MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2010 Regular Session
To: Public Property; Appropriations
By: Representative Reynolds
AN ACT TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 29-1-5, 29-1-9, 29-1-13, 29-1-21, 29-1-23, 29-1-33, 29-1-35, 29-1-37, 29-1-39, 29-1-43, 29-1-45, 29-1-49, 29-1-51, 29-1-53, 29-1-57, 29-1-67, 29-1-69, 29-1-73, 29-1-75, 29-1-77, 29-1-79, 29-1-81, 29-1-83, 29-1-85, 29-1-87, 29-1-89, 29-1-93, 29-1-91, 29-1-95, 29-1-97, 29-1-99, 29-1-113, 29-1-115, 29-1-145, 51-33-43, 51-33-45, 27-35-65, 27-35-67, 27-35-69, 27-43-1, 27-43-3, 27-43-4, 27-43-5, 27-43-7, 27-43-9, 27-45-1, 27-45-3, 27-45-5, 27-45-11, 27-45-19, 27-45-21, 27-45-23, 27-45-27, 27-45-29, 21-33-55, 21-33-57, 21-33-59, 21-33-61, 21-33-63, 21-33-65, 21-33-67, 21-33-69, 21-33-71, 21-33-73, 21-33-75, 21-33-77, 21-37-49, 17-27-5 AND 17-27-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, RELATING TO PUBLIC LANDS, FOR PURPOSE OF AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 29-1-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-5. Whenever the state land commissioner shall need information as to the value of any lands belonging to or claimed by the state, whether the title thereto shall have been acquired by tax sale or otherwise, it shall be the duty of the county tax collector and the county assessor, in response to written inquiry by the state land commissioner, to make written certificate as to the value of such land and the improvements thereon, if any, to the best of their knowledge and belief.
Any assessor or tax collector failing to prepare and mail said certificates shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction shall be fined in any sum not exceeding One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) or be imprisoned in the county jail not exceeding ten (10) days, or be punished by both such fine and imprisonment.
SECTION 2. Section 29-1-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-9. The land commissioner shall institute and prosecute, and prosecute where already instituted, all necessary suits to cancel patents to lands fraudulently obtained or issued, and to recover the possession of the land; and may, when ordered by the court, make any tender in any suit as well after as before suit is begun.
SECTION 3. Section 29-1-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-13. The land commissioner shall investigate all claims of persons to any of the public lands, and shall cause the necessary suits to be instituted and prosecuted, and all pending suits to be prosecuted, to settle controversies concerning them. In all such suits, his findings and report, made upon investigation, shall be prima facie correct.
SECTION 4. Section 29-1-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-21. The Secretary of State, on receiving from the chancery clerk the list of unredeemed lands sold to the state for taxes, shall enter the same in the register of tax lands by counties and in the regular order of townships, ranges and sections; and if the description of any of the lands be indefinite or defective and need to be made good by reference to the assessment roll under which it was sold, the Secretary of State may add to the description such alternative description as will clearly designate the land, prefacing the same with words "being as appears by the assessment roll of said county, for the year _____." The Secretary of State, with the approval of the Governor, may sell the tax lands in the manner provided in this chapter, at such prices and under such terms and conditions as the Secretary of State with the approval of the Governor may fix, subject to the limitations imposed in this chapter, or the Secretary of State, with the approval of the Governor, may transfer any of the tax lands to any other state agency, county, municipality or political subdivision of the state. Such agency or subdivision then may retain or dispose of those lands as provided by law. If a state agency, county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state, has applied for transfer or purchase of the tax lands, it shall have priority over all other applicants except the original owner, his heirs or assigns.
SECTION 5. Section 29-1-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-23. Wherever the words "original owner" appear in this chapter, they shall be construed to mean the owner of the title on date of sale of land for taxes.
SECTION 6. Section 29-1-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-33. The land commissioner with the approval of the governor is hereby authorized to sell to any bona fide purchaser any lands which may have been forfeited to the state for the nonpayment of taxes after the time allowed by law for redemption shall have expired, for such price as the land commissioner with the approval of the governor may fix; provided, however, that the minimum price for such forfeited tax land shall be Two Dollars ($2.00) per acre, except as otherwise provided herein. When the land commissioner has good reason to believe, however, that any of said lands are actually worth more than Two Dollars ($2.00) per acre, he shall cause a proper investigation to be made for the purpose of ascertaining the actual value of such lands, and such lands shall be sold for such price as the land commissioner with the approval of the governor may fix, provided that such sale price shall not be less than Two Dollars ($2.00) per acre as aforesaid. The land commissioner may fix different prices for separate tracts of land, but all such prices shall be subject to the approval of the governor.
In cases where it reasonably appears that the actual value of any of said lands is less than Two Dollars ($2.00) per acre, such lands may be sold by the land commissioner, with the approval of the governor, at a price less than Two Dollars ($2.00) per acre; provided, however, that in no such case shall such lands be sold for less than the amount of the state, levee board (where the land is situated in a levee district), and county taxes (not including, however, the drainage district tax, if any) for which said lands were sold to the state, plus an amount equal to all penalties, fees, damages, and costs accrued up to and including the date of the sale of such lands to the state.
In selling or contracting for the sale of state forfeited tax lands, it shall not be necessary that the land commissioner include in the sale price of such lands any state, drainage district, county, levee, or municipal taxes, or any special assessment.
SECTION 7. Section 29-1-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-35. Where buildings and improvements situated on tax-forfeited lands have been removed or destroyed by fire, windstorm, or flood, the land commissioner may, in his discretion, sell said lands for such amount as he may deem reasonable, irrespective of the amount of taxes for which said property was sold to the state.
SECTION 8. Section 29-1-37, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-37 (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of this section, any person desiring to purchase any state forfeited tax land shall make application in writing to the Secretary of State for the purchase of such land, and shall state in such application:
(a) A correct description of the land sought to be purchased.
(b) The name of the former owner and the name of the person to whom such land was assessed at the time of such tax sale, and the post office address of such former owner and the post office address of the person to whom such land was assessed at the time of such sale, if known to the applicant.
(c) Whether or not such land is occupied at the date of the filing of such application, and the name of the person occupying such land, if any.
(d) The nature and value of the improvements on such land.
(e) The approximate quantity of the merchantable timber on such land, if any.
(f) Any other special information as the Secretary of State with the approval of the Governor may require.
Each application shall be signed by the applicant and shall contain a declaration that the statements and information submitted in the application are true and correct and are made under penalty of perjury. The Secretary of State may require any additional information with reference to the value of such lands, the nature and condition of the buildings and improvements on such lands, and the value of the timber on such lands as he may deem necessary. Such applications shall be filed by the Secretary of State in the order in which they are received. Each application shall be given a serial number and shall be entered on a record book on the day it is received. The record book shall show the name of the applicant, the serial number of the application, and the county in which the property is situated.
An application so filed shall remain on file with the Secretary of State at least thirty (30) days before it is acted upon and finally approved or disapproved. Applications made by state agencies, counties, municipalities or other political subdivisions of the state may be acted upon immediately after filing, and shall not be required to be on file the thirty (30) days herein provided.
(2) The Secretary of State, with the approval of the Governor, may dispose of any state forfeited tax land by sealed bids after three (3) weeks' advertisement in a newspaper in the county in which such land is located.
