MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2016 Regular Session
To: Transportation
By: Representative Chism
AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT FROM AND AFTER JULY 1, 2018, EVERY COUNTY SHALL OPERATE ON A COUNTYWIDE SYSTEM OF ROAD ADMINISTRATION; TO AMEND SECTIONS 19-2-3, 19-2-7, 19-2-11, 19-4-1, 19-4-3, 19-7-1, 19-9-3, 19-11-7, 19-13-17, 27-5-101, 27-19-159, 27-25-505, 27-25-705, 27-39-311, 31-7-101, 31-7-119, 65-7-37, 65-7-49, 65-7-53, 65-7-81, 65-7-91, 65-7-99,65-7-101, 65-7-105, 65-7-115, 65-7-117, 65-11-45, 65-11-47, 65-11-51, 65-15-1, 65-15-9, 65-15-11, 65-15-13, 65-15-19, 65-15-21, 65-17-1, 65-17-201 AND 69-27-209, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; TO REPEAL SECTION 19-2-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE ADOPTION OF A COUNTYWIDE SYSTEM OF ROAD ADMINISTRATION BY ELECTION; TO REPEAL SECTIONS 65-15-17, 65-17-3, 65-17-5, 65-17-7, 65-17-101, 65-17-103, 65-17-105, 65-17-07, 65-19-1, 65-19-3, 65-19-5, 65-19-9, 65-19-11, 65-19-3, 65-19-5, 65-19-7, 65-19-9, 65-19-11, 65-19-13, 65-19-15, 65-19-17, 65-19-19, 65-19-21, 65-19-23, 65-19-25, 65-19-27, 65-19-29, 65-19-31, 65-19-33, 65-19-35, 65-19-37, 65-19-39, 65-19-41, 65-19-43, 65-19-45, 65-19-47, 65-19-49, 65-19-51, 65-19-53, 65-19-55, 65-19-57, 65-19-59, 65-19-61, 65-19-63, 65-19-65, 65-19-67, 65-19-69, 65-19-71, 65-19-73, 65-19-75, 65-19-77, 65-19-79, 65-19-81, 65-19-83, 65-19-85, 65-19-87, 65-21-19 AND 65-21-21, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDE FOR THE CREATION AND PROCEDURES OF ROAD DISTRICTS COMPOSED IN WHOLE OR IN PART OF ONE OR MORE THAN ONE SUPERVISORS DISTRICT, FOR THE USE OF SPECIAL OR GENERAL ROAD FUNDS BY THE BOARDS OF SUPERVISORS, FOR DEFRAYING THE EXPENSES OF CONSTRUCTION BRIDGES CONNECTING ROAD DISTRICTS FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF ROAD ACCOUNTANTS AND FOR COMPENSATION FOR ROAD COMMISSIONERS EMPLOYED BY CERTAIN COUNTIES; TO REPEAL SECTION 19-2-13, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CODE SECTIONS TO THE COUNTYWIDE SYSTEM OF ROAD ADMINISTRATION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 19-2-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
19-2-3. (1) * * * From and after October 1, * * *
2018, each county in
the State of Mississippi shall operate on a countywide system of road
administration, there shall be no road districts, separate road districts or
special road districts in any county, supervisors districts shall not act as
road districts, and the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges in
each county shall be on a countywide basis so that (a) the distribution and use
of all road and bridge funds available to the county or any district thereof,
(b) the planning, construction and maintenance of county roads and bridges, (c)
the purchase, ownership and use of all road and bridge equipment, materials and
supplies, (d) the employment and use of the road and bridge labor force, and
(e) the administration of the county road department shall be on the basis of
the needs of the county as a whole, as determined by the board of supervisors,
without regard to any district boundaries.
(2) Any references in any statute to a road district, separate road district or special road district, or to a supervisors district acting as a road district, shall, as to any county which is required to operate on a countywide system of road administration, be construed to mean the county as a whole, if such construction is possible within the context of the statute; otherwise, any such reference shall have no force or effect with regard to any such county.
The State Auditor may, pursuant to a request from a board of supervisors in a resolution duly adopted by the board and spread upon its minutes, provide to the requesting board of supervisors his estimates of the cost to the county of implementing and complying with the County Government Reorganization Act of 1988.
SOURCES: Laws, 1988 Ex Sess, ch. 14, 2, eff from and after March 3, 1989 (the date on which the United States Attorney General interposed no objection to the amendment).
SECTION 2. Section 19-2-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
19-2-7. (1) Any road district bonds and any other indebtedness and liabilities of a road district which are outstanding on the date of a county's implementation of a countywide system of road administration, as described in Section 19-2-3, shall become obligations of the county as a whole. Any sum being held in a road district fund to repay principal and interest on such bonds shall be deposited into a special county fund to be used toward amortization of such bonds. If any covenants in any road district bonds require that the bonded indebtedness be retired by a tax levy only upon the property within the road district for which the bonds were issued, the board of supervisors shall retire such bonded indebtedness by a tax levy only upon the property in the part of the county which was within the road district immediately before the date of the county's implementation of the countywide system of road administration.
(2) Any real or personal property of a road district shall become the property of the county in which the district was located immediately before the date of the county's implementation of the countywide system of road administration.
* * *
( * * *3) The term "road district"
as used in this section shall also include separate road districts, special
road districts and supervisors districts acting as road districts.
SOURCES: Laws, 1988 Ex Sess, ch. 14, 4, eff from and after passage (approved August 16, 1988).
SECTION 3. Section 19-2-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
19-2-11. It shall be the
duty of the State Auditor to examine annually the books, records, accounts and
other documents of each county and to perform such investigations as may be
necessary to determine (a) if the county has actually adopted and put into
operation the practice of constructing and maintaining all of the roads and
bridges of the county as a unit, when and as required in Section 19-2-3, with
all of the construction and maintenance machinery and other equipment,
construction and maintenance funds and other construction and maintenance
facilities available to the county for highway use placed under the
administration of the county road manager for use in any part of the county * * * and to the best
interest of the county as a whole, (b) if the county has established and
implemented, and is maintaining, a central purchasing system for all equipment,
heavy equipment, machinery, supplies, commodities, materials and services as
required by Section 31-7-101, (c) if the county has established and implemented,
and is maintaining, the inventory control system required by Section 31-7-107,
and (d) if the county has adopted and implemented a system of countywide
personnel administration as required by Section 19-2-9. If upon his
examination the Auditor determines that a county is not in substantial
compliance with the requirements described in (a), (b), (c) and (d) above, he
shall file a certified written notice with the clerk of the board of
supervisors notifying the board of supervisors of his intention to issue a
certificate of noncompliance to the * * * Department of Revenue
and to the Attorney General thirty (30) days immediately following the date of
the filing of such notice unless within such period the county substantially
complies with the requirements described in (a), (b), (c) and (d) above. If
after thirty (30) days from the giving of the notice the county, in the opinion
of the State Auditor, has not substantially complied with the requirements
described in (a), (b), (c) and (d) above, the Auditor shall issue his
certificate of noncompliance to the board of supervisors, * * * Department of Revenue
and the Attorney General. Thereafter, the * * * Department of Revenue
shall withhold all allocations and payments to the county that would otherwise
be payable under Sections 27-65-75(4), 27-5-101(b)(vi) and 65-33-45, until such
time as the * * * Department of Revenue and the Attorney General
receive from the State Auditor written notice of cancellation of the
certificate of noncompliance. However, all of such funds as are withheld from
the county during the first ninety (90) days following issuance of a
certificate of noncompliance under this subsection shall accrue to the account
of that county and shall be subsequently allocated and paid to that county as
otherwise provided by law if within such ninety-day period the board of
supervisors, the * * * Department of Revenue and the Attorney General
receive written notice from the State Auditor of cancellation of the
certificate of noncompliance. The State Auditor shall not unreasonably delay
the issuance of a written notice of cancellation of a certificate of
noncompliance but shall promptly issue a written notice of cancellation of
certificate of noncompliance upon an affirmative showing by the county that it
has come into substantial compliance. If the State Auditor has not issued a
written notice of cancellation of the certificate of noncompliance within ninety
(90) days after issuance of a certificate of noncompliance, all such funds as
have been withheld and accrued to the county during such period, along with all
monthly allocations which accrue but are withheld from the county following
such ninety-day period for failure of the county to comply, shall be forfeited
and reallocated among all other counties in the state that are eligible for
such funds in accordance with the same formula for calculating original
allocations among counties.
