Senate Bill 2433

AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE COUNTIES TO ISSUE BONDS FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONSTRUCTING STATE AID ROADS; TO PROVIDE THAT COUNTIES SHALL NOT ISSUE BONDS UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT IN AN AMOUNT WHICH CANNOT BE RETIRED IN 20 YEARS FROM THE DATE OF ISSUE OUT OF 25% OF THE STATE AID ROAD FUNDS ALLOCATED TO THE COUNTY FOR THE PRECEDING FISCAL YEAR; TO PROVIDE THAT THE BONDS ISSUED UNDER THIS ACT SHALL BE PAYABLE FROM STATE AID ROAD FUNDS ALLOCATED TO THE COUNTY; TO AMEND SECTION 27-65-75, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. The board of supervisors of any county is authorized, from time to time, to issue negotiable bonds of the county to raise money for the purpose of constructing state aid roads in the county as now or hereafter designated by law. No part of the proceeds of any bonds issued under this act shall be expended for the purchase of machinery or equipment, or for the maintenance of state aid roads

SECTION 2. No county shall issue bonds under the provisions of this act in an amount which cannot be retired in annual installments over a term of not exceeding twenty (20) years from the date of issue, out of twenty-five percent (25%) of the funds allocated to the county for state aid roads during the preceding fiscal year under the provisions of Section 27-65-75.

SECTION 3. (1) All bonds issued under this act shall be lithographed or engraved, and printed in two (2) or more colors, to prevent counterfeiting, and shall be in sums not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) each, and shall be registered as issued, be numbered in a regular series from one (1) upward, and every bond shall specify on its face the purpose for which it was issued and the total amount authorized to be issued, and each shall be made payable to bearer, and interest shall be evidenced by proper coupons thereto attached.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, bonds issued pursuant to this act may be issued pursuant to the supplemental powers and authorizations conferred by the provisions of the Registered Bond Act (Sections 31-21-1 through 31-21-7).

SECTION 4. All bonds issued under the provisions of this act shall be payable from the state aid road funds allocated to the county under Section 27-65-75, and no amendment to Section 27-65-75 shall be effective if, as a result of the amendment, the allocation to any county having outstanding bonds issued under the provisions of this act would be reduced, unless at the time of the amendment provision is made by the Legislature for the establishment of a sinking fund sufficient in amount to pay the principal and interest due or to become due on the then outstanding bonds of the county. Any sinking fund established pursuant to this section shall be applied exclusively for the payment of principal and interest due or to become due on the then outstanding bonds of the county and shall be in all respects equivalent to the funds for which it is substituted. The board of supervisors of any county is authorized to pledge irrevocably the state aid road funds allocated to the county under the provisions of Section 27-65-75, or equivalent funds as may be substituted for them pursuant to the provisions of this section, for the payment of the bonds so long as any remain outstanding.

SECTION 5. Before issuing any bonds under this act, the board of supervisors shall adopt a resolution declaring its intention so to do, stating the amount of bonds proposed to be issued and the purpose for which the bonds are to be issued, and the date upon which the board proposes to direct the issuance of the bonds. The resolution shall be published once a week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in at least one (1) newspaper published in the county. The first publication of the resolution shall be made not less than twenty-one (21) days prior to the date fixed in the resolution for the issuance of the bonds, and the last publication shall be made not more than seven (7) days prior to such date. If no newspaper be published in the county, then the notice shall be given by publishing the resolution for the required time in some newspaper having a general circulation in the county and, in addition, by posting a copy of the resolution for at least twenty-one (21) days next preceding the date fixed therein at three (3) public places in the county. If twenty percent (20%), or fifteen hundred (1500), whichever is less, of the qualified electors of the county shall file a written protest against the issuance of the bonds on or before the date specified in the resolution, then an election on the question of the issuance of the bonds shall be called and held as is provided in this act. If no protest is filed, then the bonds may be issued without an election on the question of the issuance thereof, at any time within a period of two (2) years after the date specified in the resolution. However, the board of supervisors, in its discretion, may nevertheless call an election on the question, in which event it shall not be necessary to publish the resolution declaring its intention to issue the bonds as provided in this section.

