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

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To: Municipalities
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Eubanks

HOUSE BILL NO. 781

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 DESIRES TO 4
ENLARGE ITS BOUNDARIES; TO AMEND SECTIONS 21-1-29, 21-1-31, 5
21-1-33, 21-1-35, 21-1-37, 21-1-39 AND 21-1-47, MISSISSIPPI CODE 6
OF 1972, TO REMOVE THE QUESTION OF MUNICIPAL ANNEXATION FROM 7
CHANCERY COURT 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
to its boundaries or excluding * * * from its boundaries any part 17
of the incorporated territory of * * * the municipality, the 18
governing authorities of such municipality shall pass an ordinance 19
defining with certainty the territory proposed to be included in 20
or excluded from the corporate limits, and also defining the 21
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entire 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 made; 26
such ordinance shall also contain a statement of the municipal or 27
public services which such municipality proposes to render in such 28
annexed territory. * * * If the municipality * * * desires to 29
contract its boundaries, such ordinance shall contain a statement 30
of the reasons for * * * the contraction and a statement 31
showing * * * how the public convenience and necessity would be 32
served thereby. 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
* * * 68
SECTION 2. Section 21-1-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 69
amended as follows: 70
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21-1-29. When any * * * ordinance * * * proposing to 71
contract the municipal boundaries is passed by the municipal 72
authorities, * * * the municipal authorities shall file a petition 73
in the chancery court of the county in which * * * the 74
municipality is located * * *. The petition shall recite the fact 75
of the adoption of * * * the ordinance and shall pray that 76
the * * * contraction of the municipal boundaries * * * shall be 77
ratified, approved and confirmed by the court. There shall be 78
attached to * * * the petition, as exhibits thereto, a certified 79
copy of the ordinance adopted by the municipal authorities and a 80
map or plat of the municipal boundaries as they will exist * * * 81
if the contraction becomes effective. 82
SECTION 3. Section 21-1-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 83
amended as follows: 84
21-1-31. Upon the filing of * * * the petition and upon 85
application therefor by the petitioner, the chancellor shall fix a 86
date certain, either in term time or in vacation, when a hearing 87
on * * * the petition will be held, and notice * * * of the 88
hearing shall be given in the same manner and for the same length 89
of time as is provided in Section 21-1-15 with regard to the 90
creation of municipal corporations, and all parties interested in, 91
affected by, or being aggrieved by * * * the contraction shall 92
have the right to appear at such hearing and present their 93
objection to * * * the contraction. * * * 94
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SECTION 4. Section 21-1-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 95
amended as follows: 96
21-1-33. (1) If the chancellor finds from the evidence 97
presented at the hearing that the proposed * * * contraction is 98
reasonable and is required by the public convenience and 99
necessity * * * and that the governing authority of the 100
municipality complied with the provisions of Section 21-1-27, the 101
chancellor shall enter a decree approving, ratifying and 102
confirming the proposed * * * contraction, and describing the 103
boundaries of the municipality as altered. In so doing the 104
chancellor shall have the right and the power to modify the 105
proposed * * * contraction by decreasing the territory to be 106
included in or excluded from the municipality, as the case may be. 107
(2) If the chancellor shall find from the evidence that 108
the * * * contraction * * * is unreasonable and is not required by 109
the public convenience and necessity, or in the event * * * the 110
governing authority of the municipality failed to comply with the 111
provisions of Section 21-1-27, then he shall enter a decree 112
denying the * * * contraction. 113
(3) In any event, the decree of the chancellor shall become 114
effective after the passage of ten (10) days from the date * * * 115
of the decree or, in the event an appeal is taken therefrom, 116
within ten (10) days from the final determination of the appeal. 117
In any proceeding under this section the burden shall be upon the 118
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municipal authorities to show that the proposed * * * contraction 119
is reasonable. 120
SECTION 5. Section 21-1-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 121
amended as follows: 122
21-1-35. * * * If no objection is made to the petition for 123
the * * * contraction of the municipal boundaries, the 124
municipality shall be taxed with all costs of the proceedings. 125
* * * If the objection is made, * * * the costs may be taxed 126
in * * * the manner * * * the chancellor shall determine to be 127
equitable pursuant to the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. 128