There shall be no administrative appeal from any action of the State Auditor under this subsection in issuing or failing to issue any certificate of noncompliance or notice of cancellation of a certificate of noncompliance; however, if a civil action is filed for and on behalf of any county which is aggrieved by any action of the State Auditor under this section within ninety (90) days after issuance to the county of a certificate of noncompliance, any money as would otherwise be reallocated to other counties under this section shall be held in escrow pending final determination of the civil action.
SECTION 4. Section 19-4-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
19-4-1. The board of supervisors of each county shall appoint some person other than a member of such board to serve as county administrator. The board of supervisors may appoint the chancery clerk of the county as county administrator if the chancery clerk agrees to serve as county administrator, or the board may appoint as county administrator some other person who has knowledgeable experience in any of the following fields: work projection, budget planning, accounting, purchasing, cost control or personnel management. If the chancery clerk is appointed to serve as county administrator, the board of supervisors, with the approval of the chancery clerk, may appoint the chancery clerk also to serve as the county purchase clerk, an assistant purchase clerk, the inventory control clerk or any combination of such positions, but no chancery clerk who serves as county administrator shall also serve as the county road manager or a receiving clerk or an assistant receiving clerk for the county. If some person other than the chancery clerk is appointed to serve as county administrator, the board of supervisors may appoint such person also to serve as (a) inventory control clerk; (b) inventory control clerk and county road manager; or (c) inventory control clerk and county purchase clerk; but such person shall not serve as both county administrator and as a receiving clerk or an assistant receiving clerk for the county.
Notwithstanding any provisions of this section to the contrary, in any county having a population of less than three thousand (3,000) according to the latest federal decennial census, the board of supervisors, with the approval of the chancery clerk, may appoint the chancery clerk also to serve as the county administrator, the county purchase clerk, an assistant purchase clerk, the receiving clerk, an assistant receiving clerk, and the inventory control clerk, or any combination of such positions.
The county administrator, under the policies determined by the board of supervisors and subject to the board's general supervision and control, shall administer all county affairs falling under the control of the board and carry out the general policies of the board in conformity with the estimates of expenditures fixed in the annual budget as finally adopted by the board or as thereafter revised by appropriate action of the board.
The boards of supervisors of at least two (2) but no more than five (5) counties may, by agreement executed under the Interlocal Cooperation Act of 1974, employ the same person to serve them as county administrator; however, a chancery clerk may not be appointed to serve as administrator for more than one (1) county nor for any county other than the county for which he serves as chancery clerk.
The State Auditor shall prescribe a course of continuing education for county administrators to keep them knowledgeable about their duties and responsibilities with respect to administering the affairs of the county. At least one (1) training session shall be held annually.
SECTION 5. Section 19-4-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
19-4-3. The person
appointed as county administrator under Section 19-4-1 shall serve at the will
and pleasure of the board of supervisors and may be removed from such position
by a majority vote of the board. The compensation of the county administrator
shall be fixed by the board of supervisors and may be paid from the county
general fund or from any funds which may be available to defray the financial
administration expenses of county government. Any chancery clerk who agrees to
also serve as county administrator may be paid, in addition to such
compensation as he is otherwise entitled to receive by law, such additional
compensation as the board deems him to be entitled commensurate with the
additional duties he performs as county administrator. The board shall provide
travel and transportation expense and other office expenses as are needed in
the performance of the duties of the office of county administrator. * * * The travel and transportation
expense shall be paid on itemized vouchers in accordance with the provisions of
Section 25-3-41 * * *.
SECTION 6. Section 19-7-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
19-7-1. * * *
(1) The board of supervisors shall have power to accept as a gift, or to purchase for the county, so much real estate, in fee simple, at the place where the courts may be required to sit, as may be convenient and necessary for the building and use of the courthouse, county facilities and jail, and, at any convenient place in the county, property for fire protection purposes and homes and farms for the poor, the purchase money to be paid out of the county treasury, and the title to the property be made to and in the name of the county.
(2) Subject to the provisions of Section 65-7-91, the board of supervisors of any county may purchase or lease grounds and buildings or may erect buildings on grounds owned or leased by the county, to be used by the county in storing and preserving road machinery, trucks or other county property. The same shall be paid for out of the general fund of the county or out of road maintenance and bridge funds.
SECTION 7. Section 19-9-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
19-9-3. The board of supervisors of any county designated in paragraph (h) of Section 19-9-1 is authorized to issue negotiable bonds of any supervisors district or districts in such county to raise money for the purposes described in paragraph (h) of Section 19-9-1.
All bonds issued pursuant to this section shall be issued in like manner and be subject to the same limitations and provisions as are set forth in Sections 19-9-1 through 19-9-31 with reference to the issuance of county bonds.
SECTION 8. Section 19-11-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
19-11-7. (1) The county administrator of each county of the State of Mississippi shall prepare and submit to the board of supervisors at its August meeting of each year a complete budget of revenues, expenses and a working cash balance estimated for the next fiscal year, which shall be based on the aggregate funds estimated to be available for the ensuing fiscal year for each fund, from which such estimated expenses will be paid, exclusive of school maintenance funds, which shall be shown separately and exclusive of the budget of the sheriff's department which shall be prepared by the sheriff. Such statement of revenues shall show every source of revenue along with the amount derived from each source. The budget, including the sheriff's budget, containing such statement of revenues and expenses shall be published at least one (1) time during August or September but not later than September 30 of the year in a newspaper published in the county, or if no newspaper is published therein, then in a newspaper having a general circulation therein.
(2) The county administrator shall not prepare a budget that reduces the county budget by more than twenty percent (20%) in the last year of the members' term of office if a majority of the members of the board are not reelected.
SECTION 9. Section 19-13-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
19-13-17. A board of
supervisors purchasing tractors, trucks and other machinery or equipment for
constructing, reconstructing and maintaining the public roads may provide for
the payment of all or any portion of the price thereof over the useful life of
the property as determined according to the most recent asset depreciation
range (ADR) guidelines for the Class Life Asset Depreciation Range System
established by the Internal Revenue Service pursuant to the United States
Internal Revenue Code and regulations thereunder or comparable depreciation
guidelines with respect to any equipment not covered by ADR guidelines;
provided, however, that no installment contract described in this sentence may
be executed by the board during the last year of the board's term of office.
All such deferred payments shall be represented by notes of the county, to be
dated at or after the time of delivery of the machinery, bearing interest at a
rate not exceeding that allowed in Section 75-17-105, from date until paid, and
payable to the seller of the machinery, or the purchaser of the notes, out of
the road fund of the county. All such notes for any purchase shall be payable
on June 15 or December 15, the first to be payable not more than one (1) year after
date. * * * The
notes shall be signed by the president of the board, and countersigned by the
clerk thereof, under the seal of the county. * * * The notes may be validated in the
manner provided by law, and may be delivered to the seller of the machinery, or
to any person who will purchase the same at a lower rate of interest than * * * the seller is willing to accept, or
at a like rate of interest plus a premium, any money received from a sale of
such notes to be applied to the payment of the balance due on * * * the machinery, and any surplus to
be paid into the road fund of the county. On the first business day of each
month in which any such note matures, the clerk shall docket the principal
amount of such note, with interest thereon to maturity, as a claim against the
county, in favor of the last known holder of such note, and the board shall
allow the same at its regular meeting held that month without further
presentation, proof or demand, to be paid as other claims in its proper order.
In all advertisements for bids for road machinery or equipment under this section, the board of supervisors shall insert in such advertisements a statement as to whether or not the road machinery or equipment purchased is to be paid for in cash, or is to be purchased upon installment payments as authorized herein. All indebtedness incurred under the provisions hereof may be incurred by the board without the necessity of calling an election thereon, receiving a petition therefor, or giving notice of the intention of the board to incur such indebtedness. However, no indebtedness shall be hereafter incurred under the provisions of this section which, when added to the amount of notes incurred hereunder which are then outstanding shall require the use in the retirement of such notes in any one (1) year of more than fifty percent (50%) of the amount available to the county for the maintenance of roads and bridges for the preceding fiscal year. The amount available for the maintenance of roads and bridges shall be deemed to be the sum of the amounts produced by the county's share of the state gasoline and motor vehicle privilege license tax, less that amount required by law to be set aside for the payment of bonds, together with the amount produced by the road and/or bridge ad valorem tax levy for such county. Nothing herein, however, shall be construed to invalidate any indebtedness previously incurred and now outstanding.
