Bill Text: MS SB2746 | 2010 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Hamlets; revise law regulating.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2010-03-02 - Died In Committee [SB2746 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2010-SB2746-Engrossed.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2010 Regular Session
To: Municipalities
By: Senator(s) Albritton
Senate Bill 2746
(As Passed the Senate)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 17-27-1, 17-27-3, 17-27-5, 17-27-7, 17-27-9 AND 17-27-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE MUNICIPAL HAMLET ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 17-27-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
17-27-1. This chapter shall be known as the "Municipal * * * Hamlet Act," and it shall serve the purpose of having historical small communities organize community activities that will positively influence the infrastructure of such communities.
SECTION 2. Section 17-27-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
17-27-3. The Legislature finds the following:
(a) Population growth as well as development in historical communities result in new and increased demands for public facilities and services that promote the public peace, health, safety, and general welfare;
(b) The residents and property owners in these communities should have reasonable methods available so they can provide these public facilities and services; and
(c) The ability of residents and property owners in historical communities to propose the establishment of * * * hamlets is a method to fulfill the demands for these much needed public facilities and services.
SECTION 3. Section 17-27-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
17-27-5. (1) For purposes of this chapter, the term:
(a) "Municipal historical hamlet" means any former city, town or village with a current population of less than six hundred (600) inhabitants that lost its charter before 1945.
(b) "Citizen" means a resident at least eighteen (18) years of age living within, or a nonresident who owns property or a business within, the boundaries of a hamlet.
(2) After the creation of a municipal historical hamlet, as prescribed in Sections 17-27-7 through 17-27-11, the powers of the hamlet shall be as follows:
(a) To designate the county seat of government located at a county courthouse within the jurisdiction where the hamlet is located as the municipal historical hamlet meeting place;
(b) To be recognized for historical districts within a * * * hamlet; and
(c) To work with a planning and development district in promoting economic, community and human resources within a * * * hamlet and to apply for any type of grant to improve the infrastructure of the hamlet, including any small municipalities grant programs authorized, such as in Sections 21-17-1 and 21-27-23.
(3) Taxes or fees shall not be imposed by or against any municipal historical hamlet for any general or special purpose.
(4) A municipal historical hamlet shall not be considered as one (1) of the classes of municipal corporations which are prescribed in Section 21-1-1 but shall be considered an unincorporated area zoned for consideration of issues affecting the designated community through any application or process recognizing the area specifically within any county or counties.
SECTION 4. Section 17-27-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
17-27-7. (1) Any citizen * * * of any geographical area that meets the criteria of a municipal historical hamlet, as defined in Section 17-27-5, and desires to create a municipal historical hamlet, any citizen or citizens shall prepare a petition and file such petition with the chancery clerk of the county in which such proposed * * * hamlet is located or, if the proposed * * * hamlet is located in more than one (1) county, the chancery clerk of both counties. The petition shall meet the following requirements:
(a) It shall accurately reference the territory proposed to be a municipal historical hamlet as the former municipal corporation and the date on which that charter was suspended, with the last date of such suspension being before 1945;
(b) It shall set forth the name of the hamlet which is desired;
(c) It shall set forth the number of inhabitants of such territory as per the most recent decennial census; * * *
(d) Contain a statement of the names of the persons the petitioners desire appointed as officers of the hamlet board for the first year of the hamlet's existence; and
(e) It shall be sworn to by one or more of the petitioners and placed on file in the land records of the chancery clerk.
(2) Hamlets are represented by an elected hamlet board, to be elected according to procedures set forth in the board of supervisors approval of the hamlet.
(3) The first duty of the hamlet board shall be to adopt bylaws for the operation of the hamlet's and board's business.
SECTION 5. Section 17-27-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
17-27-9. (1) After the filing of the petition for the creation of a * * * hamlet, as prescribed in Section 17-27-7, a certified copy of the petition shall be delivered to the president of the board of supervisors in the county or counties where the hamlet is located and shall be spread upon the minutes for recognition as a hamlet, and * * * the existence of the * * * hamlet shall become effective upon approval by the board of supervisors.
(2) No * * * hamlet shall be recognized that lies, in whole or in part, in any incorporated area and shall not be considered a municipal corporation under Section 21-1-1 in order to defeat or defend against the inclusion within the boundaries of any municipal corporation.
SECTION 6. Section 17-27-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
17-27-11. The name of a created municipal * * * hamlet shall either be "The Municipal Historical Hamlet of _____________," "The Hamlet of _____________" or "The Historical Hamlet of ____________." The blank shall be filled in with the name by which such hamlet has been legally designated and shall be placed in the records of the Secretary of State.
SECTION 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2010.
