House Bill 1158

AN ACT TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 55-23-6, 55-23-8 AND 55-23-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH ARE PROVISIONS OF LAW RELATING TO THE TRANSFER OF AUTHORITY, LEASING AUTHORITY AND OPERATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI VETERANS MEMORIAL STADIUM, FOR PURPOSES OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENTS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 55-23-6, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

55-23-6. (1) From and after July 1, 2008:

(a) The Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Commission shall be abolished and all powers and duties of the commission shall be transferred to, and exercised by, the Department of Finance and Administration;

(b) The Office of the Executive Director of the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Commission shall be abolished and all powers and duties of the executive director shall be transferred to, and exercised by, the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration;

(c) All records, property, funds and other assets and personnel of the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Commission shall be transferred to the Department of Finance and Administration; and

(d) Any personal service, management or other contracts of like nature entered into by the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Commission shall be cancelled.

(2) The Department of Finance and Administration shall grant Jackson State University the right to hold any of its sports, ceremonial and concert events at the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium without any rental payment, and shall allow the proper signage designating the stadium as the home stadium of Jackson State University. All profits realized by the Department of Finance and Administration after paying all expenses and costs, including management fees, from any Jackson State University sponsored event held on stadium property shall be deposited to the credit of a special fund and authorized for expenditure by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning exclusively for Jackson State University. All remaining profits realized by the Department of Finance and Administration shall be utilized by the department to pay all expenses incident to the operation and upkeep of the facility.

(3) From and after July 1, 2008, wherever the term "Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Commission" or the term "commission," when referring to the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Commission, appears in the laws of the state, the terms shall mean the "Department of Finance and Administration."

SECTION 2. Section 55-23-8, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

55-23-8. (1) The Department of Finance and Administration is authorized to renegotiate any lease agreements entered into before April 21, 2007, with one or more public or private entities in regard to the granting of a property interest to such public or private entities in all or any part of the real property located in Hinds County, Mississippi, generally known as the "Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Property," being any property under the jurisdiction of the Department of Finance and Administration and any other state-owned property located in the area bounded on the North by Taylor Street, on the West by North West Street, on the South by Woodrow Wilson Avenue and on the East by North State Street used as part of or in connection with Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, for the purpose of the construction of improvements thereon. The Department of Finance and Administration is authorized to cancel lease agreements on parcels of stadium property entered into before April 21, 2007, and to execute a new lease on such parcels for a term not to exceed forty (40) years and renew for a term not to exceed ten (10) years.

(2) In and for the consideration to be provided under any lease, the Department of Finance and Administration, in its discretion, is authorized to, on such terms and conditions determined to be appropriate by the Department of Finance and Administration: (a) enter into agreements with any such lessee or lessees (or any designee of any such lessee or lessees), which agreements may extend over any period of time not exceeding the term of such lease (including renewals and extensions) permitting use of any property referred to in subsection (1) of this section for parking, access and other uses in connection with events in facilities constructed on property leased from the Department of Finance and Administration; (b) grant, as part of and for the term of any lease, to any lessee or lessees (or any designee of any such lessee or lessees), one or more easements with respect to all or any part of the property referred to in subsection (1) of this section for vehicle and pedestrian ingress and egress, for vehicle parking and for such other purposes necessary and appropriate for the construction, operation and use of the improvements; (c) enter into agreements with any such lessee or lessees (or any designee of any such lessee or lessees), which agreements may extend over any period of time not exceeding the term of such lease (including renewals and extensions), permitting use by such lessee or lessees (or any designee of any such lessee or lessees) of Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium for events; (d) enter into agreements with any such lessee or lessees (or any designee of any such lessee or lessees), which agreements may extend over any period of time not exceeding the term of such lease (including renewals and extensions), pursuant to which the state shall be obligated to purchase improvements constructed on such property and/or any residual rights in connection with such improvements upon terms and for a purchase price, not to exceed Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00), as set forth in or determined in accordance with such agreement; (e) enter into agreements with any such lessee or lessees (or any designee of any such lessee or lessees) providing that such lessee or lessees (or any designee of any such lessee or lessees) shall indemnify and hold harmless the Department of Finance and Administration for any personal injury or property damage related to events conducted on property leased from the Department of Finance and Administration; and/or (f) enter into such other agreements with any such lessee or lessees (or any designee of any such lessee or lessees) or any other public or private entities, which agreements may extend over any period of time not exceeding the term of such lease (including renewals and extensions), relating to any such lease and any improvements to be constructed on property leased from the Department of Finance and Administration as the Department of Finance and Administration shall determine to be appropriate. However, the State of Mississippi shall not be obligated to purchase any improvements constructed on property leased under this section and/or any residual rights in connection with such improvements unless the construction of all such improvements on the property is complete. The Department of Finance and Administration, acting through the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management, shall make the determination regarding whether the construction of the improvements is complete.

