House Bill 1313

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 19-5-105, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF ANY COUNTY TO ASSESS THE COST AND ANY PENALTY AGAINST MENACED PROPERTY AS A CIVIL DEBT AGAINST THE PROPERTY OWNER AND/OR, AT THE OPTION OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, A LIEN AGAINST THE PROPERTY; TO PROVIDE THAT SUCH LIEN SHALL FOLLOW TITLE OF THE PROPERTY; TO ADD "ABANDONED" BUILDINGS OR FENCES AND SLABS TO THE LIST OF PROPERTY THAT CAN BE CLEANED BY A COUNTY; TO REMOVE THE COST LIMITATION FOR REMOVAL OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES FROM PROPERTY DETERMINED BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TO BE A "MENACE"; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 19-5-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

19-5-105. (1) To determine whether property or a parcel of land located within a county is in such a state of uncleanliness as to be a menace to the public health, safety and welfare of the community, the board of supervisors of any county is authorized and empowered to conduct a hearing on its own motion, or upon the receipt of a petition requesting the board of supervisors to act signed by a majority of the residents eighteen (18) years of age or older, residing upon any street or alley, within reasonable proximity of any property alleged to be in need of cleaning, or within seven hundred fifty (750) feet of the precise location of the alleged menace situated on any parcel of land which is located in a populated area or in a housing subdivision and alleged to be in need of cleaning.

Notice shall be provided to the property owner by:

(a) United States mail two (2) weeks before the date of the hearing mailed to the address of the subject property and to the address where the ad valorem tax notice for such property is sent by the office charged with collecting ad valorem tax; and

(b) Posting notice for at least two (2) weeks before the date of a hearing on the property or parcel of land alleged to be in need of cleaning and at the county courthouse or another place in the county where such notices are posted.

(2) The notice required by this section shall include language that informs the property owner that an adjudication at the hearing that the property or parcel of land is in need of cleaning will authorize the board of supervisors to reenter the property or parcel of land for a period of one (1) year after * * *~~the hearing~~ final adjudication without any further hearing, if notice is posted on the property or parcel of land and at the county courthouse or another place in the county where such notices are generally posted at least seven (7) days before the property or parcel of land is reentered for cleaning. A copy of the required notice mailed and posted as required by this section shall be recorded in the minutes of the board of supervisors in conjunction with the hearing required by this section.

If at such hearing the board of supervisors shall in its resolution adjudicate such parcel of land in its then condition to be a menace to the public health and safety of the community, the board of supervisors may, if the owner not do so himself, proceed to have the land cleaned by cutting weeds, filling cisterns, and removing rubbish, abandoned or dilapidated fences, outside toilets, dilapidated buildings, slabs and other debris, and draining cesspools and standing water. Thereafter, the board of supervisors may at its next regular meeting by resolution adjudicate the actual cost of cleaning the land and may also impose a penalty not to exceed One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00) or fifty percent (50%) of the actual cost, whichever is more. The cost and any penalty * * *~~shall become~~ may become a civil debt against the property owner, and/or, at the option of the board of supervisors an assessment against the property. The "cost assessed against the property" means either the cost to the county of using its own employees to do the work or the cost to the county of any contract executed by the county to have the work done, and administrative costs and legal costs of the county.

A county may reenter the property or parcel of land to maintain cleanliness without further notice of hearing no more than six (6) times in any twelve-month period with respect to removing abandoned or dilapidated buildings, slabs, dilapidated fences and outside toilets, and no more than twelve (12) times in any twenty-four-month period with respect to cutting grass and weeds and removing rubbish, personal property and other debris on the land. The expense of cleaning the property, except as otherwise provided in this section for removal of hazardous substances, shall not exceed an aggregate amount of Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) per year, or the fair market value of the property subsequent to cleaning, whichever is * * *~~less~~ more. The aggregate cost of removing hazardous substances will be the actual cost of such removal to the county and shall not be subject to the Twenty Thousand Dollar ($20,00.00) limitation provided in this subsection. The board of supervisors may assess the same penalty each time the property or land is cleaned as otherwise provided in this section.

(3) The penalty provided herein shall not be assessed against the State of Mississippi upon request for reimbursement under Section 29-1-145, nor shall a county clean a parcel owned by the State of Mississippi without first giving notice.

(4) If the board of supervisors declares, by resolution, that the cost and any penalty shall be collected as a civil debt, the board of supervisors may authorize the institution of a suit on open account against the owner of the property in a court of competent jurisdiction in the manner provided by law for the cost and any penalty, plus court costs, reasonable attorney's fees and interest from the date that the property was cleaned.

(5) If the board of supervisors declares that the cost and any penalty shall be collected as an assessment against the property, then the assessment * * *~~authorized by this section~~ shall be a lien against the property and may be enrolled in the office of the circuit clerk of the county as other judgments are enrolled, and the tax collector of the county shall, upon order of the board of supervisors, proceed to sell the land to satisfy the lien as now provided by law for the sale of lands for delinquent taxes. The lien against the property shall be an encumbrance upon the property and shall follow title of the property. Furthermore, the property owner whose land has been sold pursuant to this section shall have the same right of redemption as now provided by law for the sale of lands for delinquent taxes.

(6) All decisions rendered under the provisions of this section may be appealed in the same manner as other appeals from county boards.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.