the board of supervisors.

(d) "County" shall mean Kemper County, Mississippi.

Section 2. When the Board of Supervisors of Kemper County, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the Town of DeKalb, and the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the Town of Scooba, acting jointly or severally, shall find and determine that the public convenience and necessity require the same, as evidenced by a resolution duly adopted and entered on the official minutes of such governing bodies, they are hereby authorized to establish an economic development authority, to be known as the "Kemper County Economic Development Authority," hereinafter referred to as the "authority." The authority shall be composed of nine (9) resident citizens of such county and be appointed as follows: (a) five (5) members shall be appointed by the board of supervisors, with each supervisor selecting one (1) member from his respective district; (b) the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the Town of DeKalb shall appoint two (2) members; and (c) the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the Town of Scooba shall appoint two (2) members. The initial terms of the appointments shall be as follows: (a) the board of supervisors shall appoint one (1) member from each of the respective supervisor districts for terms of two (2) years each; (b) the Town of DeKalb, shall appoint one (1) member for a term of one (1) year and one (1) member for a term of three (3) years; and (c) the Town of Scooba shall appoint one (1) member for a term of one (1) year and one (1) member for a term of three (3) years. All subsequent appointments shall be for a term of three (3) years, and any member so appointed may be reappointed with limitation.

Section 3. Before entering upon the duties of office, each member of the authority shall take and subscribe to the oath of office required by Section 268, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, and shall give bond in the sum of 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 authority. The members of the authority shall meet at the regular meeting place of the board of supervisors within five (5) days after their initial appointment and shall elect from among their number a chairman, vice chairman and secretary-treasurer of the authority and shall adopt a seal and such bylaws, rules and regulations as may be necessary to govern the time, place and manner for holding subsequent meetings of the authority and for conduct of its business, not inconsistent with the provisions of this act. The authority is hereby authorized to promulgate such reasonable rules and regulations as it shall deem necessary to effectuate the intent and purposes of this act, which are not in contravention of this act or any other law, and is further authorized, in its discretion, to appoint an executive committee to perform certain duties and functions and exercise such power and authority as the authority by duly adopted resolution shall prescribe. The members of the authority shall serve without salary or compensation, but may be reimbursed for actual expenses, including mileage, incurred in the performance of their duties, as authorized by Section 25-3-41, Mississippi Code of 1972.

Section 4. The authority is hereby granted the following powers, together with all powers incidental thereto or necessary for the performance of those hereinafter stated, in order to effectuate the purposes of this act:

(a) To acquire by gift, purchase or otherwise, and to own, lease, hold, maintain, control and develop, real estate and improvements thereon situated within the county, either within or without the corporate limits of a municipality, for development, use and operation as one or more industrial park complexes, buildings or sites or economic development districts ("projects").

(b) To engage in works of internal improvement for said sites, including, but not limited to, construction or contracting for the construction of streets, roads, railroads, site improvements, water, sewerage, drainage, pollution and other related facilities necessary or required for industrial or economic development use and development of projects.

(c) To acquire, purchase, install, lease, construct, own, hold, equip, control, maintain, use, operate and repair such structures and facilities as are determined to be necessary and convenient for the planning, development, use, operation and maintenance of projects for industrial or economic development purposes, including, but not limited to, buildings, elevators, compressors, warehouses, air, rail and other transportation terminals and pollution control facilities. In the event the authority takes by gift or otherwise any land, buildings or other tangible assets from any persons, firms or corporations, public or private, the authority may assume all or any part of the liabilities resulting from such acceptance under such terms and conditions as will be in the best interest of the citizens of the county.

(d) To borrow money and issue negotiable promissory notes, unsecured or secured by the execution of deeds of trust and mortgages upon any real estate not otherwise encumbered belonging to the authority.

(e) To sell, lease, trade, exchange or otherwise dispose of industrial sites and improvements thereon situated within projects to individuals, firms or corporations, public or private, for all types of industrial, commercial and agricultural uses upon such terms and conditions, for such consideration, and with such safeguards as it determines will best promote and protect the public interest, convenience and necessity, and to execute deeds, leases, contracts, easements and other legal instruments necessary or convenient therefor.

(f) To fix and prescribe fees, charges and rates for the use of any water, sewerage, pollution or other facilities constructed, owned and operated by the authority in connection with a project and to collect the same from persons, firms and corporations using the same for industrial, commercial or agricultural purposes, except as to rates and charges against common carriers regulated by an agency of the federal government or the Mississippi Public Service Commission.