When any county has heretofore incurred, or shall hereafter incur an indebtedness under the provisions of this section for the purchase of road machinery or equipment, it shall be the duty of the chancery clerk as county treasurer to pay the principal of and interest upon the indebtedness in semiannual installments from the road maintenance and bridge funds.
If any person, firm, corporation or association, or any agent or employee thereof, shall willfully claim and receive any amount from any county as the purchase price of, or as any installment upon the purchase price of, any road machinery or equipment where the provisions of this section have not been complied with, then such person, firm, corporation or association shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding double the amount of such unauthorized claim or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
SECTION 10. Section 27-5-101, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
27-5-101. Unless otherwise
provided in this section, on or before the fifteenth day of each month, all
gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene taxes which are levied under the laws of this
state and collected during the previous month shall be paid and apportioned by
the * * * Department of Revenue as follows:
(a) (i) Except as
otherwise provided in Section 31-17-127, from the gross amount of gasoline,
diesel fuel or kerosene taxes produced by the state, there shall be deducted an
amount equal to one-sixth (1/6) of principal and interest certified by the
State Treasurer to the * * * Department of Revenue to be due on the next
semiannual bond and interest payment date, as required under the provisions of
Chapter 130, Laws of 1938, and subsequent acts authorizing the issuance of
bonds payable from gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene tax revenue on a parity
with the bonds issued under authority of * * * the Chapter 130. The State Treasurer
shall certify to the * * * Department of Revenue on or before the
fifteenth day of each month the amount to be paid to the "Highway Bonds
Sinking Fund" as provided by * * * the Chapter 130, Laws of 1938, and
subsequent acts authorizing the issuance of bonds payable from gasoline, diesel
fuel or kerosene tax revenue, on a parity with the bonds issued under authority
of * * * the
Chapter 130; and the * * * Department of Revenue shall, on or before the
twenty-fifth day of each month, pay into the State Treasury for credit to the
"Highway Bonds Sinking Fund" the amount so certified to him by the
State Treasurer due to be paid into such fund each month. The payments to the
"Highway Bonds Sinking Fund" shall be made out of gross gasoline,
diesel fuel or kerosene tax collections before deductions of any nature are
considered; however, such payments shall be deducted from the allocation to the
Transportation Department under paragraph (c) of this section.
(ii) From collections derived from the portion of the gasoline excise tax that exceeds Seven Cents (7˘) per gallon, from the portion of the tax on aviation gas under Section 27-55-11 that exceeds Six and Four-tenths Cents (6.4˘) per gallon, from the portion of the special fuel tax levied under Sections 27-55-519 and 27-55-521, at Eighteen Cents (18˘) per gallon that exceeds Ten Cents (10˘) per gallon, from the portion of the taxes levied under Section 27-55-519, at Five and Three-fourths Cents (5.75˘) per gallon that exceeds One Cent (1˘) per gallon on special fuel and Five and One-fourth Cents (5.25˘) per gallon on special fuel used as aircraft fuel, from the portion of the excise tax on compressed gas used as a motor fuel that exceeds the rate of tax in effect on June 30, 1987, and from the portion of the gasoline excise tax in excess of Seven Cents (7˘) per gallon and the diesel excise tax in excess of Ten Cents (10˘) per gallon under Section 27-61-5 there shall be deducted:
1. An amount as provided in Section 27-65-75(4) to the credit of a special fund designated as the "Office of State Aid Road Construction."
2. An amount equal to the tax collections derived from Two Cents (2˘) per gallon of the gasoline excise tax for distribution to the State Highway Fund to be used exclusively for the construction, reconstruction and maintenance of highways of the State of Mississippi or the payment of interest and principal on bonds when specifically authorized by the Legislature for that purpose.
3. The balance shall be deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the State Highway Fund.
(b) Subject to the
provisions that * * *
the basis of distribution shall in nowise affect adversely the amount
specifically pledged in paragraph (a) of this section to be paid into the
"Highway Bonds Sinking Fund," the following shall be deducted from
the amount produced by the state tax on gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene tax
collections, excluding collections derived from the portion of the gasoline
excise tax that exceeds Seven Cents (7˘) per gallon, from the portion of the
tax on aviation gas under Section 27-55-11 that exceeds Six and Four-tenths
Cents (6.4˘) per gallon, from the portion of the special fuel tax levied under
Sections 27-55-519 and 27-55-521, at Eighteen Cents (18˘) per gallon, that
exceeds Ten Cents (10˘) per gallon, from the portion of the taxes levied under
Section 27-55-519, at Five and Three-fourths Cents (5.75˘) that exceeds One
Cent (1˘) per gallon on special fuel and Five and One-fourth Cents (5.25˘) per
gallon on special fuel used as aircraft fuel, from the portion of the excise
tax on compressed gas used as a motor fuel that exceeds the rate of tax in
effect on June 30, 1987, and from the portion of the gasoline excise tax in
excess of Seven Cents (7˘) per gallon and the diesel excise tax in excess of
Ten Cents (10˘) per gallon under Section 27-61-5:
(i) Twenty percent (20%) of such amount which shall be earmarked and set aside for the construction, reconstruction and maintenance of the highways and roads of the state, provided that if such twenty percent (20%) should reduce any county to a lesser amount than that received in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1966, then such twenty percent (20%) shall be reduced to a percentage to provide that no county shall receive less than its portion for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1966;
(ii) The amount allowed as refund on gasoline or as tax credit on diesel fuel or kerosene used for agricultural, maritime, industrial, domestic and nonhighway purposes;
(iii) Five percent (5%) of such amount shall be paid to the State Highway Fund;
(iv) The amount or portion thereof authorized by legislative appropriation to the Fisheries and Wildlife Fund created under Section 59-21-25;
(v) The amount for deposit into the special aviation fund under paragraph (d) of this section; and
(vi) The remainder shall be divided on a basis of nine-fourteenths (9/14) and five-fourteenths (5/14) (being the same basis as Four and One-half Cents (4-1/2˘) and Two and One-half Cents (2-1/2˘) is to Seven Cents (7˘) on gasoline, and six and forty-three one-hundredths (6.43) and three and fifty-seven one-hundredths (3.57) is to Ten Cents (10˘) on diesel fuel or kerosene). The amount produced by the nine-fourteenths (9/14) division shall be allocated to the Transportation Department and paid into the State Treasury as provided in this section and in Section 27-5-103 and the five-fourteenths (5/14) division shall be returned to the counties of the state on the following basis:
1. In each fiscal year, each county shall be paid each month the same percentage of the monthly total to be distributed as was paid to that county during the same month in the fiscal year which ended April 9, 1960, until the county receives One Hundred Ninety Thousand Dollars ($190,000.00) in such fiscal year, at which time funds shall be distributed under the provisions of paragraph (b)(vi)4 of this section.
2. If after
payments in 1 above, any county has not received a total of One Hundred Ninety
Thousand Dollars ($190,000.00) at the end of the fiscal year ending June 30,
1961, and each fiscal year thereafter, then any available funds not distributed
under 1 above shall be used to bring such county or counties up to One Hundred
Ninety Thousand Dollars ($190,000.00) or such funds shall be divided equally
among such counties not reaching One Hundred Ninety Thousand Dollars
($190,000.00) if there is not sufficient money to bring all the counties to * * *
the One Hundred Ninety
Thousand Dollars ($190,000.00).
3. When a county has been paid an amount equal to the total which was paid to the same county during the fiscal year ended April 9, 1960, such county shall receive no further payments during the then current fiscal year until the last month of such current fiscal year, at which time distribution will be made under 2 above, except as set out in 4 below.
