MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2014 Regular Session
To: Forestry; Agriculture
By: Representative Currie
AN ACT TO CREATE THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND COMMERCE; TO CREATE SECTION 49-19-2, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS; TO PROVIDE FOR THE TRANSFER OF PERSONNEL AND RESOURCES OF THE FORESTRY COMMISSION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND COMMERCE; TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND COMMERCE SHALL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATEWIDE FOREST RESOURCE INVENTORY WHEN THE MISSISSIPPI INSTITUTE FOR FOREST INVENTORY SUNSETS; TO AMEND SECTION 69-1-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; TO AMEND SECTION 69-1-203, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CREATE THE OFFICE OF FORESTRY WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND COMMERCE AND TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT TO ADMINISTER THE LAWS PERTAINING TO FORESTRY; TO AMEND SECTION 49-19-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO MAKE THE STATE FORESTRY COMMISSION AN ADVISORY BOARD TO THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND COMMERCE AND TO THE OFFICE OF FORESTRY WITHIN SUCH DEPARTMENT; TO AMEND SECTION 49-19-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE APPOINTMENT OF THE STATE FORESTER AND TO SPECIFY THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND COMMERCE AND THE COMMISSIONER OF SUCH DEPARTMENT RELATING TO FORESTRY; TO AMEND SECTIONS 49-19-5 THROUGH 49-19-15, 49-19-21, 49-19-25, 49-19-65, 49-19-67, 49-19-71, 49-19-73, 49-19-111 THROUGH 49-19-117, 49-19-205, 49-19-207, 49-19-211 THROUGH 49-19-227, 49-19-305, 49-19-307, 49-19-351, 51-9-107, 51-11-5, 51-11-9, 51-13-105, 51-13-107, 53-7-11, 53-7-29, 53-9-11, 55-3-1, 55-3-11, 55-3-19, 55-3-21, 55-3-23, 29-3-27, 29-3-45, 29-3-47, 29-3-49, 29-3-54, 29-3-85, 29-3-87, 49-7-203, 69-3-1, 69-15-2, 69-29-1, 69-31-1, 69-37-5, 69-45-5, 69-46-3, 69-47-1 AND 79-22-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO REORGANIZATION NOMENCLATURE AND STRUCTURE; TO REPEAL SECTION 49-19-19, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR FREE COMMERCIAL TREE SEEDLINGS FOR FARM OWNERS; TO REPEAL SECTION 49-19-27, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH CREATES THE TREE SEEDLING REVOLVING FUND; TO REPEAL SECTION 49-19-31, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH CREATED A JOINT FORESTRY STUDY COMMITTEE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 49-19-2, Mississippi Code of 1972:
49-19-2. (1) The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce shall be the Mississippi Forestry Commission and shall retain all powers and duties granted by law to the Forestry Commission. The Mississippi Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce is vested with full power to manage, control, supervise and direct all matters pertaining to forestry under the jurisdiction of the Forestry Commission. All powers, duties, employees, equipment, funds and resources of the Forestry Commission shall be transferred to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce.
(2) The Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce shall have the authority to internally reorganize the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce. For a period of one (1) year after July 1, 2005, the personnel actions of the commissioner initiated as a result of the transfer of the Forestry Commission shall be exempt from State Personnel Board rules, regulations and procedures in order to give the commissioner flexibility in making an orderly, effective and timely reorganization of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce.
(3) Whenever the terms "Forestry Commission," "State Forestry Commission" and "Mississippi Forestry Commission" appear in any state law, the terms shall mean the "Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce."
(4) Whenever the term "Department of Agriculture and Commerce" appears in any state law the term shall mean "Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce." Whenever the term "Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce" appears in any state law the term shall mean "Commissioner of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce."
(5) For the purposes of Chapter 19, Title 49 of the Mississippi Code of 1972, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:
(a) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce.
(b) "Department" means the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce.
SECTION 2. Section 69-1-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-1-1. A Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce is created and established under the management and control of a public officer to be known as the Commissioner of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce, who shall have competent knowledge of agriculture, mining, manufacturing, statistics and general industries, must be an experienced and practical agriculturist; and shall be elected by the people at the time and in the manner that other state officers are elected.
SECTION 3. Section 69-1-203, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-1-203. The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce shall promote the development of agriculture and aquaculture for both native and nonnative species and forestry. The department shall be organized into the Administration Office, the Regulatory Office, the Forestry Office and the Marketing, Agricultural Development and Finance Office. Each office shall have the duties hereinafter specified in addition to any other duties assigned to it by the commissioner.
The Administration Office shall consist of such employees as may be assigned to it by the commissioner and shall have exclusive responsibility for the following functions of the department:
(a) Accounting;
(b) Payroll;
(c) Purchasing;
(d) Data processing;
(e) Personnel;
(f) Motor pool and vehicles;
(g) Maintenance; and
(h) Printing and records.
The Regulatory Office shall administer those laws relating to the regulation of the labels of syrup containers; the regulation of the sale of planting seed; the regulation of the sale of livestock by weight; the protection of the health of swine; the inspection of grain crops; the testing of the accuracy of petroleum pumps; the inspection of milk manufacturing plants and producers; the establishment of standards for frozen desserts sold in Mississippi; the licensing of exotic bird dealers; the regulation of the disposition of animal and poultry inedible waste; the regulation of the labeling of catfish; the adoption of systems of weights and measures for all commercial purposes in Mississippi; the inspection of meat and poultry and the licensing of facilities used for the processing thereof; and the regulation of the measurement and receiving of pulpwood.
The Forestry Office shall administer the laws relating to forestry, forest fire protection, insect disease control, forestry management, forestry on public lands, and the statewide forest resources inventory.
The Marketing, Agricultural Development and Finance Office shall develop direct contact with potential buyers worldwide for the Mississippi agricultural community to expand domestic and international markets; develop and regulate aquaculture production as provided in the Mississippi Aquaculture Act of 1988; and operate and administer the Mississippi Market Bulletin, the Market News Service, the Jim Buck Ross Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum and the Centennial Farm Family Program. This office shall also be responsible for the collection, analysis and dissemination of statistical data concerning the production, supply, price and other aspects of the state's agricultural economy.
SECTION 4. Section 49-19-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-1. (1) The powers and duties of the State Forestry Commission are transferred to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce. The State Forestry Commission is continued, renamed and reconstituted as the State Forestry Advisory Commission. The duties of the State Forestry Advisory Commission are to advise the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce on all matters relating to forestry. The members of the commission serving on July 1, 2014, shall continue to serve until their term expires.
(2) There shall be a State Advisory Forestry Commission composed of ten (10) members, who shall be qualified electors of the state. The Dean of the School of Forest Resources at Mississippi State University shall be an ex officio member of the commission, with full voting authority. The chairman of the advisory committee to the Mississippi Institute for Forest Inventory shall be an ex officio nonvoting member of the commission. The Governor shall appoint eight (8) members, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a term of six (6) years. The Governor shall appoint one (1) member from each congressional district as constituted at the time the appointments are made and shall appoint the remainder of the members from the state at large. A member from a congressional district must be a certified tree farmer who owns eighty (80) or more acres of forest land or a person who derives a major portion of his personal income from forest-related business, industry or other related activities. Members of the commission from the state at large may or may not possess the same qualifications as members appointed from the congressional districts.
( * * *3) The members of the commission shall
receive no annual salary but each member of the commission shall receive a per
diem plus expenses and mileage as authorized by law for each day devoted to the
discharge of official duties. No member of the commission shall receive total
per diem in excess of twenty-four (24) days' compensation per annum.
( * * *4) If a vacancy occurs in the office
of an appointed member of the commission, the vacancy shall be filled by
appointment for the balance of the unexpired term.
( * * *5) The commission shall elect from its
membership a chairman, who shall preside over meetings, and a vice chairman,
who shall preside in the absence of the chairman or when the chairman is
excused.
( * * *6) The commission shall adopt rules
and regulations governing times and places for meetings, and governing the
manner of conducting its business. Each member of the commission shall take
the oath prescribed by Section 268 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 and
shall enter into a bond in the amount of Thirty Thousand Dollars ($30,000.00)
to be approved by the Secretary of State, conditioned according to law and
payable to the State of Mississippi before assuming the duties of office.
( * * *7) Any appointment made to the
commission contrary to this section shall be void, and it is unlawful for the
State Fiscal Officer to pay any per diem or authorize the expenses of the
appointee.
(8) The powers of the commission are advisory only and it is the duty of the commission to advise the department on matters related to forestry.
SECTION 5. Section 49-19-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-3. (1) (a)
The duties and powers of the * * * commissioner shall be:
(a) To appoint a State
Forester, who shall serve at the will and pleasure of the * * *
commissioner and
who is qualified to perform the duties as set forth herein; * * *
(b) To
pay him such salary as is provided by the Legislature, and allow him such
office expenses incidental to the performance of his official duties as the * * *
commissioner, in * * *
his or her discretion,
may deem necessary; and
(c) To
charge him with the immediate direction and control, subject to the supervision
and approval of the * * * commissioner,
of all matters relating to forestry as authorized herein.
(2) The State Forester shall be the head of the Forestry Office of the department. Any person appointed by the commission as State Forester shall have received a bachelor's degree in forestry from an accredited school or college of forestry and shall be licensed and registered under the provisions of the Mississippi Foresters Registration Law (Section 73-36-1 et seq.) and in addition shall have had at least five (5) years' administrative experience in a forestry-related field.
(3) The department shall have the following powers and duties:
( * * *a) To take such action and provide and
maintain such organized means as may seem necessary and expedient to prevent,
control and extinguish forest fires, including the enforcement of any and all
laws pertaining to the protection of forests and woodland.
( * * *b) To encourage forest and tree
planting for the production of a wood crop, for the protection of water supply,
for windbreak and shade, or for any other beneficial purposes contributing to
the general welfare, public hygiene and comfort of the people.
( * * *c) To cause to be made such technical
investigations and studies concerning forest conditions, the propagation, care
and protection of forest and shade trees, the care and management of forests,
their growth, yield and the products and by-products thereof, and any other
competent subject, including forest taxation, bearing on the timber supply and
needs of the state * * *.
( * * *d) To assist and cooperate with any
federal or state department or institution, county, town, corporation or
individual, under such terms as in the judgment of the commission will best
serve the public interest, in the preparation and execution of plans for the
protection, management, replacement, or extension of the forest, woodland and
roadside or other ornamental tree growth in the state.
( * * *e) To encourage public interest in
forestry by means of correspondence, the public press, periodicals, the
publication of bulletins and leaflets for general distribution, the delivery of
lectures in the schools and other suitable means, and to cooperate to the
fullest extent with the extension department services of the state colleges in
promoting reforestation. It shall be the duty of the State Forester to
cooperate with private timber owners in laying plans for the protection,
management and replacement of forests and in aiding them to form protection
associations. It shall be his duty to examine all timbered lands belonging to
the state and its institutions and report * * * upon their timber conditions
and actual value, and also whether some of these lands may not be held as state
forests. He shall be responsible for the protection and management of lands
donated, purchased or belonging to the state or state institutions, and all
other lands reserved by the state as state forests.
( * * *f) To control the expenditure of any
and all funds appropriated or otherwise made available for the several purposes
set forth * * * in this section.
( * * *g) To submit annually to the
Legislature a report of the expenditures, proceedings and results achieved,
together with such other matters including recommendations concerning
legislation as are germane to the aims and purposes of this chapter.
( * * *h) To create, establish and organize
the State of Mississippi into forestry districts for the most effective and
efficient administration of the commission.
* * *
(i) To facilitate the development and implement the statewide forest resource inventory when the Mississippi Institute for Forest Inventory dissolves.
SECTION 6. Section 49-19-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-5. The * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce may acquire and dispose of property of
all kinds in accordance with the provisions of Section 29-1-1, in order to
discharge the duties as set forth in Section 49-19-3, and subsequent germane
general laws of the State of Mississippi. It is further authorized to sell,
rent, lease, and dispose of any property acquired * * *, all property to be sold or
disposed of shall be sold or disposed of in the manner provided by law for the
sale or disposition of surplus property by other state agencies. Any funds
received from the sale, rental or lease of any property herein authorized, to
be acquired, shall be paid into the State Treasury to the credit of a special
account, and the * * * department may use this fund for the
replacement, repairs, and upkeep of any property authorized to be acquired and
owned under this section.
SECTION 7. Section 49-19-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-7. (1) The * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce shall keep itself informed as to the
known varieties of pine beetles and other timber insect pests and diseases, the
origin, locality, nature and appearance thereof, the manner in which they are
disseminated, and approved methods of treatment, control and eradication. The * * *
department shall
from time to time make rules and regulations for carrying out the provisions
and requirements of this section, including rules and regulations under which
its employees shall ( * * *i)
inspect places, timber, and timber products, and other things and substances
used or connected therewith, ( * * *ii) investigate, control, eradicate and
prevent the dissemination of pine beetles and other timber insect pests and
diseases, and ( * * *iii)
supervise or cause the treatment, cutting and destruction of timber or timber
products and other things infested or infected therewith. The * * *
department's
employees shall have authority to carry out and execute the regulations and
orders of the * * * commissioner and shall have authority * * * to carry
out provisions of this section.