SECTION 9. Section 29-1-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-39. The Secretary of State with the approval of the Governor may contract to sell any state forfeited tax lands, including state lands lying within municipalities, even though said lands may have been subdivided into blocks, lots, divisions, or otherwise and sold to the state by such descriptions. The purchase price required in the contract for the sale of state forfeited tax land shall be the same as that required in direct sale of state forfeited tax lands. In the event the Secretary of State with the approval of the governor shall decide that any state forfeited tax land shall be contracted for sale, the Secretary of State with the approval of the governor shall fix a price for the sale of such lands. Said contract for the sale of such lands shall provide that a part of the purchase price shall be paid in cash, and that the balance of such purchase price shall be paid in equal annual installments extending over a period not to exceed five (5) years, said period to be fixed by the Secretary of State. The purchaser in said contract of sale shall agree that he shall pay all installments of the purchase price and all taxes and special assessments that may become due on said lands during the continuance or life of said contract, that he shall not cut any merchantable timber nor commit any waste of any kind on said land without the written permission of the Secretary of State and that he shall not allow any other person to cut any merchantable timber therefrom or permit any waste of any kind thereon until said purchaser has secured a patent from the state in accordance with his contract of sale. Contracts for sale of state forfeited tax lands shall not be transferred nor assigned without the written consent of the Secretary of State. All applications for contracts of sale shall be made on written forms prepared by the attorney general and approved by the Secretary of State and shall be kept on file in the office of the Secretary of State as public records. At such time as the purchaser shall have paid the entire purchase money under any contract of sale and shall have complied with all of the other provisions of said contract of sale, the Secretary of State shall issue a state land patent as in other cases of the sale of state lands.
SECTION 10. Section 29-1-43, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-43. When any contract for the sale of state forfeited tax lands shall be made, as provided in Section 29-1-39, such lands shall then become taxable in all respects and to the same extent and in like manner as where patents are issued, except that such lands under contract for sale shall not be sold for taxes while the state is the holder of the legal title. It shall be the duty of the land commissioner to give notice in writing to the clerk of the chancery court of the county in which the land is situated, and likewise the clerk of the municipality if such land be situated in a municipality, that such land is under contract for sale, giving the name of the purchaser and the price. The chancery clerk, and the municipal clerk where the land is located in a municipality, shall file said notices and enter the land upon the assessment rolls and shall clearly designate that such land is public land which has been contracted for sale. Such land shall thereupon be assessed for taxes as other lands are assessed, and the tax collector of the county, and the municipality where said land is located in a municipality, shall collect the taxes thereon as in cases of additional assessments, as provided by Section 29-1-83, with reference to patents.
SECTION 11. Section 29-1-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-45. If taxes become delinquent on lands which are contracted for sale or on any part thereof, the tax collector shall, within thirty (30) days after such delinquency, certify such fact in writing to the Secretary of State and said tax collector shall neither advertise nor sell such land at a tax sale. If said land should be sold at a tax sale, the sale shall be void as against the state, and the state's title thereto shall not be affected by said sale. Likewise, if such a tax sale is made, the tax collector shall be liable on his official bond to the purchaser at said sale in the penal sum of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) plus all actual damages suffered by said purchaser. Within fifteen (15) days after receipt of notice from the tax collector that said lands are delinquent for taxes, or if no notice is given by said tax collector then within thirty (30) days after the Secretary of State ascertains that there is a delinquency in the payment of taxes on said land, the Secretary of State shall cancel the contract of sale and shall, within said period of thirty (30) days, inform the contract purchaser of such cancellation by mail at the post office address contained in the application. The said notice shall be given by registered mail with return receipt requested. The Secretary of State shall likewise immediately notify the clerk of the board of supervisors of the county in which said land is situated of the cancellation and the clerk shall report said action to the board of supervisors of said county, who shall have said land stricken from the assessment roll and also stricken from the tax sale list, if the same is contained thereon. The land shall then be re-entered on the record in the Secretary of State's office, the former entry of the contract of the purchase shall be marked "canceled" on the Secretary of State's records, and the land shall become subject to disposition by the Secretary of State in the same manner as if no contract of sale had been made. In case the Secretary of State should fail to give notice of the cancellation of said contract or should fail to cancel said contract within the time stipulated herein, the Secretary of State may cancel and give said notice of cancellation on any subsequent date. If said land is located in a municipality, the acts and duties provided herein to be performed by the clerk of the board of supervisors and the board of supervisors shall be performed in like manner by the municipal clerk and the governing authorities of said municipality.
SECTION 12. Section 29-1-49, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-49. The land commissioner, with the approval of the Governor, is hereby authorized to sell state forfeited tax lands lying within a drainage district to the board of drainage commissioners of such district in the manner provided by Section 51-33-45.
SECTION 13. Section 29-1-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-51. The Secretary of State, with the approval of the Governor, is hereby authorized to sell state forfeited tax lands situated within the corporate limits of a municipality to the governing authorities of such municipality in the manner provided by law. If a municipality makes an application to purchase those lands, the municipality shall have priority over all other applicants except the original owner, his heirs or assigns.
As an alternative method to disposing of tax lands situated within a municipality, the Secretary of State, with the approval of the Governor, may transfer those lands to the municipality, which then may retain or dispose of the lands as provided by law.
SECTION 14. Section 29-1-53, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-53. Where one party owns lands and another owns the improvements thereon, and the lands and improvements are assessed separately and the improvements are sold to the state for nonpayment of taxes, the state land commissioner shall have authority to sell and dispose of said improvements by patent under the same terms and conditions that he may dispose of tax-forfeited lands.
SECTION 15. Section 29-1-57, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-57. Where tax-forfeited lands have situated thereon buildings or personal property which are deteriorating, the Secretary of State may sell and dispose of such buildings, personal property and land for any consideration he may deem reasonable, irrespective of the amount of taxes for which same was sold.
SECTION 16. Section 29-1-67, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-67. Land situated within municipalities which has once been patented either by the United States government or the State of Mississippi, and the title to which has thereafter, by escheat, tax sale, or otherwise become vested in the State of Mississippi, may be sold or contracted for sale by the land commissioner, with the approval of the governor, at such price and under such terms and conditions as they may fix, even though it may have been subdivided into lots, blocks, divisions, or otherwise and escheated, or was sold to the state by such description. In selling such lands and the improvements thereon, if any, the land commissioner shall take into consideration the location thereof and the improvements situated thereon, and may ask and obtain greater prices therefor than for other lands.
SECTION 17. Section 29-1-69, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-69. Lands situated in municipalities which have heretofore escheated to or titles thereto become vested in the state, and which have been sold by the land commissioner of the state at a fair and reasonable price but under invalid patents, may be conveyed to the original holder of the patents or, if he has sold same, to his vendee at such reasonable price as the land commissioner with the approval of the governor and the attorney general shall fix; and such purchaser shall be allowed as credit on such price the amount heretofore paid therefor, with six percent (6%) interest compounded annually on the same not to exceed the present value as fixed by such officers. And no land heretofore sold, or attempted to be sold, shall again be sold until a period of thirty (30) days after the mailing of notice by registered mail to the original buyer or his vendee, if his post-office address is known, informing such buyer or his vendee of his rights hereunder. Whenever the post office address of such person is not known, notice shall be published in a newspaper published in the county where the land is located, once a week for two (2) weeks, giving a description of such land and of the rights of such buyers or their vendees. No deed shall be made to such buyer or his vendee until such person shall make affidavit that he bought the same in good faith and has not since sold his interest therein.
SECTION 18. Section 29-1-73, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-73. One person may purchase or contract to purchase as much as one-quarter (1/4) section of the public lands in one year, and no more (except Lowry Island lands, which are not to be limited as to amount purchased); and all lands acquired, directly or indirectly, by any person in contravention of this chapter shall escheat to the state, and all moneys and fees paid therefor shall be forfeited.