4. During the last month of the current fiscal year, should it be determined that there are funds available in excess of the amount distributed for the year under 1 and 2 above, then such excess funds shall be distributed among the various counties as follows:
One-third (1/3) of such excess to be divided equally among the counties;
One-third (1/3) of such excess to be paid to the counties in the proportion which the population of each county bears to the total population of the state according to the last federal census;
One-third (1/3) of such excess to be paid to the counties in the proportion which the number of square miles of each county bears to the total square miles in the state.
5. It is the declared purpose and intent of the Legislature that no county shall be paid less than was paid during the year ended April 9, 1960, unless the amount to be distributed to all counties in any year is less than the amount distributed to all counties during the year ended April 9, 1960.
The Municipal Aid Fund as established by Section 27-5-103 shall not participate in any portion of any funds allocated to any county hereunder over and above One Hundred Ninety Thousand Dollars ($190,000.00).
In any county having road or bridge bonds outstanding which exceed, in the aggregate, twelve percent (12%) of the assessed valuation of the taxable property of the county, it shall be the duty of the board of supervisors to set aside not less than sixty percent (60%) of such county's share of the gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene taxes to be used in paying the principal and interest on such road or bridge bonds as they mature.
In any county having such road or bridge bonds outstanding which exceed, in the aggregate, eight percent (8%) of the assessed valuation of the taxable property of the county, but which do not exceed, in the aggregate, twelve percent (12%) of the assessed valuation of the taxable property of the county, it shall be the duty of the board of supervisors to set aside not less than thirty-five percent (35%) of such county's share of the gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene taxes to be used in paying the principal and interest of such road or bridge bonds as they mature.
In any county having such road or bridge bonds outstanding which exceed, in the aggregate, five percent (5%) of the assessed valuation of the taxable property of the county, but which do not exceed, in the aggregate, eight percent (8%) of the assessed valuation of the taxable property of the county, it shall be the duty of the board of supervisors to set aside not less than twenty percent (20%) of such county's share of the gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene taxes to be used in paying the principal and interest of such road and bridge bonds as they mature.
In any county having such road or bridge bonds outstanding which do not exceed, in the aggregate, five percent (5%) of the assessed valuation of the taxable property of the county, it shall be the duty of the board of supervisors to set aside not less than ten percent (10%) of such county's share of the gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene taxes to be used in paying the principal and interest on such road or bridge bonds as they mature.
The portion of any such county's share of the gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene taxes thus set aside for the payment of the principal and interest of road or bridge bonds, as provided for in this section, shall be used in paying the currently maturing installments of the principal and interest of such road or bridge bonds, if there be any such road or bridge bonds outstanding.
The remaining portion of such county's share of the gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene taxes, after setting aside the portion above provided for the payment of the principal and interest of bonds, shall be used in the construction and maintenance of any public highways, bridges or culverts of the county, in the discretion of the board of supervisors.
In any county having no road or bridge bonds outstanding, all such county's share of the gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene taxes shall be used in the construction, reconstruction and maintenance of the public highways, bridges or culverts of the county, as the board of supervisors may determine.
In every county in which there are county road bonds or seawall or road protection bonds outstanding which were issued for the purpose of building bridges or constructing public roads or seawalls, such funds shall be used in the manner provided by law.
(c) From the amount produced by the nine-fourteenths (9/14) division allocated to the Transportation Department, there shall be deducted:
(i) The amount paid to the State Treasurer for the "Highway Bonds Sinking Fund" under paragraph (a) of this section;
(ii) Any amounts due counties in accordance with Section 65-33-45 which have outstanding bonds issued for seawall or road protection purposes, issued under provisions of Chapter 319, Laws of 1924, and amendments thereto; and
(iii) Except as
otherwise provided in Section 31-17-127, the remainder shall be paid by the * * * Department of Revenue
to the State Treasurer on the fifteenth day of each month next succeeding the
month in which the gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene taxes were collected to
the credit of the State Highway Fund.
The funds allocated for the construction, reconstruction and improvement of state highways, bridges and culverts, or so much thereof as may be necessary, shall first be used in conjunction with funds supplied by the federal government for such purposes and allocated to the Transportation Department to be expended on the state highway system. It is specifically provided hereby that the necessary portion of such funds hereinabove allocated to the Transportation Department may be used for the prompt payment of principal and interest on highway bonds heretofore issued, including such bonds issued or to be issued under the provisions of Chapter 312, Laws of 1956, and amendments thereto.
Nothing contained in this
section shall be construed to reduce the amount of such gasoline, diesel fuel
or kerosene excise taxes levied by the state, allotted under the provisions of
Title 65, Chapter 33, Mississippi Code of 1972, to counties in which there are
outstanding bonds issued for seawall or road protection purposes issued under
the provisions of Chapter 319, Laws of 1924, and amendments thereto; the amount
of * * * the
gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene excise taxes designated in this section for
the payment of bonds and interest authorized and issued or to be issued under
the provisions of Chapter 130, Laws of 1938, and subsequent acts authorizing
the issuance of bonds payable from gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene tax
revenue, shall, in such counties, be considered as being paid "into the
State Treasury to the credit of the State Highway Fund" within the meaning
of Section 65-33-45 in computing the amount to be paid to such counties under
the provisions of * * *
the section, and this section shall be administered in connection with
Title 65, Chapter 33, Mississippi Code of 1972, and Sections 65-33-45, 65-33-47
and 65-33-49 dealing with seawalls, as if made a part of this section.
(d) The proceeds of the Five and One-fourth Cents (5.25˘) of the tax per gallon on oils used as a propellant for jet aircraft engines, and Six and Four-tenths Cents (6.4˘) of the tax per gallon on aviation gasoline and the tax of One Cent (1˘) per gallon for each gallon of gasoline for which a refund has been made pursuant to Section 27-55-23 because such gasoline was used for aviation purposes, shall be paid to the State Treasury into a special fund to be used exclusively, pursuant to legislative appropriation, for the support and development of aeronautics as defined in Section 61-1-3.
(e) State highway funds in an amount equal to the difference between Forty-two Million Dollars ($42,000,000.00) and the annual debt service payable on the state's highway revenue refunding bonds, Series 1985, shall be expended for the construction or reconstruction of highways designated under the highway program created under Section 65-3-97.
(f) "Gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene taxes" as used in this section shall be deemed to mean and include state gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene taxes levied and imposed on distributors of gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene, and all state excise taxes derived from any fuel used to propel vehicles upon the highways of this state, when levied by any statute.
SECTION 11. Section 27-19-159, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
27-19-159. Monies collected
by the * * * Department of Revenue or remitted to * * * the commission by tax collectors or
other officers, as proceeds from the tax imposed by this article and subject to
tax collector's commissions and fees, shall be apportioned by the commissioner
who shall determine such amounts as due each county and shall certify to the
State Treasurer the amount due each county at the end of each month.
The State Treasurer shall
requisition monies from such accounts in such amounts as determined and
certified by the Chairman of the * * * Department of Revenue.
The State Fiscal Management Board shall deliver the warrant to the State
Treasurer who shall transfer such funds to each county by warrant or by
electronic funds transfer on or before the fifteenth of the month following
collection by the commission to the depositories of the counties of the state,
upon signed receipt from the chancery clerk of each county, as follows:
One-third (1/3) of * * * the amount shall be paid to the
counties in the proportion which the monthly computed number of registered
motor vehicles situated therein bears to the whole monthly computed number of
such vehicles registered in the state; one-third (1/3) of * * * the amount shall be paid to the
counties in the proportion which the number of square miles of each county
bears to the total square miles in the state; and one-third (1/3) of * * * the amount shall be paid to the
counties in the proportion which the population of each county bears to the
total population of the state, as shown by the last preceding federal census. * * * The sums shall constitute a road
fund of such county receiving its proportionate share and shall thereafter be
used as follows:
In any county having road or bridge bonds outstanding which exceed in the aggregate twelve percent (12%) of the assessed valuation of the taxable property of the county, it shall be the duty of the board of supervisors to set aside not less than sixty percent (60%) of such county's share of the tax paid to such county under the provisions of this article, to be used in paying the principal and interest of such road or bridge bonds as they mature.