(2) The * * *
department
and its employees shall have the authority to enter upon any and all
timberlands for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section.
(3) All known varieties of
pine beetles and other insect pests and diseases infesting or infecting or
likely to infest or infect timber or timber products in this state shall be
listed by the * * * department, and every such variety of pine
beetle and every such insect pest or disease listed and all timber and timber
products infested or infected therewith are hereby declared to be a public
nuisance.
(4) Before entering upon
any lands for the purpose of removing any infested or infected timber having a
value in excess of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), where the owner of such land
will not cause the removal of such infested or infected timber, the * * *
department
shall first secure an order of the chancery court interm time termtime or in vacation authorizing the * * *
department to
effect such removal. Process on any resident owner in any such proceeding
shall be served as other process, and process on any nonresident
owner shall be had by mailing such process by registered mail, return receipt
requested, to the last-known address of such nonresident or
by publication in three (3) weekly issues of a newspaper published in the
county where such timberland is located if no mailing address is known. Any
hearing under provisions of this section may be set at any time five (5) days
after date of service of process, or in case of publication five (5) days after
completion of such publication.
(5) It is the purpose of
this section to authorize and empower the * * * department to
control disease or insect infections or infestations in timber and timber
products within this state. * * * Use of the word "timber"
shall be deemed to refer to such trees as are normally used in the manufacture
of lumber and the term "timber products" shall be deemed to refer to
products manufactured from such trees normally used in the manufacture of
lumber.
SECTION 8. Section 49-19-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-9. (1) The * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce is hereby authorized to extend fire
protection services to the Choctaw Indian lands located in Attala, Kemper,
Leake, Neshoba, Newton, Jones and Scott Counties, Mississippi.
(2) The * * *
department
is authorized to accept from the Choctaw Agency adequate compensation for fire
detection and suppression, which sum may be used by the * * *
department
in its fire protection work.
SECTION 9. Section 49-19-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-11. The * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce is hereby authorized to protect
intermingled or adjacent state owned lands in the same manner and form as other
lands within the state and the expenses thereof may be paid out of any
appropriation made to the * * * department;
provided such expenditures are not greater per acre in any year than the
expenditures by the * * * department on account of the protection of any other lands
than that owned by the State of Mississippi.
* * * This section shall not be applicable to the protection of
established state parks, state forests or other state owned lands when
increased expenditure may be necessary for the protection thereof in the
opinion of the * * * department.
It is hereby made the duty
of all agents and employees of the * * * department to
report * * * any timber or other trespass discovered by such agent or
employees on state owned lands giving detailed information thereof in such
report.
SECTION 10. Section 49-19-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-13. The boards of
supervisors of the several counties are hereby authorized, in their discretion,
to appropriate and pay to the * * * Department of
Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce from the general fund of the county each
year a sum of money not exceeding twenty-five percent (25%) of the forest
severance tax received by the county the preceding year. Such money so
appropriated shall be used by the * * * department for
forestry work and protection in such county.
SECTION 11. Section 49-19-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-15. The State
Forestry Fund, when made available by proper appropriation by the
Legislature, shall be expended by the * * * Department of Agriculture,
Forestry and Commerce in carrying out and enforcing all laws pertaining to
the protection of forests as the * * * department may direct, the
vouchers to be drawn and paid as by other departments of the state.
SECTION 12. Section 49-19-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-21. All monies
received from the United States government for protection of forest lands, for
reforestation of denuded areas, for extension of national forests, and to
promote the continuous production of timber shall be credited to said State Forestry
Fund, and expended by the * * * Department of Agriculture,
Forestry and Commerce as is directed by the federal government.
SECTION 13. Section 49-19-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-25. ( * * *1) Any fire on any forested,
cutover, brushlands or grasslands burning uncontrolled is hereby declared a
public nuisance by reason of its menace to life and property. Any person, firm
or corporation negligently or willfully
and maliciously responsible for the starting or the existence of such fire on
land other than his own is hereby required to control or extinguish it
immediately, and if said person, firm or corporation shall willfully
refuse, neglect or fail to do so, any organized fire suppression agency recognized
by the * * * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and
Commerce, may summarily abate the nuisance thus constituted by controlling
or extinguishing the fire. The cost of abating such nuisance, with all costs
and reasonable attorney's fees to be allowed by the court, may be recovered
from the person, firm or corporation responsible for such nuisance by civil
action in the proper court, action for said recovery to be filed by the agency
abating the nuisance. This section shall not impair any remedy now allowed by
law.
( * * *2) Any open cistern or well, which
has been abandoned or is no longer used for the purpose of a cistern or well is
hereby declared to be a public nuisance by reason of its menace to life and
property, and the * * * department is hereby authorized to seal
such cistern or well upon request of the landowner. A reasonable fee shall be
charged for this purpose and all fees collected shall be handled in the same
manner as other service charges collected by the * * * department.
SECTION 14. Section 49-19-65, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-65. It shall be the
duty of the * * * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and
Commerce to give general publicity throughout the state to Sections 49-19-51
through 49-19-75 and post notices covering such sections in at least three (3)
public places in each county, one (1) of which shall be posted on the bulletin
board at the front door of the courthouse in each of the counties.
SECTION 15. Section 49-19-67, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-67. Sections 49-19-51
through 49-19-75 shall not apply to nor shall it prohibit the clearing of land
for bona fide use in crop production, nor the clearing of land for pasture
purposes where such pasture is enclosed with a standard wire fence of two (2)
or more strands, nor to the clearing for building sites, right-of-ways for
roads, power or communication lines or similar uses; nor shall such sections
apply to individuals cutting timber from their own lands for their own personal
use where there is no sale, commercial gain or profit involved, nor those
special cases where permission is obtained in writing from the * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce for the emergency removal of storm or
disease damaged timber.
SECTION 16. Section 49-19-71, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-71. It shall be the
duty of the * * * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and
Commerce and its employees to enforce the terms and provisions of Sections
49-19-51 through 49-19-75 and to that end * * * the
department is authorized to enter upon any and all forestry lands to make
such inspection and investigation as may be necessary for the proper
enforcement of * * * those
sections and, in addition to the other remedies, conferred by such sections
or other laws of the state, the * * * department is hereby
authorized to enter suit on behalf of the state to enjoin any person,
partnership, firm, association or corporation from violating any of the terms
and provisions of such sections and in such suits the * * * department shall not be
required to give bond, and * * * is also authorized to employ
inspectors and such other help as may be necessary for the effective carrying
out of the intent and purposes of such sections.
SECTION 17. Section 49-19-73, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-73. In order to more
adequately enforce the provisions of Sections 49-19-51 through 49-19-75, it is
hereby made the duty of each sheriff, constable, conservation officer, district
attorney and county prosecuting attorney to make, from time to time, inquiry as
to any violation of Sections 49-19-51 through 49-19-75 and to promptly report
any violation to the * * * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and
Commerce and further to assist the * * * department, its officers and
employees in enforcing any of the provisions of * * * such sections and in
prosecuting any violations thereof. It shall be the duty of the various circuit
judges at each convening of the grand jury to call the grand jurors' attention
to such sections and to charge them to fully investigate any violations
thereof.
SECTION 18. Section 49-19-111, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-111. For the purpose
of providing assistance to all farm woodland and timber landowners in the
state, including private ownership, and to promote the growing, managing and
harvesting of timber thereon, and to provide organized forest fire protection
in all counties, and to encourage the production and growth of timber on all
lands suitable therefor, and for the better management thereof, and to
encourage greater private ownership and promote forest education and timber
management and forest fire control, the * * * Department of
Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce is hereby authorized to carry out the
provisions of Sections 49-19-111 through 49-19-117.
SECTION 19. Section 49-19-113, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-113. In order to
carry out further the program herein authorized, the * * * Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce is hereby authorized to
organize, divide or set up forest districts and areas throughout the state * * *. * * * The districts and areas shall be so
organized, divided or set up in accordance with the distribution of forestland and the location of
political boundaries as to best serve the interest of the state as a whole. The * * *
department shall
appoint a district forester and assistant district forester for each district
and shall appoint an area forester for each forest area, all of whom shall be
charged with the duty of directing forestry education, timber management,
forest fire control and other necessary forestry conservation activities and
practices as the * * * department shall deem necessary.
SECTION 20. Section 49-19-115, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-115. (1) The board
of supervisors of all counties are hereby directed to levy a special tax to be
known as "the forest acreage tax." Such tax shall be Two Cents (2˘)
per acre on all timbered and uncultivatable lands in the county in order to
receive the financial and supervisory cooperation of the * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce in carrying out organized forest fire
control and other provisions of Sections 49-19-111 through 49-19-117.
(2) In addition to the tax levied under subsection (1) of this section, the board of supervisors of all counties are hereby directed to levy an additional forest acreage tax on all timbered and uncultivatable lands in the county beginning October 1, 1989, and continuing for three (3) succeeding years in the following amounts:
Total Acreage
Increase Tax
Fiscal year ending
September 30, 1990................ 3˘ per acre 5˘ per acre
Fiscal year ending
September 30, 1991................ 2˘ per acre 7˘ per acre
Fiscal year ending
September 30, 1992................ 2˘ per acre 9˘ per acre
Upon completion of the third year, the total acreage tax shall remain at the Nine Cents (9˘) per acre per year.
(3) Uncultivatable lands shall not include bogs, unreclaimed strip mine areas, coastal beach sands, tidal and freshwater marshes, beaver ponds and flood or flowage easements.
(4) Those homeowners described in Section 27-33-67(2), who qualify for the exemptions allowed in Article 1, Chapter 33, Title 27, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall be exempt from any forest acreage tax levied pursuant to this section.
(5) The provisions of this section and the tax levy required herein shall not be applicable to any counties which were not levying such forest acreage tax on January 1, 1989.
(6) This section shall be repealed on June 30, 2016.
SECTION 21. Section 49-19-117, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-117. (1) All forest
acreage taxes assessed and collected by such levy as provided for in Section 49-19-115
shall be remitted to the forest acreage account in the State Treasury and shall
be expended by the * * * Department of
Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce in carrying out the purpose
and intent of Sections 49-19-111 through 49-19-117.
(2) The * * *
department
is hereby authorized to use state funds appropriated for the purpose of
Sections 49-19-111 through 49-19-117 in addition to any funds made available
from county forest acreage taxes, federal funds and other sources.
(3) The * * *
department
is hereby authorized to expend the funds herein provided in such manner as to
most effectively carry out the provisions of Sections 49-19-111 through 49-19-117.
The forest acreage tax levied at the rate of Two Cents (2˘) per acre under
Section 49-19-115(1) shall be utilized on an economical and practical basis in
order to foster, encourage, promote and bring about forestry education, timber
management and organized forest fire control throughout the State of
Mississippi. The additional forest acreage tax levied under Section 49-19-115(2)
shall be utilized by the * * * State Forestry Commissiondepartment to purchase fire
support equipment, including transport trucks, tractors and other related fire
support equipment. The additional forest acreage tax levied under Section 49-19-115(2)
shall be appropriated under the appropriation process.
SECTION 22. Section 49-19-205, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-205. For purposes of Sections 49-19-201 through 49-19-227, the following words shall have the meaning ascribed herein unless the context requires otherwise:
(a) * * *
"Department" means the Department of
Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce.
(b) "State
Forester" * * * means
the forester appointed by the * * * Commissioner of Agriculture,
Forestry and Commerce.
(c) "Eligible
owner" * * * means
either (i) a private individual, group or association, or (ii) an agency of
state, local or municipal government, but the term shall not mean or include
private corporations manufacturing products or providing public utility
services of any type or any subsidiary of such corporations; provided, however,
only one (1) owner of land owned in joint tenancy or tenancy in common and only
one (1) member or officer of any group or association shall be eligible to
apply for or receive cost-share assistance to be expended for development of
any or all lands owned by such owners or group or association.
(d) "Eligible
lands" * * * means
(i) nonindustrial private lands owned by a private individual, group or
association, and (ii) lands owned by the State of Mississippi or any political
subdivision thereof, but shall not include lands owned by private corporations
which manufacture products or provide public utility services of any type or
any subsidiary of such corporations.
(e) "Cost-share
assistance" * * * means
the partial financial assistance in such amounts as the * * *
department, in
its discretion, shall determine, subject to the limitations of Sections 49-19-201
through 49-19-227.
(f) "Approved
practice" * * * means
and include planting, seeding, timber stand improvement, prescribed burning,
site preparation, systematic planting of hardwood trees for game preservation
and development, or such other forest resource development practice as the * * *
department shall
approve or determine proper generally or with regard to any particular
applicant.
(g) "Forest
development fund" * * * shallmeans the special fund established in the State
Treasury, designated as the Forest Resource Development Fund, created by
Section 49-19-227.
