Board of supervisors; authorize to employ special assistant counsel to assist board attorney.

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To: County Affairs;
Appropriations A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Horan

HOUSE BILL NO. 1077

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 19-3-47, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
AUTHORIZE THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF ANY COUNTY TO EMPLOY SPECIAL 2
ASSISTANT COUNSEL TO ASSIST THE COUNTY BOARD ATTORNEY; AND FOR 3
RELATED PURPOSES. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 5
SECTION 1. Section 19-3-47, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 6
amended as follows: 7
19-3-47. (1) (a) (i) The board of supervisors shall have 8
the power, in its discretion, to employ counsel by the year at an 9
annual salary at an amount that it deems proper, not to exceed the 10
maximum annual amount authorized by law for payment to a member of 11
the board. 12
(ii) The board of supervisors shall have the 13
power, in its discretion, to employ special assistant counsel by 14
the year at an annual salary at an amount that it deems proper, 15
not to exceed one-half (1/2) of the maximum annual salary 16
authorized for the counsel employed in this paragraph (a)(i). 17
Duties of the special assistant counsel are to assist the counsel, 18
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employed pursuant to this paragraph (a)(i), with such counsel's 19
ordinary and normal responsibilities to the board. 20
(b) The board of supervisors shall have the power, in 21
its discretion, to employ counsel in all civil cases in which the 22
county is interested, including eminent domain proceedings, the 23
examination and certification of title to property the county is 24
acquiring and in criminal cases against a county officer for 25
malfeasance or dereliction of duty in office, when by the criminal 26
conduct of the officer the county may be liable to be affected 27
pecuniarily, with the counsel to conduct the proceeding instead of 28
the district attorney, or in conjunction with him, and to pay the 29
counsel out of the county treasury or the road fund that may be 30
involved reasonable compensation, or if counsel so employed is 31
retained on an annual basis as provided in this subsection, 32
reasonable additional compensation for his services. 33
(c) The board of supervisors shall have the power, in 34
its discretion, to pay reasonable compensation to attorneys who 35
may be employed by it in the matter of the issuance of bonds and 36
the drafting of orders and resolutions in connection therewith. In 37
no instance shall the attorney's fee for the services exceed the 38
following amounts, to wit: 39
One percent (1%) of the first Five Hundred Thousand Dollars 40
($500,000.00) of any one (1) bond issue; one-half percent (1/2%) 41
of the amount of the issue in excess of Five Hundred Thousand 42
Dollars ($500,000.00) but not more than One Million Dollars 43
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($1,000,000.00); and one-fourth percent (1/4%) of the amount of 44
the issue in excess of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00). The 45
limitations imposed in this paragraph shall not apply to any bond 46
issue for which a declaration to issue the bonds has heretofore 47
been adopted by proper resolution. 48
(d) This subsection shall not in anyway amend or repeal 49
or otherwise affect subsection (2) of this section, but this 50
subsection shall remain in full force and effect. 51
(2) The board of supervisors of any county, in addition to 52
the authority conferred upon it in subsection (1) of this section, 53
may employ, in its discretion, a firm of attorneys to represent it 54
as its regular attorneys on the same terms, conditions and 55
compensation as provided for employment of an attorney as its 56
regular attorney. However, there shall not be both an attorney 57
and a firm of attorneys employed at the same time as the regular 58
attorney for the board. 59
(3) In any county having a 1980 federal census population in 60
excess of one hundred eighteen thousand (118,000), and in which is 61
located a major refinery for the production of petroleum products 62
and a facility for the construction of ships for the United States 63
Navy; in any county which is traversed by an interstate highway 64
and having a 1980 federal census population in excess of sixty-six 65
thousand (66,000), and in which is located a comprehensive 66
university operated by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions 67
of Higher Learning and a National Guard training base; in any 68
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county in which is located the State Capitol and the state's 69
largest municipality; in any county which is traversed by 70
Interstate Highway 55, United States Highway 51 and United States 71
Highway 98; in any county bordering the Gulf of Mexico, having a 72
1980 federal census population in excess of one hundred 73
fifty-seven thousand (157,000), and in which is located a 74
state-owned port; and in any county which is traversed by 75
Interstate Highway 20, United States Highway 49 and United States 76
Highway 80, and in which is located the State Hospital and an 77
international airport; all of which foregoing criteria the 78
Legislature finds to be conducive to industrial development 79
requiring the issuance of industrial revenue bonds and which 80
counties would gain benefits by employment of counsel in the 81
manner authorized by this subsection, the board of supervisors, as 82
an alternative to the authority conferred upon it in subsections 83
(1) and (2) of this section, may employ annually, in its 84
discretion, an attorney as a full-time employee of the county, 85
subject to the following conditions: 86
(a) The attorney shall maintain an office in the county 87
courthouse or other county-owned building and shall represent the 88
board of supervisors and all county agencies responsible to the 89
board; 90
(b) The attorney shall be employed by the board of 91
supervisors in the matter of the issuance of all bonds of the 92
county and the drafting of resolutions in connection therewith, 93
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ST: Board of supervisors; authorize to employ
special assistant counsel to assist board
attorney.
and shall represent the board in all state and federal courts. 94
Attorney's fees for the services which otherwise would have been 95
paid to an attorney under paragraph (1)(c) of this section shall 96
be paid into the county general fund and used to defray the salary 97
of the attorney and his necessary office expenses; 98
(c) During his employment by the county, the attorney 99
shall not engage otherwise in the practice of civil or criminal 100
law and shall not be associated with any other attorney or firm of 101
attorneys; 102
(d) The board of supervisors shall have the power, in 103
its discretion, to pay the attorney an annual salary not to exceed 104
the maximum annual salary authorized by law to be paid to the 105
county judge of that county; and 106
(e) The board of supervisors may authorize, in its 107
discretion, the employment of special counsel to assist the 108
counsel employed pursuant to this subsection, provided that the 109
board shall determine and spread on its minutes that the 110
employment of the special counsel is necessary and in the best 111
interest of the county and setting forth the duties or 112
responsibilities assigned to the special counsel. 113
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 114
and after July 1, 2026. 115