MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2003 Regular Session
To: Fees and Salaries of Public Officers; County Affairs
By: Representative Guice
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 9-9-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ESTABLISH A UNIFORM SALARY FOR ALL COUNTY COURT JUDGES; TO AMEND SECTION 9-9-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROHIIT COUNTY COURT JUDGES FROM PRACTICING LAW; TO REPEAL SECTION 9-9-13, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH AUTHORIZES THE GOVERNING AUTHORITIES OF LARGE MUNICIPALITIES TO SUPPLEMENT THE SALARY OF THE COUNTY COURT JUDGE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 9-9-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
9-9-11. Each county court judge shall receive an annual salary, payable monthly out of the county treasury, in an amount equal to * * * One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) less than the salary * * * provided for circuit and chancery judges of this state * * *. The office of county court judge * * * shall be a full-time position, and the holder of the office shall not otherwise engage in the practice of law.
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SECTION 2. Section 9-9-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
9-9-9. The county judge shall not practice law * * *,but this prohibition shall not prohibit the judges of the county courts from practicing in any of the courts so far as to enable them to bring to a conclusion cases actually pending when they are appointed or elected, in which the county judges are then employed, as provided in Section 9-1-25 for judges of the circuit courts and chancellors.
SECTION 3. Section 9-9-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, which authorizes the governing authorities of large municipalities to supplement the salary of the county court judge, is repealed.
SECTION 4. The Attorney General of the State of Mississippi 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 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after October 1, 2003, if it is effectuated on or before that date under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended. If it is effectuated under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended, after October 1, 2003, 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.