MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2006 Regular Session
To: Apportionment and Elections; Ways and Means
By: Representative Reynolds, Bailey
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE ISSUANCE OF STATE GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $6,000,000.00 FOR THE PURPOSE OF ASSISTING COUNTIES IN THE PURCHASE AND DISTRIBUTION OF VOTING SYSTEMS AND DEVICES; TO CREATE THE "COUNTY VOTING SYSTEMS ASSISTANCE FUND" TO BE ADMINISTERED BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE; TO PROVIDE THAT THE PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST ON THE BONDS AUTHORIZED UNDER THIS ACT WILL BE PAID PRIMARILY FROM CERTAIN UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE FILING FEES RECEIVED BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE; TO AMEND SECTION 7-3-59, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT FROM AND AFTER OCTOBER 1, 2007, CERTAIN UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE FILING FEES RECEIVED BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE SHALL BE DEPOSITED INTO A BOND SINKING FUND FOR THE PAYMENT OF PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST ON SUCH BONDS; TO PROVIDE THAT THE PROCEEDS OF SUCH FILING FEES REMAINING AFTER THE REPAYMENT OF THE BONDS AUTHORIZED UNDER THIS ACT SHALL BE DEPOSITED INTO THE "HELP MISSISSIPPI VOTE FUND" AND USED TO SUPPORT THE STATE'S EFFORTS UNDER THE FEDERAL MANDATES OF THE HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT; TO REMOVE THE OCTOBER 1, 2007, REPEAL DATE ON SUCH SECTION; TO CREATE THE "HELP MISSISSIPPI VOTE FUND"; TO AMEND SECTION 75-9-525, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO MAKE THE INCREASE IN FEES FOR FILING AND INDEXING RECORDS UNDER ARTICLE 9 OF THE UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE PERMANENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. As used in Sections 1 through 18 of this act, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Accreted value" of any bond means, as of any date of computation, an amount equal to the sum of (i) the stated initial value of such bond, plus (ii) the interest accrued thereon from the issue date to the date of computation at the rate, compounded semiannually, that is necessary to produce the approximate yield to maturity shown for bonds of the same maturity.
(b) "State" means the State of Mississippi.
(c) "Commission" means the State Bond Commission.
SECTION 2. (1) A special fund, to be designated the "County Voting Systems Assistance Fund," is created within the State Treasury. The fund shall be maintained by the State Treasurer as a separate and special fund, separate and apart from the General Fund of the state. Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned or investment earnings on amounts in the fund shall be deposited into such fund. Monies in the fund shall be disbursed, in the discretion of the Secretary of State, for the purpose of making funds available to counties to assist in the purchase and distribution of voting systems and devices. The expenditure of monies in the fund shall be under the direction of the Secretary of State, and such funds shall be paid by the State Treasurer upon warrants issued by the Department of Finance and Administration.
(2) The Secretary of State shall establish a program to make funds available to counties to assist in the purchase and distribution of voting systems and devices. The Secretary of State shall adopt necessary rules and regulations to govern the administration of the funds provided under this section, including, but not limited to, rules and regulations governing applications for such funds and rules and regulations providing for the equitable distribution of such funds. The Secretary of State shall comply with the provisions of the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law.
SECTION 3. (1) For the purpose of providing for the payment of the principal of and interest upon bonds issued under the provisions of Sections 1 through 18 of this act, there is hereby created the "County Voting Systems Assistance Bond Sinking Fund." Such sinking fund shall consist of the monies required to be deposited into such fund pursuant to Section 7-3-59, Mississippi Code of 1972, that are not less than the amount necessary to pay the principal of and interest on bonds issued under Sections 1 through 18 of this act, when such principal and interest becomes due, and such other amounts as may be paid into such fund by appropriation or other authorization by the Legislature. Unexpended amounts remaining in the bond sinking fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned or investment earnings on amounts in the bond sinking fund shall be deposited into the bond sinking fund.
(2) During any period in which debt service payments from the bond sinking fund are deferred as provided in subsection (2) of Section 4 of this act, and at any other time when the funds required to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds issued under Sections 1 through 18 of this act are more than the amounts available in the bond sinking fund, the Legislature shall appropriate the balance of the amount necessary to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds issued under Sections 1 through 18 of this act from the State General Fund.
(3) The total amount of all payments deposited into the bond sinking fund until the maturity date of the bonds authorized under Sections 1 through 18 of this act shall be in an amount sufficient to retire the bonds, including debt service paid by the state during any period in which debt service payments from the bond sinking fund are deferred as provided in subsection (2) of Section 4 of this act.