In any county having road or bridge bonds outstanding which exceed in the aggregate five percent (5%) of the assessed valuation of the taxable property of the county, but which do not exceed in the aggregate twelve percent (12%) of the assessed valuation of the taxable property of the county, it shall be the duty of the board of supervisors to set aside not less than thirty-five percent (35%) of such county's share to be used in paying the principal and interest of such road or bridge bonds as they mature. And, in any county having road or bridge bonds outstanding which do not exceed in the aggregate five percent (5%) of the assessed valuation of the taxable property of the county, it shall be the duty of the board of supervisors to set aside not less than ten percent (10%) of such county's share of the proceeds of the tax paid to such county under the provisions of this article to be used in paying the principal and interest on such road or bridge bonds as they mature.
The portion of such county's share of the privilege taxes imposed by this article thus set aside for the payment of the principal and interest of road or bridge bonds, as provided for in this section, shall be used in paying the currently maturing installments of principal and interest of road and bridge bonds, if there be any such road or bridge bonds outstanding.
The remaining portion of such county's share of the privilege taxes, after setting aside the portion above provided for the payment of principal and interest of bonds, shall be used in the construction and maintenance of any public highways, bridges or culverts of the county, in the discretion of the board of supervisors; or in paying the interest and principal of county road and bridge bonds, in the discretion of the board of supervisors.
In any county having no road or bridge bonds outstanding, all of such county's share of the privilege taxes paid to such county under the provisions of this article shall be used in the construction, reconstruction and maintenance of the public highways, bridges or culverts of the county, as the board of supervisors may determine.
SECTION 12. Section 27-25-505, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
27-25-505. (1) All taxes levied in this article and collected by the Department of Revenue shall be paid into the State Treasury on the same day collected.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the commissioner shall apportion all the tax collections made pursuant to this article to the state and to the county in which the oil was produced, in accordance with the following schedule and so certify such apportionment to the State Treasurer at the end of each month:
On the first Six Hundred Thousand Dollars ($600,000.00) or any part thereof, sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66-2/3%) to the state and thirty-three and one-third percent (33-1/3%) to the county.
Above and exceeding Six Hundred Thousand Dollars ($600,000.00), or any part thereof, ninety percent (90%) to the state and ten percent (10%) to the county through June 30, 1989; eighty-five percent (85%) to the state and fifteen percent (15%) to the county from July 1, 1989, through June 30, 1990; eighty percent (80%) to the state and twenty percent (20%) to the county from July 1, 1990, through June 30, 2015; seventy-nine percent (79%) to the state and twenty-one percent (21%) to the county from July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016; seventy-eight percent (78%) to the state and twenty-two percent (22%) to the county from July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2017; seventy-seven percent (77%) to the state and twenty-three percent (23%) to the county from July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018; seventy-six percent (76%) to the state and twenty-four percent (24%) to the county from July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019; and seventy-four percent (74%) to the state and twenty-six percent (26%) to the county for each fiscal year thereafter.
(3) The state's share of all oil severance taxes collected pursuant to this article shall be deposited as provided for in Section 27-25-506.
(4) The commissioner shall apportion all the tax collections made pursuant to the tax levied in Section 27-25-503(1)(c) to the county in which the oil was produced.
(5) The State Treasurer shall remit the county's share of the taxes collected pursuant to this article on or before the twentieth day of the month next succeeding the month in which the collections were made, for division among the municipalities and taxing districts of the county. He shall accompany his remittance with a report to the county receiving the funds prepared by the commissioner showing from whom the tax was collected. Upon receipt of the funds, the board of supervisors of the county shall allocate the funds to the municipalities and to the various maintenance and bond and interest funds of the county and school districts, as provided in this subsection.
(6) Except as provided in subsection (8) of this section, when there are any oil producing properties within the corporate limits of any municipality, then the municipality shall participate in the division of the tax returned to the county in which the municipality is located, in the proportion which the tax on production of oil from any properties located within the municipal corporate limits bears to the tax on the total production of oil in the county. In no event, however, shall the amount allocated to municipalities exceed one-third (1/3) of the tax produced in the municipality and returned to the county. Any amount received by any municipality as a result of the allocation provided in this subsection shall be used only for such purposes as are authorized by law.
(7) Except as provided in subsection (8) of this section, the balance remaining of any amount of tax returned to the county after the allocation to municipalities shall be divided among the various maintenance and bond interest funds of the county and school districts, in the discretion of the board of supervisors, and the board shall make the division in consideration of the needs of the various taxing districts. The funds so allocated shall be used only for purposes as are authorized by law.
(8) Any amount above and exceeding Six Hundred Thousand Dollars ($600,000.00) that is remitted to the county that is more than twenty percent (20%) of the taxes above and exceeding Six Hundred Thousand Dollars ($600,000.00) collected on oil produced in the county, shall be utilized by the county for infrastructure repairs.
SECTION 13. Section 27-25-705, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
27-25-705. (1) All taxes herein levied in this article and collected by the department shall be paid into the State Treasury on the same day in which the taxes are collected.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the commissioner shall apportion all the tax collections made pursuant to this article to the state and to the county in which the gas was produced, in the proportion of sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66-2/3%) to the state and thirty-three and one-third percent (33-1/3%) to the county.
(3) The commissioner shall apportion all the tax collections made pursuant to Section 27-25-703(1)(b) to the county in which the gas is produced.
(4) When the producer of gas subject to the tax levied in this article increases the price of the gas sold and the increase is subject to approval by a federal regulatory board or commission, and when the producer of the gas so requests, the State Treasurer is hereby authorized to hold the severance tax collected on the price increase in escrow until such time as the price increase or a portion thereof is finally granted or approved. The severance tax thus held in escrow shall be deposited by the State Treasurer to an account in a state depository to be invested in an interest-bearing account in the manner provided by law. When the price increase in question or a portion thereof is granted or approved, the commissioner shall compute the correct severance tax due on the increase and certify the amount of tax thus computed. This amount and interest earned from the depository shall be distributed to the General Fund and to the county or counties proportionately as provided in this subsection. The balance, if any, of the tax and interest held in escrow on the price increase shall be returned to the taxpayer.
(5) The state's share of all gas severance taxes collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited as provided for in Section 27-25-506.
(6) The commissioner shall certify at the end of each month the apportionment to each county to the State Treasurer, who shall remit the county's share of the funds on or before the twentieth day of the month next succeeding the month in which the collections were made for division among the municipalities and taxing districts of the county. The commissioner shall submit a report to the State Treasurer for distribution to each county receiving the funds showing from whom the tax and interest, if any, were collected. Upon receipt of the funds, the board of supervisors of the county shall allocate the funds to the municipalities and to the various maintenance and bond and interest funds of the county and school districts, as provided in this subsection.
When there are any gas producing properties within the corporate limits of any municipality, then the municipality shall participate in the division of the tax and interest, if any, returned to the county in which the municipality is located in the proportion which the tax on production of gas from properties located within the municipal corporate limits bears to the tax on total production of gas in the county. In no event, however, shall the amount allocated to the municipalities exceed one-third (1/3) of the tax and interest produced in the municipality and returned to the county. Any amount received by any municipality as a result of the allocation provided for in this subsection shall be used for such purposes as are authorized by law.
The balance remaining of any funds returned to the county after the allocation to municipalities shall be divided among the various maintenance and bond and interest funds of the county and school districts, in the discretion of the board of supervisors, and the board shall make the division in consideration of the needs of the various taxing districts. The funds so allocated shall be used only for such purposes as are authorized by law.
SECTION 14. Section 27-39-311, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
27-39-311. Any member of a board of supervisors or aldermen or city commissioners who shall vote to impose a tax levy in excess of the limits as fixed by this article shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished in the manner provided by law.
SECTION 15. Section 31-7-101, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
31-7-101. From and after
the first Monday of January 1989, the supervisors of each county in the state
shall establish a central purchase system. The central purchase system shall
be administered by a county department of purchasing headed by a purchase clerk
who, unless the chancery clerk is appointed by the board of supervisors as
purchase clerk as hereinafter authorized, shall be appointed by the county
administrator, with the approval of the board of supervisors, in any county
required to operate under a countywide system of road administration * * *. The purchase clerk shall not be a member of the
board of supervisors. The purchase clerk shall be the director of the
department of purchasing. No person shall serve as the purchase clerk who,
within one (1) year after his appointment, does not receive certification from
the State Auditor as having successfully completed the professional education
program offered for purchase clerks pursuant to Section 19-3-77.
