House Bill 1420

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 59-15-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THE AUTHORITY OF CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES TO CREATE HARBORS AND RECREATIONAL PARKS FOR SMALL WATER CRAFTS; TO AMEND SECTION 59-15-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THAT ALL HARBORS, RECREATIONAL PARKS AND FACILITIES CONSTRUCTED AND IMPROVED WITHIN A CITY'S TERRITORIAL LIMITS SHALL BE MAINTAINED AND OPERATED UNDER THE EXCLUSIVE CONTROL OF THE CITY AUTHORITIES; TO AMEND SECTION 29-15-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING SECTION; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 29-15-7, 29-15-9 AND 29-15-10, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR PURPOSES OF AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 59-15-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

59-15-1. (1) The governing authorities of any municipality in this state which has a population of ten thousand (10,000) or more, according to the last federal decennial government census, or the authorities of any municipality bordering on the Mississippi Sound or Gulf of Mexico are authorized to create, establish, develop, promote, maintain, and operate recreational parks and harbors for small water crafts * * * within the municipality's territorial limits. The governing authorities of any municipality described in this section shall have the power to acquire, purchase, install, rent, lease, mortgage, incumber, construct, own, hold, maintain, equip, use, control and operate recreational parks and harbors for small water craft. Such municipalities shall own any docks, piers, slips, wharves, breakwaters, bulkheads, jetties, buildings, structures, recreational parks, areas and facilities associated with such harbors and recreational parks and shall receive all monies and consideration derived from the operation of any structure described in this section.

(2) Any harbors or recreational parks created under the authority of this section that are located on property which can be considered tidelands or submerged lands under the Public Trust Tidelands map shall be held in trust by the municipality in which such harbor or recreational facility and any structure associated with such harbor or recreational facility is located.

SECTION 2. Section 59-15-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

59-15-3. All harbors, recreational parks and facilities constructed and improved pursuant to this chapter shall be maintained and operated under the exclusive control of the city authorities. The Secretary of State shall not require any city described in Section 59-15-1 to agree to any lease with the Secretary of State or any other state agency, county or political subdivision of the state in order for such city to exercise the authority granted by this chapter. The city authorities of such city, or cities, shall, subject to and in accordance with any agreement, or agreements, as may be made by any such city with the purchaser, or purchasers, of bonds or other obligations issued pursuant to this chapter, prescribe, levy and collect all rent, fees, tolls, revenues, privileges, commissions, and other charges in connection with the operation, use and occupancy of the aforesaid improvements and facilities, and shall pay over all net revenues derived from the operation of said improvements and facilities to any trustee authorized by Section 59-15-19 or successor thereto designated as hereinafter in this chapter provided. The net revenues shall be deemed to be such as may be defined in any agreement, or agreements, entered into between any such city, and the purchaser, or purchasers, of any bonds or other obligations issued pursuant to this chapter. The authorities of any such city, or cities, shall make a financial report to the said trustee annually of the operation of the aforesaid improvements and facilities.

SECTION 3. Section 29-15-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

29-15-5. Tidelands and submerged lands are held by the state in trust, unless such lands are connected in any manner to a harbor or recreational park under Section 59-15-1, for use of all the people, and are so held in their character as the beds and shores of the sea and its tidally affected arms and tributaries for the purposes defined by common law and statutory law. Littoral and riparian property owners have common law and statutory rights under the Coastal Wetlands Protection Law which extend into the waters and beyond the low tide line, and the state's responsibilities as trustee extends to such owners as well as to the other members of the public.

SECTION 4. Section 29-15-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

29-15-7. (1) The Secretary of State, in cooperation with other state agencies, shall prepare a Preliminary Map of Public Trust Tidelands. The preliminary map shall depict the boundary as the current mean high water line where shoreline is undeveloped and in developed areas or where there have been encroachments, such maps shall depict the boundary as the determinable mean high water line nearest the effective date of the Coastal Wetlands Protection Act.

(2) The state recognizes that the boundary of the public trust tidelands is ambulatory and that the natural inland expansion of tide waters over land not previously subject to the ebb and flow of the tide increases the land subject to the public trust, while natural accretion, the gradual and imperceptible accumulation of land by natural causes, and natural reliction, the increase of land by permanent withdrawal or retrocession of tidal waters by natural causes, diminish the land subject to the public trust and increase the property owned by the contiguous upland owner. Likewise, the state recognizes the common law doctrine as it pertains to such tidelands, submerged lands and riparian and littoral rights and declares such to be the law of this state.

(3) The preliminary map shall be transmitted to each of the chancery clerks of the coastal counties, and each chancery clerk shall post such map in a public place in his office. The Secretary of State shall also cause to be published in a newspaper of general circulation within each coastal county a notice announcing that a copy of the Preliminary Map of Public Trust Tidelands is available for public inspection at the office of the chancery clerk of that county, and shall post a similar notice in at least three (3) public places in each coastal county in this state. The preliminary map shall also be open to public inspection at the office of the Secretary of State.

