MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2013 Regular Session
To: Transportation; Ways and Means
By: Representatives Lane, Scott, Baria, Calhoun, DeBar, Evans (70th), Evans (91st), Harrison, Lott, Middleton, Moak, Morgan, Oberhousen, Patterson, Pigott, Rogers (61st), Shows, Smith (39th), Snowden, Staples, Stringer, Sullivan, Warren, Miles, Myers, Johnson
AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE ISSUANCE OF STATE GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS TO PROVIDE FUNDS FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO PUBLIC ROADS AND HIGHWAYS IN THOSE COUNTIES IN MISSISSIPPI IN WHICH OIL IS PRODUCED; TO AUTHORIZE AN INCOME TAX CREDIT FOR ENTERPRISES OWNING AN OIL PRODUCTION FACILITY WHICH CREATE NEW OIL PRODUCTION JOBS IN THIS STATE; TO PROVIDE FOR THE AMOUNT OF THE CREDIT; TO PROVIDE THAT A TAX CREDIT CLAIMED UNDER THIS ACT BUT NOT USED IN A TAX YEAR MAY BE CARRIED FORWARD FOR TWO YEARS FROM THE CLOSE OF THE TAX YEAR IN WHICH THE CREDIT WAS EARNED; TO AMEND SECTION 27-25-505, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE MANNER IN WHICH OIL SEVERANCE TAXES ARE DISTRIBUTED TO THE STATE AND THE COUNTY IN WHICH THE OIL WAS PRODUCED; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) As used in this section, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Accreted value" of any bond means, as of any date of computation, an amount equal to the sum of (i) the stated initial value of such bond, plus (ii) the interest accrued thereon from the issue date to the date of computation at the rate, compounded semiannually, that is necessary to produce the approximate yield to maturity shown for bonds of the same maturity.
(b) "State" means the State of Mississippi.
(c) "Commission" means the State Bond Commission.
(2) (a) (i) A special fund, to be designated as the "2013 Oil Producing Counties Road Improvements Fund" is created within the State Treasury. The fund shall be maintained by the State Treasurer as a separate and special fund, separate and apart from the General Fund of the state. Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned or investment earnings on amounts in the fund shall be deposited into such fund.
(ii) Monies deposited into the fund shall be disbursed, in the discretion of the Mississippi Department of Transportation, to pay the costs of constructing additions, upgrades and improvements to public highways, roads, bridges and culverts in those counties in Mississippi in which oil is produced.
(b) Amounts deposited into such special fund shall be disbursed to pay the costs of the projects described in paragraph (a) of this subsection. Promptly after the commission has certified, by resolution duly adopted, that the projects described in paragraph (a) of this subsection shall have been completed, abandoned, or cannot be completed in a timely fashion, any amounts remaining in such special fund shall be applied to pay debt service on the bonds issued under this section, in accordance with the proceedings authorizing the issuance of such bonds and as directed by the commission.
(3) (a) The commission, at one time, or from time to time, may declare by resolution the necessity for issuance of general obligation bonds of the State of Mississippi to provide funds for all costs incurred or to be incurred for the purposes described in subsection (2) of this section. Upon the adoption of a resolution by the Mississippi Department of Transportation, declaring the necessity for the issuance of any part or all of the general obligation bonds authorized by this subsection, the department shall deliver a certified copy of its resolution or resolutions to the commission. Upon receipt of such resolution, the commission, in its discretion, may act as issuing agent, prescribe the form of the bonds, determine the appropriate method for sale of the bonds, advertise for and accept bids or negotiate the sale of the bonds, issue and sell the bonds so authorized to be sold and do any and all other things necessary and advisable in connection with the issuance and sale of such bonds. The total amount of bonds issued under this section shall not exceed Three Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($3,500,000.00). No bonds shall be issued under this section after July 1, 2017.
(b) Any investment earnings on amounts deposited into the special fund created in subsection (2) of this section shall be used to pay debt service on bonds issued under this section, in accordance with the proceedings authorizing issuance of such bonds.
(4) The principal of and interest on the bonds authorized under this section shall be payable in the manner provided in this subsection. Such bonds shall bear such date or dates, be in such denomination or denominations, bear interest at such rate or rates (not to exceed the limits set forth in Section 75-17-101, Mississippi Code of 1972), be payable at such place or places within or without the State of Mississippi, shall mature absolutely at such time or times not to exceed twenty-five (25) years from date of issue, be redeemable before maturity at such time or times and upon such terms, with or without premium, shall bear such registration privileges, and shall be substantially in such form, all as shall be determined by resolution of the commission.
