Municipal annexation/deannexation; require election be held on the question of in the subject territory to be annexed/deannexed.

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

By: Representative Horne

HOUSE BILL NO. 1106

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 21-1-27, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
REQUIRE THAT AN ELECTION BE HELD IN ANY PART OF A COUNTY WHICH IS 2
THE SUBJECT OF AN ANNEXATION OR REMOVAL ORDINANCE; TO REPEAL 3
SECTION 21-1-29, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH REQUIRES AN 4
ENLARGEMENT OR CONTRACTION PETITION TO BE FILED IN CHANCERY COURT; 5
TO AMEND SECTION 21-1-31, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE 6
MUNICIPAL AUTHORITIES TO PAY ATTORNEY'S FEES AND ALL COSTS OF 7
COURT WHEN APPEALING THE ELECTION RESULTS; TO AMEND SECTION 8
21-1-33, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE CHANCELLOR 9
MAY CONSIDER ELECTION RESULTS AS EVIDENCE; TO AMEND SECTIONS 10
21-1-35 AND 21-1-43, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE 11
PRECEDING SECTIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 12
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 13
SECTION 1. Section 21-1-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 14
amended as follows: 15
21-1-27. (1) The limits and boundaries of existing cities, 16
towns and villages shall remain as now established until altered 17
in the manner * * * provided in this chapter. When any 18
municipality * * * desires to enlarge or contract * * * its 19
boundaries * * * by adding * * * to its boundaries, adjacent 20
unincorporated territory, or excluding * * * from its boundaries 21
any part of the incorporated territory of * * * the municipality, 22
the governing authorities of * * * the municipality shall pass an 23
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ordinance defining with certainty the territory proposed to be 24
included in or excluded from the corporate limits, and also 25
defining the entire boundary as changed. * * * If the 26
municipality desires to enlarge * * * its boundaries, * * * the 27
ordinance shall in general terms describe the proposed 28
improvements to be made in the annexed territory, the manner and 29
extent of * * * the improvements, and the approximate time within 30
which such improvements are to be made; such ordinance shall also 31
contain a statement of the municipal or public services * * * that 32
the municipality proposes to render in * * * the annexed 33
territory. * * * If the municipality * * * desires to contract 34
its boundaries, * * * the ordinance shall contain a statement of 35
the reasons for * * * the contraction and a statement 36
showing * * * how the public convenience and necessity would be 37
served thereby. 38
(2) After the passage of the ordinance, the board of 39
supervisors of the county or counties in which the territory 40
proposed to be annexed or removed is located shall hold an 41
election in the territory on the question of the proposed 42
annexation or removal. Only those persons residing in the area to 43
be annexed or removed shall be allowed to vote in the election. 44
The election shall be held within sixty (60) days after passage of 45
the ordinance. Notice of the election shall be published in a 46
newspaper having a general circulation in the territory proposed 47
to be annexed or removed once a week for three (3) consecutive 48
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weeks before the election date, and the first publication shall be 49
made not less than twenty-one (21) days before the election date. 50
The election shall be held in the same manner as are other county 51
elections. The results of the election shall be certified by the 52
election commissioners of the county and shall be considered as 53
the final decision on the issue of annexation or removal unless 54
the governing authorities of such municipality appeal the election 55
decision to the chancery court of the county in which such 56
municipality is located. 57
(2) [Repealed] 58
(3) [Repealed] 59
SECTION 2. Section 21-1-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, which 60
provides for an enlargement or contraction petition to be filed in 61
chancery court, is repealed. 62
SECTION 3. Section 21-1-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 63
amended as follows: 64
21-1-31. Upon * * * appeal by the municipal authorities, to 65
the chancery court, the chancellor shall fix a date certain, 66
either in term time or in vacation, when a hearing on * * * the 67
election results defeating the proposed enlargement or contraction 68
will be held, and notice thereof shall be given in the same manner 69
and for the same length of time as is provided in Section 21-1-15 70
with regard to the creation of municipal corporations, and all 71
parties interested in, affected by, or being aggrieved by * * * 72
the proposed enlargement or contraction shall have the right to 73
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appear at such hearing and present their objection to such 74
proposed enlargement or contraction. * * * The municipal 75
authorities shall be required to pay all attorney's fees and all 76
costs involved with the hearing. 77
SECTION 4. Section 21-1-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 78
amended as follows: 79
21-1-33. (1) If the chancellor finds from the evidence 80