(g) To employ engineers, attorneys, accountants, consultants and such personnel, including professional staff, as may be reasonably necessary to carry out the duties, authority and responsibilities authorized by this act.

(h) Any sale or lease of all or part of a project 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 authority in orders or resolutions authorizing the same. Any covenants and obligations of lessees or sublessees to make expenditures in determined amounts, and within such time or times, for improvements to be erected on the land owned or otherwise held by the authority, and to conduct thereon industrial, commercial, agricultural or public purpose operations in such aggregate payroll amounts and for such period of time or times as may be determined and defined in such sale or lease, and to give preference in employment where practicable to qualified residents of the county, shall, if included in such sale or lease, constitute and be deemed adequate and sufficient consideration for the execution of any such sale or lease, and no monetary rental or other consideration shall be required; any such instrument may contain reasonable provisions giving the lessee the right to remove its or his improvements upon termination of the lease.

(i) The county (the "issuer"), upon the request of the authority, is authorized to issue bonds for the purposes authorized by this act.

(j) Contracts for the acquisition, purchase, construction, improvement, equipping and furnishing of a project shall be exempt from the public bidding requirements of Section 31-7-13, Mississippi Code of 1972.

(k) The enumeration of any specific rights and powers contained in this act, where followed by general powers, shall not be construed in a restrictive sense, but rather in as broad and comprehensive a sense as possible to effectuate the purposes of this act.

Section 5. For the purpose of providing funds to defray the cost of acquiring land and the cost of improving the same and construction of improvements thereon, as provided by this act, the board of supervisors is hereby authorized to issue the general obligation bonds of the county in the manner prescribed by this act.

Section 6. The aggregate amount of all bonds authorized to be issued under the provisions of this act shall not exceed the principal amount of Fifteen Million Dollars ($15,000,000.00).

Section 7. All bonds issued under the authority of Section 5 of this act shall bear interest at such rate or rates not exceeding the rate of interest authorized to be paid by counties on general obligation bonds, shall be in such denomination or denominations, shall mature not more than twenty-five (25) years from date, with or without the right of redemption and with or without premium, and shall be payable, both principal and interest, at such place or places, all as the issuer of the bonds shall determine. All such bonds shall be sold for not less than par value plus accrued interest at public sale in the manner provided by Section 31-19-25, Mississippi Code of 1972. No less than one-fiftieth (1/50) of the total issue shall mature during each year during the first five (5) years of the life of such bonds, and not less than one-twenty-fifth (1/25) of the total issue shall mature each year during the succeeding period of ten (10) years of the life of such bonds, and the remainder shall be divided into approximately equal annual payments, with payment to be made each year for the remaining life of such bonds. Such bonds shall be executed on behalf of the issuer in the manner provided by law for general obligation bonds.

No bond shall bear more than one (1) rate of interest; each bond shall bear interest from its date to its stated maturity date at the interest rate specified in the bid; all bonds of the same maturity shall bear the same rate of interest from date to maturity; all interest accruing on such bonds so issued shall be payable semiannually or annually, except that the first interest payment on any such bond may be for any period not exceeding one (1) year.

The lowest interest rate specified for any bonds issued shall not be less than seventy percent (70%) of the highest interest rate specified for the same bond issue.

Each interest rate specified in any bid must be in multiples of one-eighth of one percent (1/8 of 1%) or in multiples of one-tenth of one percent (1/10 of 1%). Such bonds may be issued and sold in one or more series.

Section 8. Before issuing any bonds under the provisions of Section 5 of this act, the governing body of the issuer shall, by resolution spread upon its minutes, declare its intention to issue such bonds for the purposes authorized by this act and shall state in such resolution the amount of bonds proposed to be issued and shall likewise fix in such resolution the date upon which the issuer proposes to direct the issuance of such bonds. Notice of such intention shall be published once a week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper published or having a general circulation in the county, with the first publication of such notice to be made not less than twenty-one (21) days prior to the date fixed in the resolution declaring the intent to issue such bonds and the last publication to be made not more than seven (7) days prior to such date. If, on or before the date specified in the resolution, twenty percent (20%) or two thousand (2,000), whichever is less, of the qualified electors of the issuer proposing to issue such bonds shall file a written protest against the issuance thereof, then an election upon the issuance thereof shall be called and held as hereby provided. If no such protest shall be filed, then the issuer may issue such bonds without an election on the question of their issuance at any time within a period of two (2) years after the date specified in the resolution. If an election is required by the protest of the appropriate number of qualified electors of the issuer, then an election shall be held by the issuer under applicable laws. Provided, however, that nothing in this act shall prevent such issuer from calling an election, whether required by twenty percent (20%) or two thousand (2,000), whichever is less, of the qualified electors, in which event it shall not be necessary to publish the resolution of intent above described.

