Mississippi Advisory Opinions December 09, 2005: AGO 2005-0576 (December 09, 2005)

Advisory Opinion Text

Joseph D. Nosef III, Esquire

Chief Counsel

Office of the Governor

State of Mississippi

Post Office Box 139

Jackson, Mississippi 39205

Re: Amendment to Special Charter of City of Grenada

Dear Mr. Nosef:

We have received your letter of September 27, 2005 whereby you transmitted a proposed amendment to the Special Charter of the City of Grenada (the Charter) and asked for an official opinion as to whether said proposed amendment is consistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Mississippi.

Attached to your letter are the following documents:

1. Ordinance adopting redistricting plan, amending city charter and scheduling election for the offices of mayor and city councilmen;

2. Proof of Publication of the Ordinance;

3. Letter of June 28, 2005 from Acting Assistant Attorney General Bradley J. Schlozman, U.S. Department of Justice, withdrawing the August 17, 1998 objection to the City of Grenada's annexation;

4. Memorandum Opinion issued by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, Western Division, Signed by Senior U.S. District Judge Neal B. Biggers, Jr. and dated July 5, 2005 ordering the City of Grenada to devise a new redistricting plan for its entire corporate limits, including the 1993 annexed areas and submit such plan to the U.S. Department of Justice for Section 5 preclearance. Said opinion also ordered special interim elections for all municipal elective offices within 90 days of the date of submission of the new plan;

5. Order of August 15, 2005 from the U.S. District Court noting that the U.S. Department of Justice in a letter dated August 11, 2005 interposed no objection to the new redistricting plan; and

6. Letter of August 11, 2005 from the U.S. Department of Justice interposing no objection to the 2005 redistricting plan and special election procedures.

The attorney for the City of Grenada, Ellis Turnage, Esquire, represents in his letter to you that no written protests of the proposed charter amendment have been filed with the Grenada City Clerk.

The notarized proof of publication from The Daily Star, a newspaper published in the City of Grenada, Mississippi indicates that the ordinance in question was published in said newspaper on August 5, 2005; August 15, 2005; and August 22, 2005.

We have examined the proposed amendment and are of the opinion that it is consistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Mississippi.

Sincerely,

Jim Hood Attorney General.

Phil Carter Special Assistant Attorney General.