The restrictions herein contained limiting to one-quarter (1/4)section the quantity of land which may be purchased by any person in one year shall not apply in any manner to the original owner or mortgagee of state forfeited tax lands at the time title matured in the state, nor to his heirs, executors, or administrators; nor shall such restriction apply to the board of drainage commissioners of any drainage district in the purchase of lands situated in such drainage district, as provided in Section 51-33-45, nor to the United States government in the purchase of lands under the provisions of Section 3-5-11, or under the provisions of other laws authorizing the sale of such lands to the United States government.
SECTION 19. Section 29-1-75, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-75. Except as otherwise provided in this section, neither a corporation nor a nonresident alien, nor any association of persons composed in whole or in part of nonresident aliens, shall directly or indirectly purchase or become the owner of any of the public lands; and every patent issued in contravention hereof shall be void. A banking corporation owning such tax-forfeited lands or holding a mortgage or deed of trust thereon at the time of the sale to the state, and whose mortgage or deed of trust is still in force and effect, may purchase such lands, regardless of acreage, owned by it as aforesaid or on which it held a mortgage or deed of trust. In event of a purchase by such corporation as a mortgagee, such lands shall be held for the benefit of the mortgagor subject to all the terms and conditions of the mortgage or deed of trust held by the purchasing banking corporation and, upon payment of the debt secured by such mortgage or deed of trust, together with interest and incidents, such banking corporation shall in that event reconvey such lands to the original mortgagor, his heirs or assigns.
Nonresident aliens may acquire and hold not to exceed three hundred twenty (320) acres of public lands in this state for the purpose of industrial development thereon. In addition, any nonresident alien may acquire and hold not to exceed five (5) acres of public lands for residential purposes. If any land acquired by a nonresident alien for the purpose of industrial development ceases to be used for industrial development, it shall escheat to the public body that sold such land to the nonresident alien.
SECTION 20. Section 29-1-77, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-77. The land commissioner with the approval of the Governor is hereby authorized to sell, lease, or donate to the State Highway Commission or to any county or counties or the Natchez Trace Commission, for right of way purposes or for road material used or useful in the construction or maintenance of state, federal, and county highways, any of the public lands of the state, regardless of the quantity of said lands.
SECTION 21. Section 29-1-79, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-79. The land commissioner shall not receive the purchase money of lands; but the same shall be paid into the treasury on the receipt warrant of the auditor of public accounts, as in other cases; and the purchaser shall present to the land commissioner, in payment for the land, the treasurer's receipt for the purchase money, which shall be filed in the land office. In the event a patent has not been finally completed within thirty (30) days after purchase money has been paid into the state treasury, then, upon written request to the state land commissioner by the party making said application to purchase state land, there shall be refunded all money, less fees provided under this chapter, paid upon said application to purchase state land. The land commissioner shall issue a requisition to the state auditor, setting forth the sum of money to be refunded, who shall then issue a warrant upon the state treasurer for said sum of money shown by said requisition; said warrant shall be paid as all other warrants are paid. The application upon which any money is refunded shall be void, and no patent shall be granted thereon.
SECTION 22. Section 29-1-81, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-81. (1) All conveyances of land by the state in fee shall be by patent issued from the Secretary of State's office; every patent issued shall be under the great seal, signed by the Secretary of State.
(2) (a) The patent shall be issued in triplicate by the Office of the Secretary of State, the original of which shall be delivered to the patentee, one (1) copy thereof retained by the Secretary of State among the records of his office, and the third copy shall be mailed to the tax assessor of the county in which the land so patented is located on or before the fifteenth day of the month succeeding the date upon which the patent was issued.
(b) The Secretary of State may file the original patent with the chancery clerk and such filing shall constitute the delivery of the patent to the patentee. Prior to filing the original patent, the Secretary of State shall collect from the patentee the sum of Twenty Dollars ($20.00) to cover the cost of filing the patent. Failure of the Secretary of State to file the patent shall not affect its validity.
(3) All contracts of sale of public lands shall be issued from the Secretary of State's office in duplicate; and every contract issued shall be under the great seal, signed by the Secretary of State and countersigned by the Governor.
(4) No more than one-quarter (1/4) section of land shall be embraced in the same patent or contract, except as otherwise provided by law.
SECTION 23. Section 29-1-83, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-83. When a patent shall issue for public lands, the land commissioner shall notify the clerk of the chancery court and the tax assessor of the county in which it is situated of the fact, giving the name of the patentee, a description of the land, and the price per acre. Said land shall, after January 1st of the next year after issuance of patents, be assessed for taxes as other lands are.
SECTION 24. Section 29-1-85, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-85. If the title to any public land contracted for sale under Section 29-1-39 or sold by the state through the auditor or land office or by any municipality shall fail, or shall have failed, the state or such municipality, as the case may be, shall refund the purchase-money to its vendee or his heirs or assigns; and if no profits have been received from said lands, then all taxes shall be returned also, and all fees paid, with interest at six per centum per annum. Except as provided in this chapter, the question of failure of title can only be determined in a suit filed in the county in which the land is situated, and the land commissioner or the municipality, as the case may be, shall be made a party to every such suit. Where such failure of title shall have been caused by the cancellation of a contract or a patent issued by the state, or a deed from the municipality, under the requirements of any law or decree of a chancery court of this state, directing cancellation in favor of prior purchasers, or through the failure of the state's title, or the title of the municipality, as the case may be, where such failure shall have been caused by the striking of the land from the state land rolls under the requirements of any law of this state, the failure of title so caused shall not be required to be determined by decree of court.
SECTION 25. Section 29-1-87, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-87. If the State of Mississippi, through the auditor or land commissioner's office, has heretofore issued or shall hereafter issue a patent or patents for any lands to which the state holds no title, or which did not belong to it at the time of the issuance of such patent or patents, or any part of which land may have caved into the river before the issuance of such patent or patents, or by oversight or otherwise two patents may have been or may hereafter be issued therefor, the land commissioner shall investigate the case and report to the attorney general, who, if he shall find the lands so patented did not belong to the state, shall so report to the land commissioner. If the land commissioner shall find that such lands or any part thereof had caved into the river before the issuance of such patent, or that the patentee did not acquire any land or title under such patent, he shall mark such patent or patents or, in case of the loss of the original, a certified copy of such patents, "cancelled," and take them or a duly certified copy to the auditor of public accounts, who shall file the same as a voucher in his office and shall issue his warrant in favor of the patentee or his or her assignees, heirs, or representatives for the amount paid to and retained by the state for such cancelled patent or patents. The land commissioner shall certify all such cancellations to the clerk of the chancery court of the county in which said patents have been recorded, and said clerk shall thereupon cancel the record of it. That part of the purchase price paid to the county, levee board, or drainage district by the land commissioner shall be refunded to the purchaser of such lands by the board of supervisors of said county or the board of commissioners of said levee district or drainage board; and the costs and charges of the chancery clerk, sheriff, and tax collector shall be borne equally by the county and the state. When only a part of the purchase money is refunded, it shall be first noted by the land commissioner in ink across the face of such patent and then noted by the chancery clerk upon the record of patent, cancelling it in such proportion only.
SECTION 26. Section 29-1-89, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-89. If it appear to the land commissioner that any land has been sold and patented to several parties, he shall report the facts to the legislature, with information of the amount of purchase-money to be refunded, and ask for an appropriation therefor if, in his opinion, the state had received and ought to refund anything.
SECTION 27. Section 29-1-91, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-91. If the state's title to any land certified into the land office fail, and the land be reclaimed or redeemed before or after sale by the state, the taxes for which it was sold and the taxes for each subsequent year and all officers' fees shall remain and become a charge upon the land as if it had been regularly assessed to the owner in each of said years.