SECTION 6. Where an election is to be called, as provided in Section 5 of this act, notice of the election shall be signed by the clerk of the board of supervisors and shall be published once a week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks, in at least one (1) newspaper published in the county. The first publication of the notice shall be made not less than twenty-one (21) days prior to the date fixed for the election, and the last publication shall be made not more than seven (7) days prior to such date. If no newspaper is published in the county, then the notice shall be given by publishing the notice for the required time in some newspaper having a general circulation in the county and, in addition, by posting a copy of the notice for at least twenty-one (21) days next preceding the election at three (3) public places in the county.

SECTION 7. The election shall be held, as far as is practicable, in the same manner as other elections are held in counties. At the election, all qualified electors of the county may vote, and the ballots used at the election shall have printed thereon a brief statement of the amount and purpose of the proposed bond issue and the words "FOR THE BOND ISSUE" and "AGAINST THE BOND ISSUE," and the voter shall vote by placing a cross (X) or check mark (√) opposite his choice on the proposition.

SECTION 8. When the results of the election on the question of the issuance of the bonds shall have been canvassed by the election commissioners of the county and certified by them to the board of supervisors of the county, it shall be the duty of the board of supervisors to determine and adjudicate whether or not a majority of the qualified electors who voted in the election voted in favor of the issuance of the bonds. Unless a majority of the qualified electors who voted in the election shall have voted in favor of the issuance of the bonds, then the bonds shall not be issued. Should a majority of the qualified electors who vote in the election vote in favor of the issuance of the bonds, then the board of supervisors of the county may issue the bonds, either in whole or in part, within two (2) years from the date of the election or within two (2) years after the final favorable termination of any litigation affecting the issuance of the bonds, as the board of supervisors shall deem best.

SECTION 9. All bonds issued under this act shall mature annually, with all maturities not longer than twenty (20) years, with not less than one-fiftieth (1/50) of the total issue to mature each year during the first five (5) years of the life of the bonds, not less than one-twenty-fifth (1/25) of the total issue to mature each year during the succeeding ten-year period of the life of the bonds, and the remainder to be amortized, as to principal and interest, into approximately equal annual payments, one (1) payment to mature each year for the remaining life of the bonds, but in no case shall any annual installment of principal and interest exceed the limit established in Section 2 of this act. The bonds shall not bear a greater overall maximum interest rate to maturity than that allowed in Section 75-17-101, Mississippi Code of 1972. 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 the bonds so issued shall be payable semiannually or annually, except that the first interest coupon attached to any such bond may be for any period not exceeding one (1) year.

No interest payment shall be evidenced by more than one (1) coupon and neither cancelled nor supplemental coupons shall be permitted; 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. The interest rate of any one (1) interest coupon shall not exceed the maximum interest rate allowed on the bonds.

The denomination, form, and place, or places, of payment of the bonds shall be fixed in the resolution or order of the board of supervisors issuing the bonds. The bonds shall be executed by the manual or facsimile signature of the president of the board of supervisors, or the vice president in the absence or disability of the president, and countersigned by the manual or facsimile signature of the clerk of the board of supervisors, with the official seal of the county affixed thereto. At least one (1) signature on each bond shall be a manual signature, as specified in the issuing resolution. The coupons may bear only the facsimile signatures of the president, or vice president and clerk. No bonds shall be issued and sold under the provisions of this act for less than par and accrued interest.

SECTION 10. The principal proceeds received upon sale and delivery of any bonds issued under this act shall be paid in the State Treasury for the credit of the county by which the bonds were issued and shall be expended in like manner as provided by law for the expenditure of state aid road construction funds. The accrued interest, if any, shall be paid into the State Treasury to the credit of the county by which the bonds were issued and shall be applied to the payment of the first interest accruing on the bonds.

