House Bill 58

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-29-437, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REDUCE THE MAXIMUM AD VALOREM TAX MILLAGE RATE THAT COUNTIES IN THE MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT MAY LEVY FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION OF THE DISTRICT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 37-29-437, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-29-437. After the budget shall have been prepared as is provided for in Section 37-29-415, the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College District shall certify the same in writing to the boards of supervisors of the several counties and shall certify to the said boards of supervisors the number of mills of ad valorem taxation required to make provisions for the revenue required in said budget. It shall thereupon become the duty of the board of supervisors of each of the four (4) counties to levy the taxes in the number of mills specified by the board of trustees. The tax levy for maintenance and operation of the district shall not exceed three (3) mills nor shall the levy for capital outlay, including purchase of lands, construction and equipment of buildings and structures, making of major repairs, and for the retirement of bonds, exceed three (3) mills.

Promptly upon having certified the requirements of the district to the several boards of supervisors the board of trustees of the district shall cause publication of notice to be made in each county in a newspaper published or having general circulation therein giving notice of the filing of the request for the levy aforesaid. Said notice shall be published at least one (1) time and within ten (10) days after the certification of the request for such levy to the boards of supervisors. The said notice shall provide that the said levy requested will be made in each county unless a petition signed by twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of the district shall be filed with the secretary of the board of trustees of the said district within thirty (30) days from the date of the first publication protesting against the said levy and demanding an election thereon. In the event of the filing of such a petition, it shall be the duty of the secretary forthwith to call a special meeting of the board of trustees of the district setting forth the fact of the filing of such petition in the notice of the call and the said board shall promptly meet and consider the said petition. If it shall find that the same does in fact protest against the said levies and is in fact signed by at least twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of the said district, it shall then so certify to the boards of supervisors of the several counties. As early as possible but not later than fifteen (15) days after the receipt of such notice, it shall be the duty of the board of supervisors of each county to enter an order directing the election commissioners of the county to proceed to hold an election in all of the voting precincts of said county to determine whether or not the levy shall be made as requested by the board of trustees of the district.

The said election shall be held within thirty (30) days from the date of the said order of the board of supervisors requesting that the same be called and notice thereof shall be published once a week for three (3) weeks during the period between the order directing the election commissioners to hold the same and the actual date thereof.

The election shall be held in accordance with the laws governing general elections as nearly as is practicable and the election commissioners of each county shall, promptly after the holding of said election, certify to the secretary of the board of trustees of the district the result thereof in each county, certifying also the number of qualified electors in each county on the date of the holding of said election. The board of trustees of the district shall promptly meet and consider the several certificates of the election commissioners and shall determine the result of said election in the district. If it shall be determined that a majority of the qualified electors of the district have voted against the levy requested, the same shall not be made but the board of supervisors in each county shall continue in effect the levy made for the preceding fiscal year. If it be determined that a majority of the qualified electors has not voted against said levy, it shall be the duty of the board of supervisors of each county to make the levy as requested. In any event, the levy for full faith and credit bonds outstanding as obligations of the county before May 10, 1962, for capital outlays and improvements for Perkinston Junior College and/or bonds subsequently issued shall be continued in effect in accordance with the obligations undertaken in the issuance of said bonds. All of such bond levies, however, as are reasonably required to meet the annual maturities and interest on outstanding bonds shall be considered a part of the three (3) mill maximum above provided for capital outlays, buildings, purchase of land and other similar items hereinbefore mentioned.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2002.