MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2018 Regular Session
To: Apportionment and Elections
By: Representatives Currie, Hopkins
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 21-33-307, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE PROCEDURE FOR FILING A WRITTEN PROTEST AGAINST THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS BY THE GOVERNING AUTHORITY OF A MUNICIPALITY; TO PROVIDE THE FORM OF THE WRITTEN PROTEST PETITION; TO REQUIRE THE MUNICIPAL CLERK TO VERIFY THE NAME OF EACH QUALIFIED ELECTOR SIGNING THE PETITION; TO CREATE A NEW SECTION OF LAW THAT PROHIBITS A PERSON WHO CIRCULATES A WRITTEN PROTEST PETITION FROM SOLICITING SIGNATURES IN EXCHANGE FOR CONSIDERATION, WITHIN A CERTAIN DISTANCE FROM A POLLING PLACE, OR BY INTENTIONALLY MISLEADING A QUALIFIED ELECTOR ABOUT THE SUBSTANCE OF THE PETITION; TO AMEND SECTION 21-23-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 21-33-307, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
21-33-307. (1)
Before issuing any bonds for any of the purposes enumerated in Section 21-33-301,
the governing authority of the issuing municipality shall adopt a resolution
declaring its intention so to do, stating the amount of bonds proposed to be
issued and the purpose for which the bonds are to be issued, and the date upon
which the * * *
governing authority proposes to direct the issuance of such bonds. Such
resolution shall be published once a week for at least three (3) consecutive
weeks in at least one (1) newspaper published in such municipality. The first
publication of * * *
the resolution shall be made not less than twenty-one (21) days * * * before the date fixed in * * * the resolution for the issuance of
the bonds, and the last publication shall be made not more than seven (7) days * * * before such date. If no
newspaper * * *
is published in such municipality, then * * * notice shall be given by publishing the
resolution for the required time in some newspaper having a general circulation
in such municipality and, in addition, by posting a copy of * * * the resolution for at least twenty-one
(21) days next preceding the date fixed therein at three (3) public places in
such municipality. The publication of the resolution may be made as provided
in Section 21-17-19.
(2) (a) If a person or
persons is against the issuance of the bonds, he or she shall propose a written
protest petition against the issuance of the bonds. If ten percent (10%)
of the qualified electors of the municipality, or fifteen hundred (1500),
whichever is the lesser, sign the written protest petition, then the person
or person who proposed the petition shall file * * * the written protest against the
issuance of such bonds with the municipal clerk on or before the date
specified in * * *
the resolution * * *. If the municipal clerk certifies the written protest
petition, then an election on the question of the bonds shall be called and
held as is provided in Section 21-33-309.
(b) The person or persons proposing a written protest against the issuance of such bonds shall print blank petitions upon single sheets of paper of good writing quality not less than eight and one-half (8 1/2) inches in width and not less than fourteen (14) inches in length. Each sheet shall have a full, true and correct copy of the reasons for the protest printed on the reverse side of the petition or attached to the petition. Each sheet shall also provide adequate space for the following information: petitioner's signature; print name for positive identification; residence address, street and number, if any; city or town; county; and precinct.
(c) Only a person who is a qualified elector of this state and the municipality in which the petition is to be circulated may circulate a petition, obtain signatures on a petition, or sign a petition.
(d) The form of each petition shall contain the following warning:
"WARNING
EVERY PERSON WHO SIGNS THIS PETITION WITH ANY OTHER THAN HIS OR HER TRUE NAME, KNOWINGLY SIGNS MORE THAN ONE OF THESE PETITIONS RELATING TO THE SAME WRITTEN PROTEST, SIGNS THIS PETITION WHEN HE OR SHE IS NOT A QUALIFIED ELECTOR OF THE MUNICIPALITY IN WHICH THE PETITION IS BEING CIRCULATED OR MAKES ANY FALSE STATEMENT ON THIS PETITION MAY BE PUNISHED BY FINE, IMPRISONMENT, OR BOTH."