(5) The bonds authorized by this section shall be signed by the chairman of the commission, or by his facsimile signature, and the official seal of the commission shall be affixed thereto, attested by the secretary of the commission. The interest coupons, if any, to be attached to such bonds may be executed by the facsimile signatures of such officers. Whenever any such bonds shall have been signed by the officials designated to sign the bonds who were in office at the time of such signing but who may have ceased to be such officers before the sale and delivery of such bonds, or who may not have been in office on the date such bonds may bear, the signatures of such officers upon such bonds and coupons shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all purposes and have the same effect as if the person so officially signing such bonds had remained in office until their delivery to the purchaser, or had been in office on the date such bonds may bear. However, notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, such bonds may be issued as provided in the Registered Bond Act of the State of Mississippi.
(6) All bonds and interest coupons issued under the provisions of this section have all the qualities and incidents of negotiable instruments under the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code, and in exercising the powers granted by this section, the commission shall not be required to and need not comply with the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code.
(7) The commission shall act as issuing agent for the bonds authorized under this section, prescribe the form of the bonds, determine the appropriate method for sale of the bonds, advertise for and accept bids or negotiate the sale of the bonds, issue and sell the bonds so authorized to be sold, pay all fees and costs incurred in such issuance and sale, and do any and all other things necessary and advisable in connection with the issuance and sale of such bonds. The commission is authorized and empowered to pay the costs that are incident to the sale, issuance and delivery of the bonds authorized under this section from the proceeds derived from the sale of such bonds. The commission may sell such bonds on sealed bids at public sale or may negotiate the sale of the bonds for such price as it may determine to be for the best interest of the State of Mississippi. All interest accruing on such bonds so issued shall be payable semiannually or annually.
If such bonds are sold by sealed bids at public sale, notice of the sale shall be published at least one time, not less than ten (10) days before the date of sale, and shall be so published in one or more newspapers published or having a general circulation in the City of Jackson, Mississippi, selected by the commission.
The commission, when issuing any bonds under the authority of this section, may provide that bonds, at the option of the State of Mississippi, may be called in for payment and redemption at the call price named therein and accrued interest on such date or dates named therein.
(8) The bonds issued under the provisions of this section are general obligations of the State of Mississippi, and for the payment thereof the full faith and credit of the State of Mississippi is irrevocably pledged. If the funds appropriated by the Legislature are insufficient to pay the principal of and the interest on such bonds as they become due, then the deficiency shall be paid by the State Treasurer from any funds in the State Treasury not otherwise appropriated. All such bonds shall contain recitals on their faces substantially covering the provisions of this subsection.
(9) Upon the issuance and sale of bonds under the provisions of this section, the commission shall transfer the proceeds of any such sale or sales to the special fund created in subsection (2) of this section. The proceeds of such bonds shall be disbursed solely upon the order of the Mississippi Department of Transportation under such restrictions, if any, as may be contained in the resolution providing for the issuance of the bonds.
(10) The bonds authorized under this section may be issued without any other proceedings or the happening of any other conditions or things other than those proceedings, conditions and things which are specified or required by this section. Any resolution providing for the issuance of bonds under the provisions of this section shall become effective immediately upon its adoption by the commission, and any such resolution may be adopted at any regular or special meeting of the commission by a majority of its members.
(11) The bonds authorized under the authority of this section may be validated in the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi, in the manner and with the force and effect provided by Chapter 13, Title 31, Mississippi Code of 1972, for the validation of county, municipal, school district and other bonds. The notice to taxpayers required by such statutes shall be published in a newspaper published or having a general circulation in the City of Jackson, Mississippi.
(12) Any holder of bonds issued under the provisions of this section or of any of the interest coupons pertaining thereto may, either at law or in equity, by suit, action, mandamus or other proceeding, protect and enforce any and all rights granted under this section, or under such resolution, and may enforce and compel performance of all duties required by this section to be performed, in order to provide for the payment of bonds and interest thereon.
(13) All bonds issued under the provisions of this section shall be legal investments for trustees and other fiduciaries, and for savings banks, trust companies and insurance companies organized under the laws of the State of Mississippi, and such bonds shall be legal securities which may be deposited with and shall be received by all public officers and bodies of this state and all municipalities and political subdivisions for the purpose of securing the deposit of public funds.