SECTION 23. Section 49-19-207, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-207. The * * *
Department of
Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce shall serve as administrator of the
provisions of Sections 49-19-201 through 49-19-227, and shall serve as the
disbursing agency for funds to be expended from and deposited to the credit of
the forest development fund.
SECTION 24. Section 49-19-211, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-211. The * * *
Department of
Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce shall adopt and promulgate such rules
and regulations as are necessary for the implementation of Sections 49-19-201
through 49-19-227. The * * * commission department is authorized to conduct public
hearings or otherwise seek the advice, counsel and recommendations of
interested owners, associations, industrialists or other persons or groups.
Adequate notice of any public hearing must be provided within the general area
of the site of the hearing.
The * * * department shall publish such
rules and regulations and shall make the same available upon request.
SECTION 25. Section 49-19-213, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-213. The * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce may use the money in the forest
development fund to assist in implementing approved practices, on a cost-sharing
basis as provided in Sections 49-19-201 through 49-19-227, on eligible lands in
the State of Mississippi. However, no cost-share assistance shall be provided
an eligible owner to implement any approved practice on any land or lands if
the owner receives federal funds for such practice and is using such federal
funds for any forest resource development practice on said land or lands.
Eligible owners may use federal funds on other lands.
SECTION 26. Section 49-19-215, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-215. (1) The * * *
Department of
Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce shall actively and diligently encourage
all eligible owners to use their own resources or to employ the resources of
private vendors to implement approved practices.
(2) The * * *
department shall
not enter into active competition with eligible owners or private vendors for
the on-the-ground job of implementing any approved practice as it is the intent
of the Legislature to encourage private business, forest industries and the
forestry community to participate in the economic development which will be
provided by Sections 49-19-201 through 49-19-227.
SECTION 27. Section 49-19-217, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-217. If an eligible
owner cannot provide his own resources or procure a private vendor to implement
any approved practice, the * * * Department of Agriculture,
Forestry and Commerce, in its discretion, may act as vendor by utilizing
employees, equipment, materials and supplies of the * * * department. In such event,
the * * * department
shall charge the eligible owner a sum equal to the established rate of the * * *
department for
providing such service. Payments for such charge shall be collected, received,
and recorded in the same manner as other sales and services funds received by
the * * * department.
SECTION 28. Section 49-19-219, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-219. The * * *
Department of
Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce shall have the following powers and
duties to implement the provisions of Sections 49-19-201 through 49-19-227:
(a) To determine which approved practices shall be eligible for cost-share assistance;
(b) To establish maximum sums, subject to the provisions of Section 49-19-221, which any one (1) eligible owner may receive for implementation of an approved practice;
(c) To review
periodically the costs of forest development practices and to make such
adjustment as, in the discretion of the * * * department, is necessary in
the Thirty-seven Dollars and Fifty Cents ($37.50) per acre assistance allowed
in Section 49-19-221;
(d) Upon request of
the * * * department, the Attorney General of the State of
Mississippi shall institute proper legal proceedings to recover any or all of
the cost-share assistance provided an eligible owner if the * * *
department shall
determine that the owner failed to implement any portion of or all of the
practice approved by the * * * commission department for such owner and if the * * *
department
determines that legal proceedings are necessary and proper.
(e) To determine,
before approving any cost-share assistance for any eligible owner that such
approved practice is reasonable and is comparable to the actual cost of
implementing such practice in the general area in which the land is located.
Should the commission determine that the submitted cost of implementing the
approved practice is not reasonable, the * * * department shall approve cost-share
assistance in an amount which is determined by the * * * department to be reasonable
for the implementation of the approved practice in the general area in which
the land is located.
SECTION 29. Section 49-19-221, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-221. (1) An eligible
owner shall receive cost-share assistance as the * * * Department of Agriculture,
Forestry and Commerce, in its discretion, shall determine and approve, but
the * * * department
shall approve no assistance in an amount which exceeds either (a) a sum equal
to seventy-five percent (75%) of the owner's actual cost incurred in
implementing the approved practice approved by the * * * department for that owner on
a particular tract of land or lands, except that with respect to sixteenth
section school trust lands the * * * department may approve up to
one hundred percent (100%) cost-share for any school district that has less has
than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) in its Forestry Escrow Fund, or (b) a
sum equal to Thirty-seven Dollars and Fifty Cents ($37.50) per acre of land on
which the approved practice is implemented by the owner; provided, however,
that no eligible owner, in any one (1) fiscal year, shall receive a sum total
for all approved practices implemented by the owner of more than Ten Thousand
Dollars ($10,000.00); except that with respect to sixteenth section trust lands
the * * * department,
at its discretion, may exceed * * * the monetary limit in order to
provide a total forest improvement program within any county.
(2) The limitation of
Thirty-seven Dollars and Fifty Cents ($37.50) per acre, as set forth in * * * paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of
this section, may be changed by the * * * department pursuant to the
authorization of paragraph (c) of Section 49-19-219.
(3) During the reforestation of sixteenth section school trust lands classified as forestlands, no more than an average of twenty-five percent (25%) of Forest Resource Development Program funds will be spent on the reforestation of these school trust lands.
(4) It is the intent of
this section that the * * * department bring to maximum
productivity all sixteenth section land.
SECTION 30. Section 49-19-223, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-223. (1) Any
eligible owner who wishes to receive cost-share assistance shall file an
application with the * * * Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce stating the practice to be implemented,
the approximate cost of such practice and a description of the land or lands
upon which the practice is to be implemented. The application shall be
accompanied by a statement of intent stating (a) that the owner intends to
utilize the cost-share assistance for long-range timber growing and
improvement, (b) that the owner is not receiving or using federal funds for
implementation of any approved practice on the same acre of land or lands
described in the application, and (c) that the owner if an owner in joint
tenancy or tenancy in common or if a member of a group or association owning
the lands, has no knowledge of any application which has been filed for cost-share
assistance to be used on the lands described in the application.
(2) The * * *
department, upon
completion of the approved practice, shall tender all approved sums of the cost-share
assistance to the owner.
SECTION 31. Section 49-19-225, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-225. Any agency,
department, board, commission or other subdivision of government of the State
of Mississippi or any political subdivision thereof is authorized to implement
an approved practice on any lands suitable for forestry purposes owned by such
political entity or owned by the State of Mississippi and supervised or managed
by such entity. The governing authorities of such entity shall engage the
assistance of the county forester of the county in which the land is located in
the preparation of an application for submission to the * * *
Department of
Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce. The * * * department shall treat any
such political entity as an individual owner for purposes of considering
applications, granting cost-share assistance and approving the practice
implemented.
SECTION 32. Section 49-19-227, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-227. There is hereby
created in the State Treasury a special fund to be designated the Forest
Resource Development Fund, fiscal management and responsibility for which is
hereby vested in the * * * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and
Commerce and which shall consist of that portion of the privilege tax on
timber and timber products as authorized by Section 27-25-11, Mississippi Code
of 1972, and any funds appropriated specifically therefor by the Legislature.
The Legislature shall appropriate such sums as it may deem necessary including
any proceeds of general obligation bonds which may be authorized by the
Legislature for the support of the Forest Resources Development Program
provided for under Sections 49-19-201 through 49-19-227. Those funds
appropriated by the Legislature remaining in the special fund at the end of any
fiscal year shall lapse into the General Fund, but other funds shall remain in
the special fund.
SECTION 33. Section 49-19-305, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-305. As used in Sections 49-19-301 through 49-19-307 unless the context requires otherwise:
(a) "Prescribed burning" means the controlled application of fire to naturally occurring vegetative fuels for ecological, silvicultural and wildlife management purposes under specified environmental conditions and the following of appropriate precautionary measures which cause the fire to be confined to a predetermined area and accomplishes the planned land management objectives.
(b) "Certified
prescribed burn manager" means an individual or county forester who
successfully completes the certification program approved by the * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce.
(c) "Prescription" means a written plan for starting and controlling a prescribed burn to accomplish the ecological, silvicultural and wildlife management objectives.
SECTION 34. Section 49-19-307, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-307. (1) No property owner or his agent, conducting a prescribed burn pursuant to the requirements of this section, shall be liable for damage or injury caused by fire or resulting smoke unless negligence is proven.
(2) Prescribed burning conducted under the provisions of this section shall:
(a) Be accomplished only when at least one (1) certified prescribed burn manager is supervising the burn or burns that are being conducted;
(b) Require that a written prescription be prepared and notarized prior to prescribed burning;
(c) Require that a
burning permit be obtained from the * * * Department of
Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce; and
(d) Be considered in the public interest and shall not constitute a public or private nuisance when conducted pursuant to state air pollution statutes and rules applicable to prescribed burning.
(3) The * * *
department
shall have the authority to promulgate rules for the certification of
prescribed burn managers and guidelines for a prescribed burn prescription.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the civil or criminal liability as provided in Section 97-17-13 and Section 95-5-25, Mississippi Code of 1972.
SECTION 35. Section 49-19-351, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-19-351. (1) In this
section, "department" means the Department of Agriculture,
Forestry and Commerce, and "drought or wildfire conditions" means
the existence of a deficit of moisture creating severe conditions with
increased wildfire occurrences as determined by the * * * department
through use of drought indices or models or the existence of extreme wildfire
conditions.
(2) If the * * *
department
determines that drought or wildfire conditions exist in a county, the * * *
department shall
notify the board of supervisors of that county. The * * * department may recommend that
a temporary outdoor burning ban or other restrictions be adopted by the board
of supervisors.
(3) The board of
supervisors may, by order, prohibit or restrict outdoor burning in all or part
of the unincorporated parts of the county if drought or wildfire conditions
have been determined to exist by the * * * department. An
order must specify the period during which burning is restricted. The * * *
department
shall notify the board of supervisors when the drought or wildfire conditions
no longer exist. Any order issued under this section shall expire upon the
determination that the drought or wildfire conditions no longer exist.
(4) Any person who knowingly and willfully violates an order under this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and may be fined not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00).
(5) The sheriff of the county shall enforce the order and may cite persons for violations of an order under this section.
SECTION 36. Section 51-9-107, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
51-9-107. All powers of the district shall be exercised by a board of directors, to be composed of the following:
(a) Each member of the Pearl River Industrial Commission whose county becomes a part of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District shall be a member of the Board of Directors of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District. Such directors shall serve on this board during their term of office on the Pearl River Industrial Commission. In addition, the board of supervisors of each county that becomes a part of the district shall appoint one (1) additional member, who shall serve for a term concurrent with the terms of the members of the board of supervisors. The members shall be appointed at the first meeting of the board of supervisors in January after the supervisors take office. The members appointed from Madison County and Rankin County shall be persons who reside on and are holders of residential leases from the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District that are located in Madison County and Rankin County, respectively, or who reside in established subdivisions in Madison County and Rankin County, respectively, in which some of the residential property of the subdivision is leased from the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District.
The members appointed from Madison County and Rankin County who are serving on July 1, 2012, shall continue to serve until January 1, 2013, after which date the Board of Supervisors of Madison County and the Board of Supervisors of Rankin County each shall appoint one (1) member who meets the residency requirements of this section. The persons appointed under the provisions of this paragraph shall serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.
(b) The Mississippi
Commission on Environmental Quality, the Mississippi Commission on Wildlife,
Fisheries and Parks, * * * the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce,
and the State Board of Health of the State of Mississippi shall each appoint
one (1) director from that department to serve on the Board of Directors of the
Pearl River Valley Water Supply District to serve at the pleasure of the
respective board appointing him. From and after January 1, 2013, each of the
members appointed under this paragraph (b) shall be a person who resides on and
is a holder of a residential lease from the Pearl River Valley Water Supply
District.
(c) Each director shall take and subscribe to the oath of office required by Section 268 of the Constitution of the State of Mississippi before a chancery clerk, that he will faithfully discharge the duties of the office, which oath shall be filed with the clerk and by him preserved.
(d) Each director shall receive per diem compensation in the amount as provided in Section 25-3-69 for attending each meeting of the board and for each day spent in attending to the necessary business of the district and shall be reimbursed for actual expenses thus incurred upon express authorization of the board, including travel expenses, as provided in Section 25-3-41.
(e) The board of directors shall annually elect from its number a president and a vice president of the district, and such other officers as in the judgment of the board are necessary. The president shall be the chief executive officer of the district and the presiding officer of the board, and shall have the same right to vote as any other director. The vice president shall perform all duties and exercise all powers conferred by this article upon the president when the president is absent or fails or declines to act, except the president's right to vote. The board shall also appoint a secretary and a treasurer who may or may not be members of the board, and it may combine those offices. The treasurer shall give bond in the sum of not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) as set by the board of directors and each director shall give bond in the sum of not less than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), and the premiums on those bonds shall be an expense of the district. The condition of each such bond shall be that the treasurer or director will faithfully perform all duties of office and account for all money which shall come into his custody as treasurer or director of the district.