The department of purchasing shall purchase all equipment, heavy equipment, machinery, supplies, commodities, materials and services used by any office or department of the county except for those offices or departments whose expenditures are not required by law to be approved by the board of supervisors. The purchase clerk may, subject to the approval of the entity which appointed him, hire personnel necessary to operate the department of purchasing efficiently. Unless the chancery clerk is appointed by the board of supervisors as receiving clerk as hereinafter authorized, the county administrator, with the approval of the board of supervisors, in any county required to operate under the countywide system of road administration, or the board of supervisors in any other county, shall appoint a receiving clerk, who shall not be a member of the board of supervisors. Assistant receiving clerks, when necessary, may be appointed by the receiving clerk subject to the approval of the entity which appointed him. No person shall serve as the receiving clerk who, within one (1) year after his appointment, does not receive certification from the State Auditor as having successfully completed the professional education program offered for receiving clerks pursuant to Section 19-3-77. The receiving clerk and his assistants shall be solely responsible for accepting the delivery of all equipment, heavy equipment, machinery, supplies, commodities, materials and services purchased by the county.
The purchase clerk shall disapprove any purchase requisitions which, in his opinion, are not in compliance with the purchasing laws of the state.
The board of supervisors may designate the chancery clerk, with his consent, to serve as the purchase clerk or assistant purchase clerk or as the receiving clerk or assistant receiving clerk; however a chancery clerk designated as purchase clerk or assistant purchase clerk may not also serve as receiving clerk or assistant receiving clerk, and a chancery clerk designated as receiving clerk or assistant receiving clerk may not serve as purchase clerk or assistant purchase clerk. Neither the purchase clerk nor any assistant purchase clerks shall serve as the receiving clerk or as an assistant receiving clerk.
When the chancery clerk serves as county administrator and purchase clerk or assistant purchase clerk, the receiving clerk and any assistant receiving clerks shall be appointed by and serve at the will and pleasure of the board of supervisors.
SECTION 16. Section 31-7-119, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
31-7-119. * * * Neither the board of supervisors nor any member thereof shall
individually purchase, order or receive any equipment, heavy equipment,
machinery, supplies, commodities, materials or services for the use or benefit
of the county.
* * *
SECTION 17. Section 65-7-37, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
65-7-37. Whenever in the
discretion of the board of supervisors of any county it seems proper to do so,
the board of supervisors may, by order duly entered on its minutes, regulate
the use of any hard surfaced or graveled public road in the county by
prescribing what kind of wheels may be used on vehicles on * * * the public roads and by prohibiting
the use thereon of vehicles using cleats or spikes on wheels. But such order shall,
before being in full force and effect, be published in a newspaper published in
the county for three (3) consecutive weeks, whereupon such order shall be in
full force and effect.
In the event of inclement
weather, floods, or other causes wherein immediate nonuse of any of such roads
is necessary, the * * * road manager of the county may enter his
proclamation prohibiting the use of * * * the road for such period of time as
he deems necessary for the proper preservation thereof, or enter his
proclamation regulating the type of traffic that may use such road. However,
at the next meeting of the board of supervisors, * * * the road manager of the
county as has entered such a proclamation must present his proclamation to
the entire board for its action thereon, and if the full board declines to
enter an order in the manner set forth in the next preceding paragraph hereof,
then the proclamation of such supervisor shall be null and void and of no
further effect. Notice of such proclamation at each public entrance,
intersection with another public road, shall be sufficient notice of the
proclamation of the * * *
road manager.
This section shall not be
construed as to authorize the board of supervisors to prohibit vehicles with
spiked or cleated wheels from crossing or going from one side of * * * the road to another, and shall only
be construed so as to authorize * * * the board of supervisors to
prohibit the use of * * *
the spiked or cleated wheels on * * * such public roads.
This section shall not be so construed as to apply to state built or constructed highways or federal aid roads, and shall only be construed to apply to public roads maintained by the county.
Any person going upon any hard surfaced road or portion thereof in such county with any kind of vehicle, or who shall cause any such vehicle to be driven upon any such hard surfaced road in such county in violation of such regulations or orders, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction therefor, shall be fined in the sum of not exceeding Fifty Dollars ($50.00) and shall moreover be liable severally to any county or road district for any damage done such roads by such illegal act.
* * *
SECTION 18. Section 65-7-49, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
65-7-49. It shall be the duty of the county road manager whenever a county road is affected by the order of the board of supervisors provided by Sections 65-7-43 through 65-7-47 to see that a notice thereof is posted at conspicuous places on such road at intervals of not less than two (2) miles and at the approaches to any bridge affected thereby; but a failure to post such notice shall not be allowed as a defense to a criminal prosecution or civil suit under the provisions of this chapter.
SECTION 19. Section 65-7-53, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
65-7-53. Whenever in the
discretion of the board of supervisors of any county it seems proper so to do,
the board may, by order on its minutes, authorize the road manager of the
county or the county engineer to forbid the use of any hard-surfaced
road, or portion thereof, when under construction or repair. The county road
manager or the engineer, when so authorized by the board of supervisors, may close * * * the road or any portion thereof to
travel by an obstruction placed thereon in such manner as to indicate its
closing, or by a sign marked "closed by order of the county road manager
(or county engineer)."
SECTION 20. Section 65-7-81, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
65-7-81. The board of
supervisors of any county in the state may construct, reconstruct, maintain or
contribute to the construction, reconstruction and maintenance of any state
highway declared by legislative act expressly to be such highway or which, in
accordance with law, has been taken over by the State Highway Department for
construction, reconstruction or maintenance; and this section shall apply to
such state highway within as well as without the limits of any municipality
and, when within such limits, with or without the consent of the municipal
authorities. In such cases and for * * * the purposes the board of
supervisors, for and in the name of the county, may fully exercise the right of
eminent domain within any municipality, and it shall be the duty of the board
so to do on the lawful demand of the * * * Department of Transportation.
SECTION 21. Section 65-7-91, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
65-7-91. (1) The board of supervisors may, for the benefit of the county, purchase or lease real property upon which to establish facilities for the working of the public roads, and may erect on the real property barns, sheds, and other necessary buildings for the working of the public roads. However, only real property belonging to or under the control of the state or some other governmental entity may be leased at no more than fair market value by the county for such purposes and any such lease shall be for a term of not less than twenty-five (25) years.
(2) On or before October 1, 1990, the board shall establish and maintain one (1) central road repair and maintenance facility for the county or may designate an existing facility as the central road repair and maintenance facility for the county. Additional road repair and maintenance facilities may be established if the board, by resolution duly adopted and entered on its minutes, determines the establishment of these facilities is essential for the effective and efficient management of the county road and bridge programs.
(3) From and after October 1, 1990, no road repair and maintenance facilities shall be located on any land not owned by the county or leased by the county in accordance with this section unless these facilities are located on sixteenth section school lands or lands granted in lieu thereof.
(4) If the board is not able to purchase, upon terms satisfactory to it, a site selected by it for a facility, or in case the board is unable to agree with any landowner as to the amount of compensation he is to receive for any real property so selected, then the board may proceed to obtain not more than two (2) acres of the property by eminent domain, and the right of eminent domain for no more than two (2) acres is hereby conferred upon the boards of supervisors for such purposes.
SECTION 22. Section 65-7-99, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
65-7-99. Any county is authorized and empowered to purchase and hold, or to lease, any land containing gravel, sand, clay, chert or other road building material to be used in the construction and maintenance of roads, and to sell off any of such road building material in excess of its own needs. Such land or lease is to be held in the name of the county. Such land or lease is to be paid for out of the proper county fund, and any funds arising from the sale of material are to be turned back into the fund from which the purchase price was made. The necessary roads or other means to reach and use the property aforesaid may be constructed and maintained by the county.