(e) The municipal clerk shall verify the name of each qualified elector signing the petition. A municipal clerk may not receive any fee, salary or compensation from any private person or private legal entity for the clerk's duties in certifying a written protest petition. When the person or persons proposing the written protest petition have secured upon the petition a number of signatures of qualified electors equal to or exceeding the minimum number required in paragraph (a) of this subsection, and the signatures have been verified by the municipal clerk, the municipal clerk shall state the total number of qualified electors signing the petition in the municipality and shall certify the signatures of qualified electors of the municipality to the governing authority of that municipality.
(3) The municipal clerk shall refuse to certify the written protest petition to the governing authority of the municipality upon any of the following grounds:
(a) The petition is not in the form required by subsection (2) of this section;
(b) The petition clearly bears insufficient signatures; or
(c) One or more signatures appearing on the petition were obtained in violation of paragraph (c) of subsection (2).
In the case of such refusal, the municipal clerk shall endorse on the petition the word "submitted" and the date, and retain the petition pending appeal.
If none of the grounds for refusal exists, the municipal clerk shall certify the petition.
(4) If the municipal clerk refuses to certify the petition, the person or persons who proposed the written protest petition and who submitted it to the municipal clerk for certification, within ten (10) days after the clerk's refusal, may apply to the municipal court within that municipality for an order requiring the municipal clerk to bring the petition before the court and for a writ of mandamus to compel him or her to file it. The application shall be considered an emergency matter of public concern and shall be heard and determined with all convenient speed. If the municipal court decides that the petition is legal in form and contains the requisite number of signatures of qualified electors, it shall issue its mandate directing the municipal clerk to file the petition in his or her office as of the date of submission.
(5) Notice of * * * the election on the question of
the bonds shall be signed by the municipal clerk * * * and shall be published once
a week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in at least one (1) newspaper
published in such municipality. The first publication of * * * the notice shall be made not less
than twenty-one (21) days * * *prior to before the date fixed for such election, and
the last publication shall be made not more than seven (7) days * * * before such date. If no
newspaper is published in * * *such the municipality, then such notice shall be given
by publishing the same for the required time in some newspaper having a general
circulation in * * *
the municipality and published in the same or an adjoining county and,
in addition, by posting a copy of such notice for at least twenty-one (21) days
next preceding such election at three (3) public places in * * * the municipality.
(6) If no protest be filed, then such bonds may be issued without an election on the question of the issuance thereof, at any time within a period of two (2) years after the date specified in the above-mentioned resolution. However, the governing authority of any municipality in its discretion may nevertheless call an election on such question, in which event it shall not be necessary to publish the resolution declaring its intention to issue such bonds as herein provided.
(7) Under no circumstances shall any municipality exceed the bond limit as set by statute for municipalities.
SECTION 2. (1) It shall be unlawful for any person who circulates a written protest petition as provided in Section 21-33-307 to:
(a) Give or offer any consideration to an elector to induce the elector to sign or not to sign the petition;
(b) Solicit signatures on any petition within one hundred fifty (150) feet of any polling place on any election day; and
(c) Obtain or attempt to obtain a person's signature (i) by intentionally misleading such person as to the substance or effect of the petition, or (ii) by intentionally causing such person to be misled as to the substance or effect of the petition.
(2) Any person who alleges that his or her signature on a written protest petition circulated under the provisions of Section 21-33-307 was obtained as the result of fraud or coercion, or that the person was intentionally misled as to the substance or effect of the petition, may have his or her signature removed from the petition upon filing an affidavit to such effect with the municipal clerk anytime before the clerk has certified the petition as provided in Section 21-33-307.
(3) Any violation of subsection (1) or (2) of this section is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one (1) year, or by a fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment.