SECTION 37. Section 51-11-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
51-11-5. (1) All powers of the Pearl River Basin Development District, hereinafter referred to in this chapter as the district, shall be exercised by a board of directors to be selected and composed as follows:
(a) The Mississippi
Commission on Environmental Quality, the Mississippi Commission on Wildlife,
Fisheries and Parks, the * * * Forestry CommissionDepartment of Agriculture, Forestry and
Commerce, and the State Board of Health of the State of Mississippi shall
each appoint one (1) director to serve on the board of directors of the
district, each such director to serve at the pleasure of the respective state
agency appointing him but not to exceed a six-year term.
(b) The board of supervisors of each county which elects to become a member of the district shall appoint two (2) directors from that county, each of whom shall serve for a term of six (6) years or until his successor is appointed by the board of supervisors of that county and qualified. In making its initial appointment of directors, the board of supervisors of each member county shall appoint one (1) of its two (2) directors to serve for a term of three (3) years or until his successor is appointed and qualified.
(c) In addition to the two (2) directors in paragraph (b), each county shall be entitled to additional representation on the board based on its annual contribution for the support of the district required under Section 51-11-31. If the annual contribution of a county as certified under Section 51-11-31 is more than One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), the county may appoint one (1) additional director for each increment of One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), to be contributed. Each additional director shall serve a term of six (6) years. If, in subsequent years, a county's contribution is reduced below One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), or a multiple thereof, a county's additional representation shall be reduced correspondingly. If a county's contribution representation is reduced, the board of supervisors of the county shall designate the director to be removed. No member county shall be entitled to more than three (3) additional directors under this paragraph.
(d) The Governor of the State of Mississippi shall appoint one (1) director residing within the district, who shall serve for a term of six (6) years or until his successor is appointed by the Governor and qualified.
(2) Each director shall take and subscribe to the general oath of office required by Section 268 of the Constitution of the State of Mississippi before a chancery clerk, that he will faithfully discharge the duties of the office, which oath shall be filed with the said clerk and by him preserved.
(3) Each director shall receive a per diem in the amount as provided in Section 25-3-69 for attending each day's meeting of the board of directors and for each day spent in attending to the necessary business of the district and, in addition, he shall receive reimbursement for actual expenses, including travel expenses, as provided in Section 25-3-41.
(4) The board of directors shall annually elect from its number a president and vice president of the district and such other officers as, in the judgment of the board of directors, are necessary. The president shall be the chief executive officer of the district and the presiding officer of the board of directors, and shall have the same right to vote as any other director. The vice president shall perform all duties and exercise all powers conferred by this chapter upon the president when the president is absent or fails or declines to act, except the president's right to vote. The board of directors shall also appoint a secretary and a treasurer who shall be members of the board of directors, and it may combine those officers. The treasurer shall give bond in the sum of not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) as set by the board of directors, and each director may be required to give bond in the sum of not less than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), with sureties qualified to do business in this state, and the premiums on said bonds shall be an expense of the district. Each such bond shall be payable to the State of Mississippi; the condition of each such bond shall be that the treasurer or director will faithfully perform all duties of his office and account for all money or other assets which shall come into his custody as treasurer or director of the district.
(5) A majority of the total membership of the board of directors shall constitute a quorum at a regular meeting, or at any special meeting duly called and held for a specific purpose. All business of the district shall be transacted by the affirmative vote of a majority of the total membership of the board of directors.
(6) The State Auditor of Public Accounts shall annually audit the books and records of the district and make a report thereof to the Governor and the Legislature.
SECTION 38. Section 51-11-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
51-11-9. (1) Within twenty
(20) days after the passage of this chapter, the Mississippi Commission on
Environmental Quality, the Mississippi Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and
Parks, the * * * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce,
and the State Board of Health of the State of Mississippi shall appoint their
respective members to the proposed district board of directors as provided in
Section 51-11-5. These four (4) appointive members, upon taking the oath as
provided, shall meet in the Office of the Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality in Jackson, Mississippi, within ten (10) days, and adopt
by a majority vote a resolution setting forth their intentions of creating the
district and shall forthwith send a certified copy of said resolution to:
(a) The Governor;
(b) Executive officers
of the Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality, Mississippi Commission
on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, * * * Department of
Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce, and State Board of Health; and
(c) The president of the board of supervisors and the chancery clerk of each county which is part of the Pearl River Basin. After receipt of said resolution, each of the four (4) state agencies hereinabove named may adopt its own resolution favorable or unfavorable to the creation of said district; and the respective boards of supervisors may, at their next regular meeting or at any subsequent meeting, likewise adopt a resolution favorable or unfavorable to creating said district. All said resolutions adopted shall be certified by adopting body's secretary, clerk, or executive officer, and certified copies shall be filed with each state agency and political subdivision named in this section.
(2) The board of supervisors of any county which is part of the Pearl River Basin and which desires to become a member of the district shall, upon receipt of the certified resolution to be adopted by the four (4) initial directors, declare said board's intentions by adopting a resolution expressing its desire to have said district created and stating that its county desires to be a member thereof and that said board desires and intends to levy a special ad valorem tax not to exceed one-half (1/2) mill on all taxable property within said county for the use and benefit of the Pearl River Basin Development District, if and in the event that other funds of that county are not available and appropriated to pay for that county's required contribution to said district. The said resolution shall be published once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks in some newspaper published in the county and having a general circulation therein. If within twenty-one (21) days after the date of the first publication of said resolution no petition signed by twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of the county is filed with the board of supervisors requesting the calling of an election on the question of the county's participation in the district and the levying of the special ad valorem tax not to exceed one-half (1/2) mill as aforesaid, then the board of supervisors may proceed to have the county made a member of said district and to levy the special ad valorem tax not to exceed one-half (1/2) mill if and when required; but if within twenty-one (21) days after the date of the first publication of said resolution a petition is filed, signed by at least twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of said county, requesting an election on the proposition of said county's becoming a member of the proposed district and the levying of the special ad valorem tax not to exceed one-half (1/2) mill as herein provided, then said election shall be held and conducted as now provided by law for such election. If such an election is held and a majority of those voting therein vote for the proposition, the board shall, by appropriate resolution, bring the county into the district and levy the special ad valorem tax not to exceed one-half (1/2) mill as provided by this chapter, if required. If the majority of those voting in such election shall vote against the proposition, then the county shall not become a member of the district nor levy the one-half (1/2) mill tax, and no further election shall be so conducted until the lapse of two (2) years after the last election.
(3) Whenever an aggregate
of six (6) counties shall have become members of the Pearl River Basin
Development District in the manner provided in this section, the said district
shall be created as an agency of the state and a body politic and corporate
with all the powers granted to it by statute; at which time the Governor shall
appoint the four (4) directors * * *.
(4) Any eligible county may become a member of the district subsequent to its creation, in the manner that the original counties became members. New member counties shall have the same power and authority and be entitled to equal consideration of the district's board of directors, not inconsistent with the purpose of this chapter.
SECTION 39. Section 51-13-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
51-13-105. All powers of the district shall be exercised by a board of directors, to be composed of the following:
(a) Each member of the Tombigbee Valley Authority as created by virtue of Sections 51-13-1 through 51-13-9, whose county becomes a part of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District shall be a member of the Board of Directors of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District, and each state-at-large member of the Tombigbee Valley Authority shall become a member of the Board of Directors of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District when one or more entire counties become members of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District. Such directors shall serve on this board during their term of office on the Tombigbee Valley Authority. In addition, the board of supervisors of each county within the Tombigbee River Basin which elects to become a member of the district shall appoint one (1) board member to serve for a term of four (4) years or until his successor is named. The Governor shall appoint one (1) member from each county added to the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District which county is not now a member of the Tombigbee Valley Authority, and such member shall serve for a four-year term or until his successor is appointed.
(b) The Department of
Environmental Quality, the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, the * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce, and the State Board of Health of the
State of Mississippi shall each appoint one (1) director from that department
to serve on the Board of Directors of the Tombigbee River Valley Water
Management District, to serve at the pleasure of the entity appointing him but
not to exceed four-year terms.
(c) Each director shall take and subscribe to the general oath of office required by Section 268 of the Constitution of the State of Mississippi before a chancery clerk that he will faithfully discharge the duties of the office, which oath shall be filed with the said clerk and by him preserved.
(d) Each director shall receive compensation at a per diem rate as provided in Section 25-3-69 for each day or fraction thereof spent in actual discharge of his official duties and shall be reimbursed for mileage and actual expenses incurred in the performance of his official duties in accordance with the requirements of Section 25-3-41.
(e) The board of directors shall annually elect from its number a president and a vice president of the district and such other officers as in the judgment of the board are necessary. The president shall be the chief executive officer of the district and the presiding officer of the board, and shall have the same right to vote as any other director. The vice president shall perform all duties and exercise all powers conferred by this article upon the president when the president is absent or fails or declines to act, except the president's right to vote. The board shall also appoint a secretary and a treasurer who may or may not be members of the board, and it may combine those offices. The treasurer shall give bond in the sum of not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) as set by the board of directors, and each director shall give bond in the sum of not less than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) with sureties qualified to do business in this state, and the premiums on said bonds shall be an expense of the district. The condition of each such bond shall be that the treasurer or director will faithfully perform all duties of his office and account for all money or other assets which shall come into his custody as treasurer or director of the district.
SECTION 40. Section 51-13-107, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
51-13-107. (1) Within
twenty (20) days after the passage of this article, the Mississippi Commission
on Environmental Quality, State Board of Health, Mississippi Commission on
Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, and the * * * Department of
Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce of the State of Mississippi shall
appoint their respective members to the proposed district board of directors as
provided in Section 51-13-105. The four (4) appointive members, upon taking
the oath as provided, shall meet in the Office of the Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality in Jackson, Mississippi, within ten (10) days and adopt
by a majority vote a resolution setting forth their intentions of creating the
district and shall forthwith send a certified copy of said resolution to: ( * * *a) each member of the Tombigbee
Valley Authority as now constituted, ( * * *b) the Governor, ( * * *c) executive officers of the
Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality, Board of Health, Mississippi
Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, and * * * Department of
Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce, and ( * * *d) the president of the board of
supervisors and chancery clerk of each county through which any part of the
Tombigbee River or any of its tributaries lie. The four (4) state agencies
herein named and the Tombigbee Valley Authority may, within ten (10) days from
receipt of said resolution, adopt its own resolution favorable or unfavorable
to the creation of said district; and the respective boards of supervisors may
at their next regular meeting likewise adopt a resolution favorable or
unfavorable to creating said district. All of said resolutions adopted shall
be certified by its secretary, clerk, or executive officer and shall be filed
with each state agency, political subdivision, or other agency named in Section
55-13-105.
(2) Every board of supervisors of those counties desiring to become members of the district, through which the Tombigbee River or any of its tributaries lie, shall, upon receipt of the certified resolutions mentioned in this section, declare said board's intentions by adopting a resolution expressing its desire to have said district created and to levy an ad valorem tax not to exceed one-half (1/2) mill on all the taxable property within the Tombigbee Watershed area of said county for the use and benefit of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District. The said resolution shall be published once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks in some newspaper published in the county and having a general circulation therein, and if no petition signed by twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of the county is filed with the board requesting the calling of an election on the question of the county's participation in the district and the levying of the one-half (1/2) mill tax levy aforesaid, the board may proceed to have the county become a member of said district and to levy the one-half (1/2) mill tax levy but if, within twenty-one (21) days after the date of the first publication of said resolution, a petition signed by at least twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of said county, requesting an election on the proposition of said county becoming a member of the proposed district and the levying of the one-half (1/2) mill tax as herein provided, is filed, said election shall be held and conducted as now provided by law for such elections. If such an election is held and a majority of those voting therein vote for the proposition, the board shall, by appropriate resolution, bring the county into the district and levy the one-half (1/2) mill tax as otherwise provided by law. If the majority of those voting in such election shall vote against the proposition, then the county shall not become a member of the district nor levy the one-half (1/2) mill tax; and no further election shall be so conducted until the lapse of two (2) years after the last election.
(3) Whenever an aggregate of six (6) counties have become members of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District in the manner provided in this section, the said district shall be created as an agency of the state and a body politic and corporate with all of the powers granted it by statute.
SECTION 41. Section 53-7-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
53-7-11. (1) The commission may adopt, modify, repeal, after due notice and hearing, and where not otherwise prohibited by federal or state law, make exceptions to and grant exemptions and variances from and may enforce rules and regulations pertaining to surface mining and reclamation operations to implement the provisions of this chapter.
(2) Adopting rules and regulations, the commission shall comply with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law, and in addition, may hold a public hearing. Notice of the date, time, place and purpose of the hearing shall be given thirty (30) days before the scheduled date of the hearing as follows:
(a) By mail to:
(i) All operators known by the commission to be actively engaged in surface mining in the state;
(ii) Persons who request notification of proposed actions regarding rules and regulations and any other person the commission deems appropriate; and
(iii) The
Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission, the Mississippi
Department of Environmental Quality, Mississippi Department of Wildlife,
Fisheries and Parks, * * * Mississippi Department of Archives and History,
Mississippi Department of Transportation and the Mississippi Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce.
(b) By publication once weekly for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper having general circulation in the State of Mississippi.
