Municipal annexation; provide that an election shall be held on the question of.

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To: County Affairs
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representatives Barton, Anderson
(110th), Hale

HOUSE BILL NO. 4

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 21-1-27, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
PROVIDE FOR AN ELECTION ON THE QUESTION OF MUNICIPAL ANNEXATION IN 2
BOTH THE MUNICIPALITY AND THE TERRITORY PROPOSED TO BE ANNEXED 3
WHEN THE GOVERNING AUTHORITIES OF A MUNICIPALITY DESIRE TO ENLARGE 4
ITS BOUNDARIES; TO AMEND SECTIONS 21-1-29, 21-1-31, 21-1-33, 5
21-1-35, 21-1-37 AND 21-1-39, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REMOVE 6
THE QUESTION OF MUNICIPAL ANNEXATION FROM CHANCERY COURT 7
PROCEEDINGS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 8
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 9
SECTION 1. Section 21-1-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 10
amended as follows: 11
21-1-27. (1) (a) The limits and boundaries of existing 12
cities, towns and villages shall remain as now established until 13
altered in the manner hereinafter provided. When any 14
municipality * * * desires to enlarge or contract * * * its 15
boundaries * * * by adding * * * adjacent unincorporated territory 16
or excluding * * * from its boundaries any part of the 17
incorporated territory of * * * the municipality, the governing 18
authorities of such municipality shall pass an ordinance defining 19
with certainty the territory proposed to be included in or 20
excluded from the corporate limits, and also defining the entire 21
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boundary as changed. * * * If the municipality desires to 22
enlarge * * * its boundaries, * * * the ordinance shall in general 23
terms describe the proposed improvements to be made in the annexed 24
territory, the manner and extent of such improvements, and the 25
approximate time within which such improvements are to be 26
made; * * * the ordinance shall also contain a statement of the 27
municipal or public services which such municipality proposes to 28
render in such annexed territory. * * * If the municipality * * * 29
desires to contract its boundaries, such ordinance shall contain a 30
statement of the reasons for * * * the contraction and a statement 31
showing * * * how the public convenience and necessity would be 32
served * * * by the contraction. 33
(b) If twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors 34
residing in the territory proposed to be annexed by a municipality 35
petitions the governing body of the municipality for an election 36
on the question of the proposed annexation, within sixty (60) days 37
after public notice of the adoption of the annexation ordinance, 38
the appropriate election officials shall hold separate elections 39
in the municipality and in the territory proposed to be annexed on 40
the question of the proposed annexation. The elections shall be 41
held within sixty (60) days after certification of the petition by 42
the municipal clerk. Notice of the elections shall be published 43
once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks before the election 44
date in a newspaper having a general circulation in the county or 45
counties in which the municipality and the territory proposed to 46
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be annexed are located. The first publication shall be made not 47
less than twenty-one (21) days before the election date. The 48
elections shall be held in the same manner as are other elections. 49
The annexation shall not be permitted or approved unless both the 50
electors in the municipality and in the territory proposed to be 51
annexed approve the annexation by majority vote of those electors 52
voting in the election. If fewer than a majority of the qualified 53
electors voting in each election vote against the ordinance, the 54
ordinance shall be approved. If a majority of the qualified 55
electors voting in each election vote against the ordinance, the 56
ordinance shall not be approved. If approved in the elections, 57
the ordinance shall become effective ten (10) days after the date 58
of the final determination of the results of the elections or on a 59
later date that is specified in the ordinance. If a petition for 60
the election is not filed, the ordinance shall become effective 61
sixty (60) days after public notice of the adoption of the 62
ordinance or on a later date that is specified in the ordinance. 63
If the ordinance is not approved in the elections, the 64
municipality shall not adopt another ordinance proposing the 65
annexation of any of the same territory for a period of five (5) 66
years from the date of the election. 67
SECTION 2. Section 21-1-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 68
amended as follows: 69
21-1-29. When any * * * ordinance * * * proposing to 70
contract the municipal boundaries is passed by the municipal 71
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authorities, * * * the municipal authorities shall file a petition 72
in the chancery court of the county in which * * * the 73
municipality is located * * *. The petition shall recite the fact 74
of the adoption of * * * the ordinance and shall pray that 75
the * * * contraction of the municipal boundaries * * * be 76
ratified, approved and confirmed by the court. There shall be 77
attached to * * * the petition, as exhibits * * *, a certified 78
copy of the ordinance adopted by the municipal authorities and a 79
map or plat of the municipal boundaries as they will exist * * * 80
