Senate Bill 3145

(As Passed the Senate)

AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 982, LOCAL AND PRIVATE LAWS OF 2007, TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF GEORGE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI, TO IMPOSE A TAX OF UP TO 3% TO BE LEVIED ON THE GROSS PROCEEDS DERIVED FROM HOTEL AND MOTEL ROOM RENTALS WITHIN THE COUNTY, TO IMPOSE A TAX OF UP TO 1% ON THE GROSS PROCEEDS DERIVED FROM THE SALES OF PREPARED FOODS AND BEVERAGES AT RESTAURANTS WITHIN THE COUNTY, AND TO EXPEND THE PROCEEDS OF SUCH TAXES TO FUND A SPORTS FACILITY AND RECREATIONAL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF LUCEDALE UNDER TITLE 27, CHAPTER 65; TO PROVIDE FOR AN ELECTION ON WHETHER SUCH TAXES WILL BE LEVIED; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Chapter 982, Local and Private Laws of 2007, is amended as follows:

Section 1. As used in this act, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section unless otherwise clearly indicated by the context in which they are used:

(a) "Hotel" or "motel" means any establishment engaged in the business of furnishing or providing rooms intended or designed for lodging or sleeping purposes for transient guests, which establishment consists of five (5) or more guest rooms and does not encompass any hospital, convalescent or nursing home, or sanitarium, or any hotel-like facility operated by or in connection with a hospital or medical clinic providing rooms exclusively for patients and their families.

(b) "Board" means the Board of Supervisors of George County, Mississippi.

(d) "Prepared food" means food prepared on the premises of a restaurant.

(e) "Restaurant" means all places where prepared food and beverages are sold for consumption, whether such food is sold for consumption on the premises or not. The term "restaurant" does not include any school, hospital, convalescent or nursing home, or any restaurant-like facility operated by or in connection with a school, hospital, medical clinic, convalescent or nursing home providing food for students, patients, visitors or their families.

Section 2. (1) For the purpose of providing funds to promote economic development in the county, the board, in its discretion, may levy, assess and collect from every person, firm and corporation operating a hotel * * * or, motel or restaurant in the county, a tax which shall be in addition to all other taxes and assessments imposed by the county, as provided in this act.

(2) The tax shall be an amount not to exceed * * * ~~two percent (2%)~~ three percent (3%) of the gross proceeds derived from hotel and motel room rentals in the county, excluding charges for telephone, laundry and similar services, and an amount not to exceed one percent (1%) of the gross proceeds derived from the sales of prepared food and beverages at restaurants in the county. The tax shall not be levied upon or collected from gross proceeds of nontaxable rooms, room rentals for day meetings that do not serve as overnight sleeping accommodations or room rentals to residential guests of a hotel or motel, nor shall the tax be levied upon or collected from gross proceeds of any school, hospital, medical clinic, convalescent or nursing home.

(3) Persons liable for the tax imposed pursuant to this act shall add the amount of tax to the gross proceeds from room rentals or restaurant sales and shall collect, insofar as practicable, the respective amount of the tax due by him from the person receiving the services at the time of payment for the services.

(4) The tax shall be collected by and paid to the State Tax Commission on a form prescribed by the State Tax Commission, in the same manner that state sales taxes are computed, collected and paid; and the full enforcement provisions and all other provisions of Chapter 65, Title 27, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall apply as necessary to the implementation and administration of this act.

(5) The proceeds of the tax, less three percent (3%) to be retained by the State Tax Commission to defray the costs of collection, shall be paid to the county on or before the fifteenth day of the month following the month in which they were collected.

(6) The proceeds of the tax shall not be considered by the county as general fund revenues but shall be placed into a special fund and may be expended solely for the purpose of * * * ~~promoting economic development~~ funding the construction of a sports and recreation facility in the county in cooperation with the City of Lucedale.

Section 3. Before any tax authorized under this act may be imposed, the board shall adopt a resolution declaring its intention to levy the tax, setting forth the amount of the tax to be imposed, the date upon which the tax shall become effective and calling for an election to be held on the question. The date of the election shall be fixed in the resolution. Notice of such intention shall be published once each week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper published or having a general circulation in the county, with the first publication of the notice to be made not less than twenty-one (21) days before the date fixed in the resolution for the election and the last publication to be made not more than seven (7) days before the election. At the election, all qualified electors of the county may vote, and the ballots used in the election shall have printed thereon a brief statement of the amount and purposes of the proposed tax levy and the words "FOR THE TAX" and, on a separate line, "AGAINST THE TAX" and the voters shall vote by placing a cross (X) or check (√) opposite their choice on the proposition. When the results of the election shall have been canvassed and certified, the county may levy the tax if sixty percent (60%) of the qualified electors who vote in the election vote in favor of the tax. At least thirty (30) days before the effective date of the tax provided in this section, the board shall furnish to the State Tax Commission a certified copy of the resolution evidencing the tax.

Section 4. Before the expenditure of the proceeds of the tax authorized by this act, a budget reflecting the anticipated receipts and expenditures shall be approved by the board. The first budget of receipts and expenditures shall cover the period beginning with the effective date of the tax and ending with the end of the county's fiscal year, and thereafter, the budget shall be on the same fiscal basis as the budget of the county.

Section 5. Accounting for receipts and expenditures of the funds derived from the proceeds of the tax authorized by this act shall be made separately from the accounting of receipts and expenditures of the general fund and any other funds of the county. The records reflecting the receipts and expenditures of these funds shall be audited annually by an independent certified public accountant and the audit shall be included in the General Purpose Statement of the county. The audit shall be made and completed as soon as practicable after the close of the county's fiscal year, and copies of the report of the audit shall be filed with the clerk for the board. The expenses of this audit may be paid from the funds derived pursuant to Section 2 of this act.

Section 6. This act shall be liberally construed for the purposes prescribed herein, the power granted by this act shall be deemed to be full and complete authority for the imposition and collection of the tax and the expenditure of the proceeds thereof and shall be construed as additional, cumulative and supplemental to any power granted to the county by any general or local and private act of the Legislature.

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Section * * *8 7. This act shall * * * be repealed from and after July 1, 2027.

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