House Bill 923

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 21-1-45, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT IN A PETITION FOR MUNICIPAL ANNEXATION, THE PETITION MUST CERTIFY ANY PROPERTY TO BE ANNEXED SHALL HAVE A PRACTICAL INGRESS AND EGRESS TO AND FROM A PUBLIC ROAD; TO AMEND SECTION 21-1-47, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO MAKE CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS FOR CERTAIN PROPERTY OWNERS DURING AN ANNEXATION WHEN A PRACTICAL INGRESS AND EGRESS TO AND FROM A PUBLIC ROAD IS NOT PRESENT FOR WITHIN AN ANNEXATION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 21-1-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

21-1-45. The qualified electors of any territory contiguous to and adjoining any existing municipality and the qualified electors of any territory which is a part of an existing municipality, may be included in or excluded from such municipality, as the case may be, in the manner hereinafter provided. Whenever the inhabitants of any incorporated territory adjacent to any municipality * * *~~shall~~ desires to be included therein, and whenever the inhabitants of any territory which is a part of an existing municipality * * *~~shall~~ desires to be excluded therefrom, they shall prepare a petition and file same in the chancery court of the county in which such municipality is located, which * * *~~said~~ the petition shall be signed by at least two-thirds (2/3) of the qualified electors residing in the territory proposed to be included in or excluded from such municipality. * * *~~Said~~ The petition shall describe accurately the metes and bounds of the territory proposed to be included in or excluded from such municipality, shall set forth the reasons why the public convenience and necessity would be served by such territory being included in or excluded from such municipality, as the case may be, shall certify that none of the property to be annexed will fail to have legal and practical ingress and egress to and from a public road, or if such ingress and egress is lacking, the petition shall join such owner as a party defendant in the time and manner required by law, and shall be sworn to by one or more of the petitioners. In all cases, there shall be attached to such petition a plat of the municipal boundaries as same will exist in the event the territory in question is included in or excluded from such municipality. No territory may be so excluded from a municipality within two (2) years from the time that such territory was incorporated into such municipality, and no territory may be so excluded if it would wholly separate any territory not so excluded from the remainder of the municipality. No petition for the inclusion or exclusion of any territory under this section shall be filed within two (2) years from the date of any adverse determination of any proceedings originated hereinafter under this chapter for the inclusion or exclusion of the same territory.

SECTION 2. Section 21-1-47, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

21-1-47. Upon the filing of such a petition, all of the proceedings of this chapter with regard to proceedings in the chancery court upon petitions for the creation, enlargement, and contraction of municipalities shall apply in like manner thereto. Notice of the filing of such petition and the time for the hearing shall be given in the manner and for the length of time as is required in cases of proceedings for the creation, enlargement, or contraction of a municipality. Any parties to the proceedings aggrieved by the decree of the chancellor may appeal therefrom in the same manner and within the same time as is provided in cases of decrees on petitions involving the creation, enlargement or contraction of a municipal corporation. In all proceedings under this section, however, the municipal corporation involved and, in the case of property to be included, any owner of property to be annexed where such property will fail to have ingress and egress to and from a public road if the annexation is granted shall be made a party to such proceedings and shall be served with process in the manner provided by law at least thirty (30) days prior to the date of the hearing. If the chancellor finds from the evidence that the proposed inclusion or exclusion is reasonable and is required by the public convenience and necessity, then he shall enter a decree declaring the territory in question to be included in or excluded from the municipality, as the case may be, which decree shall contain an adjudication of the boundaries of the municipality as altered, provided that in the case of property to be included, that all property to be included will after such enlargement shall fail to have legal and practical ingress and egress to and from a public road, the property and the adjacent property that is the best route for an easement for ingress and egress to and from a public road, shall not be annexed without the consent of the property owner who does not have the access. In so doing, the chancellor shall have the right and power to modify the proposed enlargement or contraction by decreasing the territory to be included in or excluded from the municipality, as the case may be. If the chancellor shall find from the evidence that the proposed inclusion or exclusion, as the case may be, is unreasonable and is not required by the public convenience and necessity, then he shall enter a decree denying same. In any event, the decree of the chancellor shall become effective after the passage of ten (10) days from the date thereof or, in the event an appeal is taken therefrom, within ten (10) days from the final determination of such appeal. In all cases where territory is included in or excluded from a municipality under the provisions hereof, a certified copy of the decree of the chancellor shall be sent to the Secretary of State and a map or plat of the boundaries of the municipality as altered shall be filed with the chancery clerk, all as provided in Sections 21-1-39 and 21-1-41.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect from and after its passage.