SECTION 4. (1) The Secretary of State, at one time or from time to time, may declare by resolution the necessity for issuance of general obligation bonds of the State of Mississippi to provide funds for all costs incurred or to be incurred for the purposes described in Section 2 of this act. Upon the adoption of a resolution by the Secretary of State declaring the necessity for the issuance of any part or all of the general obligation bonds authorized by this section, the Secretary of State shall deliver a certified copy of its resolution or resolutions to the commission. Upon receipt of such resolution, the commission, in its discretion, may act as the issuing agent, prescribe the form of the bonds, advertise for and accept bids, issue and sell the bonds so authorized to be sold, and do any and all other things necessary and advisable in connection with the issuance and sale of such bonds. The amount of bonds issued under Sections 1 through 18 of this act shall not exceed Six Million Dollars ($6,000,000.00).
(2) The Secretary of State may provide in the resolution declaring the necessity for the bonds that the payment of the debt service on the bonds from the bond sinking fund created under Section 3 of this act may be deferred for a period of time not to exceed two (2) years from the date of the issuance of the bonds.
(3) Any investment earnings on amounts deposited into the County Voting Systems Assistance Fund created in Section 2 of this act shall be used to pay debt service on bonds issued under Sections 1 through 18 of this act, in accordance with the proceedings authorizing issuance of such bonds.
SECTION 5. The principal of and interest on the bonds authorized under Sections 1 through 18 of this act shall be payable in the manner provided in this section. Such bonds shall bear such date or dates, be in such denomination or denominations, bear interest at such rate or rates (not to exceed the limits set forth in Section 75-17-101), be payable at such place or places within or without the State of Mississippi, shall mature absolutely at such time or times not to exceed twenty-five (25) years from date of issue, be redeemable before maturity at such time or times and upon such terms, with or without premium, shall bear such registration privileges, and shall be substantially in such form, all as shall be determined by resolution of the commission.
SECTION 6. The bonds authorized by Sections 1 through 18 of this act shall be signed by the Chairman of the State Bond Commission, or by his facsimile signature, and the official seal of the commission shall be affixed thereto, attested by the secretary of the commission. The interest coupons, if any, to be attached to such bonds may be executed by the facsimile signatures of such officers. Whenever any such bonds shall have been signed by the officials designated to sign the bonds who were in office at the time of such signing but who may have ceased to be such officers before the sale and delivery of such bonds, or who may not have been in office on the date such bonds may bear, the signatures of such officers upon such bonds and coupons shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all purposes and have the same effect as if the person so officially signing such bonds had remained in office until their delivery to the purchaser, or had been in office on the date such bonds may bear. However, notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, such bonds may be issued as provided in the Registered Bond Act of the State of Mississippi.
SECTION 7. All bonds and interest coupons issued under the provisions of Sections 1 through 18 of this act have all the qualities and incidents of negotiable instruments under the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code, and in exercising the powers granted by Sections 1 through 18 of this act, the commission shall not be required to and need not comply with the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code.
SECTION 8. The commission shall act as the issuing agent for the bonds authorized under Sections 1 through 18 of this act, prescribe the form of the bonds, advertise for and accept bids, issue and sell the bonds so authorized to be sold, pay all fees and costs incurred in such issuance and sale, and do any and all other things necessary and advisable in connection with the issuance and sale of such bonds. The commission is authorized and empowered to pay the costs that are incident to the sale, issuance and delivery of the bonds authorized under Sections 1 through 18 of this act from the proceeds derived from the sale of such bonds. The commission shall sell such bonds on sealed bids at public sale, and for such price as it may determine to be for the best interest of the state, but no such sale shall be made at a price less than par plus accrued interest to the date of delivery of the bonds to the purchaser. All interest accruing on such bonds so issued shall be payable semiannually or annually; however, the first interest payment may be for any period of not more than one (1) year.
Notice of the sale of any such bonds shall be published at least one time, not less than ten (10) days before the date of sale, and shall be so published in one or more newspapers published or having a general circulation in the City of Jackson, Mississippi, and in one or more other newspapers or financial journals with a national circulation, to be selected by the commission.
The commission, when issuing any bonds under the authority of Sections 1 through 18 of this act, may provide that bonds, at the option of the state, may be called in for payment and redemption at the call price named therein and accrued interest on such date or dates named therein.