SECTION 23. Section 65-7-101, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
65-7-101. Whenever any bridge or roadway is to be erected or repaired, the county road manager shall have authority to take from the land, stream, bayous or banks lying within a reasonable distance of the bridge or causeway or roadway the timber, gravel, dirt, and other road material necessary for such bridge, causeway or roadway after the board of supervisors has assessed the value thereof and paid or tendered to the owner of the timber, gravel, dirt or other road material the value thereof, by a warrant on the county treasurer. If the proprietor be dissatisfied with such valuation, he may appeal to the circuit court; but the valuation of the board shall be prima facie evidence of the value of the timber, gravel or dirt. But no shade trees or ornamental trees shall be taken to be used on roads.
SECTION 24. Section 65-7-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
65-7-105. Before any road, or any part thereof, or any bridge shall be let out to contract where the amount of the contract will exceed Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), the county road manager, or engineer if there be one, shall inspect the road or part thereof or the bridge so proposed to be contracted, and shall carefully note the character and amount of work needed on same and all else necessary to make same a good and acceptable highway. The county road manager, or engineer if there be one, shall then prepare detailed plans and specifications for the construction or reconstruction or working of same by contract, which shall be presented to the board of supervisors for approval. The plans and specifications shall be filed with the clerk of the board of supervisors for the inspection of prospective bidders, prior to the first public letting under the terms hereof at a regular meeting to be named; and at any time prior to the acceptance of bids, the board may alter the plans and specifications submitted, and thereupon readvertise.
SECTION 25. Section 65-7-115, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
65-7-115. (1) The board of supervisors in each county is to have and is required to exercise jurisdiction over the public highways of the county.
(2) The board of supervisors may by order duly adopted and entered on its minutes, provide for such transportation of individual members of the board as is necessary and essential in the performance of their official duties.
SECTION 26. Section 65-7-117, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
65-7-117. Each member of the board of supervisors shall inspect every road and bridge in the county under the jurisdiction of the county not later than December 31, 1989, and, thereafter, not less than once each fiscal year. Each member shall file with the clerk of the board a report, under oath, of the condition of the roads and bridges inspected by him with recommendations by him for a four-year plan for construction and major maintenance of such roads and bridges. Based upon such reports, the board of supervisors shall, on or before February 1, 1990, and on or before February 1 of each year thereafter, adopt and spread upon its minutes a four-year plan for the construction and maintenance of county roads and bridges. The plan may be amended at any time by a vote of the majority of the members of the board of supervisors.
SECTION 27. Section 65-11-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
65-11-45. The * * * Department of
Finance and Administration shall notify the board of supervisors of each
county of the amount of money to be available for expenditure in such county
from any appropriation made by the state for the purpose of Sections 65-11-39
through 65-11-59. The board of supervisors, upon the receipt of such notice,
shall deposit the amount available for such county into the county road and
bridge fund. All funds which may be appropriated for the purpose of * * * the sections shall be expended for
materials and labor in construction and improvement of county roads and bridges
selected by the board of supervisors of each county. However, the board of
supervisors shall first select for construction and reconstruction all school
bus routes and, next, rural mail routes.
SECTION 28. Section 65-11-47, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
65-11-47. The board of supervisors of each county, at its next regular or special meeting after receipt of notice of the amount of money apportioned such county, shall spread upon the minutes of such meeting the roads and bridges selected by it to be constructed or improved. In the selection of such projects the boards of supervisors shall select roads and bridges which will be of the greatest benefit to the county as a whole, judged from the standpoint of relative use and importance. However, if the board of supervisors selects a portion of the federal aid farm-to-market system, as set up in Sections 65-11-1 through 65-11-37, then the road shall be built up to the specifications for the federal aid farm-to-market system, and the funds made available under Sections 65-11-39 through 65-11-59 shall be expended under the provisions of the former sections. No reference is intended to any order of the board of supervisors heretofore made with reference to farm-to-market roads in the respective counties.
SECTION 29. Section 65-11-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
65-11-51. All contracts for the construction of projects under the terms and provisions of Sections 65-11-39 through 65-11-59 shall be let and awarded by the board of supervisors in the manner and method now provided by law for the awarding of contracts for the improvement and construction of county roads and bridges. The cost and expense of the letting of such contracts shall be paid by the county, or from any funds provided for such purpose. In counties having sufficient equipment and labor, the boards of supervisors may build the roads and bridges without the letting of contracts, and may pay for labor and material therefor out of any funds appropriated by the Legislature or otherwise made available to carry out the provisions of the aforesaid sections.
SECTION 30. Section 65-15-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
65-15-1. The board of
supervisors may raise funds for working, constructing, reconstructing and
maintaining public roads or for building bridges by an ad valorem tax on all
assessed taxable property in the county, or by a bond issue, or by either or
both of * * *
such methods.
SECTION 31. Section 65-15-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
65-15-9. The board of
supervisors of any county in the state in which there are county road bonds,
seawall bonds, or road protection bonds outstanding which were issued for the
purpose of building bridges or constructing public roads may, in its
discretion, in addition to all other lawful uses, use such county's share, or
any part thereof, of the funds heretofore or hereafter derived from the tax on
gasoline and the road and bridge privilege tax for the further purpose of
paying interest and principal of such county road bonds heretofore issued for
any of the * * * the
above stated purposes. However, nothing in this section shall in anywise
affect Section 65-33-45.
SECTION 32. Section 65-15-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
65-15-11. In any county
having road or bridge bonds outstanding, and having on hand in the county
treasury to the credit of a special fund set aside from the county's share of
the gasoline tax for the payment of the principal and interest of such bonds,
or to the credit of bond and interest sinking funds, a sufficient amount to pay
the principal of and interest on all such road or bridge bonds outstanding, the
board of supervisors shall no longer be required to set aside any part of the
county's share of the gasoline tax or the county's share of motor vehicle
privilege taxes, to be used in paying the principal and interest of such road
or bridge bonds as they mature. In any such case, however, the funds already
set aside from the county's share of the gasoline tax or the county's share of
the motor vehicle privilege taxes, for the payment of the principal and
interest of * * *
the bonds, shall be applied to the payment of the principal and interest
of * * * such
bonds as they mature and shall not be used by the board of supervisors for any
other purpose; however, when all of * * * the bonds shall have been paid, any
balance remaining in * * *
such funds may be transferred by the board of supervisors to the county
road or bridge maintenance fund.
SECTION 33. Section 65-15-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
65-15-13. No existing law providing methods for the construction or maintenance of any public highway, bridges or culverts of the county shall be affected by Section 65-15-9; and it does not supersede or impair the obligation of any county to levy a sufficient legal ad valorem tax for the purpose of construction and maintenance of public highways, bridges or culverts, or a sufficient ad valorem tax to pay the interest or principal of any bonds heretofore or hereafter issued for the purpose of building bridges and constructing public roads. Nor does it supersede or impair any right to issue bonds for any purpose, and it shall not alter, amend or repeal any statute except insofar as such statutes are inconsistent herewith.
SECTION 34. Section 65-15-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
65-15-19. Where bonds have
been issued by any road district, separate road district or special road
district, and * * *
the bonds and interest thereon have been paid and there remains in the
sinking fund or maintenance fund of such district any balance of funds
collected for the purpose of paying such bonds or interest, the board of
supervisors of the county in which such district or districts are located shall
transfer any or all of * * *
such funds to the county road or bridge fund to be used and expended in
working and maintaining the roads of the county.
SECTION 35. Section 65-15-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
65-15-21. One-half (1/2) of
all ad valorem taxes collected by or for a county on property within a
municipality (the streets of which are worked at the expense of the municipal
treasury, or worked by municipal authority) for road purposes of such county,
not including taxes for the purposes of paying bonds issued for road purposes
or the interest thereon or for creating a bond and interest fund for retiring
the same, shall be paid over to the treasurer of such municipality for * * * the municipality.
Any municipality may
contract with its board of supervisors, whereby work may be performed on the
streets maintained by * * *
the municipality in lieu of the refund of one-half (1/2) of the road
taxes collected under this section, and in such event such agreement shall be
spread at large upon the minutes of both the governing authorities of such
municipality and the board of supervisors of such county.
