Bill Text: MS SB2937 | 2016 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Jackson County; authorize the cleaning of certain blighted property.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-04-21 - Died In Committee [SB2937 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2016-SB2937-Engrossed.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2016 Regular Session
To: Local and Private
By: Senator(s) Wiggins
Senate Bill 2937
(As Passed the Senate)
AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF JACKSON COUNTY TO CONDUCT HEARINGS TO DETERMINE WHETHER CERTAIN PROPERTY WITHIN THE COUNTY IS BLIGHTED PROPERTY; TO REQUIRE THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TO PROVIDE NOTICE TO THE OWNERS OF BLIGHTED PROPERTY; TO PROVIDE THE FORM AND MANNER OF THE NOTICE TO AUTHORIZE THE COUNTY TO CHARGE THE ACTUAL COSTS OF CORRECTING THE BLIGHTED PROPERTY; TO AUTHORIZE THE COUNTY TO ASSESS PENALTIES AGAINST THE PROPERTY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) The Board of Supervisors of Jackson County,
Mississippi, may, in its discretion, conduct hearings to determine
whether certain property located within the county is blighted
property, in addition to the authority granted to the board for
property that is a menace to the public health as provided by
Section 19-5-105, Mississippi Code of 1972. All findings shall be
recorded in the minutes of the board of supervisors. For purposes
of this act, "blighted property" means private property on which
commercial buildings, multifamily housing building structures or
residential structures are or were located, which were impacted by
Hurricane Katrina, and are no longer in a state of repair suitable
for use and occupancy, are neglected to the extent the structures
or debris and remnants from structures or foundations, including,
but not limited to, slabs and pilings, are a menace to public health and safety, or are subject to entry by uninvited persons, including homeless persons, juveniles and vandals, or are subject to infestation of rodents or other varmints with potential to spread disease, or the structures are abandoned or dilapidated to an extent to be a danger or a blight to the community and such property cannot be remedied under the provisions of Section 19-5-105, Mississippi Code of 1972.
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.
The required notice shall include language that informs the
property owner that any adjudication at such hearing that the
property or parcel of land is blighted will authorize the board
of supervisors to reenter the property or parcel of land for a
period of one (1) year after the hearing 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 act shall be recorded in the minutes of the board of supervisors in
conjunction with the hearing required by this section.
(2) If at such hearing the board of supervisors shall in its
resolution adjudicate such parcel of land in its then condition to
be blighted, the board of supervisors may, if the owner fails to
do so himself, proceed to have the land cleaned in a manner that
is necessary to correct its blighted condition. 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 Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00). The cost and any penalty shall become an assessment against the property. The cost assessed against the property may be 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.
(3) 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 dilapidated buildings, 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 shall be the actual cost of cleaning the property. The board of supervisors may assess the same penalty each time the property or land is cleaned as otherwise provided in this section.
(4) The penalty provided in this section shall not be assessed against the State of Mississippi upon request for reimbursement under Section 29-1-145, Mississippi Code of 1972, nor shall a county clean a parcel owned by the State of Mississippi without first giving notice.
(5) 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. 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. All decisions rendered under the provisions of this section may be appealed in the same manner as other appeals from decisions of the board of supervisors.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from
and after its passage.