If the title to any land purchased by any municipality under any provisions of Sections 21-33-69, 21-33-73, or 21-37-49 shall fail, and the land be reclaimed before or after any sale by the municipality, the municipal, municipal separate school, and/or special improvement or other taxes for which it was sold, and any and all of such taxes for any subsequent year, and all officers' fees shall remain and become a charge upon such land, subordinate only to state and county taxes, as if it had been regularly assessed to the owner in each of said years.
SECTION 28. Section 29-1-93, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-93. The fees of all county officers allowed by law in connection with land sold to the state for taxes shall be paid by the state when such land shall be sold by the state. Upon such sale the land commissioner shall carefully calculate said fees and shall certify the same to the auditor who, if he finds the same correct, shall issue his warrants therefor to the proper persons; provided, that said fees shall lapse as to any land not sold within ten (10) years after the period of redemption has expired.
SECTION 29. Section 29-1-95, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-95. (1) All taxes due the county, municipality, public school district, drainage district or levee board on lands sold to the state for taxes and listed into the Secretary of State's office shall remain in abeyance until the land be sold, and thereafter such taxes shall be paid out of the purchase money; but state, county, municipality, public school district, drainage district or levee board taxes shall not accrue on such lands after the fiscal year in which it was certified to the state. Upon the payment of the purchase money of any tax land into the treasury, the Secretary of State shall certify to the Department of Finance and Administration and to the Treasurer the amount of fees and costs allowed to the county tax collector and chancery clerk, as in cases of the redemption of lands from tax sales, under the provisions of Section 25-7-21; and the Department of Finance and Administration shall issue warrants in favor of such county tax collector and chancery clerk for the amount of such fees. The Secretary of State shall also certify to the Department of Finance and Administration and the Treasurer the amount of the county, municipality, public school district, drainage district and levee board taxes for which said land was sold to the state, and all taxes accruing on said land until the year in which it was certified to the state; and the Department of Finance and Administration shall issue warrants in favor of the proper county, municipality, public school district, drainage district, and levee board for the said four (4) years' taxes. The balance of the purchase money shall be deposited into a special fund to be known as the "Land Records Maintenance Fund," that is hereby created in the State Treasury and shall be used for the restoration, preservation and maintenance of the records of state-owned land and the disposition of lands sold to the state for taxes. The fund shall be administered by the Secretary of State. Any amount on hand in said Land Records Maintenance Fund at the end of the fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund.
(2) If, after the payment of the fees and costs allowed to the county tax collector and the chancery clerk, as aforesaid, the balance of the purchase money of any tax land paid into the treasury shall be insufficient to cover the amount of the state, county, municipality, public school district, drainage district or levee board taxes due thereon, or if the records of the Secretary of State fail to show the amount of state, county, municipality, public school district, drainage district or levee board taxes accruing for the years until said land was certified to the state, on lands sold by the Secretary of State, he shall apportion the balance of the purchase money derived from the sale of such lands between the state, county, municipality, public school district, drainage district and levee board upon the basis of the amount of taxes due the state, county, municipality, public school district, drainage district and levee board, respectively, at the time said land was struck off to the state for delinquent taxes by the sheriff and tax collector, and for which said lands were struck off to the state.
(3) All funds derived from the sale of properties under the provisions of Sections 7-11-15, 29-1-27, 29-1-29, 29-1-35, 29-1-37, 29-1-53 through 29-1-57, 29-1-73 and 29-1-81 through 29-1-87 shall be handled in the manner provided herein for funds derived from the sale of lands.
SECTION 30. Section 29-1-97, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-97. When any land is situated in a drainage district and is subject to any special drainage district assessment which is secured by a lien on said land, such lien shall not be abated or cancelled on account of the sale of such land to the state for delinquent taxes, but such lien shall be held in abeyance during the period the property is owned by the state and, immediately upon the title to the land passing from the state by virtue of a sale, such lien shall again become effective. And, likewise, when any land is situated in a municipality and is subject to any special municipal benefit assessment which is secured by a lien on the land, such lien shall not be abated or cancelled on account of the sale of such land to the state for delinquent taxes, but such lien shall be held in abeyance during the period such property is owned by the state and, immediately upon the title to the state passing from the state by virtue of a sale, such lien shall again become effective.
SECTION 31. Section 29-1-99, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-99. The land commissioner of the State of Mississippi, with the approval of the governor, is hereby authorized and empowered to grant or donate easements in and to the public lands of the state to any drainage district, flood control district, or to any county in this state, or to the United States or to any agency thereof, for the construction and the maintenance of flood control canals and ditches, or drainage canals and ditches, or other flood control or drainage instrumentalities.
SECTION 32. Section 29-1-113, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-113. Whenever a sale of land for delinquent taxes to the state has been certified to the state land commissioner for more than twenty-five (25) years and there is no record in the land commissioner's office of said lands having been patented out of the state, there shall arise a presumption that said land has been duly patented out of the state. The land commissioner, with the consent of the attorney general, upon application of anyone claiming title to said land and upon his furnishing proof that the taxes to the state and county have been paid on said land for each year for the past ten (10) years, is hereby authorized to strike said sale, which striking shall be a disclaimer of all right, title, or interest which the State of Mississippi has in such lands.
SECTION 33. Section 29-1-115, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-115. Whenever any forfeited tax land patent has been issued by the state for a period of at least ten (10) years, and the patentee has paid into the state treasury the price fixed by the land commissioner, and all taxes accruing and payable upon the land described in such patent subsequent to the issuance thereof have been paid, it shall be presumed that in the procurement of such patent the patentee paid a valid, legal, and adequate consideration therefor, complied with all the requirements of law, and practiced no fraud upon the state, and that such patent is a valid and legal patent; and said state shall thereafter be forever precluded and estopped from questioning the validity of such patent.
SECTION 34. Section 29-1-145, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
29-1-145. The chancery clerk or municipal clerk shall report to the Secretary of State any reasonable costs incurred by the county or municipality in maintaining unredeemed lands sold for taxes while those lands remain unsold. The Secretary of State shall pay the maintenance costs out of the money deposited into the Land Records Maintenance Fund. The Secretary of State shall certify to the Department of Finance and Administration and to the State Treasurer the amount of maintenance costs allowed to the county and municipality, and the Department of Finance and Administration shall issue a warrant in favor of the county or municipality for the amount of those costs. In no event shall the maintenance costs allowed the county or municipality exceed the market value of the lands or the purchase money received from the sale of those lands.
SECTION 35. Section 51-33-43, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
51-33-43. No sale of tax lands in any drainage district organized under any of the laws of this state shall be made unless and until the state land commissioner is furnished by the applicant with a certificate signed by the president or secretary of the board of commissioners or other governing authority of the said drainage district in which such land is situated, certifying that arrangements, satisfactory to said board of commissioners for the payment of the drainage taxes accruing upon said land subsequent to the sale for delinquent taxes have been made with the applicant.
SECTION 36. Section 51-33-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
51-33-45. The board of drainage commissioners of any drainage district organized under any of the drainage laws of this state are hereby authorized to purchase from the state any lands lying within such drainage district which have been sold to the state for delinquent taxes and the title to which, at the time of the filing of the application to purchase, has matured in the state. The board of drainage commissioners of any such drainage district desiring to purchase any such lands from the state shall file an application for the purchase of such lands with the land commissioner. The land commissioner with the approval of the governor may sell any such lands to the board of drainage commissioners of such drainage district at such price as may be authorized by law for the sale of lands to individuals, and such sale shall be made upon the same terms and conditions as are provided by law for the sale of lands to individuals. However, the limitation imposed by law upon the quantity of state forfeited tax lands which may be sold to a single individual shall not apply to sales of lands in drainage districts to the board of drainage commissioners under the provisions of this section. The board of drainage commissioners of such drainage districts are hereby authorized to appropriate money out of any funds on hand belonging to the drainage district for the payment of the purchase price of such land.