SECTION 3. Section 21-23-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
21-23-7. (1) The municipal judge shall hold court in a public building designated by the governing authorities of the municipality and may hold court every day except Sundays and legal holidays if the business of the municipality so requires; provided, however, the municipal judge may hold court outside the boundaries of the municipality but not more than within a sixty-mile radius of the municipality to handle preliminary matters and criminal matters such as initial appearances and felony preliminary hearings. The municipal judge may hold court outside the boundaries of the municipality but not more than within a one-mile radius of the municipality for any purpose. The municipal judge shall have the jurisdiction to hear and determine, without a jury and without a record of the testimony, all cases arising under Section 21-33-307(4). The municipal judge shall have the jurisdiction to hear and determine, without a jury and without a record of the testimony, all cases charging violations of the municipal ordinances and state misdemeanor laws made offenses against the municipality and to punish offenders therefor as may be prescribed by law. Except as otherwise provided by law, criminal proceedings shall be brought by sworn complaint filed in the municipal court. Such complaint shall state the essential elements of the offense charged and the statute or ordinance relied upon. Such complaint shall not be required to conclude with a general averment that the offense is against the peace and dignity of the state or in violation of the ordinances of the municipality. He or she may sit as a committing court in all felonies committed within the municipality, and he or she shall have the power to bind over the accused to the grand jury or to appear before the proper court having jurisdiction to try the same, and to set the amount of bail or refuse bail and commit the accused to jail in cases not bailable. The municipal judge is a conservator of the peace within his or her municipality. He or she may conduct preliminary hearings in all violations of the criminal laws of this state occurring within the municipality, and any person arrested for a violation of law within the municipality may be brought before him or her for initial appearance. The municipal court shall have jurisdiction of any case remanded to it by a circuit court grand jury. The municipal court shall have civil jurisdiction over actions filed pursuant to and as provided in Title 93, Chapter 21, Mississippi Code of 1972, the Protection from Domestic Abuse Act.
(2) In the discretion of
the court, where the objects of justice would be more likely met, as an
alternative to imposition or payment of fine and/or incarceration, the
municipal judge shall have the power to sentence convicted offenders to work on
a public service project where the court has established such a program of
public service by written guidelines filed with the clerk for public record.
Such programs shall provide for reasonable supervision of the offender and the
work shall be commensurate with the fine and/or incarceration that would have
ordinarily been imposed. Such program of public service may be * * * used in the implementation of
the provisions of Section 99-19-20, and public service work thereunder may be
supervised by persons other than the sheriff.
(3) The municipal judge may solemnize marriages, take oaths, affidavits and acknowledgments, and issue orders, subpoenas, summonses, citations, warrants for search and arrest upon a finding of probable cause, and other such process under seal of the court to any county or municipality, in a criminal case, to be executed by the lawful authority of the county or the municipality of the respondent, and enforce obedience thereto. The absence of a seal shall not invalidate the process.
(4) When a person shall be charged with an offense in municipal court punishable by confinement, the municipal judge, being satisfied that such person is an indigent person and is unable to employ counsel, may, in the discretion of the court, appoint counsel from the membership of The Mississippi Bar residing in his or her county who shall represent him or her. Compensation for appointed counsel in criminal cases shall be approved and allowed by the municipal judge and shall be paid by the municipality. The maximum compensation shall not exceed Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) for any one (1) case. The governing authorities of a municipality may, in their discretion, appoint a public defender(s) who must be a licensed attorney and who shall receive a salary to be fixed by the governing authorities.
(5) The municipal judge of any municipality is hereby authorized to suspend the sentence and to suspend the execution of the sentence, or any part thereof, on such terms as may be imposed by the municipal judge. However, the suspension of imposition or execution of a sentence hereunder may not be revoked after a period of two (2) years. The municipal judge shall have the power to establish and operate a probation program, dispute resolution program and other practices or procedures appropriate to the judiciary and designed to aid in the administration of justice. Any such program shall be established by the court with written policies and procedures filed with the clerk of the court for public record. Subsequent to original sentencing, the municipal judge, in misdemeanor cases, is hereby authorized to suspend sentence and to suspend the execution of a sentence, or any part thereof, on such terms as may be imposed by the municipal judge, if (a) the judge or his or her predecessor was authorized to order such suspension when the sentence was originally imposed; and (b) such conviction (i) has not been appealed; or (ii) has been appealed and the appeal has been voluntarily dismissed.