if the contraction becomes effective. 81
SECTION 3. Section 21-1-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 82
amended as follows: 83
21-1-31. Upon the filing of * * * the petition and upon 84
application therefor by the petitioner, the chancellor shall fix a 85
date certain, either in term time or in vacation, when a hearing 86
on * * * the petition will be held, and notice * * * of the 87
hearing shall be given in the same manner and for the same length 88
of time as is provided in Section 21-1-15 with regard to the 89
creation of municipal corporations * * *. All parties interested 90
in, affected by, or being aggrieved by * * * the contraction shall 91
have the right to appear at such hearing and present their 92
objection to * * * the contraction. * * * 93
SECTION 4. Section 21-1-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 94
amended as follows: 95
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21-1-33. (1) If the chancellor finds from the evidence 96
presented at the hearing that the proposed * * * contraction is 97
reasonable and is required by the public convenience and 98
necessity * * * and that the governing authority of the 99
municipality complied with the provisions of Section 21-1-27, the 100
chancellor shall enter a decree approving, ratifying and 101
confirming the proposed * * * contraction, and describing the 102
boundaries of the municipality as altered. In so doing, the 103
chancellor shall have the right and the power to modify the 104
proposed * * * contraction by decreasing the territory to be * * * 105
excluded from the municipality, as the case may be. 106
(2) If the chancellor shall find from the evidence that 107
the * * * contraction * * * is unreasonable and is not required by 108
the public convenience and necessity, or in the event * * * the 109
governing authority of the municipality failed to comply with the 110
provisions of Section 21-1-27, then he shall enter a decree 111
denying the * * * contraction. 112
(3) In any event, the decree of the chancellor shall become 113
effective after the passage of ten (10) days from the date * * * 114
of the decree or, in the event an appeal is taken therefrom, 115
within ten (10) days from the final determination of the appeal. 116
In any proceeding under this section the burden shall be upon the 117
municipal authorities to show that the proposed * * * contraction 118
is reasonable. 119
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SECTION 5. Section 21-1-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 120
amended as follows: 121
21-1-35. * * * If no objection is made to the petition for 122
the * * * contraction of the municipal boundaries, the 123
municipality shall be taxed with all costs of the proceedings. 124
* * * If the objection is made, * * * the costs may be taxed 125
in * * * the manner * * * the chancellor shall determine to be 126
equitable pursuant to the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. 127
* * * If there is an appeal from the judgment of the chancellor, 128
the costs incurred in the appeal shall be taxed against the 129
appellant if the judgment * * * is affirmed, and against the 130
appellee if the judgment * * * is reversed. 131
SECTION 6. Section 21-1-37, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 132
amended as follows: 133
21-1-37. If the municipality or any other interested person 134
who was a party to the proceedings in the chancery court * * * is 135
aggrieved by the decree of the chancellor regarding contraction of 136
the municipal boundaries, then * * * the municipality or other 137
person may prosecute an appeal * * * from the chancellor's decree 138
within the time and in the manner and with like effect as is 139
provided in Section 21-1-21 in the case of appeals from the decree 140
of the chancellor with regard to the creation of a municipal 141
corporation. 142
SECTION 7. Section 21-1-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 143
amended as follows: 144
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ST: Municipal annexation; provide that an
election shall be held on the question of.
21-1-39. (1) Whenever the corporate limits of any 145
municipality * * * are contracted, as herein provided, the 146
chancery clerk shall forward, after the expiration of ten (10) 147
days from the date of * * * the decree if no appeal be taken 148
therefrom, * * * to the Secretary of State a certified copy 149
of * * * the decree, which shall be filed in the Office of the 150
Secretary of State and shall remain a permanent record thereof. 151
* * * If an appeal * * * is taken from * * * the decree and * * * 152
the decree is affirmed, then the certified copy * * * of the 153
decree shall be forwarded to the Secretary of State within ten 154
(10) days after receipt of the mandate from the Supreme Court 155
notifying the clerk of * * * the affirmance. 156
(2) Whenever the corporate limits of any municipality are 157
enlarged as provided in Section 21-1-27, the governing body of the 158
municipality, after the annexation ordinance has become effective, 159
shall forward to the Secretary of State a certified copy of the 160
ordinance, which shall be filed in the Office of the Secretary of 161
State and shall remain a permanent record thereof. 162
SECTION 8. Any action on an ordinance proposing the 163
enlargement of municipal boundaries that is pending before a court 164
on the effective date of this act as a result of any prior law 165
shall be withdrawn, and an election as provided in Section 21-1-27 166
may be held. 167
SECTION 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from 168
and after July 1, 2026. 169