including, but not limited to, the results of any election held 81
under Section 21-1-27, presented at the hearing that the proposed 82
enlargement or contraction is reasonable and is required by the 83
public convenience and necessity and, in the event of an 84
enlargement of a municipality, that reasonable public and 85
municipal services will be rendered in the annexed territory 86
within a reasonable time and that the governing authority of the 87
municipality complied with the provisions of Section 21-1-27, the 88
chancellor * * * may enter a decree approving, ratifying and 89
confirming the proposed enlargement or contraction, and describing 90
the boundaries of the municipality as altered. In so doing the 91
chancellor shall have the right and the power to modify the 92
proposed enlargement or contraction by decreasing the territory to 93
be included in or excluded from the municipality, as the case may 94
be. 95
(2) If the chancellor * * * finds from the evidence that the 96
proposed enlargement or contraction, as the case may be, is 97
unreasonable and is not required by the public convenience and 98
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necessity, or in the event of an enlargement of a municipality, 99
that the governing authority of the municipality failed to comply 100
with the provisions of Section 21-1-27, then he or she shall enter 101
a decree denying the enlargement or contraction. 102
(3) In any event, the decree of the chancellor shall become 103
effective after the passage of ten (10) days from the date thereof 104
or, in the event an appeal is taken therefrom, within ten (10) 105
days from the final determination of the appeal. In any proceeding 106
under this section the burden shall be upon the municipal 107
authorities to show that the proposed enlargement or contraction 108
is reasonable. 109
SECTION 5. Section 21-1-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 110
amended as follows: 111
21-1-35. * * * In the event of an appeal from the judgment 112
of the chancellor, the costs incurred in the appeal shall be taxed 113
against the appellant if the judgment be affirmed, and against the 114
appellee if the judgment be reversed. 115
SECTION 6. Section 21-1-43, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 116
amended as follows: 117
21-1-43. Any two (2) or more cities or towns being adjacent 118
or situated sufficiently near to each other may combine into and 119
become one municipality in the same manner as is provided for the 120
enlargement or contraction of municipal boundaries. It shall be 121
necessary for the governing authorities of each municipality to 122
adopt the ordinance with regard * * * to the consolidation and an 123
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election held in the same manner as is provided in Section 21-1-27 124
with regard to the enlargement or contraction of municipal 125
boundaries. * * * The ordinance * * * shall state the name that 126
shall be given to the municipality to be formed. In the event of 127
the consolidation of two (2) or more municipalities into one (1) 128
as * * * provided in this section, the decree of the chancellor 129
shall correctly classify the municipality so formed in accordance 130
with the facts, based upon the total population of all of such 131
municipalities as shown by the latest available federal census. 132
When * * * the consolidation shall have become final and 133
operative, all of * * * the municipalities shall be merged into 134
one (1) under the name set forth in the ordinances adopted by the 135
governing authorities of the municipalities so consolidated. The 136
governing authorities of all the municipalities so consolidated 137
shall become members of the governing authority of the 138
municipality so formed until the next regular election, when the 139
proper number of members of the governing authority shall be 140
elected as provided by law, and the mayor or chief executive 141
officer of the largest municipality, according to population, 142
shall become the mayor or chief executive officer of the 143
municipality so formed. The assessments and levies for ad valorem 144
taxation in force at the time of the consolidation of * * * the 145
municipalities for the territory of each municipality shall be the 146
assessment and levy upon which taxes shall be collected for the 147
then current fiscal year, but in all other respects the existing 148
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ST: Municipal annexation/deannexation; require
election be held on the question of in the
subject territory to be annexed/deannexed.
laws and ordinances of the largest municipality, according to 149
population, shall be operative throughout the enlarged limits. 150
Nothing in this section shall authorize the combination of 151
two (2) or more villages unless * * * those villages shall have a 152
combined population of five hundred (500) or more, according to 153
the latest available federal census. 154
SECTION 7. Any action taken on an ordinance proposing the 155
enlargement or contraction of municipal boundaries that is pending 156
before a court on the effective date of this act as a result of 157
any prior law shall be withdrawn and an election as provided in 158
Section 21-1-27 may be held. 159
SECTION 8. This act shall take effect and be in force from 160
and after July 1, 2026. 161