(14) Bonds issued under the provisions of this section and income therefrom shall be exempt from all taxation in the State of Mississippi.
(15) The proceeds of the bonds issued under this section shall be used solely for the purposes herein provided, including the costs incident to the issuance and sale of such bonds.
(16) The State Treasurer is authorized, without further process of law, to certify to the Department of Finance and Administration the necessity for warrants, and the Department of Finance and Administration is authorized and directed to issue such warrants, in such amounts as may be necessary to pay when due the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on, or the accreted value of, all bonds issued under this section; and the State Treasurer shall forward the necessary amount to the designated place or places of payment of such bonds in ample time to discharge such bonds, or the interest thereon, on the due dates thereof.
(17) This section shall be deemed to be full and complete authority for the exercise of the powers herein granted, but this section shall not be deemed to repeal or to be in derogation of any existing law of this state.
SECTION 2. (1) As used in this section:
(a) "Full-time employee" means an employee that works at least thirty-five (35) hours per week.
(b) "New oil production job" means a job in which a person is employed by an enterprise owning or operating an oil production facility in this state and which job did not exist in this state before July 1, 2013.
(2) Any enterprise owning or operating an oil production facility is allowed a job tax credit for taxes imposed by this chapter equal to Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) annually for each full-time employee employed in a new oil production job for a period of two (2) years from the date the credit commences. The credit shall commence on the date selected by the enterprise. For the year in which the commencement date occurs, the credit will be determined based on the monthly average number of full-time employees employed in new oil production jobs subject to the Mississippi income tax withholding that are employed by the enterprise. For each year thereafter, the number of new oil production jobs shall be determined by comparing the monthly average number of full-time employees employed in new oil production jobs subject to the Mississippi income tax withholding for the taxable year with the corresponding period of the prior taxable year. The Department of Revenue shall verify that the jobs claimed by enterprises to obtain the credit meet the definition of the term "new oil production job." The Department of Revenue shall adjust the credit allowed each year for employment fluctuations.
(3) The credit that may be used each year shall be limited to an amount not greater than the total state income tax liability of the enterprise. Any tax credit claimed under this section but not used in any taxable year may be carried forward for two (2) consecutive years from the close of the tax year in which the credits were earned.
SECTION 3. Section 27-25-505, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
[With regard to any county which is exempt from the provisions of Section 19-2-3, this section shall read as follows:]
27-25-505. All taxes herein
levied and collected by the * * * Department of Revenue
shall be paid into the State Treasury on the same day collected. The
commissioner shall apportion all such tax collections to the state and to the
county in which the oil was produced, in accordance with the following schedule
and so certify such apportionment to the State Treasurer at the end of each
month:
On the first Six Hundred Thousand Dollars ($600,000.00) or any part thereof, sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66-2/3%) to the state and thirty-three and one-third percent (33-1/3%) to the county.
* * * Above and exceeding Six
Hundred Thousand Dollars ($600,000.00), or any part thereof, ninety
percent (90%) to the state and ten percent (10%) to the county through June 30,
1989; eighty-five percent (85%) to the state and fifteen percent (15%) to the
county from July 1, 1989, through June 30, 1990; and eighty percent (80%) to
the state and twenty percent (20%) to the county from July 1, 1990, through
June 30, 2014; seventy-seven percent (77%) to the state and twenty-three
percent (23%) to the county from July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015; seventy-four
percent (74%) to the state and twenty-six percent (26%) to the county from July
1, 2015, through June 30, 2016; seventy-one percent (71%) to the state and
twenty-nine percent (29%) to the county from July 1, 2016, through June 30,
2017; sixty-eight percent (68%) to the state and thirty-two percent (32%) to
the county from July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018; and sixty-six and two-thirds
percent (66-2/3%) to the state and thirty-three and one-third percent (33-1/3%)
to the county for each fiscal year thereafter.
* * *
The state's share of all oil severance taxes collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited as provided for in Section 27-25-506.
The State Treasurer shall
remit the county's share of * * * the funds on or before the twentieth
day of the month next succeeding the month in which such collections were made,
for division among the municipalities and taxing districts of the county. He
shall accompany his remittance with a report to the county receiving such funds
prepared by the commissioner showing from whom * * * the tax was collected. Upon receipt
of * * * the
funds, the board of supervisors of * * * the county shall allocate the same
to the municipalities and to the various maintenance and bond and interest
funds of the county, school districts, supervisors districts and road
districts, as hereinafter provided.