SECTION 9. The bonds issued under the provision of Sections 1 through 18 of this act are general obligations of the State of Mississippi, and for the payment thereof the full faith and credit of the State of Mississippi is irrevocably pledged. The principal of and the interest on the bonds shall be payable primarily from the bond sinking fund created in Section 3 of this act as provided in that section. If the funds available in the bond sinking fund and any funds appropriated by the Legislature for such purpose are insufficient to pay the principal of and the interest upon such bonds as they become due, then the deficiency shall be paid by the State Treasurer from any funds in the State Treasury not otherwise appropriated. All such bonds shall contain recitals on their faces substantially covering the foregoing provisions of this section.
SECTION 10. Upon the issuance and sale of bonds under the provisions of Sections 1 through 18 of this act, the commission shall transfer the proceeds of any such sale or sales to the special fund created in Section 2 of this act. The proceeds of such bonds shall be disbursed solely upon the order of the Secretary of State under such restrictions, if any, as may be contained in the resolution providing for the issuance of the bonds.
SECTION 11. The bonds authorized under Sections 1 through 18 of this act may be issued without any other proceedings or the happening of any other conditions or things other than those proceedings, conditions and things which are specified or required by Sections 1 through 18 of this act. Any resolution providing for the issuance of bonds under the provisions of Sections 1 through 18 of this act shall become effective immediately upon its adoption by the commission, and any such resolution may be adopted at any regular or special meeting of the commission by a majority of its members.
SECTION 12. The bonds authorized under the authority of Sections 1 through 18 of this act may be validated in the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi, in the manner and with the force and effect provided by Chapter 13, Title 31, Mississippi Code of 1972, for the validation of county, municipal, school district and other bonds. The notice to taxpayers required by such statutes shall be published in a newspaper published or having a general circulation in the City of Jackson, Mississippi.
SECTION 13. Any holder of bonds issued under the provisions of Sections 1 through 18 of this act or of any of the interest coupons pertaining thereto may, either at law or in equity, by suit, action, mandamus or other proceeding, protect and enforce any and all rights granted under Sections 1 through 18 of this act, or under such resolution, and may enforce and compel performance of all duties required by Sections 1 through 18 of this act to be performed, in order to provide for the payment of bonds and interest thereon.
SECTION 14. All bonds issued under the provisions of Sections 1 through 18 of this act shall be legal investments for trustees and other fiduciaries, and for savings banks, trust companies and insurance companies organized under the laws of the State of Mississippi, and such bonds shall be legal securities which may be deposited with and shall be received by all public officers and bodies of this state and all municipalities and political subdivisions for the purpose of securing the deposit of public funds.
SECTION 15. Bonds issued under the provisions of Sections 1 through 18 of this act and income therefrom shall be exempt from all taxation in the State of Mississippi.
SECTION 16. The proceeds of the bonds issued under Sections 1 through 18 of this act shall be used solely for the purposes herein provided, including the costs incident to the issuance and sale of such bonds.
SECTION 17. The State Treasurer is authorized, without further process of law, to certify to the Department of Finance and Administration the necessity for warrants, and the Department of Finance and Administration is authorized and directed to issue such warrants, in such amounts as may be necessary to pay when due the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on, or the accreted value of, all bonds issued under Sections 1 through 18 of this act; and the State Treasurer shall forward the necessary amount to the designated place or places of payment of such bonds in ample time to discharge such bonds, or the interest thereon, on the due dates thereof.
SECTION 18. The provisions of Sections 1 through 18 of this act shall be deemed to be full and complete authority for the exercise of the powers therein granted, but Sections 1 through 18 of this act shall not be deemed to repeal or to be in derogation of any existing law of this state.
SECTION 19. Section 7-3-59, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
7-3-59. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, all fees collected by the Office of the Secretary of State under Section 75-9-525 shall be deposited in State Treasury Special Fund 3111, and shall be used to operate the activities of the Office of the Secretary of State as necessary to administer the filing and research provisions of Revised Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code and to pay to each chancery clerk such amounts as that clerk shall be owed under subsection (2) of this section. The expenditure of the funds deposited in this fund shall be paid by the State Treasurer upon requisition signed by the Office of the Secretary of State.
(2) (a) Through September 30, 2007, for each filing and indexing of a financing statement under Part 5 (Filing) of Title 75, Chapter 9 (Uniform Commercial Code Revised Article 9 - Secured Transactions), the Secretary of State shall remit the following fee to the chancery clerk of the Mississippi county, if any, indicated on the face of the financing statement as the domicile of the debtor, or, if no county is so indicated, the Mississippi county of the address of the debtor stated on the financing statement.