Section 9. At such election, all qualified electors of the issuer may vote, and the ballots used in such election shall have printed thereon a brief statement of the amount and purposes of the proposed bond issue and the words "FOR THE BOND ISSUE" and "AGAINST THE BOND ISSUE," and the voters shall vote by placing a cross (x) or check (a ) opposite their choice on the proposition.

Section 10. When the results of any such election shall have been canvassed by the election commission of the issuer and certified, the issuer may issue the bonds if three-fifths (3/5) of the qualified electors who vote in such election vote in favor of the issuance of such bonds. If such bond issue shall be approved, the issuer may issue such bonds within two (2) years from the date of such election or within two (2) years after final favorable determination of any litigation affecting the issuance of such bonds, at such time or times and in such amount or amounts, not exceeding that specified in the notice of the election, as shall be deemed proper by the issuer.

Section 11. The full faith, credit and resources of the issuer shall be irrevocably pledged for the repayment of general obligation bonds issued pursuant to Sections 5 through 11 of this act and the interest thereon. It shall be the duty of the issuer annually to levy and collect a special tax upon all of the taxable property within the issuer, which shall be sufficient to provide for the payment of the principal and interest on the respective bonds issued according to the terms thereof; provided, however, not less than seventy percent (70%) of any income derived by the issuer or the authority from the sale or lease of the property authorized to be acquired under this act shall be used for the retirement of the bonds authorized to be sold under the foregoing sections of this act and thirty percent (30%) may be used for further development of projects, for operation and support of the authority, and for other related industrial and economic development activities.

Section 12. The bonds issued hereunder shall be exempt from all taxation in the State of Mississippi; however, unless otherwise provided by the general laws of this state, no lessee or purchaser shall be exempt from ad valorem taxes on industrial sites and improvements thereon nor shall purchases required to establish a project and financed by bond proceeds be exempt from taxation in the State of Mississippi. The inclusion of such bonds in any statutory debt limitation shall be governed by the provisions of Sections 19-9-5 and 21-33-303, Mississippi Code of 1972.

Section 13. All bonds issued under the provisions of this act 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.

Section 14. The carrying out of the corporate purposes of the authority is in all respects for the benefit of the people of the county and is a public purpose, and the authority will be performing an essential governmental function in the exercise of the powers conferred upon it by this act.

Section 15. In addition to any rights, duties and powers now or hereafter conferred upon the governing bodies, the governing bodies, acting jointly or severally, at the request of the authority, are authorized and empowered, in their discretion, to make available all tax revenue in their general funds not otherwise appropriated for the operation and general support of the authority. The board of supervisors may also, in its discretion, levy a tax of not more than two (2) mills on all taxable property in the county for industrial development or to support and maintain the authority; however, any taxes so levied shall not be subject to the limitation on increases in ad valorem taxes established in Section 27-39-321, Mississippi Code of 1972, for the first year of the levy and shall be included within such limitation in any year thereafter.

Section 16. The authority, in addition to the monies which may be received by it from the sale of bonds and from the collection of revenues, rents and earnings derived under the provisions of this act, shall have the authority to accept from any public or private agency, or from any individual, grants for or in aid of the construction of any project or for the payment of bonds, and to receive and accept contributions, from any source, of money or property or other things of value to be held, used and applied only for the purposes for which such grants or contributions may be made.

Section 17. The Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the Town of DeKalb and the board of supervisors are hereby authorized, in their discretion, by duly adopted resolution to transfer or sell to the authority all or any part of that certain parcel of real property purchased by the Town of DeKalb and the county for the purpose of an industrial park, under such terms and conditions as may be in the best interest of the Town of DeKalb or the county, or as may be required by state or federal law, existing bond resolutions, existing contracts, or other requirements in order to effectuate the intent of this act.

Section 18. The authority is hereby authorized to (a) apply for and accept grants and loans on behalf of the governing bodies from the State of Mississippi or the United States of America or any agency thereof; and (b) contract with any agency of the State of Mississippi or the United States of America for the development of the county.

Section 19. This act shall be deemed to be full and complete authority for the exercise of the powers herein granted in the county.

Section 20. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.