The patents to such lands shall be issued to the board of drainage commissioners of such drainage district in the form and manner prescribed by law; and the proceeds of all such sales shall be paid into the state treasury in the manner provided by law.
SECTION 37. Section 27-35-65, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-35-65. The land commissioner shall, on the first Monday of January in every year, or as soon thereafter as practicable, make out and transmit to the assessor of each county through the chancery clerk, a list of all lands for which he has issued patents during the preceding twelve months.
SECTION 38. Section 27-35-67, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-35-67. All lands redeemed under the provisions of this chapter, or purchased from the state in any manner, shall thereafter be assessed and dealt with as the property of individuals, and the tax collector shall thereafter, in his settlement of state, county, or other taxes, be required to account for all taxes on such lands which may be lawfully due, and which he should collect.
SECTION 39. Section 27-35-69, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-35-69. The assessor shall carefully examine the records in his county to ascertain what lands have been redeemed or purchased from the state, or have been stricken by the land commissioner from the list of lands held by the state, and, in assessing land, he shall assess all such land as the property of individuals; and the board of supervisors, in examining the assessment roll, shall pay particular attention to this requirement.
SECTION 40. Section 27-43-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-43-1. The clerk of the chancery court shall, within one hundred eighty (180) days and not less than sixty (60) days prior to the expiration of the time of redemption with respect to land sold, either to individuals or to the state, be required to issue notice to the record owner of the land sold as of 180 days prior to the expiration of the time of redemption, in effect following, to wit:
"State of Mississippi, To ______________,
County of ______________
You will take notice that ________ (here describe lands) ________ lands assessed to you or supposed to be owned by you, was, on the ________ day of ________ sold to ________ for the taxes of ________ year ________, and that the title to said land will become absolute in ________ unless redemption from said tax sale be made on or before ________ day of ________.
This ________ day of ________ 2____
______________ Clerk."
SECTION 41. Section 27-43-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-43-3. The clerk shall issue the notice to the sheriff of the county of the reputed owner's residence, if he be a resident of the State of Mississippi, and the sheriff shall be required to serve personal notice as summons issued from the courts are served, and make his return to the chancery clerk issuing same. The clerk shall also mail a copy of same to the reputed owner at his usual street address, if same can be ascertained after diligent search and inquiry, or to his post office address if only that can be ascertained, and he shall note such action on the tax sales record. The clerk shall also be required to publish the name and address of the reputed owner of the property and the legal description of such property in a public newspaper of the county in which the land is located, or if no newspaper is published as such, then in a newspaper having a general circulation in such county. Such publication shall be made at least forty-five (45) days prior to the expiration of the redemption period.
If said reputed owner is a nonresident of the State of Mississippi, then the clerk shall mail a copy of said notice thereto in the same manner as hereinabove set out for notice to a resident of the State of Mississippi, except that personal notice served by the sheriff shall not be required.
Notice by mail shall be by registered or certified mail. In the event the notice by mail is returned undelivered and the personal notice as hereinabove required to be served by the sheriff is returned not found, then the clerk shall make further search and inquiry to ascertain the reputed owner's street and post office address. If the reputed owner's street or post office address is ascertained after the additional search and inquiry, the clerk shall again issue notice as hereinabove set out. If personal notice is again issued and it is again returned not found and if notice by mail is again returned undelivered, then the clerk shall file an affidavit to that effect and shall specify therein the acts of search and inquiry made by him in an effort to ascertain the reputed owner's street and post office address and said affidavit shall be retained as a permanent record in the office of the clerk and such action shall be noted on the tax sales record. If the clerk is still unable to ascertain the reputed owner's street or post office address after making search and inquiry for the second time, then it shall not be necessary to issue any additional notice but the clerk shall file an affidavit specifying therein the acts of search and inquiry made by him in an effort to ascertain the reputed owner's street and post office address and said affidavit shall be retained as a permanent record in the office of the clerk and such action shall be noted on the tax sale record.
For examining the records to ascertain the record owner of the property, the clerk shall be allowed a fee of Fifty Dollars ($50.00); for issuing the notice the clerk shall be allowed a fee of Two Dollars ($2.00) and, for mailing same and noting such action on the tax sales record, a fee of One Dollar ($1.00); and for serving the notice, the sheriff shall be allowed a fee of Four Dollars ($4.00). For issuing a second notice, the clerk shall be allowed a fee of Five Dollars ($5.00) and, for mailing same and noting such action on the tax sales record, a fee of Two Dollars and Fifty Cents ($2.50), and for serving the second notice, the sheriff shall be allowed a fee of Four Dollars ($4.00). The clerk shall also be allowed the actual cost of publication. Said fees and cost shall be taxed against the owner of said land if the same is redeemed, and if not redeemed, then said fees are to be taxed as part of the cost against the purchaser. The failure of the landowner to actually receive the notice herein required shall not render the title void, provided the clerk and sheriff have complied with the duties herein prescribed for them.
Should the clerk inadvertently fail to send notice as prescribed in this section, then such sale shall be void and the clerk shall not be liable to the purchaser or owner upon refund of all purchase money paid.
SECTION 42. Section 27-43-4, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-43-4. With respect to lands sold for the nonpayment of municipal taxes, both for ad valorem and for special improvements, the municipal clerk shall issue the same type notices and perform all other requirements as set forth in Sections 27-43-1 through 27-43-11, inclusive, and for so doing, the municipality shall be allowed the same fees as set forth in said sections. However, all certificates or affidavits of the municipal clerk shall be filed with the chancery clerk of the county in which the municipality is located for which the chancery clerk shall be allowed a filing fee of one dollar ($1.00) per affidavit or certificate.
SECTION 43. Section 27-43-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-43-5. It shall be the duty of the clerk of the chancery court to examine the record of deeds, mortgages and deeds of trust in his office to ascertain the names and addresses of all mortgagees, beneficiaries and holders of vendors liens of all lands sold for taxes; and he shall, within the time fixed by law for notifying owners, send by certified mail with return receipt requested to all such lienors so shown of record the following notice, to wit:
"State of Mississippi, To ______________________
County of ___________
You will take notice that ___________________ (here describe lands) assessed to, or supposed to be owned by __________________ was on the ______ day of _______________, 2___, sold to _____________________ for the taxes of __________________ (giving year) upon which you have a lien by virtue of the instrument recorded in this office in ______ Book _____, page _____, dated __________________, and that the title to said land will become absolute in said purchaser unless redemption from said sale be made on or before the ______ day of 2___.
This _____ day of _____, 2___.
__________________________________________
Chancery Clerk of _________ County, Miss."
SECTION 44. Section 27-43-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-43-7. The notice shall be mailed to said lienors, if any, to the post office address of the lienors, if such address is set forth in the instrument creating the lien, otherwise to the post office address of said lienors, if actually known to the clerk, and if unknown to the clerk then addressed to the county site of the said county.
SECTION 45. Section 27-43-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-43-9. Upon completing the examination for said liens, the clerk shall enter upon the tax sale book upon the page showing the sale a notation to the effect that such examination had been made, giving the names and addresses, if known, of said lienors, the book and page where the liens are created, and the date of mailing by registered mail the notice to the lienors. If the clerk finds no liens of record, he shall so certify on said tax sale book. In each instance the clerk shall date the certificate and sign his name thereto.