* * * If there is an appeal from the judgment of the chancellor, 129
the costs incurred in the appeal shall be taxed against the 130
appellant if the judgment * * * is affirmed, and against the 131
appellee if the judgment * * * is reversed. 132
SECTION 6. Section 21-1-37, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 133
amended as follows: 134
21-1-37. If the municipality or any other interested person 135
who was a party to the proceedings in the chancery court * * * is 136
aggrieved by the decree of the chancellor regarding contraction of 137
the municipal boundaries, then * * * the municipality or other 138
person may prosecute an appeal * * * from the chancellor's decree 139
within the time and in the manner and with like effect as is 140
provided in Section 21-1-21 in the case of appeals from the decree 141
of the chancellor with regard to the creation of a municipal 142
corporation. 143
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SECTION 7. Section 21-1-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 144
amended as follows: 145
21-1-39. (1) Whenever the corporate limits of any 146
municipality * * * are contracted, as herein provided, the 147
chancery clerk shall forward, after the expiration of ten (10) 148
days from the date of * * * the decree if no appeal be taken 149
therefrom, * * * to the Secretary of State a certified copy 150
of * * * the decree, which shall be filed in the office of the 151
Secretary of State and shall remain a permanent record thereof. 152
* * * If an appeal * * * is taken from * * * the decree and such 153
decree is affirmed, then the certified copy * * * of the decree 154
shall be forwarded to the Secretary of State within ten (10) days 155
after receipt of the mandate from the Supreme Court notifying the 156
clerk of * * * the affirmance. 157
(2) Whenever the corporate limits of any municipality are 158
enlarged as provided in Section 21-1-27, the governing body of the 159
municipality, after the annexation ordinance has become effective, 160
shall forward to the Secretary of State a certified copy of the 161
ordinance, which shall be filed in the Office of the Secretary of 162
State and shall remain a permanent record thereof. 163
SECTION 8. Section 21-1-47, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 164
amended as follows: 165
21-1-47. Upon the filing of such a petition, all of the 166
proceedings of this chapter with regard to proceedings in the 167
chancery court upon petitions for the creation * * * and 168
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contraction of municipalities shall apply in like manner thereto. 169
Notice of the filing of such petition and the time for the hearing 170
shall be given in the manner and for the length of time as is 171
required in cases of proceedings for the creation * * * or 172
contraction of a municipality. Any parties to the proceedings 173
aggrieved by the decree of the chancellor may appeal therefrom in 174
the same manner and within the same time as is provided in cases 175
of decrees on petitions involving the creation * * * or 176
contraction of a municipal corporation. In all proceedings under 177
this section, however, the municipal corporation involved shall be 178
made a party to such proceedings and shall be served with process 179
in the manner provided by law at least thirty (30) days prior to 180
the date of the hearing. If the chancellor finds from the 181
evidence that the proposed * * * exclusion is reasonable and is 182
required by the public convenience and necessity, then he or she 183
shall enter a decree declaring the territory in question to 184
be * * * excluded from the municipality * * * which decree shall 185
contain an adjudication of the boundaries of the municipality as 186
altered. In so doing, the chancellor shall have the right and 187
power to modify the proposed * * * contraction by decreasing the 188
territory to be * * * excluded from the municipality * * *. If 189
the chancellor shall find from the evidence that the 190
proposed * * * exclusion * * * is unreasonable and is not required 191
by the public convenience and necessity, then he or she shall 192
enter a decree denying same. In any event, the decree of the 193
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ST: Municipalities annexation; provide that an
election be held on the question of.
chancellor shall become effective after the passage of ten (10) 194
days from the date thereof or, in the event an appeal is taken 195
therefrom, within ten (10) days from the final determination of 196
such appeal. In all cases where territory is * * * excluded from 197
a municipality under the provisions hereof, a certified copy of 198
the decree of the chancellor shall be sent to the Secretary of 199
State and a map or plat of the boundaries of the municipality as 200
altered shall be filed with the chancery clerk, all as provided in 201
Sections 21-1-39 and 21-1-41. 202
SECTION 9. Any action on an ordinance proposing the 203
enlargement of municipal boundaries that is pending before a court 204
on the effective date of this act as a result of any prior law 205
shall be withdrawn, and an election as provided in Section 21-1-27 206
may be held. 207
SECTION 10. This act shall take effect and be in force from 208
and after July 1, 2026. 209