(4) The Secretary of State shall allow sixty (60) days after publication of the preliminary map for submission of comments and/or additional documentation and may, at his discretion, revise the map accordingly. Within twenty (20) days of the completion of the period for submission of comments, the Secretary of State shall have incorporated any revisions to the Preliminary Map of Public Trust Tidelands and certify its final adoption. The certified map as finally adopted shall be published as provided hereinabove. The final certified map shall be duly recorded in the land records of the chancery clerks office in Hancock, Harrison and Jackson Counties. Upon recordation, the certified map shall be final to those properties not subject to the trust. The Secretary of State shall issue to all consenting property owners a certificate stating that the described property does not lie within the boundary of the public trust tidelands and is not subject to the trust. The Secretary of State shall duly file such certificates with the proper chancery clerks office for recordation. In addition, the certified map shall be placed in the Secretary of State's permanent register which shall be open to public inspection. Within one hundred twenty (120) days of final adoption of the certified map, the Secretary of State shall determine those property owners whose lands are subject of the public trust and are in violation of such trust. The Secretary of State shall notify all such owners by certified mail and shall include an explanation of the procedure available to the occupant to resolve any dispute with respect to this map. The notice shall also inform occupants that after three (3) years the boundary as set forth in the certified map shall become final unless the occupant has submitted a contrary claim to the office of the Secretary of State. Such property owner shall have six (6) months to negotiate and settle differences with the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State may allow extensions at his discretion. A boundary determination shall be final upon agreement of the Secretary of State and the owner and an instrument setting forth the boundary agreement shall be duly executed and recorded in the chancery court where the property is located. Any such boundary agreement shall be binding on the state and other parties thereto.

(5) If any dispute as to the location of the boundary of the public trust cannot be negotiated and settled between the affected property owners and the Secretary of State within six (6) months after notice by the state of its claim, either the state or a person claiming an interest in the property may apply to the chancery court of the county in which the property is located for a resolution of the dispute and a determination of the location of the boundary. All persons having an interest in the property subject to the dispute shall be made a party to such proceeding. In any such action, the state shall have the burden of proof by a preponderance of evidence that any such land is subject to the trust.

(6) Nothing in this section is intended to preclude any party from pursuing remedies otherwise available at law, including but not limited to those provided in Sections 11-17-1 et seq., except that if no action is taken by the occupant within three (3) years of receipt of notice as described above, the boundary as determined by the certified map shall become final.

SECTION 5. Section 29-15-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

29-15-9. (1) There is created in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the "Public Trust Tidelands Fund." The fund shall be administered by the Secretary of State as trustee.

(2) Any funds derived from lease rentals of tidelands and submerged lands, except those funds derived from mineral leases, or funds previously specifically designated to be applied to other agencies, shall be transferred to the special fund. However, funds derived from lease rentals may be used to cover the administrative cost incurred by the Secretary of State. Any remaining funds derived from lease rentals shall be disbursed pro rata to the local taxing authorities for the replacement of lost ad valorem taxes, if any. Then, any remaining funds shall be disbursed to the commission for new and extra programs of tidelands management, such as conservation, reclamation, preservation, acquisition, education or the enhancement of public access to the public trust tidelands or public improvement projects as they relate to those lands.

(3) Any funds that are appropriated as separate line items in an appropriation bill for tideland programs or projects authorized under this section for political subdivisions or other agencies shall be disbursed as provided in this subsection.

(a) The Department of Marine Resources shall make progress payments in installments based on the work completed and material used in the performance of a tidelands project only after receiving written verification from the political subdivision or agency. The political subdivision or agency shall submit verification of the work completed or materials in such detail and form that the department may require.

(b) The Department of Marine Resources shall make funds available for the purpose of using such funds as a match or leverage for federal or other funds that are available for the designated tidelands project.

SECTION 6. Section 29-15-10, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

29-15-10. (1) There is created in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the "Public Trust Tidelands Assessments Fund." The purpose of the fund is to ensure that monies derived from the public trust tidelands assessments shall be used for the benefit of preserving and protecting the tidelands and submerged lands found within the three (3) most southern counties of the state. One (1) specific purpose of the fund is to ensure that the annual payment made by the state for the purchase of Deer Island shall continue uninterrupted until the purchase transaction is completed. The fund shall be administered by the Secretary of State, as trustee. None of the funds that are in the special fund or that are required to be deposited into the special fund shall be transferred, diverted or in any other manner expended or used for any purpose other than those purposes specified in this section.

(2) (a) Any funds derived from assessments made pursuant to Section 29-1-107(4)(c) shall be deposited into the special fund.

(b) Funds paid pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection may be appropriated by the Legislature in an amount necessary to cover the administrative cost incurred by the Mississippi Commission on Marine Resources. Any remaining funds shall be disbursed by the commission for new and extra programs of tidelands management, such as conservation, reclamation, preservation, acquisition, education or the enhancement of public access to the public trust tidelands or public improvement projects as they relate to those lands.

SECTION 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2012.