House Bill 376

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 27-1-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE A COUNTY TAX COLLECTOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH AN INDIVIDUAL, BUSINESS OR ANY OTHER ENTITY, TO PROVIDE FOR THE SALE OF A VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION CARD AT THE SAME TIME AN INDIVIDUAL PURCHASES A MOTOR VEHICLE TAG; TO PROVIDE FOR THE COST OF THE IDENTIFICATION CARD; TO PROVIDE THAT A PORTION OF THE COST OF THE IDENTIFICATION CARD SHALL BE RETURNED TO THE COUNTY AND TO THE STATE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 27-1-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-1-9. (1) The following shall be applicable to all counties and shall pertain to the operation of the assessor and tax collector's office:

(a) Each assessor and tax collector shall appoint a sufficient number of deputies to assist him in carrying out the duties of his office and fix their compensation, subject to the budget for the assessor and tax collector's office approved by the county board of supervisors. No deputy shall receive a salary which exceeds the salary of the assessor and tax collector.

(b) The assessor and tax collector shall, at the July meeting of the board of supervisors, submit a budget of estimated expenses of his office for the ensuing fiscal year beginning October 1 in such form as shall be prescribed by the Director of the State Department of Audit. The board shall examine this proposed budget and determine the amount to be expended by the assessor and tax collector in the performance of his duties for the fiscal year and may increase or reduce said amount as it deems necessary and proper.

The budget shall include amounts for compensating deputies and other employees of the assessor and tax collector's office, for travel and transportation expenses of the assessor and tax collector and deputies, for theft insurance premiums, for equipment and supplies of his office, and for such other expenses as may be incurred in the performance of the duties of his office. In addition, the budget shall include amounts for the payment of premiums on bonds and other insurance for the assessor and tax collector and his deputies which, in the opinion of the board of supervisors, are deemed necessary to protect the interests of the county, or the assessor and tax collector and his deputies. Such amounts may include official bonds and any bonds required of his deputies by the assessor and tax collector; fire and other hazards insurance; and hospitalization insurance as provided for in Sections 25-15-101, 25-15-103, Mississippi Code of 1972.

(c) The board of supervisors shall, at its first meeting of each quarter beginning on October 1, January 1, April 1, and July 1, appropriate a lump sum for the assessor and tax collector for the expenses of his office during the current quarter. The quarterly appropriation shall be one-fourth (1/4) of the amount approved in the annual budget unless the assessor and tax collector requests a different amount. Except in case of emergency, as provided in the county budget law, the appropriation for the quarter beginning in October of the last year of the assessor and tax collector's term shall not exceed one-fourth (1/4) of the annual budget.

(d) The assessor and tax collector shall file a report of all expenditures of his office during the preceding month with the board of supervisors for approval at its regular monthly meeting in a form to be prescribed by the Director of the State Department of Audit and upon filing thereof and approval by the board, the clerk of the board shall issue warrants in payment thereof but not to exceed the budget appropriation for that quarter. Any appropriated funds which are unexpended at the end of the fiscal year shall remain in the county general fund.

(e) The budget for the assessor and tax collector's office may be revised at any regular meeting by the board of supervisors; and upon recommendation of the assessor and tax collector, the board may at any regular meeting make supplemental appropriations to his office.

(f) The budget for the assessor and tax collector's office may include amounts to cover necessary expenses to provide equipment and personnel to file, store, retain or reproduce all records, filings or documents using microfilm, microfiche, data processing, computers, magnetic tape, optical discs or any other electronic process which correctly and legibly stores and reproduces or which forms a medium for storing, copying or reproducing documents, files and records.

(2) A county tax collector may enter into an agreement with an individual, business or any other entity to provide for the sale of a vehicle identification card at the same time an individual purchases a motor vehicle tag. Any such agreement shall be made in accordance with Section 31-7-13. The identification card shall include the state's license plate design on the front of the card and information regarding the owner's vehicle, including the owner's name and the make, model, color and identification number of the vehicle on the back of the card; however, no distinctive license tag or plate design may appear on a vehicle identification card. The cost of the identification card shall be Six Dollars ($6.00). The proceeds derived from the sale of a vehicle identification card to an individual that are in excess of the cost incurred by the county to purchase the card from the manufacturer of the card shall be distributed evenly between the county where the identification card was purchased and the State General Fund. This section does not require a county tax collector to provide for the sale of the identification card nor require an individual to purchase an identification card.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2007.