(3) Any person may submit written comments or appear and offer oral comments at the public hearing. The commission shall consider all comments and relevant data presented at the hearing before final adoption of rules and regulations under this chapter. The failure of any person to submit comments within a time period as established by the commission shall not preclude action by the commission.
SECTION 42. Section 53-7-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
53-7-29. (1) The department shall file a copy of each permit application for public inspection with the chancery clerk of the county where any portion of the operation is proposed to occur after deleting the confidential information according to Section 53-7-75.
(2) The department shall
submit copies, excluding all confidential information, of the permit
application as soon as possible to: (a) the Mississippi Soil and
Water Conservation Commission, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries
and Parks, * * * Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality,
Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Mississippi Department of
Transportation, Mississippi State Oil and Gas Board and Mississippi Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce; (b) any other state agency whose
jurisdiction the department believes the particular mining operation may
affect; and (c) any person who requests in writing a copy of the application;
and (d) the owner of the land. The department shall require payment of a
reasonable fee established by the commission for reimbursement of the costs of
reproducing and providing the copy.
(3) Each agency shall review the permit application and submit, within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the application, any comments, recommendations and evaluations as the agency deems necessary and proper based only upon the effect of the proposed operation on matters within the agency's jurisdiction. The comments shall include a listing of permits or licenses required under the agency's jurisdiction. Comments and recommendations shall be made a part of the record and one (1) copy shall be furnished to the applicant. All comments and recommendations shall be considered by, but shall not be binding upon, the Permit Board. The failure of any agency to submit comments shall not preclude action by the Permit Board.
SECTION 43. Section 53-9-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
53-9-11. (1) The commission may adopt, modify, repeal and promulgate, after due notice and hearing and in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law, and where not otherwise prohibited by federal or state law, may make exceptions to and grant exemptions and variances from and may enforce rules and regulations necessary or appropriate to carry out this chapter. Those rules and regulations shall be consistent with rules and regulations promulgated by the United States Secretary of the Interior under the federal act. No exceptions, exemptions or variances shall be less stringent than rules and regulations promulgated under the federal act. Any rules and regulations adopted by the commission may be more stringent than those promulgated by the United States Secretary of the Interior as long as they are not otherwise inconsistent with this chapter. A rule or regulation adopted by the commission may differ in its terms and provisions regarding particular conditions, particular mining techniques, particular areas of the state, or any other conditions that appear relevant and necessary as long as the action taken is consistent with this chapter. Before adopting any rules and regulations under this chapter, the commission shall hold a public hearing. Notice of the date, time, place and purpose of the hearing shall be given thirty (30) days before the scheduled date of the hearing as follows:
(a) By mail:
(i) To all operators known by the commission to be actively engaged in surface coal mining operations in the state;
(ii) To persons who make written request for notification of the proposed regulations;
(iii) To the Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission, and to each local soil and water conservation district;
(iv) To the
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, * * *
the
Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the Mississippi Department of
Transportation, the Mississippi Department of Agriculture, Forestry and
Commerce, the Mississippi State Oil and Gas Board, the Mississippi Department
of Marine Resources, and the Mississippi State Department of Health; and
(v) To any other state agency whose jurisdiction the commission feels the surface coal mining operations may affect;
(b) To other interested parties by publication of the notice once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in one (1) newspaper having general circulation in the state.
(2) Any person may submit written comments or appear and offer oral comments at the public hearing. The commission shall consider all comments and relevant data presented at the public hearing before final adoption of rules and regulations under this chapter. The failure of any person to submit comments within a time period as established by the commission shall not preclude action by the commission.
SECTION 44. Section 55-3-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
55-3-1. The Governor of the
state is authorized to accept gifts of land to the state, not to exceed ten
percent (10%) of the area of any county, to be held, protected, and
administered by the * * * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and
Commerce as state forests and parks and to be used to demonstrate their
practical utility for reforestation and as breeding places for wild game, and
he is authorized to accept gifts of land to be used and administered by the
commission as state parks. Such gifts must be absolute, except for the
reservation of any or all mineral rights, and in no case shall exceed ten percent
(10%) of the area of any county wherein such lands may be situated. The
Attorney General is directed to see that all deeds to the state are properly
executed and that the titles thereto are free and clear of all encumbrances
before the gift is accepted. When any donation exceeding six hundred (600)
acres is made, the name of the donor or any name he may suggest, on the
approval of the commission shall be given such donation as the designation of
such forest or park.
SECTION 45. Section 55-3-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
55-3-11. The * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce shall have the control and management
of any and all forests or public parks set aside and dedicated as provided for
in Section 55-3-7, and shall have authority to issue grazing or farming permits
or leases on said parks, and to make sales of timber and other forest products
of the soil from same. The Mississippi Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and
Parks shall have the control and management of any and all lands set aside and
dedicated for a fish and game refuge and/or preserve. The * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce and the Mississippi Commission on
Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks shall cooperate in the utilization of any lands
so dedicated both for forestry and game and fish conservation purposes.
In the case of state forests
and/or state parks the * * * State Forestry CommissionDepartment of Agriculture,
Forestry and Commerce, and, in the case of fish and game preserves, the
Mississippi Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, is hereby vested with
authority to institute proceedings against trespassers and others in the name
of the State of Mississippi, and to do all things necessary and proper to
obtain the most complete and advantageous developments of state forests, parks,
and fish and game preserves.
SECTION 46. Section 55-3-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
55-3-19. Where the federal
government and the state government or any subdivision thereof are cooperating
in the establishment of a major park and forest and game reserve, and where the
property owners in the territory therein involved have agreed to convey as much
as fifty percent (50%) of the area required for said purposes, the * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce, together with the Mississippi
Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks or any subdivision of the state,
are hereby empowered to exercise the right of eminent domain in the manner now
provided by law to obtain the necessary lands needed.
SECTION 47. Section 55-3-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
55-3-21. There is hereby
established in the State Treasury a revolving fund to be used by the * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce to carry out the provisions of the
will of William W. Kurtz, dated July 12, 1940, which donated one thousand seven
hundred sixty (1,760) acres of forestland in Greene County to the State of
Mississippi to be held, protected, administered and improved by the * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce as a state forest. The fund shall be
called the Kurtz State Forest Revolving Fund, and money for the fund shall
accrue from any revenues derived from the Kurtz State Forest including, but not
limited to, timber sales, hunting leases, permit fees, and stump and naval
stores operations. The * * * State Forestry CommissionDepartment of Agriculture,
Forestry and Commerce is authorized to expend a portion of the monies in
the fund to purchase in the name of the State of Mississippi other lands, not
to exceed five hundred (500) acres, which are contiguous to or located near the
lands donated by the Kurtz will, for the purpose of expanding the Kurtz State
Forest. The * * * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and
Commerce also may expend monies in the fund for the purposes described in
Section 55-3-23. The State Treasurer shall invest all monies in the fund, and
interest earned on the investments shall be paid back into the fund and not
into the General Fund. The fund shall be audited annually by the State
Auditor.
SECTION 48. Section 55-3-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
55-3-23. The * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce is authorized, annually, to pay to
the State Line Cemetery Association, out of the proceeds and receipts derived
from timber sales in the Kurtz State Forest, an amount not to exceed Two
Hundred Dollars ($200.00) for the upkeep of the cemetery in which W.W. Kurtz
and wife, the donors of Kurtz State Forest, are buried.
SECTION 49. Section 29-3-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
29-3-27. No sixteenth section lands or lands granted in lieu thereof, in whole or in part, situated within the school district holding or owning the same shall ever be sold, except that the board of education may, under the procedures hereinafter provided, sell such lands for industrial development thereon, therein, or thereunder to any persons, firms, or corporations in fee simple, or any lesser estate therein, for a purchase price not less than the fair market value thereof; and when any such sale is made, the deed shall be executed in the name of the State of Mississippi by the superintendent of the said board of education.
As used in this section and in Sections 29-3-29 and 29-3-61, the term "industrial development" shall include restoration as a tourist attraction the place where an organization was founded, which said organization has since been expanded to be national or international in its membership, scope, and influence.
The proceeds of the sale in
fee simple of any sixteenth section, or lands granted in lieu thereof, in whole
or in part, or such part of said proceeds as may be required to purchase
acreage of equivalent fair market value, shall be used by the board of
education, to purchase other land in the county, which land shall be held and
reserved by the State of Mississippi for the support of the township schools in
lieu of the land thus sold, as other sixteenth section lieu land is held, and
shall be subject to all laws applicable thereto. Every such sale and every
such purchase of land in lieu thereof shall be reported by the secretary of the
board of education to the State Land Commissioner and to the * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce within ninety (90) days after the
consummation of each such sale and purchase. Any funds from a sale in fee
simple of any sixteenth section land, or land granted in lieu thereof, in
excess of any amount used to purchase said land in lieu thereof, shall be
treated as corpus and shall be invested by the board of education as provided
by law. Only the income from such investment shall be expended for current
operating expenses of the schools.
SECTION 50. Section 29-3-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
29-3-45. (1) (a) The
board of education shall, by order placed upon its minutes, enter into an
agreement with the * * * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and
Commerce for the general supervision and management of all lands classified
as forest lands and of all timber or other forest products under the control of
the board on sixteenth section lands, and lieu lands which have not been so
classified. However, any school board may contract with private persons or
businesses for the reforestation of sixteenth section lands and may contract
with a registered forester to be paid from the 16th Section Interest Fund for a
review of any forestry management decision or forestry practice including the
sale of timber for sixteenth section forest land provided that any
implementation of a forestry management decision or forestry practice to be
taken as a result of the review described in this subsection shall be subject
to the approval of both the commission and the Secretary of State. When such
agreement has been entered into, no timber or other forest products shall be
sold from any of the sixteenth section lands or lieu lands except such as have
been marked or approved for cutting by the * * * Department of
Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce's employees. The * * *
department,
or its designated employee, shall fix the minimum total cash price or minimum
price per unit, one thousand (1,000) feet or other measure, at which the marked
timber or other forest products shall be sold. The sales may be made for a
lump sum or upon a unit price as in the opinion of the board may be calculated
to bring the greatest return. Sales shall be made upon such other terms and
conditions as to manner of cutting, damages for cutting of unmarked trees,
damages to trees not cut and other pertinent matters as the board of education
shall approve.
(b) The * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce shall have the sole authority and control
in scheduling of all cutting and harvesting of timber or other forest products
when such timber stands or other forest products are determined by the * * *
department
to be economically ready for cutting and harvesting.
(c) Should a school
board disagree with the * * * Forestry Commission Department of Agriculture, Forestry and
Commerce concerning the time of cutting and harvesting, the board may make
an appeal to the * * * department.
If the school board is not satisfied after the appeal to the * * *
department, the
board may then appeal to the Secretary of State who will make the final
decision as to the time for cutting and harvesting. In the event that the
local school board is divested of its management authority under subsection (3)
hereof, the Secretary of State after due consultation with the * * *
department
shall retain the right to make final decisions concerning the management and
sale of timber and other forest products.
(d) It is hereby made
the duty of the * * * department, from time to time, to mark
timber which should be cut from the lands, to determine what planting, deadening
or other forestry improvements should be made, giving due consideration to food
and habitat for wildlife, and to report to the appropriate board of education.
The * * * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce
and the board of education shall supervise the cutting of any timber or
harvesting of other forest products sold from the lands herein designated and
shall have authority to require any timber-cutting operations on the lands to
cease until proper adjustment is made, whenever it shall appear that timber is
being cut in violation of the terms of the sale. In the event that it is
desired to lease any of such lands or standing timber for turpentine purposes,
such lease shall only cover such trees as the * * * department
shall designate, and the * * * commission department through its employees shall
approve the number of faces, method of chipping and boxing of such timber, and
shall fix a minimum total cash price or minimum price per unit.
(e) No sale of any timber, turpentine or other forest products lease shall be made until notice of same shall have been published once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in at least one (1) newspaper published in such county. The first publication of such notice shall be made not less than twenty-one (21) days prior to the date fixed for the sale, and the last publication shall be made not more than seven (7) days prior to such date. If no newspaper is published in such county, then such notice shall be given by publishing the same for the required time in some newspaper having a general circulation in such county and, in addition thereto, by posting a copy of such notice for at least twenty-one (21) days next preceding such sale at three (3) public places in such county.
(f) Notwithstanding
the above provision pertaining to the sale of any timber, turpentine or other
forest products, in the event that timber must be cleared from an existing road
or existing utility right-of-way, the public notice requirement may be waived.
Prior to waiver of the public notice requirement, the * * * department must
make a finding that, due to the small area of timber to be cleared, a public
notice sale would not be in the best interest of the local board of education.
If the * * * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce
makes such a finding, then it shall set the value of the timber to be paid to
the local board of education by the party requesting the timber be removed.
(g) * * *
However, in the
case of damage by fire, windstorm or other natural causes which would require
immediate sale of the timber, because the time involved for advertisement as
prescribed herein would allow decay, rot or destruction substantially
decreasing the purchase price to be received had not such delay occurred, the
advertisement provisions of this section shall not apply. The local board of
education, with a written recommendation from a designated employee of the * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce filed in the minutes of the local
board of education, shall determine when immediate sale of the timber is
required. When the board of education shall find an immediate sale necessary
for the causes stated herein, it shall, in its discretion, set the time for
receipt of bids on the purchase of the timber, but shall show due diligence in
notifying competitive bidders so that a true competitive bid shall be received.