(3) Any public body shall be authorized to enter into: (a) agreements (which may extend over any period of time) with the Department of Finance and Administration, any public body, any party leasing property from the Department of Finance and Administration (or any designee or designees of any such lessee), and/or any other party to provide or contribute funds in connection with the construction, financing and/or operation of any improvements constructed on property leased from the Department of Finance and Administration, and any such agreement or agreements and the obligations of any public body thereunder shall not be included in computing amounts subject to any debt limitations applicable to any such public body; and/or (b) agreements (which may extend over any period of time) to lease property from the Department of Finance and Administration and to provide or contribute funds in connection with the construction, financing and/or operation of any improvements constructed on such property and to lease or sublease any such property or improvements to public or private entities, and any such agreement or agreements shall not be included in computing amounts subject to any debt limitations applicable to any such public body.

(4) The Department of Finance and Administration, in its discretion, is authorized to enter into all other agreements as may be necessary or appropriate in connection with any financing by any lessee or lessees (or any designee of any such lessee or lessees) of any improvements to be constructed on property leased from the Department of Finance and Administration.

(5) The provisions of any statutes establishing a role for the Department of Finance and Administration and the State Bond Commission in financing, construction and improvement of buildings on the Veterans Memorial Stadium property shall not apply to the financing, refinancing, construction, repair or improvement of any improvements on any property leased pursuant to this section.

(6) Before entering into any lease or other agreement with any private entity under this section, the Department of Finance and Administration shall require such entity to enter into a binding commitment providing that if the private entity fails to complete the construction of all improvements commenced by the entity on property leased under this section, such entity shall reimburse the State of Mississippi for costs incurred by the state relating to the improvements. The Department of Finance and Administration, acting through the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management, shall make the determination regarding whether the construction of the improvements is complete.

(7) Any lease, renewal thereof, or other agreement entered into by the Department of Finance and Administration under this section shall not be valid unless approved by the Public Procurement Review Board, upon the active involvement and consultation with the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson State University and the Department of Health.

(8) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (1), the Department of Finance and Administration may not enter into any lease or other agreement under this section.

(9) Any lessee or lessees (or any designee of any such lessee or lessees) of property leased from the Department of Finance and Administration under this section shall not be considered as being the state, any political subdivision of the state or any officer or servant of the state for the purposes of any liability that may be waived under Section 11-46-1 et seq.

(10) It is the intent of the Legislature that from and after April 21, 2007, the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Commission shall have no authority to lease the property described in subsection (1), and all authority previously provided to the commission in this section shall be transferred to the Department of Finance and Administration.

SECTION 3. Section 55-23-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

55-23-9. The commission shall operate the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium and to that end may employ such agents and employees as may be required in connection therewith. It may enter into contracts for the use of the stadium, and fix the amount of the compensation therefor, and collect the same when due. The commission may take any action authorized in Section 55-23-8 relating to the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium and the property described in Section 55-23-8.

All monies and revenues, including the amusement tax imposed upon the sale of tickets for admission to the stadium, and all other events on stadium property and all monies arising from other use of stadium property, including that realized from the sale of concessions, shall be paid by the commission to the State Treasurer, to be placed to the credit of a special fund to be known as the "Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Operating Fund" and any references in the laws to the "Mississippi Memorial Stadium Fund" or the "Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Fund" shall mean the "Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Operating Fund" unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Any interest earned on amounts deposited in the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Operating Fund shall be credited to such special fund. Provided, however, that twenty-five percent (25%) of all profits realized by the commission from the sale of concessions at athletic events when Jackson State University is the home team shall be deposited to the credit of a special auxiliary fund and authorized for expenditure by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning exclusively for the support of intercollegiate athletics at such university. All expenses incident to the operation and upkeep of the facilities and property managed by the commission shall be paid out of the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Operating Fund by warrants drawn by the Department of Finance and Administration, which shall be issued on the requisition of the commission.

All tickets sold to an event conducted in the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium shall have printed in an appropriate and prominent place thereon the words A.C. "Butch" Lambert Field.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2011.