SECTION 46. Section 27-45-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-45-1. Redemption of land sold for taxes shall be made through the chancery clerks of the respective counties. Where the land was sold to the state, the clerk, out of the amount necessary to redeem, shall first pay to the officers entitled thereto the costs, fees and damages which are allowed those officers by law in cases of lands sold to individuals; second, he shall pay the state the amount of state taxes with the interest and additional charges thereon allowed by law to the state; and, third, he shall pay to the county the sums computed in like manner which belong to the county and the various taxing districts thereof. Where the land was sold to an individual, the clerk shall pay:
(a) First, to the state the amount of state taxes with the interest and additional charges thereon allowed by law, unless same has been paid previously by the tax purchaser or some other person;
(b) Second, to the county the sums computed in like manner which belong to the county and the various taxing districts thereof, unless same has been paid previously by the tax purchaser or some other person;
(c) Third, to the county the five percent (5%) damages on the amount of the taxes for which the land was sold; and
(d) Fourth, the balance to the purchaser.
The clerk shall make his redemption settlements within twenty (20) days after the end of each month and shall make a complete report thereof to the board of supervisors. For a failure so to report or to pay over the sums to the parties entitled thereto as herein required, he shall be liable on his official bond to a penalty of one percent (1%) per month on the amount withheld. The chancery clerk shall also note each redemption on the public record of delinquent tax lands, on the day payment of taxes is made, with the date, name and the amount of redemption money paid.
SECTION 47. Section 27-45-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-45-3. The owner, or any persons for him with his consent, or any person interested in the land sold for taxes, may redeem the same, or any part of it, where it is separable by legal subdivisions of not less than forty (40) acres, or any undivided interest in it, at any time within two (2) years after the day of sale, by paying to the chancery clerk, regardless of the amount of the purchaser's bid at the tax sale, the amount of all taxes for which the land was sold, with all costs incident to the sale, and five percent (5%) damages on the amount of taxes for which the land was sold, and interest on all such taxes and costs at the rate of one and one-half percent (1-1/2%) per month, or any fractional part thereof, from the date of such sale, and all costs that have accrued on the land since the sale, with interest thereon from the date such costs shall have accrued, at the rate of one and one-half percent (1-1/2%) per month, or any fractional part thereof; saving only to infants who have or may hereafter inherit or acquire land by will and persons of unsound mind whose land may be sold for taxes, the right to redeem the same within two (2) years after attaining full age or being restored to sanity, from the state or any purchaser thereof, on the terms herein prescribed, and on their paying the value of any permanent improvements on the land made after the expiration of two (2) years from the date of the sale of the lands for taxes. Upon such payment to the chancery clerk as hereinabove provided, he shall execute to the person redeeming the land a release of all claim or title of the state or purchaser to such land, which said release shall be attested by the seal of the chancery clerk and shall be entitled to be recorded without acknowledgment, as deeds are recorded. Said release when so executed and attested shall operate as a quitclaim on the part of the state or purchaser of any right or title under said tax sale.
SECTION 48. Section 27-45-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-45-5. It shall be the duty of the chancery clerk of each county in the state to immediately deposit in the county depository of his county all sums of money paid to him by any person for the redemption of land sold for taxes in his county; all such funds are hereby declared to be public funds, and shall be secured by the county depository, as other public funds are required to be secured by law. The board of supervisors of each county shall provide the clerk with printed checks in the form of vouchers, with proper blanks, bound in book form with a sufficient blank margin to be used in drawing redemption funds out of the county depository; all such checks shall be numbered in numerical order, and it shall be the duty of the clerk to draw on such funds upon such checks as herein provided in payment of all amounts due the officers and purchasers out of said funds. He shall first pay the officers entitled to their costs, fees, and damages which are allowed to said officers by law; and he shall then pay to the purchasers at any such tax sale, the full amount due him as provided by law. It shall be the duty of the state auditor of public accounts to audit such account of each clerk, as other public funds are audited; and he shall include in said audit a special report to the board of supervisors of his county setting out in detail the amounts collected, and the disposition of such funds, and the balance on hand, and attest to the correctness thereof.
If such clerk shall neglect, refuse or fail to deposit such funds received by him as herein provided, he shall be guilty of misfeasance in office, and in addition thereto shall be liable on his official bond to any person injured by his failure to deposit such funds in the county depository as herein provided.
SECTION 49. Section 27-45-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-45-11. All rights and privileges and duties granted or imposed, in the preceding sections, upon lienors or any person interested in such land with reference to redemption from tax sales made for nonpayment of state and county taxes shall likewise apply and be applicable to like redemptions from municipal tax sales or municipal separate school district tax sales, and also to levee and drainage district tax sales. With reference to such redemptions, the written application for redemption shall be addressed to the municipal clerk, or to the like officer of the levee or drainage district, as the case may be, who shall be the official to perform the appropriate duties and to make the necessary investigation and apportionment of the sum necessary to redeem as to any interested lienor or any person interested in such land who shall have the right to make application to redeem, as herein set forth.
SECTION 50. Section 27-45-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-45-19. The tax collector shall keep a record of lands struck off to the state for taxes for his convenience in collecting taxes and making settlements with the state and county. The chancery clerk, when he releases such lands upon redemption, shall immediately notify the auditor and tax collector, giving name of person redeeming, date of redemption, and description of the land, and the auditor and collector, when they receive such notice, shall at once make entry thereof upon their records.
SECTION 51. Section 27-45-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-45-21. It shall be the duty of the chancery clerk, within thirty days after the period of redemption has expired, to certify to the state land commissioner a list, on forms provided by the state land commissioner, of all lands struck off to the state for taxes, which have not been redeemed. Such list shall show a description of the land, all costs, officer's and printer's fees, the tax for which it sold, segregated as to state, county, levee and drainage districts, and of all taxes due on such lands for the year in which it was struck off to the state, segregated as to state, county, levee and drainage districts, a total of two years' taxes listed separately (the taxes for which it sold and accrued taxes for one year). If any chancery clerk shall fail or neglect to transmit such lists within the time specified, he shall be liable to the state on his official bond in the penalty of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) for each day that he is in default, said penalty to be collected by the state tax commission, or by the attorney general, in a suit instituted for that purpose upon request of the state land commissioner; provided that the state land commissioner, if so requested by any chancery clerk before the expiration of ten (10) days and for good cause shown, may grant a reasonable extension of the time within which such clerk shall transmit his list.
SECTION 52. Section 27-45-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-45-23. When the period of redemption has expired, the chancery clerk shall, on demand, execute deeds of conveyance to individuals purchasing lands at tax sales. Which conveyances shall be essentially in the following form to wit:
"State of Mississippi, County of ________
Be it known, that ________, tax collector of said county of ________, did, on the ________ day of ________, A.D. ________, according to law, sell the following land, situated in said county and assessed to ________ to wit: ________ (here describe the land) ________ for the taxes assessed thereon (or when sold for other taxes it should be so stated) for the year A.D. ________, when ________ became the best bidder therefor, at and for the sum of ________ Dollars and ________ Cents; and the same not having been redeemed, I therefore sell and convey said land to the said ________
Given under my hand, the ________ day of ________, A.D. ________
"______________
Chancery Clerk."
Such conveyance shall be attested by the seal of the office of the chancery clerk and shall be recordable when acknowledged as land deeds are recorded, and such conveyance shall vest in the purchaser a perfect title with the immediate right of possession to the land sold for taxes. No such conveyance shall be invalidated in any court except by proof that the land was not liable to sale for the taxes, or that the taxes for which the land was sold had been paid before sale, or that the sale had been made at the wrong time or place. If any part of the taxes for which the land was sold was illegal or not chargeable on it, but part was chargeable, that shall not affect the sale nor invalidate the conveyance, unless it appears that before sale the amount legally chargeable on the land was paid or tendered to the tax collector.