(2) (a) A local board of
education having control of the sixteenth section lands in the Hurricane
Katrina Disaster of 2005 shall be granted emergency powers to take any and all
actions of a reasonably prudent trustee acting under emergency conditions to
recover damaged timber, prevent further loss or damage to timber, and to
minimize economic loss. All such actions shall be taken in consultation with
and shall be subject to the prior approval from the Secretary of State and the * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce. The emergency powers shall be as
follows:
(i) Contract with any individual or entity for management advice, sale of timber, clearing of damage to timber producing lands, transporting of timber, repairing access roads to timber lands, conducting aerial spraying, or taking any other type of action to prevent further loss of timber or diminution in value of existing timber as the result of the incident which necessitated the declaration of a natural disaster. In contracting with any individual or entity, the local board of education shall use its best efforts to ensure that all costs incurred are reasonable and that a fair price is received for all sales.
(ii) Enter into agreements with any individual, private company, or other governmental entities for the pooling of resources, or the sharing of costs so as to maximize the mitigation of loss and minimize the expense of mitigating the loss of timber.
(iii) Apply for any state, federal, or private party grant or nonrepayable funds to cover costs associated with emergency management contracts, sale timber, including loss for diminution of value, transporting of timber, replanting of timber, repairing access roads to timber, conducting aerial spraying, or reimbursement for any other action taken to prevent further timber damage, as well as mitigating the loss of funds due to damage.
(b) The emergency powers granted herein shall be for a period of one (1) year from the date of designation as a disaster area due to Hurricane Katrina. The emergency powers may be extended for one (1) additional one-year period upon prior written approval from the Secretary of State.
(c) The emergency powers shall also apply to the management of timber by the Secretary of State pursuant to subsection (3) of this section.
(d) In the event a
local board of education is unable to acquire the services of the * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce or the Secretary of State to meet an
immediate need to salvage, remove or take other appropriate action on damaged
timber, the local board of education shall unilaterally be granted the
authority to take such actions as necessary regarding the management or sale of
timber or other forest products.
(e) In exercising emergency powers, a local board of education or the Secretary of State shall exercise the general powers of a trustee with the same general restrictions and general liabilities of a trustee and shall exercise the care and skill of an ordinary prudent person to protect the beneficiaries of the trust under such emergency circumstances.
(f) Any contractor with a local board of education or the Secretary of State shall be entitled to rely on representations by such board of education or the Secretary of State as to who has authority to enter contracts for the management or sale of timber or other forest products, and reliance on such representations shall not be grounds for voiding any contract.
(3) (a) In the event that any member of a local board of education may have a personal interest, either direct or indirect, in the decisions regarding the management or sale of timber or other forest products or in a contract for the sale of timber or other forest products from sixteenth section school lands under the jurisdiction and control of the board, then the board of education shall automatically be divested of all authority and power to manage and sell timber or other forest products on sixteenth section lands under its control and jurisdiction. The divestiture shall extend for the period of service, and for one (1) year thereafter, of the board member having a direct or indirect personal interest in the sale or decision to sell timber or other forest products.
(b) During the time in which any local board of education may be divested of authority and power to manage and sell timber and other forest products, such authority and power shall be vested in the Secretary of State, as supervisory trustee of sixteenth section lands. Upon the appointment or election of a member of a local board of education who may have such an appointment or election of a member of a local board of education who may have such an interest in decisions and contracts regarding the management and sale of timber or other forest products, the board of education shall immediately notify the Secretary of State in writing. Likewise, the board shall give written notification to the Secretary of State within thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of any such divestiture period. Any contractor with a local board of education or the Secretary of State shall be entitled to rely on representations by such board or the Secretary of State as to who has authority to enter contracts for the management or sale of timber or other forest products, and reliance on such representations shall not be grounds for voiding any contract.
(c) The laws providing
for the management and sale of timber and other forest products by local boards
of education shall apply to the management and sale of timber and other forest
products by the Secretary of State. The * * * Department of
Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce shall provide the Secretary of State
with advice and services in the same manner as provided to local boards of
education.
(d) The Secretary of State shall be paid all monies derived from the sale of timber or other forest products and shall promptly forward the same to the superintendent of education for such school district with instructions for the proper settlement, deposit and investment of the monies. Such local school board shall reimburse the Secretary of State for all direct costs relating to the management and sale of timber or other forest products, and in the case of a sale of timber or other forest products, the Secretary of State may deduct such direct cost from the proceeds of sale. The Secretary of State shall furnish an itemized listing of all direct cost charged to the local school district.
SECTION 51. Section 29-3-47, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
29-3-47. For its services
the * * * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce
shall be entitled to receive its actual expenses incurred in the discharge of
the duties herein imposed. In order to provide funds with which to pay for the
general supervision and sale of forest products, fifteen percent (15%) of all
receipts from the sales of forest products shall be placed by the board in a
Forestry Escrow Fund and reserved to pay for work performed by the * * *
department.
Such payments shall be equal to the actual expenses incurred by the * * *
department as
substantiated by itemized bills presented to the board.
Money in the Forestry Escrow Fund may be used to pay for any forestry work authorized during the period of the agreement and shall not be subject to lapse by reason of county budget limitations.
In each school district
having need of tree planting and timber stand improvement, the board of
education is authorized to place additional amounts in the Forestry Escrow Fund
to reimburse the * * * department for actual expenses incurred in
performing this work, or to pay for any work done under private contract under
the supervision of * * * the department. Such additional amounts may be
made available from forest products sales receipts, funds borrowed from the
sixteenth section principal fund as is provided for in Section 29-3-113, or any
other funds available to the board of education excluding minimum foundation
program funds. Expenditures from the Forestry Escrow Fund for tree planting,
timber stand improvement, and other forestry work will be limited to payment
for work recommended by the * * * department and agreed
to by the board of education.
When it becomes evident that
the amount of money in the Forestry Escrow Fund is in excess of the amount
necessary to accomplish the work needed to achieve the goals set by the board
of education and the * * * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce,
the * * * department shall advise said board to release any
part of such funds as will not be needed, which may then be spent for any
purpose authorized by law.
SECTION 52. Section 29-3-49, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
29-3-49. It shall be the
duty of the * * * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and
Commerce, in the manner provided in Section 29-3-45, to enter into
agreements for timber improvement purposes with the board of education upon the
request of the board. The contract shall provide for the carrying out of a
long-term program of timber improvement, including any or all of the following:
The deadening of undesirable hardwoods, the planting of trees, the cutting and
maintaining of fire lanes, and the establishment of marked boundaries on all
lands classified as forest lands in the agreements, which provide for the
reimbursement of all current costs incurred by the * * * department and
the carrying out of the duties required by such agreements. In the
alternative, the * * * department,
in its discretion, may have the option to contract with a private contractor,
subject to the approval of the board, to perform this work under the
supervision of the * * * department.
Payment of the reimbursements as hereinabove set forth to the * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce, or of compensation due under any
such contract with private contractors shall be made upon presentation of
itemized bills by the * * * department or * * * private contractors, as the case may be, and
may be made out of any sixteenth section funds to the credit of, or accruing
to, any school district in which such work shall be done, or out of any other
funds available to such district, excluding minimum foundation program funds.
SECTION 53. Section 29-3-54, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
29-3-54. Any leaseholder of
sixteenth section land, or land granted in lieu thereof, shall be authorized to
post such land against trespassers; provided that such posting shall not
prohibit the inspection of said lands by individuals responsible for the
management or supervision thereof acting in their official capacity. In the
event hunting or fishing rights have been leased on lands classified as forest
land, the holder of such rights and the * * * Department of
Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce shall be authorized to post such land
against trespassers.
SECTION 54. Section 29-3-85, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
29-3-85. In all surface
leases of sixteenth section land made by the board of education, whether such
leases be original leases or extensions of existing leases, title to all
timber, minerals, oil, and gas on such lands shall be reserved, together with
the right of ingress and egress to remove same, whether such provisions be included
in the terms of any such lease or not; and no timber shall be cut and used by
the lessees except for fuel and necessary repairs and improvements on the
leased premises. The board of education, notwithstanding the fact that such
land may have been leased for other purposes, shall have the right, from time
to time, to sell all merchantable timber on such lands in the manner
hereinabove provided. In all cases where surface leases were outstanding on
June 28, 1958, and have at least five (5) years remaining of the term thereof
wherein the right to sell timber has not been reserved, either expressly or by
operation of law, the board may, by agreement with the lessee, sell such timber
under the procedure herein set out. In all such cases the * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce shall only cause to be marked for
cutting such timber as, in its judgment, should be harvested in the best
interest of the reversionary estate, and the board may agree to pay to the
lessee a portion of the proceeds of such sales from time to time, not to exceed
fifty percent (50%) thereof after the deduction of the fifteen percent (15%)
escrow money, hereinbefore mentioned, and all other costs of the sale. In any
surface lease, the board of education shall reserve the right to grant or sell
rights-of-way across any of said land for a road, highway, railroad, or any
public utility line, provided only that the leaseholder be paid a reasonable
rental for the unexpired term of his lease by the grantee of such right-of-way.
If any surface lessee of any such sixteenth section land shall commit, cause to
be committed, or permit the commission of any act of waste on any sixteenth
section lands under lease to such lessee, then such lease shall thereupon, as
to such lessee, cease and terminate and shall thenceforth be null and void; and
the board of education shall have the right to institute an action in any court
of competent jurisdiction to secure the cancellation of same of record, to
recover damages for such waste, and to maintain an action in ejectment to
recover possession of the same. To this end, the board of education is hereby
authorized and empowered to employ competent counsel to institute and maintain
any such action or actions on behalf of the board.
SECTION 55. Section 29-3-87, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
29-3-87. Notwithstanding the provisions of this or any other statute, the several boards of education are hereby authorized and empowered, in their discretion and by resolution spread upon the minutes, to set aside, reserve, and dedicate any available sixteenth section lands or lands in lieu thereof for use by such school district as a site for school buildings, which such dedication and reservation shall be for such length of time, not exceeding fifty (50) years, and upon such terms and conditions as the board of education, in its discretion, shall deem proper. Any such reservation or dedication of sixteenth section lands shall automatically cease and terminate if, at any time, the land involved shall cease to be used for the purpose for which the dedication or reservation is made. The reservation or dedication shall cover the surface of said lands only and shall not prevent the board of education from leasing said lands for oil, gas, and mineral exploration and development in a manner otherwise provided by law.
In the same manner and
subject to the same provisions hereinabove set forth the board of education
having a timber management and marketing agreement with the * * *
Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce or National Forest Service, may set
aside, reserve and dedicate any available sixteenth section lands or lands
granted in lieu thereof, which has been classified as forest land under the
provisions of Section 29-3-31 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972, to be utilized
for public parks and recreation areas. The board of supervisors or the
governing authorities of any municipality wherein such lands or any portion
thereof lie may expend any funds otherwise available for park or recreational
areas in the construction and maintenance of improvements to be located
thereon.
The setting aside, reservation and dedication of any such sixteenth section lands, or lands granted in lieu thereof by a board of education to the State Park Commission for the purpose of locating a state park thereon may be for a length of time not exceeding ninety-nine (99) years.
No sixteenth section or lieu land which is subject to an existing lease shall be set aside, dedicated, and reserved as a school building site or for public park or recreational purposes under the provisions of this section unless the school district involved shall acquire the unexpired leasehold interest from the leaseholder, or unless such lease and leasehold interest shall be surrendered and relinquished by the leaseholder.
SECTION 56. Section 49-7-203, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-7-203. (1) There is
created the Beaver and Wild Hog Control Advisory Board which shall be composed
of the administrative heads of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife,
Fisheries and Parks, * * * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and
Commerce, Mississippi Department of Transportation and Mississippi State
Cooperative Extension Services, the Executive Director of the Mississippi
Association of Supervisors, the Executive Vice President of Delta Council and
the President of the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation. In addition, the
board shall include, as advisory, and nonvoting members:
(a) The Chairmen of the House and Senate Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Committees;
(b) The Chairmen of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees; and
(c) One (1) at-large member of the House and Senate appointed by the Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House.
(2) The board shall elect a chairman from among its members, who shall preside over meetings.
(3) The members of the board shall serve without compensation but all members of the board shall be entitled to reimbursement for all actual and necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties, including mileage as authorized by law.
(4) The board shall have the following duties and responsibilities:
(a) To adopt rules and regulations governing times and places for meetings and governing the manner of conducting its business;
(b) To develop a beaver and wild hog control program to be administered by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce or by any agency or agencies under an agreement with the board for that purpose;
(c) To designate the areas of the state having the greatest need for beaver and wild hog control or eradication and establish a list of priority areas on an annual basis;
(d) To establish, assess and collect any fees charged to participating landowners; and
(e) To function in an advisory capacity to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce or any agency or agencies administering the beaver and wild hog control program.