(6) Upon prior notice to
the municipal prosecuting attorney and upon a showing in open court of
rehabilitation, good conduct for a period of two (2) years since the last
conviction in any court and that the best interest of society would be served,
the court may, in its discretion, order the record of conviction of a person of
any * * *
misdemeanors in that court expunged, and upon so doing * * * that person thereafter legally
stands as though he or she had never been convicted of the * * * misdemeanor(s) and may lawfully so respond
to any query of prior convictions. This order of expunction does not apply to
the confidential records of law enforcement agencies and has no effect on the
driving record of a person maintained under Title 63, Mississippi Code of 1972,
or any other provision of said Title 63.
(7) Notwithstanding the
provisions of subsection (6) of this section, a person who was convicted in
municipal court of a misdemeanor before reaching his twenty-third birthday,
excluding conviction for a traffic violation, and who is a first offender, may * * * use the provisions of Section 99-19-71,
to expunge such misdemeanor conviction.
(8) In the discretion of the court, a plea of nolo contendere may be entered to any charge in municipal court. Upon the entry of a plea of nolo contendere the court shall convict the defendant of the offense charged and shall proceed to sentence the defendant according to law. The judgment of the court shall reflect that the conviction was on a plea of nolo contendere. An appeal may be made from a conviction on a plea of nolo contendere as in other cases.
(9) Upon execution of a sworn complaint charging a misdemeanor, the municipal court may, in its discretion and in lieu of an arrest warrant, issue a citation requiring the appearance of the defendant to answer the charge made against him or her. On default of appearance, an arrest warrant may be issued for the defendant. The clerk of the court or deputy clerk may issue such citations.
(10) The municipal court shall have the power to make rules for the administration of the court's business, which rules, if any, shall be in writing filed with the clerk of the court and shall include the enactment of rules related to the court's authority to issue domestic abuse protection orders pursuant to Section 93-21-1 et seq.
(11) The municipal court shall have the power to impose punishment of a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or six (6) months imprisonment, or both, for contempt of court. The municipal court may have the power to impose reasonable costs of court, not in excess of the following:
Dismissal of any affidavit, complaint or charge
in municipal court..................................... $ 50.00
Suspension of a minor's driver's license in lieu of
conviction............................................. $ 50.00
Service of scire facias or return "not found".......... $ 20.00
Causing search warrant to issue or causing
prosecution without reasonable cause or refusing to
cooperate after initiating action...................... $ 100.00
Certified copy of the court record..................... $ 5.00
Service of arrest warrant for failure to answer
citation or traffic summons............................ $ 25.00
Jail cost per day - actual jail cost paid by the municipality but not to exceed................................................ $ 35.00
Service of court documents related to the filing
of a petition or issuance of a protection from domestic
abuse order under Title 93, Chapter 21, Mississippi
Code of 1972 .......................................... $ 25.00
Any other item of court cost........................... $ 50.00
No filing fee or such cost shall be imposed for the bringing of an action in municipal court.
(12) A municipal court judge shall not dismiss a criminal case but may transfer the case to the justice court of the county if the municipal court judge is prohibited from presiding over the case by the Canons of Judicial Conduct and provided that venue and jurisdiction are proper in the justice court. Upon transfer of any such case, the municipal court judge shall give the municipal court clerk a written order to transmit the affidavit or complaint and all other records and evidence in the court's possession to the justice court by certified mail or to instruct the arresting officer to deliver such documents and records to the justice court. There shall be no court costs charged for the transfer of the case to the justice court.
(13) A municipal court judge shall expunge the record of any case in which an arrest was made, the person arrested was released and the case was dismissed or the charges were dropped or there was no disposition of such case.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2018.