SECTION 11. (1) It shall be the duty of the clerk of the board of supervisors of any county issuing bonds under this act to file with the State Treasurer, immediately upon the issuance of the bonds, a certified copy of the resolution of the board of supervisors authorizing and directing the issuance of the bonds, together with a schedule showing the dates upon which interest and principal payments are to be made under the terms of the bond issue and the amount or amounts due on each date. It shall be the duty of the State Treasurer to keep and preserve the certified copy of the resolution and to remit to the paying agent named in the bonds, five (5) days in advance of each interest payment date and each principal payment date, the amount or amounts then due for the payment of the principal of and the interest on the bonds, and to include in each remittance the usual and customary fee of the paying agents. The State Treasurer shall charge each remittance against the current allocation of funds due the county under the provisions of Section 27-65-75, and remittances for the payment of the bonds and the interest thereon shall have preference and priority over any and all other claims upon the funds. It shall be the duty of the State Treasurer to disregard any subsequent amendment to Section 27-65-75 which reduces the allocation to any county having bonds issued under this act outstanding, unless at the time of the amendment provision is made by the Legislature for the establishment of a sinking fund sufficient in amount to pay the principal and interest due or to become due on the then outstanding bond of the county.

(2) If, pursuant to Section 4 of this act, a sinking fund shall be established for the payment of principal and interest due or to become due on the then outstanding bonds of any county, the State Treasurer shall remit to the paying agent named in the bonds the amount due for the payment of the principal of and the interest on the bonds, together with the usual and customary fee of the paying agents, in the manner and at the times provided for in subsection (1) of this section.

SECTION 12. Any bonds issued under the provision of this act shall not be subject to any limitation as to the amount of indebtedness which a county may incur and shall not be included in computing the future debt-incurring power of the county.

SECTION 13. Any bonds issued under this act may be refunded under the terms and provisions of Section 31-15-1 et seq., subject to the provision that any refunding bonds shall be secured in like manner and shall be payable from the same source or sources as the bonds that are refunded.

SECTION 14. Section 27-65-75, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-65-75. On or before the fifteenth day of each month, the revenue collected under the provisions of this chapter during the preceding month shall be paid and distributed as follows:

(1) On or before August 15, 1992, and each succeeding month thereafter through July 15, 1993, eighteen percent (18%) of the total sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under the provisions of this chapter, except that collected under the provisions of Sections 27-65-15, 27-65-19(3) and 27-65-21, on business activities within a municipal corporation shall be allocated for distribution to the municipality and paid to the municipal corporation. On or before August 15, 1993, and each succeeding month thereafter, eighteen and one-half percent (18-1/2%) of the total sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under the provisions of this chapter, except that collected under the provisions of Sections 27-65-15, 27-65-19(3) and 27-65-21, on business activities within a municipal corporation shall be allocated for distribution to the municipality and paid to the municipal corporation.

A municipal corporation, for the purpose of distributing the tax under this subsection, shall mean and include all incorporated cities, towns and villages.

Monies allocated for distribution and credited to a municipal corporation under this subsection may be pledged as security for any loan received by the municipal corporation for the purpose of capital improvements as authorized under Section 57-1-303, or loans as authorized under Section 57-44-7, or water systems improvements as authorized under Section 41-3-16.

In any county having a county seat that is not an incorporated municipality, the distribution provided under this subsection shall be made as though the county seat was an incorporated municipality; however, the distribution to the municipality shall be paid to the county treasury in which the municipality is located, and those funds shall be used for road, bridge and street construction or maintenance in the county.

(2) On or before September 15, 1987, and each succeeding month thereafter, from the revenue collected under this chapter during the preceding month One Million One Hundred Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($1,125,000.00) shall be allocated for distribution to municipal corporations as defined under subsection (1) of this section in the proportion that the number of gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel sold by distributors to consumers and retailers in each such municipality during the preceding fiscal year bears to the total gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel sold by distributors to consumers and retailers in municipalities statewide during the preceding fiscal year. The State Tax Commission shall require all distributors of gasoline and diesel fuel to report to the commission monthly the total number of gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel sold by them to consumers and retailers in each municipality during the preceding month. The State Tax Commission shall have the authority to promulgate such rules and regulations as is necessary to determine the number of gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel sold by distributors to consumers and retailers in each municipality. In determining the percentage allocation of funds under this subsection for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1987, and ending June 30, 1988, the State Tax Commission may consider gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel sold for a period of less than one (1) fiscal year. For the purposes of this subsection, the term "fiscal year" means the fiscal year beginning July 1 of a year.

