House Bill 959

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 61-13-15, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION TO SELL THE STATE'S CITATION JET, EITHER BY COMPETITIVE SEALED BIDS, BY PUBLIC AUCTION OR BY ONLINE AUCTION ON EBAY, WHICHEVER METHOD THAT THE DEPARTMENT DETERMINES WILL PRODUCE THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF REVENUE TO THE STATE FROM THE SALE; TO PROVIDE THAT THE PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF THE JET SHALL BE DEPOSITED INTO A SPECIAL FUND IN THE STATE TREASURY, WHICH SHALL BE USED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE FOR DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AN INTEGRATED TAX MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR ALL REVENUE GENERATING ACTIVITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 61-13-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

61-13-15. (1) Any airplane purchased or operated under the provisions of this chapter that becomes surplus to the needs of the state may be sold by the Department of Finance and Administration upon the receipt of not less than three (3) sealed bids after giving notice in at least one (1) publication that primarily includes information about aircraft for sale and by public advertisement inviting those bids once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks in some newspaper published in the State of Mississippi and having general circulation in the state, with the first publication to be made not less than fifteen (15) days before the date upon which the bids are to be received and opened. The aircraft shall be sold to the highest and best bidder for cash, but the Department * * * may reject any or all bids and readvertise, in its discretion. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3) of this section, the sums derived from that sale shall be placed in the special fund as established by Section 61-13-17 for the operation of airplanes purchased and operated under the provisions of this chapter.

(2) The Department of Finance and Administration shall proceed to sell one or more of the aircraft purchased prior to July 1, 1986, pursuant to this chapter. The sale of such aircraft pursuant to this subsection shall be subject to the bid requirements of subsection (1). It is the intent of the Legislature that the sale of such aircraft shall be timed to produce the maximum revenues at sale.

(3) The Department of Finance and Administration shall sell the Citation jet that is owned by the State of Mississippi using the procedure specified in subsection (1) of this section or one (1) of the following procedures, whichever method that the department determines will produce the maximum amount of revenue to the state from the sale:

(a) The aircraft may be sold by public auction to be held at a date set by the department, which shall not be less than sixty (60) days after the date of notice of the auction by the department. Before the auction, the department shall advertise the auction by giving notice in at least one (1) publication that primarily includes information about aircraft for sale and by publication in some newspaper published in the State of Mississippi having general circulation in the state, with the first publication to be made not less than fifteen (15) days before the date upon which the auction will be held. The advertisement shall include a general description of the aircraft to be sold at the auction and the date, time and place that the auction will be held. At the auction, any interested party may bid for cash and the aircraft shall be sold to the highest and best bidder for cash; however, the department may reject any and all bids. If the department has previously received bids for the aircraft under subsection (1) of this section but rejected the bids, the aircraft must be sold for a consideration not less than the highest sealed bid that was previously received from the advertisement for bids. When the aircraft is sold by auction under this paragraph, the department is not required to advertise for or receive competitive bids in connection with the sale of the aircraft.

(b) The aircraft may be sold by online auction on eBay, with a minimum reserve requirement that is not less than the fair market value of the aircraft.

The proceeds derived from the sale of the Citation jet shall be deposited into a special fund that is created in the State Treasury. The monies in the special fund shall be used by the Department of Revenue, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for development and implementation of an integrated tax management system for all revenue generating activities of the department. All income from the investment of funds in the special fund shall be credited to the special fund, and any funds remaining in the special fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2010.