SECTION 36. Section 65-17-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
65-17-1. * * *
( * * *1) The board of supervisors of each
county shall establish a county road department. The board of supervisors
shall adopt the general policies to be followed in administration of the county
road department and shall appoint as administrative head of the county road
department a county road manager who shall be educated or experienced in the
construction and maintenance of highways, bridges and other facets of county
highway responsibilities. Provided, however, that in any county which, on July
1, 1988, employed two (2) county road managers each of whom managed an
administrative division of the county for road construction and maintenance,
the board of supervisors may continue to employ two (2) county road managers.
The county road manager shall not be a member of the board of supervisors. The
county road manager, under the policies determined by the board of supervisors
and subject to the board's general supervision and control, shall administer
the county road department, superintend the working, construction and
maintaining of the public roads and the building of bridges in such county, and
carry out the general policies of the board in conformity with the estimates of
expenditures fixed in the annual budget as finally adopted by the board or as
thereafter revised by appropriate action of the board. All requisitions for the
purchase and repair of all equipment, heavy equipment, machinery, supplies,
commodities, materials and services for the county road department shall be prepared
by the county road manager and submitted to the county department of purchasing
for processing in accordance with the central purchasing system. The county
road manager shall serve at the will and pleasure of the board of supervisors
and may be removed from such position by a majority vote of the board.
( * * *2) The county road manager shall
receive such compensation, to be paid from the county road and bridge funds, as
the board of supervisors shall determine. The county road manager, before entering
upon his duties, shall give bond, with sufficient surety, to be payable,
conditioned and approved as provided by law, in a penalty in such amount as may
be approved by the board of supervisors, but not less than Fifty Thousand
Dollars ($50,000.00).
( * * *3) A county may appoint as county road
manager the same person whom it has under the law employed as its county
engineer for its state aid road system, provided that such county road manager
is being compensated by the county for serving as county road manager and for
all duties, if any, that he performs as county engineer by payment of an annual
salary and not on the basis of a percentage of the cost of road projects.
( * * *4) Nothing shall preclude one (1)
person from serving two (2) or more counties as county road manager by
agreement between such counties.
( * * *5) Nothing in this section shall be
construed to require new county personnel to be employed but, to the extent
practicable, an existing county employee shall be appointed as the county road
manager.
( * * *6) The responsibility for construction
and maintenance of all "local farm roads" (including bridges) as the
same are defined in Sections 65-9-1 and 65-9-3 * * * together with all
functions not vested by law in the county state aid engineer in the
construction and maintenance of state aid roads shall be vested in the county's
road department.
( * * *7) The county road manager each year
shall prepare, or shall assist the county administrator (if one has been
appointed) in the preparation of, a tentative road budget containing all
proposed expenditures for the ensuing fiscal year for construction and
maintenance of county roads and bridges and the operation of the county road
department. Such tentative road budget shall be submitted to the board of
supervisors for incorporation, with such modification as the board may adopt,
in the county budget, as prescribed by law.
( * * *8) The county road manager shall
employ, subject to approval of the board of supervisors, such assistants and
employees as may be necessary in conformity with the budget and county policies
and procedure with respect to personnel and subject to approval of the board as
to salary or other compensation to be paid. He shall have supervision and
jurisdiction over personnel and assignments of personnel engaged in the work of
the road department. He may purchase, lease or hire such equipment and
purchase such materials and supplies as may be necessary for operation of the
county road department in conformity with the budget, in accordance with the
central purchase system and existing laws and subject to approval of the board
as to price or rental. He shall have jurisdiction over the assignment of
equipment needed in performance of the work of the county road department.
( * * *9) The board of supervisors may, by a
majority vote of the entire board, supersede any act of the road manager or
change, modify or revoke any act which has been completed by the road manager,
provided the change, modification or revocation does not constitute a breach of
contract.
SECTION 37. Section 65-17-201, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
65-17-201. The boards of supervisors of the several counties of the State of Mississippi are authorized and empowered at their discretion to employ, as county engineer, a civil engineer or person qualified to perform the duties of a county engineer, and such assistant engineers as may be necessary. On all projects for the construction or reconstruction of a bridge which will cost more than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), or for the construction or reconstruction of roads which will cost more than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) per mile, the employment of an engineer qualified under the chapter on engineers shall be obligatory, whether the work is to be done by contract or otherwise; however, in obligatory cases the employment may be for the particular work rather than for a term.
SECTION 38. Section 69-27-209, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
69-27-209. The board of
supervisors of a county as designated in Section 69-27-201 may, on the recommendation
of the soil erosion committee, or shall, if so required by the election
hereinafter provided for, advertise for bids as in other cases and purchase the
proper terracing and/or ditching machinery for the county and provide the
necessary labor for the operation thereof, and the necessary supplies and
maintenance to properly operate the same, subject, however, to the approval of
the soil erosion committee herein otherwise provided. * * * If board of supervisors * * * fails or refuses to
advertise for bids for the purchase of any machinery recommended by * * * the soil erosion committee within
sixty (60) days after receipt of such recommendation, it shall, on the filing
with it of a petition signed by ten percent (10%) or more of the qualified
electors of the county, call and hold as in other cases a special election in * * * the county within sixty (60) days
after the filing of the petition, in which election the question shall be, for
or against the purchase of terracing and/or ditching machinery for the county;
and if a majority of the votes cast in * * * the election be in favor of the
purchase of such machinery, then * * * the board shall, at its next
meeting, advertise for bids for the purchase thereof, and thereafter further
perform the duties required of it hereunder with respect to soil erosion work.
Such advertisement for bids shall constitute notice to the public of the
intention of the board to make such purchase and the board may proceed
accordingly unless on or before the first day of the meeting at which * * * the bids are to be opened a
petition, signed by twenty percent (20%) or more of the qualified electors of
the county, shall be filed with the clerk of the board protesting against such
purchase, in which event such purchase shall not be made unless approved in an
election called and held for the purpose in the manner provided for the calling
and holding of elections on the question of the issuance of tax anticipation
note or notes. * * *
The board shall have full supervision of all soil erosion work, the
machinery, labor, supplies, contracts, and the funds arising from work
performed, from taxation, if any, or otherwise, except to the extent herein
otherwise specifically provided; and in administering the soil erosion fund the
board shall take into consideration the repairs and replacements incident to
the operation of the character of machinery in use in order that the work may
continue without undue interruption as long as may be necessary. All acts and
proceedings of the board with respect to soil erosion work and the funds
thereof shall be by order upon its minutes, as in other cases. Contracts for
terracing and/or ditching shall be performed as nearly as possible in the order
of their dates, any deviation therefrom by reason of necessity, public
convenience, causes beyond the control of the committee, or agreement with the
landowners, to be under the direction of the soil erosion committee. Only one
(1) committee shall be appointed in * * * the county.
SECTION 39. Section 19-2-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides for the adoption of a countywide system of road administration by election, is repealed.
SECTION 40. Sections 65-15-17, 65-17-3, 65-17-5, 65-17-7, 65-17-101, 65-17-103, 65-17-105, 65-17-07, 65-19-1, 65-19-3, 65-19-5, 65-19-9, 65-19-11, 65-19-3, 65-19-5, 65-19-7, 65-19-9, 65-19-11, 65-19-13, 65-19-15, 65-19-17, 65-19-19, 65-19-21, 65-19-23, 65-19-25, 65-19-27, 65-19-29, 65-19-31, 65-19-33, 65-19-35, 65-19-37, 65-19-39, 65-19-41, 65-19-43, 65-19-45, 65-19-47, 65-19-49, 65-19-51, 65-19-53, 65-19-55, 65-19-57, 65-19-59, 65-19-61, 65-19-63, 65-19-65, 65-19-67, 65-19-69, 65-19-71, 65-19-73, 65-19-75, 65-19-77, 65-19-79, 65-19-81, 65-19-83, 65-19-85, 65-19-87, 65-21-19 and 65-21-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provide for the creation and procedures of road districts composed in whole or in part of one or more than one supervisors distinct, for the use of special or general road funds by the boards of supervisors, for defraying the expenses of construction bridges connecting road districts for the employment of road accountants and for compensation for road commissioners employed by certain counties, are repealed.
SECTION 41. Section 19-2-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides for the inapplicability of certain code sections to the countywide system of road administration, is repealed.
SECTION 42. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after October 1, 2018.