Mississippi Advisory Opinions May 15, 1998: AGO 000012614 (May 15, 1998)

AGO 000012614.

Dear Ms. Entrekin:

Attorney General Mike Moore has received your request for an official opinion and has assigned it to me for research and reply. Your letter has been attached for reference. In your letter you state that House Bill 1868, local and private legislation enacted during the 1998 session, provides for a county-wide referendum on the additional assessment of sales tax on food and beverages. You inquire whether Section 23-15-359(5), Miss. Code Ann., which provides that the ballot form of such local issue must be filed with the commissioners of election not less than sixty (60) days prior to the date of the election, applies to the election authorized pursuant to House Bill 1868.

In response, House Bill 1868, a copy of which is attached, provides, in Section 4(2) that before any tax may be imposed under House Bill 1868, the governing authority of the city shall adopt a resolution that declare its intent to levy said tax, state the amount of the tax and the effective date, and call for a referendum to be held on the question. The bill further states that the date of the election is to be agreed upon by the City of Laurel and the Board of supervisors of Jones County. Notice of such intention is required to be published once each week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper in the county. House Bill 1868 also provides that all county qualified electors may vote.

Section 23-15-359(5) provides:

The commissioners may also have printed upon the ballot any local issue election matter that is authorized to be held on the same date as the regular or general election pursuant to Section 23-15-375; provided, however, that the ballot form of such issue must be filed with the commissioners of election by the appropriate governing authority not less than sixty (60) days previous to the date of the election.

Section 23-15-359 establishes, in conjunction with Section 23-15-375, the requirements for placing a local issue on the ballot for a general election. As long as the election date agreed upon by the city and the board of supervisors is not the date of the general election, then the sixty day notice requirement of Section 23-15-359 does not apply, and the notice provisions of House Bill 1868 govern.

If this office can be of any further assistance, please let us know.

Very truly yours,

MIKE MOORE

ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: Sandra Murphy Shelson

Special Assistant Attorney General