MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2004 Regular Session
To: Local and Private Legislation; Ways and Means
By: Representative Robinson (63rd), Brown, Clarke, Banks, Calhoun, Coleman (65th), Evans, Flaggs, Fleming, Holloway, Middleton, Smith (27th)
AN ACT TO CREATE THE CAPITAL CITY CONVENTION CENTER COMMISSION; TO PROVIDE FOR THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMISSION; TO PROVIDE THAT THE COMMISSION SHALL HAVE JURISDICTION AND AUTHORITY OVER ALL MATTERS RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT, DEVELOPMENT, CONSTRUCTION, FURNISHING, EQUIPPING, OPERATING AND PROMOTING OF A CONVENTION CENTER WITHIN THE CITY OF JACKSON; TO AUTHORIZE THE IMPOSITION OF A TAX ON THE GROSS PROCEEDS OF RESTAURANTS, HOTELS AND MOTELS AND ON EACH CAR RENTAL AGREEMENT ENTERED INTO BY MOTOR VEHICLE RENTAL BUSINESSES, FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING FUNDS FOR THE ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, FURNISHING, EQUIPPING, ERECTION, OPERATION, MAINTENANCE AND PROMOTING OF A CONVENTION CENTER AND FOR THE PAYMENT OF ANY DEBT INCURRED FOR THE ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, EQUIPPING AND FURNISHING OF A CONVENTION CENTER; TO AUTHORIZE THE GOVERNING AUTHORITIES OF THE CITY OF JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, TO INCUR DEBT FOR THE PURPOSE OF ACQUIRING, CONSTRUCTING, EQUIPPING AND FURNISHING OF A CONVENTION CENTER IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $65,000,000.00; TO REQUIRE A REFERENDUM ON THE QUESTION OF THE IMPOSITION OF ANY TAX AUTHORIZED UNDER THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. As used in this act, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section unless otherwise clearly indicated by the context in which they are used:
(a) "Commission" means the Capital City Convention Center Commission.
(b) "Convention center" means the Capital City Convention Center and other related and ancillary facilities.
(c) "Hotel" or "motel" means and includes a place of lodging that at any one time will accommodate transient guests on a daily or weekly basis and that is known to the trade as such, and which is located within the city limits of Jackson, Mississippi.
(d) "Mayor" means the Mayor of the City of Jackson, Mississippi.
(e) "Motor vehicle rental business" means a person, firm or corporation engaged in or continuing in the business of renting motor vehicles under rental agreements with a term of not more than thirty (30) continuous days each, and which are located within the city limits of Jackson, Mississippi, including, but not limited to, businesses located at the Jackson International Airport.
(f) "Restaurant" means and includes all places where prepared food is sold and whose annual gross proceeds of sales or gross income for the preceding calendar year equals or exceeds One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), and which are located within the city limits of Jackson, Mississippi. For the purpose of calculating gross proceeds of sales or gross income, the sales or income of all establishments owned, operated or controlled by the same person, persons or corporation shall be aggregated. SECTION 2. (1) There is hereby created and established in the City of Jackson, Mississippi, a convention center to be named the "Capital City Convention Center."
(2) The commission shall be domiciled in the City of Jackson. It shall have the authority to promulgate and enact all rules and regulations necessary or advantageous to the purpose of the commission.
SECTION 3. (1) The commission shall be composed of nine (9) members, appointed directly by the mayor subject only to the provisions set forth in this section, who shall be known as commissioners.
(a) Two (2) hotel/motel members representing hotel or motel properties located within the city limits of Jackson, Mississippi, appointed by the mayor for initial terms of one (1) and three (3) years, respectively. These members and their successors shall be appointed by the mayor after being selected from a panel of two (2) names for each membership position submitted by the Central Mississippi Chapter of Mississippi Lodging Association.
(b) Two (2) restaurant members representing restaurants located within the city limits of Jackson appointed by the mayor for initial terms of two (2) and four (4) years, respectively. These members and their successors shall be appointed by the mayor after being selected from a panel of two (2) names for each membership position submitted by the Jackson Chapter of the Mississippi Restaurant Association.
