MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2012 Regular Session
To: Ways and Means; Local and Private Legislation
By: Representative Shows
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 920, LOCAL AND PRIVATE LAWS OF 2007, AS AMENDED BY CHAPTER 918, LOCAL AND PRIVATE LAWS OF 2008, TO AUTHORIZE THE GOVERNING AUTHORITIES OF THE CITY OF ELLISVILLE, MISSISSIPPI, TO LEVY A TAX UPON THE GROSS PROCEEDS DERIVED FROM HOTEL AND MOTEL ROOM RENTALS AND RESTAURANT SALES IN THE CITY; TO PROVIDE FOR A DIRECT REFERENDUM ON THE QUESTION OF WHETHER OR NOT SUCH TAX MAY BE LEVIED; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Chapter 920, Local and Private Laws of 2007, as amended by Chapter 918, Local and Private Laws of 2008, is amended as follows:
Section 1. As used in this act, the following terms shall have the following meanings unless a different meaning is clearly indicated by the context in which they are used:
(a) "City" means the City of Ellisville, Mississippi.
(b) "Governing authorities" means the governing authorities of the City of Ellisville, Mississippi.
(c) "Hotel" or "motel" means any establishment engaged in the business of furnishing or providing rooms intended or designed for dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes to transient guests, where the establishment consists of six (6) or more guest rooms. The term "hotel" or "motel" does not include any hospital, convalescent or nursing home or sanitarium, or any hotel-like facility operated by or in connection with a hospital or medical clinic providing rooms exclusively for patients and their families.
(d) "Restaurant" means all businesses that receive fifty percent (50%) or more of their gross revenue from the sale of prepared food and beverages sold for consumption on the premises of the business. The term "restaurant" does not include any school, hospital, convalescent or nursing home, or any restaurant-like facility operated by or in connection with a school, hospital, medical clinic, convalescent or nursing home providing food for students, patients, visitors or their families.
Section 2. (1) For the purposes of providing funds to revitalize the central business district in the City of Ellisville and for upgrading a frontage road in the City of Ellisville, the governing authorities are authorized, in their discretion, to levy and collect from the following persons a tax, which shall be in addition to all of the taxes and assessments imposed. The tax shall be imposed on the following persons:
(a) A tax upon every person, firm or corporation operating a motel or hotel in the City of Ellisville, at a rate not to exceed one percent (1%) of the gross proceeds of room rentals for each such hotel or motel.
(b) A tax upon every person, firm or corporation operating a restaurant in the City of Ellisville, at a rate not to exceed one percent (1%) of the gross proceeds of the sales of the restaurant.
(2) Persons, firms or corporations liable for the levy imposed under subsection (1) of this section shall add the amount of the levy to the sales price of the rooms and products set out in subsection (1) of this section and shall collect, insofar as is practicable, the amount of the tax due by them from the person receiving the services or product at the time of payment therefor.
(3) The tax shall be collected by and paid to the Department of Revenue on a form prescribed by the Department of Revenue in the manner that state sales taxes are computed, collected and paid; and full enforcement provisions and all other provisions of Chapter 65, Title 27, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall apply as necessary to the implementation and administration of this act.
(4) The proceeds of the tax, less three percent (3%) thereof which shall be retained by the Department of Revenue to defray the cost of collection, shall be paid to the governing authorities on or before the fifteenth day of the month following the month in which collected.
(5) The proceeds of the tax shall not be considered by the City of Ellisville as general fund revenues but shall be dedicated to and expended solely for the purposes specified in this section.
Section 3. Before any tax authorized under this act may be imposed, the governing authorities shall adopt a resolution declaring their intention to levy the tax, setting forth the amount of the tax to be imposed, the date upon which the tax shall become effective and calling for an election to be held on the question. The date of the election shall be fixed in the resolution. Notice of such intention and the election shall be published once each week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper published or having a general circulation in the City of Ellisville, with the first publication of the notice to be made not less than twenty-one (21) days before the date fixed in the resolution for the election and the last publication to be made not more than seven (7) days before the election. At the election, all qualified electors of the City of Ellisville may vote, and the ballots used in the election shall have printed thereon a brief statement of the amount and purposes of the proposed tax levy and the words "FOR THE TAX" and, on a separate line, "AGAINST THE TAX" and the voters shall vote by placing a cross (X) or check (√) opposite their choice on the proposition. When the results of the election shall have been canvassed and certified, the city may levy the tax if sixty percent (60%) of the qualified electors who vote in the election vote in favor of the tax. At least thirty (30) days before the effective date of the tax provided in this section, the governing authorities shall furnish to the Department of Revenue a certified copy of the resolution evidencing the tax.
Section 4. The tax authorized under this act shall be discontinued by the governing authorities on the first day of the month immediately succeeding the date any indebtedness incurred for the projects described in this act is retired, or in the event the city incurs no indebtedness, the first day of the month after all obligations for such projects have been paid. Any amount remaining in the separate fund containing the proceeds of the tax authorized under this act not necessary to pay any obligations related to such projects, shall be transferred to the municipal general fund.
Section 5. Accounting for receipts and expenditures of the funds herein described shall be made separately from the accounting of receipts and expenditures of the general fund and any other funds of the City of Ellisville. The records reflecting the receipts and expenditures of the funds prescribed in this act shall be audited annually by an independent certified public accountant, and the accountant shall make a written report of his audit to the governing authorities. The audit shall be made and completed as soon as practicable after the close of the fiscal year, and expenses of the audit shall be paid from the funds derived in accordance with this act.
Section 6. The provisions of this act shall be repealed from and after July 1, 2016.
SECTION 2. The governing authorities of the City of Ellisville, Mississippi, shall submit this act, immediately upon approval by the Governor, or upon approval by the Legislature subsequent to a veto, to the Attorney General of the United States or to the United Stated District Court for the Distinct of Columbia in accordance with the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.
SECTION 3. If this act is effectuated under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended, this act shall take effect and be in force from and after the date it is effectuated under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.