(5) The board shall have the authority to develop any programs and implement any regulations and policies. The board may develop what it deems necessary to address beaver and wild hog control within the state.
SECTION 57. Section 69-3-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-3-1. Wherever the following terms or similar terms are used in this article, they shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) "Advertisement" means all representations made by the labeler, other than those on the label, disseminated in any manner or by any means, relating to seed within the scope of this article.
(b) "Agricultural seeds" means the seed of grass, forage, cereal and fiber crops, lawn seed, and any other kinds of seed, including transgenic seeds, recognized within this state as agricultural or field seeds, and mixtures of such seeds.
(c) "Bulk" or "in bulk" means seed when loose either in vehicles of transportation, bins, cribs or tanks, and not seed in bags, boxes, cartons, bulk/super bags or other containers.
(d) "Certified seed," "registered seed" and "foundation seed" mean seed that has been produced and labeled in accordance with the procedures and in compliance with the rules and regulations of an official certifying agency authorized by the laws of this state or the laws of another state or country.
(e) "Commercial grower" means a person, firm or corporation engaged primarily in the production of seed for planting purposes for sale or trade.
(f) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce of the State of Mississippi.
(g) "Commission merchant" or "agent" means a person, firm or corporation engaged in the selling of packet seed of less than four (4) ounces to consumers.
(h) "Consumer" means any person who purchases or otherwise obtains seed for sowing but not for resale.
(i) "Council" means the seed arbitration council created under Section 63-3-20.
(j) "Date of test" means the month and year the percentage of germination appearing on the label was obtained by laboratory test.
(k) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.
(l) "Federal Seed Act" means the laws codified at 7 USCS 1551 et seq., and all regulations promulgated thereunder.
(m) "Firm ungerminated seed" means live seed, other than hard seed, which neither germinate nor decay during the period and under the conditions prescribed for germination of such seed by the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to provisions of this article.
(n) "Flower seed" means the seeds of herbaceous plants grown for their blooms, ornamental foliage or other ornamental parts, including transgenic seeds, and commonly known and sold under the name of flower seeds in this state.
(o) "Hybrid" means the first generation seed of a cross produced by controlling the pollination and combining: (i) two (2) or more inbred lines; or (ii) one (1) inbred line or a single cross with an open-pollinated variety; or (iii) two (2) varieties or species, except open-pollinated varieties of corn. The second generation and subsequent generations of such crosses shall not be regarded as hybrids.
(p) "Kind" means one or more related species or subspecies which singly or collectively is known by one (1) common name; for example: soybeans, crimson clover, striate lespedeza, tall fescue.
(q) "Label" means the display or displays of written, printed or graphic matter upon or attached to the container of seed pertaining to the contents of the container.
(r) "Labeler" means the person, firm, corporation or the registered code number whose name appears on the label or container of seed.
(s) "Labeling" includes all labels and other written, printed or graphic representations made by the labeler accompanying and pertaining to the seed product whether in bulk or in containers, and any product use guides for the technology of the seed, that may be distributed in any manner including representations on invoices except for current official publications of the United States Department of Agriculture, state extension services, state experiment stations, state agricultural colleges and other similar federal or state institutions or agencies authorized by law to conduct research.
(t) "Lot of seed" means a definite quantity of seed identified by a lot number or other identification mark, every portion or bag of which is uniform for the factors which appear on the label, within permitted tolerances.
(u) "Mixed" or "mixture" means seeds consisting of more than one (1) kind, or kind and variety, or strain, each present in excess of five percent (5%) of the whole.
(v) "Official certifying agency" means an agency authorized or recognized and designated as a certifying agency by the laws of a state, the United States, a province of Canada, or the government of a foreign country.
(w) "Origin" means the state, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or possessions of the United States, or the foreign country where the seeds were grown.
(x) "Processing" means cleaning, scarifying, blending or treating to obtain uniform quality and other operations which would change the purity or germination of the seed and therefore require retesting to determine the quality of the seed.
(y) "Product use guide" means any written information prepared by the labeler and distributed to the consumer, containing specific information concerning a seed product or a technology.
(z) "Prohibited noxious weed seed" means the seeds of weeds that reproduce by seed, and/or spread by underground roots or stems, and which, when established, are highly destructive and difficult to control in this state by ordinary good cultural practice, or constitute a peculiar hazard to the agriculture of this state.
(aa) "Pure seed," "germination," "other crop seed," "inert matter" and other seed labeling and testing terms in common usage not defined herein are defined as in the Federal Seed Act and the rules and regulations promulgated under that act.
(bb) "Recognized professional" means a person who is a licensed consultant, a certified crop advisor or any other person recognized by the arbitration council to be qualified to provide expert advise and opinion on seed performances.
(cc) "Restricted noxious weed seed" means the seeds of weeds that are particularly objectionable in fields, lawns or gardens of this state, but which can ordinarily be controlled by good cultural practice.
(dd) "Seed record" means information which relates to the origin, treatment, germination and purity of each lot of agricultural seed sold, offered or exposed for sale in this state, or which relates to the treatment, germination and variety of each lot of vegetable, flower, or tree and shrub seed sold, offered or exposed for sale in this state. Such information includes seed samples and records of declarations, labels, purchases, sales, cleaning, bulking, handling, storage, analyses, tests and examinations.
(ee) "Seedsman" means a person, firm or corporation engaged in the buying, selling or exchanging, offering or exposing for sale agricultural seeds or mixtures thereof, vegetable, flower, tree and shrub seeds as defined in this article.
(ff) "Stop sale order" means any written or printed notice or order given or issued by the commissioner or his authorized agents to the owner or custodian of any lot of agricultural, vegetable, flower, or tree and shrub seeds in this state, directing such owner or custodian not to sell, offer or expose such seeds for sale for planting purposes within this state until requirements of this article shall have been complied with and a written release has been issued.
(gg) "Strain" means the subdivision of a variety; for example: Clemson nonshattering soybeans, Strain 4.
(hh) "Treated" means that the seed has been given an application of a substance or subjected to a process designed to control or repel certain disease organisms, insects or other pests attacking such seeds or seedlings grown therefrom to improve its planting value or to serve any other purpose.
(ii) "Tree and shrub seeds" means the seeds of woody plants, including transgenic seeds, commonly known and sold as tree and shrub seeds in this state.
(jj) "Tolerance" means the allowance for sampling variation specified under rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the provisions of this article.
(kk) "Transgenic seed" means seed from a plant whose genetic composition has been altered by methods other than those used in conventional plant breeding to produce seed that contains selected genes from other plants or species that will produce results such as herbicide tolerance, or resistance, insect tolerance, or resistance, or other traits derived from biotechnology.
(ll) "Variety" means a subdivision of a kind which is characterized by growth, plant, fruit, seed or other characteristics by which it can be differentiated in successive generations from other sorts of the same kind; for example: Lee soybeans, Frontier crimson clover, Kobe striate lespedeza, Kentucky 31 tall fescue.
(mm) "Vegetable seeds" means the seeds of those crops which are grown in gardens or on truck farms, including transgenic seeds, and are generally known and sold under the name of vegetable seeds in this state.
(nn) "Weed seed" means the seeds, bulblets or tubers of all plants generally recognized as weeds within the state and includes noxious weed seeds.
(oo) "Wholesale distributor" means a person, firm or corporation engaged in the selling of seed to a seedsman holding a permit as required by subsection (1)(c) of Section 69-3-3.
SECTION 58. Section 69-15-2, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-15-2. (1) The Mississippi Board of Animal Health is to be composed of the Commissioner of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce, the Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine and the heads of the Animal and Dairy Science and Poultry Science Departments at Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science and one (1) person appointed by the President of Alcorn State University from its land grant staff as five (5) ex officio members with full voting rights, and eleven (11) other members of the board to be appointed by the Governor as hereinafter provided. The board shall select annually a chairman and vice chairman from any members of the board.
(2) The Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint eleven (11) other members from the following groups or associations from a written list of recommendations from such groups or associations:
One (1) licensed and practicing veterinarian who holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree, from a written list of three (3) recommendations submitted by the Mississippi State Veterinary Medical Association;
One (1) general farmer from a written list of three (3) recommendations submitted by the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation;
One (1) poultry breeder and producer from a written list of three (3) recommendations submitted by the Mississippi Poultry Improvement Association;
One (1) sheep breeder and producer from a written list of three (3) recommendations submitted by the Mississippi Sheep Producers' Association;
One (1) beef cattle breeder and producer from a written list of three (3) recommendations submitted by the Mississippi Cattlemen's Association;
One (1) swine breeder and producer from a written list of three (3) recommendations submitted by the Mississippi Pork Producers' Association;
One (1) dairy breeder and producer from a written list of three (3) recommendations submitted by the American Dairy Association of Mississippi;
One (1) horse breeder and producer from a written list of four (4) recommendations, one (1) recommendation submitted by each of the following: the Mississippi Quarter Horse Association, Tennessee Walking Horse Association, Mississippi Cutting Horse Association and Mississippi State Equine Association. If an association fails to timely submit its recommendation, the Governor may appoint the member from the list of recommendations submitted by the other associations;
One (1) catfish breeder and producer from a written list of three (3) recommendations submitted by the Mississippi Catfish Association;
One (1) member of the Mississippi Independent Meat Packers' Association from a written list of three (3) recommendations submitted by the Mississippi Independent Meat Packers' Association; and
One (1) member of the Mississippi Livestock Auction Association from a written list of three (3) recommendations submitted by the Mississippi Livestock Auction Association.
All members shall take and subscribe to the general oath of office as provided in Section 268, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, and file the same with the Commissioner of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce.
(3) Effective August 1, 1968, the dairy producer member shall be appointed for a one-year term; the Livestock Auction Association member shall be appointed for a two-year term; and the meat packer member shall be appointed for a three-year term; the catfish producer member shall be appointed for a four-year term; and the horse producer member shall be appointed for a five-year term.
Effective August 1, 1969, the poultry producer member shall be appointed for a two-year term; on August 1, 1970, the sheep producer member shall be appointed for a three-year term; on August 1, 1971, the swine producing member shall be appointed for a four-year term; on August 1, 1972, the general farmer member shall be appointed for a five-year term; on August 1, 1973, the veterinarian member shall be appointed for a six-year term; and on August 1, 1974, the beef cattle producer member shall be appointed for a seven-year term.
All subsequent appointments shall be for four-year terms, except for appointments to fill vacancies which shall be for the unexpired term only.
(4) (a) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce.
(b) "Department" means the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce.
(5) On or before July 1, 1998, the board shall appoint, from a written list of not less than three (3) licensed veterinarians submitted by the commissioner, the State Veterinarian.
(6) There is created an advisory council to advise the Board of Animal Health on matters concerning the board. The council shall be composed of the Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, the Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, and one (1) appointee of the Lieutenant Governor and one (1) appointee of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The members of the advisory council shall serve in an advisory capacity only. For attending meetings of the council, such legislators shall receive per diem and expenses which shall be paid from the contingent expense funds of their respective houses in the same amounts provided for committee meetings when the Legislature is not in session; however, no per diem or expenses for attending meetings of the council shall be paid while the Legislature is in session. No per diem and expenses shall be paid except for attending meetings of the council without prior approval of the proper committee in their respective houses.
SECTION 59. Section 69-29-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-29-1. (1) (a) There is established the Mississippi Agricultural and Livestock Theft Bureau.
(b) The Commissioner of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce shall appoint a director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Livestock Theft Bureau. Such director shall have at least five (5) years of law enforcement experience. Such director shall be responsible solely to the supervision of the Commissioner of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce and to no other person or entity. Such director may be discharged only for just cause shown.
(c) The director may employ nine (9) agricultural and livestock theft investigators, one (1) from each highway patrol district, and each investigator is required to reside within the highway patrol district from which he or she is selected. Each investigator shall be certified as a law enforcement officer, successfully completing at least a nine-week training course, in accordance with Section 45-6-11. The curriculum for the training of constables shall not be sufficient for meeting the certification requirements of this paragraph. In the selection of investigators under this section, preference shall be given to persons who have previous law enforcement experience.
(d) The director appointed under this section, under the direction, control and supervision of the commissioner, and the investigators employed under this section shall perform only the duties described in subsection (2) of this section and shall not be assigned any other duties.
(2) The director appointed under this section and the investigators employed under this section shall have the following powers, duties and authority:
(a) To enforce all of the provisions of Sections 69-29-9 and 69-29-11, and particularly those portions requiring persons transporting livestock to have a bill of sale in their possession; to make investigations of violations of such sections and to arrest persons violating same;
(b) To enforce all of the laws of this state enacted for the purpose of preventing the theft of livestock, poultry, timber and agricultural, aquacultural and timber products and implements; to make investigations of violations thereof and to arrest persons violating same;
(c) To cooperate with all regularly constituted law enforcement officers relative to the matters herein set forth;
(d) To serve warrants and other process emanating from any court of lawful jurisdiction, including search warrants, in all matters herein set forth;
(e) To carry proper credentials evidencing their authority, which shall be exhibited to any person making demand therefor;
(f) To make arrests without warrant in all matters herein set forth in cases where same is authorized under the constitutional and general laws of this state;
(g) To handle the registration of brands of cattle and livestock;
(h) To investigate, prevent, apprehend and arrest those persons anywhere in the state who are violating any of the laws administered by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce, including, but not limited to, all agriculture-related and woods arson crimes.
