Senate Bill 2704

AN ACT TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 63-3-511 AND 65-9-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR THE PURPOSE OF AMENDING TO CLARIFY THE AUTHORITY OF A BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TO INCREASE THE SPEED LIMIT ON STATE AID ROADS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 63-3-511, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

63-3-511. Whenever local authorities, including boards of supervisors, within their respective jurisdictions, determine upon the basis of an engineering and traffic investigation that the speed permitted under this article on any street, or any county road or any portion thereof, or at any intersection is greater than is reasonable or safe under conditions found to exist upon such street, or any county road or any portion thereof, or at such intersection, such local authorities shall determine and declare, by ordinance, a reasonable and safe speed limit, which shall be effective when appropriate signs giving notice thereof are erected on such street, or any county road or any portion thereof, or at such intersection, or upon the approaches thereto. However, no speed limit shall be fixed by any such local authorities at less than fifteen (15) miles per hour.

The Commissioner of Corrections is authorized to establish by regulation reasonable and safe speed limits upon the roads of the correctional facilities under his jurisdiction which shall be effective when appropriate signs giving notice thereof are erected. Speed limits may be based upon road or traffic conditions or upon security considerations.

Provided, however, that whenever the State Highway Commission shall, pursuant to Section 63-3-503, lower the maximum speed limit in response to federal laws, regulations or guidelines for purposes of energy conservation, local authorities, including boards of supervisors, shall immediately lower maximum speed limits on local highways, not to exceed a maximum speed of fifty-five (55) miles per hour.

SECTION 2. Section 65-9-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

65-9-1. The board of supervisors of each county, now having full jurisdiction over all roads, ferries and bridges in its respective county not maintained as state highways, is hereby fully authorized and empowered to construct and maintain the same (including designated state highways not yet taken over by the highway department); and all such roads under the jurisdiction of the several boards of supervisors are hereby designated, defined and declared to be either (a) "feeder" or "local farm roads" or (b) "state aid roads."

State aid roads are hereby defined as that group or class of roads composing the main collector and distributor routes feeding into local trade areas or into the state highway network, which are not designated as state highways by the Legislature, and particularly those essential to the conservation and development of natural resources, of economic and social value, and encouraging desirable land utilization, having in addition the following characteristics, to wit: roads (including bridges and ferries) which

(a) Connect communities within the individual counties and with those of adjoining counties and/or which also connect with the state highway system to form a complete network of secondary or collector routes.

(b) Carry heavy volumes of traffic serving most of the following interests of the counties, to wit:

(1) Agricultural

(2) Business

(3) Educational

(4) Industrial

The State Aid Engineer shall see that the criteria imposed herein are explicitly followed in the designation and in the construction of the state aid roads in each county. The State Aid Engineer shall promulgate regulations pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act to require the development of a network of intercounty roads and to provide for a review process within the state aid division for the designation of said state aid roads. Such regulations shall also establish standards for state aid route designation. The State Aid Engineer is hereby authorized and directed to withhold funds from such counties until the state aid roads therein are designated and constructed according to the characteristics set forth herein.

All other roads under the jurisdiction of the several boards of supervisors are hereby declared to be "local farm roads" and not affected in anywise by this chapter.

State aid roads in the several counties shall be eligible for state aid in the manner and under the terms and conditions hereinafter set out. Local system roads (as defined in Section 65-18-3) in the several counties shall be eligible for state aid in the manner and under the terms and conditions set out in the Local System Road Program established in Sections 65-18-1 through 65-18-17. State aid, by way of funds to be expended on state aid roads and local system roads (as defined in Section 65-18-3), shall consist of any sum or sums provided by the Legislature to supplement funds furnished by the several counties for the purpose of constructing, improving, widening, straightening, surfacing or reconstructing roads on the state aid system or for the purpose of the construction, reconstruction and paving of roads on the Local System Road Program, and shall be available to the several counties in such proportion as may be fixed and determined by law.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2005.