(i) Five Dollars ($5.00), when the financing statement is communicated in writing, either in the standard form prescribed by the Secretary of State or not in the standard form so prescribed, plus Two Dollars ($2.00) for each additional debtor name more than one (1) required to be indexed.
(ii) Five Dollars ($5.00) if the financing statement is communicated by another medium authorized by filing-office rule.
(b) From and after October 1, 2007, for each filing and indexing of a financing statement under Part 5 (Filing) of Title 75, Chapter 9 (Uniform Commercial Code Revised Article 9 - Secured Transactions), the Secretary of State shall remit the following fee to the County Voting Systems Assistance Bond Sinking Fund created under Section 3 of House Bill No. 562, 2006 Regular Session, in such amounts as specified in Section 3 of House Bill No. 562, 2006 Regular Session, and shall distribute the remainder of the fees to the "Help Mississippi Vote Fund" created in Section 20 of House Bill No. 562, 2006 Regular Session.
(i) Five Dollars ($5.00), when the financing statement is communicated in writing, either in the standard form prescribed by the Secretary of State or not in the standard form so prescribed, plus Two Dollars ($2.00) for each additional debtor name more than one (1) required to be indexed.
(ii) Five Dollars ($5.00) if the financing statement is communicated by another medium authorized by filing-office rule.
(3) The Secretary of State shall remit to each chancery clerk not less than monthly the amount owed under subsection (2) of this section. Each payment shall be accompanied by a detailed accounting of the transactions represented by that payment. However, from and after October 1, 2007, the Secretary of State shall remit to the County Voting Systems Assistance Bond Sinking Fund and the "Help Mississippi Vote Fund" not less than monthly the amount provided under subsection (2) of this section. Each payment shall be accompanied by a detailed accounting of the transactions represented by that payment.
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SECTION 20. (1) (a) There is created in the State Treasury a special fund, to be designated the "Help Mississippi Vote Fund" to the credit of the Secretary of State, which shall be comprised of the monies required to be deposited into the fund under Section 7-3-59, and any other funds that may be made available for the fund by the Legislature.
(b) Monies in the fund shall be expended by the Secretary of State to support the state's maintenance of efforts as required by the federal mandates of the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
(c) Unexpended amounts remaining in the special fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned or investment earnings on amounts in the special fund shall be deposited to the credit of the special fund.
SECTION 21. Section 75-9-525, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-9-525. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (e), the fee for filing and indexing a record under this part, other than an initial financing statement of the kind described in subsection (b) is the amount specified in subsection (c), if applicable, plus:
(1) Ten Dollars ($10.00) if the record is communicated in writing and is in the standard form prescribed by the Secretary of State;
(2) Thirteen Dollars ($13.00) if the record is communicated in writing and is not in the standard form prescribed by the Secretary of State; and
(3) Eight Dollars ($8.00) if the record is communicated by another medium authorized by filing-office rule.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (e), the fee for filing and indexing an initial financing statement of the following kind is the amount specified in subsection (c), if applicable, plus:
(1) Thirteen Dollars ($13.00) if the financing statement indicates that it is filed in connection with a public-finance transaction;
(2) Ten Dollars ($10.00) if the financing statement indicates that it is filed in connection with a manufactured-home transaction.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (e), if a record is communicated in writing, the fee for each additional debtor name more than one (1) required to be indexed is Four Dollars ($4.00).
(d) The fee for responding to a request for information from the filing office, including for issuing a certificate showing whether there is on file any financing statement naming a particular debtor, is:
(1) Five Dollars ($5.00) if the request is communicated in writing on the standard form prescribed by the Secretary of State;
(2) Ten Dollars ($10.00) if the request is communicated in writing and is not in the standard form prescribed by the Secretary of State;
(3) Three Dollars ($3.00) if the request is communicated by another medium authorized by filing-office rule; and
(4) An additional fee of Two Dollars ($2.00) shall be paid by the requesting party for each financing statement listed on the filing officer's certificate, the aggregate of which shall be billed to the requesting party at the time the filing officer's certificate is issued.
(e) This section does not require a fee to the chancery clerk with respect to a record of a mortgage which is effective as a financing statement filed as a fixture filing or as a financing statement covering as-extracted collateral or timber to be cut under Section 75-9-502(c). However, the recording and satisfaction fees to the chancery clerk that otherwise would be applicable under Section 25-7-9 to the record of the mortgage apply.
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SECTION 22. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.