When there shall be any oil producing properties within the corporate limits of any municipality, then such municipality shall participate in the division of the tax returned to the county in which the municipality is located, in the proportion which the tax on production of oil from any properties located within the municipal corporate limits bears to the tax on the total production of oil in the county. In no event, however, shall the amount allocated to municipalities exceed one-third (1/3) of the tax produced in the municipality and returned to the county. Any amount received by any municipality as a result of the allocation herein provided shall be used only for such purposes as are authorized by law.
The balance remaining of any amount of tax returned to the county after the allocation to municipalities shall be divided among the various maintenance and bond interest funds of the county, school districts, supervisors districts and road districts, in the discretion of the board of supervisors, and such board shall make the division in consideration of the needs of the various taxing districts. The funds so allocated shall be used only for purposes as are authorized by law.
[With regard to any county which is required to operate on a countywide system of road administration as described in Section 19-2-3, this section shall read as follows:]
27-25-505. All taxes herein
levied and collected by the * * * Department of Revenue
shall be paid into the State Treasury on the same day collected. The
commissioner shall apportion all such tax collections to the state and to the
county in which the oil was produced, in accordance with the following schedule
and so certify such apportionment to the State Treasurer at the end of each
month:
On the first Six Hundred Thousand Dollars ($600,000.00) or any part thereof, sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66-2/3%) to the state and thirty-three and one-third percent (33-1/3%) to the county.
* * * Above and exceeding Six
Hundred Thousand Dollars ($600,000.00) or any part thereof, ninety percent
(90%) to the state and ten percent (10%) to the county through June 30, 1989;
eighty-five percent (85%) to the state and fifteen percent (15%) to the county
from July 1, 1989, through June 30, 1990; and eighty percent (80%) to the state
and twenty percent (20%) to the county from July 1, 1990, through June 30,
2014; seventy-seven percent (77%) to the state and twenty-three percent (23%)
to the county from July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015; seventy-four percent
(74%) to the state and twenty-six percent (26%) to the county from July 1,
2015, through June 30, 2016; seventy-one percent (71%) to the state and twenty-nine
percent (29%) to the county from July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2017; sixty-eight
percent (68%) to the county from July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018; and sixty-six
and two-thirds percent (66-2/3%) to the state and thirty-three and one-third
percent (33-1/3%) to the county for each fiscal year thereafter.
* * *
The state's share of all oil severance taxes collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited as provided for in Section 27-25-506.
The State Treasurer shall
remit the county's share of said funds on or before the twentieth day of the
month next succeeding the month in which such collections were made, for
division among the municipalities and taxing districts of the county. He shall
accompany his remittance with a report to the county receiving such funds
prepared by the commissioner showing from whom * * * the tax was collected. Upon receipt
of * * * the
funds, the board of supervisors of * * * the county shall allocate the same
to the municipalities and to the various maintenance and bond and interest
funds of the county and school districts, as hereinafter provided.
When there shall be any oil producing properties within the corporate limits of any municipality, then such municipality shall participate in the division of the tax returned to the county in which the municipality is located, in the proportion which the tax on production of oil from any properties located within the municipal corporate limits bears to the tax on the total production of oil in the county. In no event, however, shall the amount allocated to municipalities exceed one-third (1/3) of the tax produced in the municipality and returned to the county. Any amount received by any municipality as a result of the allocation herein provided shall be used only for such purposes as are authorized by law.
The balance remaining of any amount of tax returned to the county after the allocation to municipalities shall be divided among the various maintenance and bond interest funds of the county and school districts, in the discretion of the board of supervisors, and such board shall make the division in consideration of the needs of the various taxing districts. The funds so allocated shall be used only for purposes as are authorized by law.
SECTION 4. Section 2 of this act shall be codified as a new section in Chapter 7, Title 27, Mississippi Code of 1972.
SECTION 5. Nothing in Section 2 of this act shall affect or defeat any claim, assessment, appeal, suit, right or cause of action for taxes due or accrued under the income tax laws before the date on which this act becomes effective, whether such claims, assessments, appeals, suits or actions have been begun before the date on which this act becomes effective or are begun thereafter; and the provisions of the income tax laws are expressly continued in full force, effect and operation for the purpose of the assessment, collection and enrollment of liens for any taxes due or accrued and the execution of any warrant under such laws before the date on which this act becomes effective, and for the imposition of any penalties, forfeitures or claims for failure to comply with such laws.
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2013.