(3) On or before September 15, 1987, and on or before the fifteenth day of each succeeding month, until the date specified in Section 65-39-35, the proceeds derived from contractors' taxes levied under Section 27-65-21 on contracts for the construction or reconstruction of highways designated under the highway program created under Section 65-3-97 shall, except as otherwise provided in Section 31-17-127, be deposited into the State Treasury to the credit of the State Highway Fund to be used to fund that highway program. The Mississippi Department of Transportation shall provide to the State Tax Commission such information as is necessary to determine the amount of proceeds to be distributed under this subsection.

(4) On or before August 15, 1994, and on or before the fifteenth day of each succeeding month through July 15, 1999, from the proceeds of gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene taxes as provided in Section 27-5-101(a)(ii)1, Four Million Dollars ($4,000,000.00) shall be deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of a special fund designated as the "State Aid Road Fund," created by Section 65-9-17. On or before August 15, 1999, and on or before the fifteenth day of each succeeding month, from the total amount of the proceeds of gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene taxes apportioned by Section 27-5-101(a)(ii)1, Four Million Dollars ($4,000,000.00) or an amount equal to twenty-three and one-fourth percent (23.25%) of those funds, whichever is the greater amount, shall be deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the "State Aid Road Fund," created by Section 65-9-17. Those funds may be pledged to pay the principal of and interest on state aid road bonds * * * issued under Sections1 through13 of Senate Bill No. 2433, 2005 Regular Session * * *. From the amount of taxes paid into the special fund under this subsection and subsection (9) of this section, there shall be first deducted and paid the amount necessary to pay the expenses of the Office of State Aid Road Construction, as authorized by the Legislature for all other general and special fund agencies. The remainder of the fund shall be allocated monthly to the several counties in accordance with the following formula:

(a) One-third (1/3) shall be allocated to all counties in equal shares;

(b) One-third (1/3) shall be allocated to counties based on the proportion that the total number of rural road miles in a county bears to the total number of rural road miles in all counties of the state; and

(c) One-third (1/3) shall be allocated to counties based on the proportion that the rural population of the county bears to the total rural population in all counties of the state, according to the latest federal decennial census.

For the purposes of this subsection, the term "gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene taxes" means such taxes as defined in paragraph (f) of Section 27-5-101.

The amount of funds allocated to any county under this subsection for any fiscal year after fiscal year 1994 shall not be less than the amount allocated to the county for fiscal year 1994. Monies allocated to a county from the State Aid Road Fund for fiscal year 1995 or any fiscal year thereafter that exceed the amount of funds allocated to that county from the State Aid Road Fund for fiscal year 1994, first must be expended by the county for replacement or rehabilitation of bridges on the state aid road system that have a sufficiency rating of less than twenty-five (25), according to National Bridge Inspection standards before the monies may be approved for expenditure by the State Aid Road Engineer on other projects that qualify for the use of state aid road funds.

Any reference in the general laws of this state or the Mississippi Code of 1972 to Section 27-5-105 shall mean and be construed to refer and apply to subsection (4) of Section 27-65-75.

(5) One Million Six Hundred Sixty-six Thousand Six Hundred Sixty-six Dollars ($1,666,666.00) each month shall be paid into the special fund known as the "State Public School Building Fund" created and existing under the provisions of Sections 37-47-1 through 37-47-67. Those payments into that fund are to be made on the last day of each succeeding month hereafter.

(6) An amount each month beginning August 15, 1983, through November 15, 1986, as specified in Section 6 of Chapter 542, Laws of 1983, shall be paid into the special fund known as the Correctional Facilities Construction Fund created in Section 6 of Chapter 542, Laws of 1983.

(7) On or before August 15, 1992, and each succeeding month thereafter through July 15, 2000, two and two hundred sixty-six one-thousandths percent (2.266%) of the total sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under the provisions of this chapter, except that collected under the provisions of Section 27-65-17(2) shall be deposited by the commission into the School Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund created under Section 37-61-35. On or before August 15, 2000, and each succeeding month thereafter, two and two hundred sixty-six one-thousandths percent (2.266%) of the total sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under the provisions of this chapter, except that collected under the provisions of Section 27-65-17(2), shall be deposited into the School Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund created under Section 37-61-35 until such time that the total amount deposited into the fund during a fiscal year equals Forty-two Million Dollars ($42,000,000.00). Thereafter, the amounts diverted under this subsection (7) during the fiscal year in excess of Forty-two Million Dollars ($42,000,000.00) shall be deposited into the Education Enhancement Fund created under Section 37-61-33 for appropriation by the Legislature as other education needs and shall not be subject to the percentage appropriation requirements set forth in Section 37-61-33.

