Senate Bill 2451

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-29-141 AND 37-29-437, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR THE COMPUTATION OF THE REQUIRED LOCAL REVENUE IN SUPPORT OF COMMUNITY/JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICTS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 37-29-141, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-29-141. (1) The board of trustees of any junior college district is expressly authorized and empowered to make a thorough study and evaluation of the costs of operation of the junior college district, and said board shall recommend a fair and acceptable tax rate for district general support and maintenance from each of the member counties.

The board of trustees of any junior college district as constituted as of July 1, 1964, shall have the authority to recommend the tax levy necessary for a newly contributing county to have representation on the board of trustees of said junior college.

From and after October 1, 1989, and until October 1, 2004, no county shall levy less than (a) one (1) mill for the support, and (b) one (1) mill for the enlargement, improvement and repair of the junior college within the district of which the county is a member. From and after October 1, 1990, the board of trustees of any junior college district may, by a sixty percent (60%) affirmative vote of the members of such board, recommend an additional one (1) mill which may be used for the support or for the enlargement, improvement and repair of the junior college within the district of which the county is a member. If a county is levying more than the minimum levy required herein for one category but less than the minimum levy required for the other, then the excess millage under the one may be applied towards making up the deficiency which exists in the other. If a county contributes to two (2) junior college districts, the combined levy for both districts shall not be less than the minimums required herein.

From and after October 1, 2004, the minimum required levy for support of community/junior college districts shall be determined under subsection (5) of this section.

Any county having any school district located therein with a current operating deficit of Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00) or more on July 1, 1989, shall not be required to levy the minimum millage required under this subsection (1) until such time as the said operating deficit is eliminated, or for a period of three (3) fiscal years, whichever is less. Provided, however, that no such county shall levy a smaller tax millage for capital improvements and general support of a junior college district than was levied for the previous year.

No county shall levy a smaller tax millage for capital improvements and general support of a junior college district than was levied for the previous year, unless requested to make such reduction by the board of trustees of the district. When a county has a general reassessment of property to increase the county ad valorem tax assessments, such county may reduce the millage for general support and capital improvements, provided that its aggregate budget for junior college purposes is not lower than was paid the previous year.

In lieu of taxation, the board of trustees may fix the amount of enrollee tuition in an amount commensurate with the per capita cost of operating the district.

(2) Taxes for the support, enlargement, improvement and repairs of junior colleges shall be levied annually against all of the property of each county and of each municipal separate school district, including added territory, which has established or may hereafter establish, or which has joined or may hereafter join, in the establishment or support of a junior college. In no case shall such levy exceed three (3) mills for support and three (3) mills for enlargement, improvement and repairs for each junior college within the district of which the county or municipal separate school district may be a component.

(3) The levy for support for any year in any given county or separate school district is that presently prevailing therein unless a change is recommended to the tax levying authorities by the board of trustees or by a vote of the people ascertained in an election called for that purpose by the tax levying authorities subsequent to the petition therefor signed by twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors.

(4) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, the minimum millage required under subsection (1) shall not be levied by the board of supervisors of any county within a junior college district until the board of trustees of the district adopts annually, an order, by a sixty percent (60%) affirmative vote of the members of the board, that such minimum millage shall be levied by each county within the district.

(5) From and after October 1, 2004, the computation of the required local revenue in support of the community/junior college districts shall be as provided under this subsection (5). The amount that each county shall provide toward the support of the community/junior college district(s) in which the county is located shall be calculated as follows: The State Board for Community and Junior Colleges shall annually certify to each community/junior college district board of trustees an amount equal to twenty-seven percent (27%) of the basic instruction cost for such community/junior college district for the previous school year. The State Board for Community and Junior Colleges shall certify to each community/junior college district board of trustees, for each county in the district, the percentage of students enrolled in the college for the previous school year whose home residence is in that county. Each county's required contribution to the community/junior college district instruction cost shall be determined by multiplying the percentage of resident students from that county times the required twenty-seven percent (27%) of the total district instruction cost. The district's instruction cost and the county's percentage of resident students enrolled in the district shall be computed and currently maintained in accordance with regulations promulgated by the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges. Each community/junior college board of trustees shall annually submit to each county board of supervisors in the district a certified copy of an order adopted by the board of trustees requesting an ad valorem tax effort in dollars for the support of the community/junior college district equal to the calculation prescribed in this subsection. In no event shall the ad valorem tax effort requested be less than the levy in effect on October 1, 2003. The copy of the order shall be submitted by the board of trustees when the copies of the district's budget are filed with the board of supervisors. Upon receipt of the board of trustee's order requesting the ad valorem tax effort in dollars, the board of supervisors shall determine the millage rate necessary to generate funds equal to the dollar amount requested by the board of trustees. If a county contributes to two (2) community/junior college district, the combined levy in dollars shall not be less than the amount requested by both community/junior college boards of trustees. Any amount required under this subsection (5) shall be authorized by majority vote of the board of trustees and the levying authority, and not sixty percent (60%) as provided in subsections (1) and (4).

SECTION 2. 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 four (4) 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. Provided, that from and after October 1, 2004, the tax levy for maintenance and operation of the district shall be determined under subsection (5) of Section 37-29-141, Mississippi Code of 1972.

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 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-mill maximum above provided for capital outlays, buildings, purchase of land and other similar items hereinbefore mentioned.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2004.