SECTION 53. Section 27-45-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-45-27. (1) The amount paid by the purchaser of land at any tax sale thereof for taxes, either state and county, levee or municipal, and interest on the amount paid by the purchaser at the rate of one and one-half percent (1-1/2%) per month, or any fractional part thereof, and all expenses of the sale and registration, thereof shall be a lien on the land in favor of the purchaser and the holder of the legal title under him, by descent or purchase, if the taxes for which the land was sold were due, although the sale was illegal on some other ground. The purchaser and the holder of the legal title under him by descent or purchase, may enforce the lien by bill in chancery, and may obtain a decree for the sale of the land in default of payment of the amount within some short time to be fixed by the decree. In all suits for the possession of land, the defendant holding by descent or purchase, mediately or immediately, from the purchaser at tax sale of the land in controversy, may set off against the complainant the above-described claim, which shall have the same effect and be dealt with in all respects as provided for improvements in a suit for the possession of land. But the term "suits for the possession of land," as herein used, does not include an action of unlawful entry and detainer.
(2) No county or municipal officer shall be liable to any purchaser at a tax sale or any recipient of a tax deed for any error or inadvertent omission by such official during any tax sale.
SECTION 54. Section 27-45-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-45-29. In cases of land and other property sold by municipal tax authorities for delinquent taxes, the same schedule of damages as provided herein shall apply.
SECTION 55. Section 21-33-55, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
21-33-55. The governing authorities of all municipalities in this state, including private charter municipalities, are hereby authorized and empowered to cause all taxable property, whether real or personal, within the corporate limits, and liable to taxation, which from any cause has escaped taxation within the past seven (7) years, to be assessed for taxes for each year in which such property has escaped taxation. In all cases of the assessment of property under this section, the governing authorities of any municipality ordering such assessment shall fix a day for the hearing of objections to such assessment, and shall cause the municipal clerk to give to the property owner ten (10) days' written notice, by mail, if the post office address of the owner be known; if the post office address of the owner be unknown, notice shall be given by posting notice for at least ten (10) days in five (5) public places in the municipality, of the time and place for the hearing of objections to such assessment.
In the event it be discovered that the property of any railroad, or other public service corporation required by law to be assessed by the state railroad assessors, has escaped assessment and taxation for any reason, the assessor, upon his own motion, or upon request of the governing authorities of the municipality, shall notify the state railroad assessors of such fact, and state the name of the owner and the kind of property escaping assessment and taxation. The state railroad assessors shall proceed to assess such property as provided by Section 27-35-325, Mississippi Code of 1972.
No leasehold interest in any property, real or personal, belonging to the State of Mississippi, counties, districts, municipalities or any political subdivisions, shall be subjected to ad valorem taxation for any past year on the basis of it having been omitted from the ad valorem tax rolls.
SECTION 56. Section 21-33-57, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
21-33-57. The property owner affected by any assessment made under Section 21-33-55 shall have thirty (30) days within which to pay the taxes after the approval of assessment. After the expiration of thirty (30) days, if the taxes shall not have been paid, it shall be the duty of the governing authorities of the municipality to designate a time for sale. Except as otherwise provided in Section 27-41-2, the sale shall be made according to the law governing the sale of property for taxes, and lists shall be filed as required by law as in other cases of sales for taxes.
SECTION 57. Section 21-33-59, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
21-33-59. In all cases where property situated within a municipality has been sold for delinquent taxes, if it shall afterward appear to the governing authorities of such municipality that such sale was void on account of an insufficient or erroneous description, or for other cause, the governing authorities of such municipality may, by resolution entered upon their minutes, declare such sale to be void and thereby relinquish the title or claim of the municipality acquired under or by virtue of such void sale. In such event the governing authorities of such municipality shall be authorized and empowered to cause such property to be properly and legally assessed for each of the years for which such taxes have not been paid, and shall be authorized and empowered to change, revise, correct and revalue such property for each of the years for which such taxes have not been paid, and shall be authorized and empowered to enter a proper order directing that such assessments be changed, revised and corrected, and to cause such changed, revised and corrected assessments to be entered upon the assessment roll in force for the year in which such order is entered. In all such cases notice of such change and correction in the assessment, or of such new assessment, shall be given to the property owner in the manner provided by law, and in such notice a date shall be fixed for hearing objections to such assessment. Such notice may be waived, however, by the property owner. All objections to such changes or new assessments shall be heard at the time designated therefor in such notice, and the governing authorities of such municipality shall then be authorized to enter an order approving such assessments and making the same final, and such property may be sold for such taxes, if necessary, in accordance with law.
This section and Section 21-33-57 shall also apply to all cases of void sales of property for taxes, and the governing authorities, in all cases where a tax sale is void from any cause, may proceed to cause a legal sale to be made, and to cause property to be assessed in all cases after a void sale where assessment may have become necessary, and to cause sale to be made, if necessary, by complying with Sections 21-33-55 and 21-33-57.
SECTION 58. Section 21-33-61, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
21-33-61. The owner, or any person for him with his consent, or any person interested in the land sold for taxes, shall have two years from the date of sale in which to redeem such real property from such sale, redemption to be made by paying the taxes, damages and costs, as provided by law for the redemption of land from tax sales, saving, however, to infants and persons of unsound mind, whose real property may be sold for taxes, the right to redeem the same within two years after attaining full age or being restored to sanity, from the municipality or any purchaser thereof, on the basis herein prescribed, and on their paying the value of any permanent improvements on the land made after the expiration of two years from the date of sale of the real property for taxes. Upon such payment to the clerk of the municipality, he shall execute to the person redeeming the real property a release of all claim or title of the municipality or purchaser to such real property, which said release shall be attested by the seal of the municipality, and shall be entitled to be recorded without acknowledgment, as deeds are recorded. Said release when so executed and attested shall operate as a quitclaim on the part of the municipality or purchaser of any right or title under said tax sale.
The term "taxes" as used in Sections 21-33-55 through 21-33-61 shall include special improvement assessments or any installment thereof that may be delinquent.
SECTION 59. Section 21-33-63, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
21-33-63. Sales for the nonpayment of municipal taxes, both ad valorem and for special improvements, shall be made by the tax collector at such place, within the corporate limits, as the governing authorities may direct. The sale of real estate for ad valorem taxes and special improvement assessments and sale of personal property shall be made upon the same notice, at the same time, and in the same manner as provided by law for sales of like property for unpaid state and county taxes.
The lists of lands sold for taxes by the municipality shall be made as required to be made by the state and county collector, and shall be filed with the municipal clerk within twenty days after the tax sale, and shall there remain, subject to redemption for the same length of time and in the same manner as prescribed for the redemption of lands sold for state and county taxes, with the same saving to infants and persons of unsound mind. Said lists shall have the same force and effect, and confer the same right and entitle the purchasers to the same remedies, as lists made for delinquent taxes by the state and county tax collector. Such title shall be subservient, however, to a title acquired under a sale for state and county taxes.
One copy of the list of land so sold shall be filed within thirty days of such sale with the chancery clerk of the county in which said municipality is located, and the chancery clerk shall file and index said list among the land records of his county, as other tax sales are listed. However, the failure of the clerk so to file such list as herein prescribed shall not affect the validity of such tax sale.
SECTION 60. Section 21-33-65, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
21-33-65. If, from any cause, a sale of any land for municipal taxes, both ad valorem and for special improvements, or any installment thereof, that may be delinquent, which is liable to such sale shall not be made at the time appointed by law for such sale, it may be sold thereafter, in the same or a subsequent year, at any time designated therefor by order of the governing authorities of the municipality in which such land may be situated. Notice of a sale so ordered shall be given by advertising it in the manner prescribed by law for the sale of land for state and county taxes, and the sale shall be made at the same place and be subject to all the provisions of law applicable to such sales made at the time appointed by law. Lists of lands sold to the municipality and to individuals shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the municipality within the same relative period of time after the sale as is allowed by law for filing such lists after tax sales made at the regular time, and the clerk shall at once record them. Such lists shall be as valid and have the same effect and be subject to all the provisions of the law applicable to such lists made of lands sold at the regular sale for taxes.