(c) One (1) member representing the business community in the City of Jackson appointed by the mayor for an initial term of five (5) years. This member and her/his successors shall be appointed by the mayor after being selected from a panel of two (2) names submitted by the Metro Jackson Chamber of Commerce. The names submitted by the Metro Jackson Chamber of Commerce shall be those of persons who represent businesses located within the city limits of Jackson, Mississippi.
(d) Four (4) members shall be appointed at large by the mayor for initial terms of one (1), two (2), three (3) and four (4) years each. All such appointees by the mayor pursuant to this section shall be residents of the City of Jackson.
(e) All succeeding appointments shall be made for a term of five (5) years from the date of expiration of the initial appointment. Any vacancy which may occur shall be filled by the mayor within ninety (90) days after such vacancy occurs in the same manner as the original appointment and shall be made for the unexpired term. Each member of the commission shall serve until his successor is appointed and qualified.
(f) The mayor shall designate a chairman of the commission from among the membership of the commission. The chairman shall serve in that capacity for two (2) years and may be reappointed only after the expiration of two (2) intervening years. The mayor shall designate a vice chairman and secretary in the same manner and for the same term as the chairman.
(g) The commissioners shall serve without compensation.
(2) Any commissioner shall be disqualified and shall be removed from office for either of the following reasons:
(a) Conviction of a felony in any state court or in federal court; or
(b) Failure to attend three (3) consecutive meetings without just cause.
If a commissioner is removed for any of the above reasons, the vacancy shall be filled in the manner prescribed in this section and shall be made for the unexpired term.
(3) Before assuming the duties of office, each commissioner shall take the oath prescribed by law and shall enter into and give bond, to be approved by the Secretary of State of the State of Mississippi, in the sum of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), conditioned upon the faithful performance of his duties. Such bond shall be payable to the State of Mississippi, and, in the event of a breach thereof, suit may be brought by the State of Mississippi for the benefit of the commission. The premiums on such bonds shall be paid from the funds received by the commission under the provisions of this act.
(4) A quorum shall consist of five (5) members of the commission. The commission shall adopt such rules and regulations as may govern the time and place for holding meetings, regular and special, and other rules and regulations to administer, operate and promote the convention center not inconsistent with the provisions of this act.
SECTION 4. The commission shall have jurisdiction and authority over all matters relating to the establishment, development, construction, furnishing, equipping, operating and promoting of a convention center within the City of Jackson to be connected to the Mississippi Telecommunication Conference and Training Center located in the City of Jackson, including the authority to enter into such contracts and agreements as may be necessary to carry out the intent of this act. The commission shall adhere to the provisions of the public purchasing laws, public works contracts laws and public bid laws as provided by the laws of the State of Mississippi.
The commission is authorized to contract for the construction, furnishing, equipping, operation and promotion of a convention center and to receive and expend, subject to the provisions of this act, revenues from any source.
SECTION 5. (1) For the purpose of providing funds for the acquisition, construction, furnishing, equipping, erection, operation, maintenance and promotion of a convention center and for the payment of any debt incurred for the acquisition, construction, equipping and furnishing of a convention center, there is hereby levied and assessed and shall be collected from every person engaging in or doing business in the City of Jackson, in addition to all other taxes currently being levied, assessed and collected:
(a) A tax of one percent (1%) of the gross proceeds of sales of restaurants and of sales of food and beverages in the hotels and motels, including, but not limited to, sales of beer and alcoholic beverages sold to be consumed on the premises; (b) A tax of three percent (3%) of the gross proceeds of sales of hotel and motel rooms and lodging;
(c) A tax of Two Dollars ($2.00) on each motor vehicle rental agreement entered into by a motor vehicle rental business; however, this tax shall not apply to motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight exceeding ten thousand pounds (10,000).
(2) Persons liable for the taxes imposed in this section shall add the amount of tax to the sales price or gross income and, in addition thereto, shall collect, insofar as practicable, the amount of the tax due by them from the person receiving the services or goods at the time of payment therefor.
(3) The tax 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; and the full enforcement provisions of Chapter 65, Title 27, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall apply as necessary to the implementation and administration of this act.