(i) To access and examine records of any person, business or entity that harvests, loads, carries, receives or manufactures timber products as defined in this section. Each such person or entity shall permit the director or any investigator of the Mississippi Agricultural and Livestock Theft Bureau to examine records of the sale, transfer or purchase of timber or timber products, including, but not limited to, contracts, load tickets, settlement sheets, drivers' logs, invoices, checks and any other records or documents related to an ongoing investigation of the Mississippi Agricultural and Livestock Theft Bureau.
(3) The Commissioner of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce shall furnish such investigators with such vehicles, equipment and supplies as may be necessary. All expenses of same, and all other expenses incurred in the administration of this section, shall be paid from such appropriation as may be made by the Legislature.
(4) The State Tax Commission and its agents and employees shall cooperate with such investigators by furnishing to them information as to any possible or suspected violations of any of the laws mentioned herein, including specifically Section 69-29-27, and in any other lawful manner.
(5) The conservation officers of the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks are authorized to cooperate with and assist the agricultural and livestock theft investigators in the enforcement and apprehension of violators of laws regarding agricultural and livestock theft.
* * *
( * * *6) For the purposes of this section,
"timber product" means timber of all kinds, species or sizes,
including, but not limited to, logs, lumber, poles, pilings, posts, blocks,
bolts, cordwood and pulpwood, pine stumpwood, pine knots or other distillate
wood, crossties, turpentine (crude gum), pine straw, firewood and all other
products derived from timber or trees that have a sale or commercial value.
SECTION 60. Section 69-31-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-31-1. As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise:
(a) "Agricultural products" means any product of agriculture which is tested for moisture content when offered for sale, processing or storage.
(b) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce.
(c) "Department" means the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce.
(d) "Moisture-measuring devices" means any device or instrument used by any person in proving or ascertaining the moisture content of agricultural products.
(e) "Person" means any individual, corporation, partnership, cooperative association, or two (2) or more persons having a joint or common interest in the same venture.
SECTION 61. Section 69-37-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-37-5. As used in this chapter, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Assessment" means the amount per acre to be charged each cotton grower to finance, in whole or part, a boll weevil suppression, pre-eradication, eradication or post-eradication program in this state. The assessments shall be based on scientifically sound data regarding the level of boll weevil infestation in the state and the anticipated cost of conducting the proposed program.
(b) "Board" means the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Boll Weevil Management Corporation.
(c) "Boll weevil" means Anthonomus grandis Boheman in any stage of development.
(d) "Mississippi Boll Weevil Management Corporation Board of Directors" means the statewide administrative board elected by all Mississippi cotton growers who are members of a local cotton growers association to serve and represent the interests and concerns of Mississippi cotton growers with respect to the administration of boll weevil management programs and the nonvoting advisory members as provided in Section 69-7-13.
(e) "Bureau" means the Bureau of Plant Industry within the regulatory office of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce.
(f) "Certificate" means a document issued or authorized by the Bureau of Plant Industry indicating that a regulated article is not contaminated with boll weevils.
(g) "Cotton growers association" means a local association with membership open to all Mississippi cotton growers. Cotton growers associations represent the interests and concerns of Mississippi cotton growers to the Mississippi Boll Weevil Management Corporation.
(h) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce.
(i) "Containment/maintenance program" means a statewide program designed to monitor the level of boll weevil infestations to eliminate any reinfestation of boll weevils.
(j) "Corporation" means the Mississippi Boll Weevil Management Corporation.
(k) "Cotton" means any cotton plant or cotton plant products upon which the boll weevil is dependent for completion of any portion of its life cycle.
(l) "Cotton grower" means any person who under the rules and regulations of the United States Department of Agriculture is actively engaged in cotton farming.
(m) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce.
(n) "Eradication program" means any statewide program designed to eliminate, contain and monitor the boll weevil as an economic pest within a specified area.
(o) "Host" means any plant or plant product upon which the boll weevil is dependent for completion of any portion of its life cycle.
(p) "Infested" means actually infested with a boll weevil or so exposed to infestation that it would be considered infested according to criteria established by program management and the Mississippi Boll Weevil Management Corporation.
(q) "Information gathering program" means any statewide program designed to gather information that will be used in administering a boll weevil management program.
(r) "Management program" means any statewide program designed to suppress or eradicate, contain and monitor the boll weevil or to gather information that will be used in planning or implementing such suppression or eradication programs.
(s) "Permit" means a document issued or authorized by the Bureau of Plant Industry to provide for the movement of regulated articles to restricted designations for limited handling, utilization or processing.
(t) "Person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, company, society, association or other business entity.
(u) "Pest" means any species of plant, animal, or microbe that adversely affects cotton production; including, but not limited to: insects, weeds, nematodes, bacteria, fungi, and viruses.
(v) "Post-eradication program" means any unified program designed to maintain boll weevil free status in the program area.
(w) "Pre-eradication program" means any statewide program designed to reduce overall boll weevil populations before entering a full-scale eradication program.
(x) "Region" means a specific cotton growing area within the state as defined by the Technical Advisory Committee as those regions existed before July 1, 2010, defined based on similarities in boll weevil populations, cotton cultural practices, national topography and climate.
(y) "Regulated article" means any article of any character carrying or capable of carrying the boll weevil, including cotton plants, seed cotton, cottonseed, other hosts, gin trash, gin equipment, mechanical cotton pickers and other equipment associated with cotton production, harvesting or processing.
(z) "Suppression" means any statewide program designed to reduce overall boll weevil populations throughout the specified area.
(aa) "Technical Advisory Committee" means a group of professional scientists in the fields of entomology, agronomy, agricultural economics and other appropriate disciplines appointed by the Boll Weevil Management Board to provide technical guidance in developing and conducting effective boll weevil management programs.
SECTION 62. Section 69-45-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-45-5. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce.
(b) "Department" means the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce.
(c) "Person" means an individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association, business, trust, legal representative or any other business unit.
(d) "Reproduce" means to stencil, emboss, print, engrave, impress, imprint, lithograph or duplicate in any manner or to cause any such acts to be done.
(e) "Agricultural product" means any product that is at least fifty-one percent (51%) grown, processed or manufactured in the State of Mississippi.
(f) "Division" means the Division of Market Development within the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce.
SECTION 63. Section 69-46-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-46-3. (1) There is created the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Board, hereinafter referred to as "the board," for the purpose of assisting Mississippi agricultural industry in the development, marketing and distribution of agricultural products.
(2) The board shall be composed of the following members:
(a) The Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, or a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee designated by the chairman, as a nonvoting member;
(b) The Chairman of the House of Representatives Agriculture Committee or a member of the House of Representatives Agriculture Committee designated by the chairman, as a nonvoting member;
(c) The Chairman of the Senate Forestry Committee, or a member of the Senate Forestry Committee designated by the chairman, as a nonvoting member;
(d) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority, or his designee;
(e) The Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce, or his designee;
(f) The President of the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, or his designee;
(g) The Director of the Cooperative Extension Service at Mississippi State University, or his designee;
(h) The Executive Director of the Agribusiness and Natural Resource Development Center at Alcorn State University, or his designee;
(i) The Director of the Agricultural Finance Division of the Mississippi Development Authority, or his designee;
(j) The Director of the Agriculture Marketing Division of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, or his designee;
(k) The * * *
State Forester, or his designee; and
(l) Three (3) individuals appointed by the Governor who are active producers of Mississippi land, water or timber commodities. The Governor shall appoint one (1) such person from each Supreme Court district.
(3) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority and the Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce shall serve as co-chairmen of the board.
(4) The board shall meet at least once each calendar quarter at the call of the co-chairmen. A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum at all meetings. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members present and voting is required in the adoption of any actions taken by the board. All members must be notified, in writing, of all regular and special meetings of the board, which notices must be mailed at least ten (10) days before the dates of the meetings. All meetings shall take place at the State Capitol in Jackson, Mississippi. The board shall provide a copy of the minutes of each of its meetings to the Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee and the Chairman of the House of Representatives Agriculture Committee.
(5) Members of the board shall not receive compensation. However, each member may be paid travel expenses and meals and lodging expenses as provided in Section 25-3-41, for such expenses incurred in furtherance of their duties. Travel expenses and meals and lodging expenses and other necessary expenses incurred by the board shall be paid out of funds appropriated to the Mississippi Development Authority.
(6) In carrying out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Act, the board may utilize the services, facilities and personnel of all departments, agencies, offices and institutions of the state, and all such departments, agencies, offices and institutions shall cooperate with the board in carrying out the provisions of such act.
SECTION 64. Section 69-47-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-47-1. For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) "Agricultural product" means any agricultural commodity or product, whether raw or processed, that is marketed for human consumption.
(b) "Certified organic farm" means a farm or portion of a farm or a site where agricultural products are produced that is certified by the United States Department of Agriculture under its National Organic Program standards as utilizing a system of organic farming.
(c) "Certifier" means an organic certifying agent accredited by the United States Department of Agriculture National Organic Program.
(d) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce.
(e) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce.
(f) "EPA" means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
(g) "Farm plan" means a plan of management of an organic farm that has been agreed to by the producer or handler meeting all requirements established by the United States Department of Agriculture National Organic Program and that includes written plans concerning all aspects of agricultural production or handling, including all practices required under this chapter.
(h) "FDA" means the United States Food and Drug Administration.
(i) "Greenhouse unit" or "unit" means a structure intended or used for the production of agricultural products.
(j) "Handler" means any person engaged in the business of handling agricultural products, except such term shall not include final retailers of agricultural products that do not process agricultural products.
(k) "Mississippi organic materials and practices (MOMP)" means a list of approved and prohibited substances and practices as adopted.
(l) "Organic farming" means a food production system based on farm-management methods or practices that rely on building soil fertility by utilizing crop rotation, recycling of organic wastes, application of unsynthesized minerals and, when necessary, mechanical, botanical or biological pest control.
(m) "Organic food" means a food which is labeled as organic or organically grown and which has been produced, transported, distributed, processed and packaged without the use of synthetic pesticides, synthetically compounded fertilizers, synthetic growth hormones, genetically modified organisms or artificial radiation and which has been verified by the department as complying with all provisions of this chapter.
(n) "Organically managed or produced" means an agricultural product that is produced and handled in accordance with all the provisions of this chapter and any regulations adopted thereunder.
(o) "Person" means an individual, group of individuals, corporation, association, organization, cooperative or other entity.
(p) "Pesticide" means any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest and any substance or combination of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, desiccant or any substance the commissioner determines to be a pesticide.
(q) "Processing" means cooking, baking, heating, drying, mixing, grinding, churning, separating, extracting, cutting, fermenting, preserving, dehydrating, freezing or otherwise manufacturing and includes the packaging, canning, jarring or otherwise enclosing food in a container.
(r) "Producer" means a person who engages in the business of growing or producing food, feed and ornamental plants.
(s) "Prohibited substances, fertilizers, materials, pesticides" mean those substances, fertilizers, materials, pesticides or practices prohibited by this chapter or regulations from use in a certified organic farming operation.
(t) "Restricted" means substances and practices which use is limited or qualified by the commissioner.
(u) "Tolerance" means the amount of a pesticide permitted on raw or processed agricultural commodities.
(v) "Organic assisting agent" means the Mississippi State University Cooperative Extension Service.
SECTION 65. Section 79-22-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
79-22-5. For the purpose of this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Aquaculture" means any form of agriculture that includes the process of growing, farming, cultivating and/or harvesting cultured aquatic products in marine or freshwaters and includes management by an aquaculturist.
(b) "Aquaculturist" is a person who is engaged in the cultivating of cultured aquatic products.
(c) "Aquaculture facility" means any facility or resources that are used for aquaculture activities and operations in Mississippi.
(d) "Cultured aquatic products" are marine or freshwater plants and animals that are propagated, farmed or cultivated in an aquaculture facility under the supervision and management of an aquaculturist or that are naturally produced in an aquaculture facility which at the time of production are under the active supervision and management of an aquaculturist.
(e) "Department" means the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Commerce.
(f) A "cultivation permit" is a permit issued by the department applicable to design criteria to prevent release of certain cultured aquatic products from an aquaculture facility into the environment.
(g) A "marketing permit" is a permit issued by the department to provide a mechanism for tracing certain marketed and cultured aquatic products to verify that they were cultured in an aquaculture facility and were not harvested from wild stocks and to prevent the release of undesirable species into the environment.
SECTION 66. Section 49-19-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides for free commercial tree seedlings for farm owners is repealed.
SECTION 67. Section 49-19-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, which creates the tree seedling revolving fund is repealed.
SECTION 68. Section 49-19-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, which created a joint forestry study committee is repealed.
SECTION 69. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2014.