SECTION 61. Section 21-33-67, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
21-33-67. A list of the conveyances of land sold for municipal taxes, either to the municipalities or to individuals, shall be recorded in an indexed record, which shall be kept in the office of the mayor or the city clerk of the municipality. All redemptions of said lands shall be noted on said record.
SECTION 62. Section 21-33-69, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
21-33-69. Except as otherwise provided in Section 27-41-2, where lands are offered for sale for unpaid municipal taxes or special improvement taxes or municipal separate school district taxes, and a person will not bid therefor the amount of taxes, damages, and costs due, the same shall be struck off to the municipality and otherwise, where applicable, dealt with as lands are which are sold to the state for delinquent state and county taxes. The governing authorities shall be authorized to pay the state and county taxes on lands thus acquired by the municipality, and to collect the money thus paid, with the same damages and interest allowed individuals in similar cases under the general revenue laws of the state thereon from the date of such payment, upon the redemption of the lands from the municipal sale.
Where lands have heretofore been, or may hereafter be struck off to a municipality for unpaid municipal taxes or special improvement taxes or municipal separate school districts taxes, and such lands have also been sold or struck off to an individual or to the state for unpaid state, county, or taxing district taxes, the governing authorities of such municipality are hereby authorized to redeem such lands from the sale for delinquent state, county, or taxing district taxes by paying to the chancery clerk of the county where such lands are situated the amount necessary to redeem same and to collect the money thus paid, together with interest thereon at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum from the date of such payment, upon the redemption of such lands from the municipal sale. Such lands may be redeemed from the municipal sale for unpaid municipal taxes or special improvement taxes by the owner or other person interested in such lands, including the person to whom such lands were struck off or sold at the sale for state, county, or taxing district taxes.
When lands have heretofore or may hereafter be struck off to a municipality for unpaid municipal taxes or special improvement taxes or municipal separate school district taxes, and the title to such lands has matured or may hereafter mature in the state by virtue of a sale for unpaid state, county, or taxing district taxes, the governing authorities of such municipality may purchase said lands from the state at a price to be agreed upon by the Secretary of State, Governor, or other lawful authority. Upon payment of such amounts into the State Treasury, the state's title to said lands shall be conveyed to the said municipality by a patent, or patents, executed and delivered as provided by law in cases of sales of state lands to individuals.
SECTION 63. Section 21-33-71, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
21-33-71. When the state, county, or taxing district taxes are paid by a municipality, or where lands are redeemed or purchased by a municipality, as provided in Section 21-33-69, such lands shall not be exempt from state, county, or other taxing district taxes but shall be liable for such taxes the same as if owned by an individual. It shall be the duty of the tax assessor to assess lands purchased pursuant to the authority granted in Section 29-1-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, for taxes in the same manner as other lands are assessed and if the taxes are not paid when due, it shall be the duty of the tax collector to sell said land for the delinquent taxes due and unpaid at the time and in the manner provided by law for the sale of lands for delinquent taxes.
SECTION 64. Section 21-33-73, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
21-33-73. Any municipality in the state having a tax lien for special improvements or any other tax lien upon property located therein is hereby authorized, when the said property is offered for sale by the state and county for state and county taxes due thereon, to purchase at such tax sale the property upon which it holds said special improvement lien, and shall be authorized to pay the amount of its bid therefor.
Whenever property upon which any municipality in this state holds a lien has already been sold for state and county taxes, the municipality may redeem the tax sale the same as other lien holders in the state, and authority for municipalities to so thus redeem is hereby granted.
SECTION 65. Section 21-33-75, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
21-33-75. After the time to redeem from the municipal tax sale has expired, or after the municipality has purchased land as provided by law, said municipality, acting through its governing authorities, shall take possession of said lands and shall endeavor to sell same as expeditiously as good business may require. However, it may lease said lands until a sale thereof can be made.
Said municipal governing authorities may lease or sell any of said lands to any person in any manner that may be prescribed by an order or resolution, which said order or resolution shall be entered in the minutes covering each particular tract of land so leased or sold, it being the intention of the legislature to vest in municipal authorities in each specific case of lease or sale the right to fix the price, terms, and conditions of each sale or lease.
SECTION 66. Section 21-33-77, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
21-33-77. When any municipality shall buy in property for delinquent taxes, such municipality is hereby authorized to issue notes, bonds, or certificates of indebtedness for the amount of the tax, for a period of time not to exceed one year after the period provided for the redemption of such land and, in addition to pledging the full faith, credit, and resources of the municipality therefor, such municipality may pledge the taxes and damages from delinquent tax sales thereon. When said notes, bonds, or certificates of indebtedness are so issued, all funds collected on said delinquent taxes and damages, or the sale of the property, in the event the title ripens in the municipality, shall be set aside as a special or trust fund for the retirement of said notes, bonds, or certificates of indebtedness. The rate of interest of said notes, bonds, or certificates of indebtedness not to exceed six per centum per annum. The authority implied and granted in this section shall apply also to the boards of trustees in municipal separate school districts, by and with the consent of the governing authorities of such municipality.
SECTION 67. Section 21-37-49, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
21-37-49. The mayor and board of aldermen, or other governing authorities, of any municipality in this state are hereby authorized to purchase from the state any lands situated within the corporate limits of such municipality which have been sold to the state for delinquent taxes and the title to which, at the time of the filing of the application to purchase, has matured in the state. The land commissioner, with the approval of the governor, may sell any such lands situated within the corporate limits of such municipality to the municipality at such price as may be authorized by law for the sale of such lands to individuals. Such sale may be made upon the same terms and conditions as are provided by law for the sale of lands to individuals. The mayor and board of aldermen, or other governing authorities, of such municipality are hereby authorized to appropriate money out of the general fund of such municipality for the payment of the purchase price of such lands.
SECTION 68. Section 17-27-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
17-27-5. (1) For purposes of this chapter, the term "municipal historical hamlet" means any former city, town or village with a current population of less than six hundred (600) inhabitants that lost its charter before 1945.
(2) After the creation of a municipal historical hamlet, as prescribed in Sections 17-27-7 through 17-27-11, the powers of such historical hamlet shall be as follows:
(a) To designate the county seat of government located at a county courthouse within the jurisdiction where the hamlet is located as the municipal historical hamlet meeting place;
(b) To be recognized for historical districts within a municipal historical hamlet; and
(c) To work with a planning and development district in promoting economic, community and human resources within a municipal historical hamlet and to apply for any type of grant to improve the infrastructure of such hamlet, including any small municipalities grant programs authorized, such as in Sections 21-17-1 and 21-27-23.
(3) Taxes or fees shall not be imposed by or against any municipal historical hamlet for any general or special purpose.
(4) A municipal historical hamlet shall not be considered as one (1) of the classes of municipal corporations which are prescribed in Section 21-1-1 but shall be considered an unincorporated area zoned for consideration of issues affecting the designated community through any application or process recognizing the area specifically within any county or counties.
SECTION 69. Section 17-27-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
17-27-9. (1) After the filing of the petition for the creation of a municipal historical hamlet, as prescribed in Section 17-27-7, a certified copy of the petition shall be delivered to the president of the board of supervisors in the county or counties where the hamlet is located and shall be spread upon the minutes for recognition as a hamlet, and at that time the existence of the historical hamlet shall become effective.
(2) No municipal historical hamlet shall be recognized that lies in whole or in part in any incorporated area and shall not be considered a municipal corporation under Section 21-1-1 in order to defeat or defend against the inclusion within the boundaries of any municipal corporation.
SECTION 70. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.