(8) On or before August 15, 1992, and each succeeding month thereafter, nine and seventy-three one-thousandths percent (9.073%) of the total sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under the provisions of this chapter, except that collected under the provisions of Section 27-65-17(2), shall be deposited into the Education Enhancement Fund created under Section 37-61-33.

(9) On or before August 15, 1994, and each succeeding month thereafter, from the revenue collected under this chapter during the preceding month, Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00) shall be paid into the State Aid Road Fund.

(10) On or before August 15, 1994, and each succeeding month thereafter through August 15, 1995, from the revenue collected under this chapter during the preceding month, Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00) shall be deposited into the Motor Vehicle Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund established in Section 27-51-105.

(11) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, on or before February 15, 1995, and each succeeding month thereafter, the sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under the provisions of Section 27-65-17(2) and the corresponding levy in Section 27-65-23 on the rental or lease of private carriers of passengers and light carriers of property as defined in Section 27-51-101 shall be deposited, without diversion, into the Motor Vehicle Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund established in Section 27-51-105.

(12) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, on or before August 15, 1995, and each succeeding month thereafter, the sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under the provisions of Section 27-65-17(1) on retail sales of private carriers of passengers and light carriers of property, as defined in Section 27-51-101 and the corresponding levy in Section 27-65-23 on the rental or lease of these vehicles, shall be deposited, after diversion, into the Motor Vehicle Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund established in Section 27-51-105.

(13) On or before July 15, 1994, and on or before the fifteenth day of each succeeding month thereafter, that portion of the avails of the tax imposed in Section 27-65-22 that is derived from activities held on the Mississippi state fairgrounds complex, shall be paid into a special fund that is created in the State Treasury and shall be expended upon legislative appropriation solely to defray the costs of repairs and renovation at the Trade Mart and Coliseum.

(14) On or before August 15, 1998, and each succeeding month thereafter through July 15, 2005, that portion of the avails of the tax imposed in Section 27-65-23 that is derived from sales by cotton compresses or cotton warehouses and that would otherwise be paid into the General Fund, shall be deposited in an amount not to exceed Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00) into the special fund created under Section 69-37-39.

(15) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, on or before September 15, 2000, and each succeeding month thereafter, the sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under the provisions of Section 27-65-19(1)(f) and (g)(i)2, shall be deposited, without diversion, into the Telecommunications Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund established in Section 27-38-7.

(16) On or before August 15, 2000, and each succeeding month thereafter, the sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under the provisions of this chapter on the gross proceeds of sales of a project as defined in Section 57-30-1 shall be deposited, after all diversions except the diversion provided for in subsection (1) of this section, into the Sales Tax Incentive Fund created in Section 57-30-3.

(17) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, on or before April 15, 2002, and each succeeding month thereafter, the sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under Section 27-65-23 on sales of parking services of parking garages and lots at airports shall be deposited, without diversion, into the special fund created under Section 27-5-101(d).

(18) On or before August 15, 2005, and each succeeding month thereafter through July 15, 2006, from the sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under the provisions of this chapter, Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($2,500,000.00) shall be deposited into the Special Funds Transfer Fund created in Section 4 of Chapter 556, Laws of 2003.

(19) The remainder of the amounts collected under the provisions of this chapter shall be paid into the State Treasury to the credit of the General Fund.

(20) It shall be the duty of the municipal officials of any municipality that expands its limits, or of any community that incorporates as a municipality, to notify the commissioner of that action thirty (30) days before the effective date. Failure to so notify the commissioner shall cause the municipality to forfeit the revenue that it would have been entitled to receive during this period of time when the commissioner had no knowledge of the action. If any funds have been erroneously disbursed to any municipality or any overpayment of tax is recovered by the taxpayer, the commissioner may make correction and adjust the error or overpayment with the municipality by withholding the necessary funds from any later payment to be made to the municipality.

SECTION 15. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2005.