(4) The proceeds of the tax shall be paid to the City of Jackson on or before the fifteenth day of the month following the month in which they were collected.
(5) The proceeds of the tax shall not be considered by the City of Jackson as general fund revenues and shall be placed into a special fund. Money in the special fund shall first be used to pay the debt service on any debt incurred by the city for the acquisition, construction, equipping and furnishing the convention center. The proceeds of the tax shall be used by the commission for the following purposes in the priority set forth:
(a) First, to pay debt service on debt incurred pursuant to this act;
(b) Second, to fund a trust fund to pay any deficit that may occur with respect to the operation of the convention center, not to exceed the amount of Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) per year; and
(c) The remainder shall be used for the operation, maintenance and promotion of the convention center.
(6) The provisions of this section shall be repealed upon the payment in full of any debt incurred pursuant to the provisions of Section 6 of this act.
SECTION 6. The governing authorities of the City of Jackson, Mississippi, are authorized to incur debt under any existing law authorizing the issuance of bonds, notes or other evidences of debt, for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, equipping and furnishing of a convention center in an amount not to exceed Sixty-five Million Dollars ($65,000,000.00). In the event that the city elects to issue bonds pursuant to Section 21-33-301 et seq., the bonds shall not be subject to the limitation on indebtedness imposed by Section 21-33-303, to the extent that the bonds are paid with the proceeds of the taxes authorized by this act.
SECTION 7. (1) Before any tax authorized under this act may be imposed, the governing authorities of the City of Jackson shall adopt a resolution declaring its intention to levy the taxes, setting forth the amount of such tax to be imposed, the date upon which such taxes shall become effective and calling for a referendum to be held on the question. The date of the referendum shall be set in the resolution. Notice of such intention shall be published once each 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 before the date fixed in the resolution for the referendum and the last publication to be made not more than seven (7) days before the referendum. At the referendum, all qualified electors of the City of Jackson may vote, and the ballots used in such referendum shall have printed thereon a brief statement of the amount and purposes of the proposed tax levy and the words "FOR THE CONVENTION CENTER TAX" and, on a separate line, "AGAINST THE CONVENTION CENTER TAX", and the voters shall vote by placing a cross (X) or check (√) opposite their choice on the proposition. When the results of any such referendum shall have been canvassed by the election commission and certified, the city may levy the taxes beginning on the first day of the second month following the referendum, only if at least sixty percent (60%) of the qualified electors who vote in the election vote in favor of the tax. In the event that sixty percent (60%) of the qualified electors who vote at the referendum vote for the convention center tax and the city elects to issue bonds pursuant to Section 21-33-301 et seq., the city shall not be required to comply with the provisions of Section 21-33-307. No public funds shall be used for the purpose of promoting the adoption of the referendum. At least thirty (30) days before the effective date of the taxes, the governing authorities of the City of Jackson shall furnish to the State Tax Commission a certified copy of the resolution evidencing the taxes.
(2) If a referendum has been held under the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, and the authority of the city to impose the convention center taxes has been denied by the electors of the city, a subsequent referendum on the issue of imposing convention center taxes may be held within two (2) years from the date of the first referendum. If a second referendum is held, and the authority to impose the convention center taxes has been denied again by the electors of the city, no further referendum may be held.
SECTION 8. Accounting for receipts and expenditures of the funds described in this act must be made separately from the accounting of receipts and expenditures of the general fund and any other funds of the City of Jackson. The records reflecting the receipts and expenditures of the funds prescribed in this act shall be audited annually by an independent certified public accountant, and the accountant shall make a written report of his audit to the council and the commission. The audit shall be made and completed as soon as practicable after the close of the fiscal year, and expenses of such audit shall be paid from the funds derived pursuant to this act.
SECTION 9. The provisions of this act shall be repealed in the event that two (2) referenda on the question of imposing convention center taxes have been denied by the electors of the city. If this event occurs, the Clerk of the City of Jackson shall notify the Chairmen of the House and Senate Local and Private Committees.
SECTION 10. The governing authorities of the City of Jackson 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.