Municipal annexation; require petition in annexed territory to approve.

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To: Municipalities;
Judiciary, Division A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) England

SENATE BILL NO. 2892

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 21-1-27, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
PROVIDE FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE QUESTION OF MUNICIPAL ANNEXATION 2
IN THE TERRITORY PROPOSED TO BE ANNEXED PURSUANT TO A PETITION 3
SIGNED BY TWO-THIRDS OF THE ELECTORS RESIDING IN THE TERRITORY 4
PROPOSED TO BE ANNEXED; TO PRESCRIBE THE CONDITIONS OF THE 5
PETITION; TO AMEND SECTIONS 21-1-29, 21-1-31, 21-1-33, 21-1-35, 6
21-1-37 AND 21-1-39, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REMOVE THE 7
QUESTION OF MUNICIPAL ANNEXATION FROM CHANCERY COURT PROCEEDINGS; 8
AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 9
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 10
SECTION 1. Section 21-1-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 11
amended as follows: 12
21-1-27. (1) The limits and boundaries of existing cities, 13
towns and villages shall remain as now established until altered 14
in the manner hereinafter provided. When any municipality * * * 15
desires to enlarge or contract * * * its boundaries * * * by 16
adding * * * adjacent unincorporated territory or excluding * * * 17
from its boundaries any part of the incorporated territory 18
of * * * the municipality, the governing authorities of such 19
municipality shall pass an ordinance defining with certainty the 20
territory proposed to be included in or excluded from the 21
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corporate limits, and also defining the entire boundary as 22
changed. * * * If the municipality desires to enlarge * * * its 23
boundaries, * * * the municipality shall circulate a petition as 24
provided in subsection (2) and the ordinance shall in general 25
terms describe the proposed improvements to be made in the annexed 26
territory, the manner and extent of such improvements, and the 27
approximate time within which such improvements are to be 28
made; * * * the ordinance shall also contain a statement of the 29
municipal or public services which such municipality proposes to 30
render in such annexed territory. * * * If the municipality * * * 31
desires to contract its boundaries, such ordinance shall contain a 32
statement of the reasons for * * * the contraction and a statement 33
showing * * * how the public convenience and necessity would be 34
served * * * by the contraction. 35
(2) * * * If two-thirds (2/3) of the qualified electors 36
residing in the territory proposed to be annexed by a municipality 37
petition the governing body of the municipality in favor of the 38
proposed annexation, as certified by the clerk of the 39
municipality, within sixty (60) days after public notice of the 40
adoption of the annexation ordinance, the municipality shall 41
declare the territory to be annexed pursuant to the petition. 42
* * * 43
SECTION 2. Section 21-1-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 44
amended as follows: 45
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21-1-29. When any * * * ordinance * * * proposing to 46
contract the municipal boundaries is passed by the municipal 47
authorities, * * * the municipal authorities shall file a petition 48
in the chancery court of the county in which * * * the 49
municipality is located * * *. The petition shall recite the fact 50
of the adoption of * * * the ordinance and shall pray that 51
the * * * contraction of the municipal boundaries * * * be 52
ratified, approved and confirmed by the court. There shall be 53
attached to * * * the petition, as exhibits * * *, a certified 54
copy of the ordinance adopted by the municipal authorities and a 55
map or plat of the municipal boundaries as they will exist * * * 56
if the contraction becomes effective. 57
SECTION 3. Section 21-1-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 58
amended as follows: 59
21-1-31. Upon the filing of * * * the petition and upon 60
application therefor by the petitioner, the chancellor shall fix a 61
date certain, either in term time or in vacation, when a hearing 62
on * * * the petition will be held, and notice * * * of the 63
hearing shall be given in the same manner and for the same length 64
of time as is provided in Section 21-1-15 with regard to the 65
creation of municipal corporations * * *. All parties interested 66
in, affected by, or being aggrieved by * * * the contraction shall 67
have the right to appear at such hearing and present their 68
objection to * * * the contraction. * * * 69
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SECTION 4. Section 21-1-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 70
amended as follows: 71
21-1-33. (1) If the chancellor finds from the evidence 72
presented at the hearing that the proposed * * * contraction is 73
reasonable and is required by the public convenience and 74
necessity * * * and that the governing authority of the 75
municipality complied with the provisions of Section 21-1-27, the 76
chancellor shall enter a decree approving, ratifying and 77
confirming the proposed * * * contraction, and describing the 78
boundaries of the municipality as altered. In so doing, the 79
chancellor shall have the right and the power to modify the 80
proposed * * * contraction by decreasing the territory to be * * * 81
excluded from the municipality, as the case may be. 82
(2) If the chancellor shall find from the evidence that 83
the * * * contraction * * * is unreasonable and is not required by 84
the public convenience and necessity, or in the event * * * the 85
governing authority of the municipality failed to comply with the 86
provisions of Section 21-1-27, then he shall enter a decree 87
denying the * * * contraction. 88
(3) In any event, the decree of the chancellor shall become 89
effective after the passage of ten (10) days from the date * * * 90
of the decree or, in the event an appeal is taken therefrom, 91
within ten (10) days from the final determination of the appeal. 92
In any proceeding under this section the burden shall be upon the 93
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municipal authorities to show that the proposed * * * contraction 94
is reasonable. 95
SECTION 5. Section 21-1-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 96
amended as follows: 97
21-1-35. * * * If no objection is made to the petition for 98
the * * * contraction of the municipal boundaries, the 99
municipality shall be taxed with all costs of the 100
proceedings. * * * If the objection is made, * * * the costs may 101
be taxed in * * * the manner * * * the chancellor shall determine 102
to be equitable pursuant to the Mississippi Rules of Civil 103
Procedure. * * * If there is an appeal from the judgment of the 104
chancellor, the costs incurred in the appeal shall be taxed 105
against the appellant if the judgment * * * is affirmed, and 106
against the appellee if the judgment * * * is reversed. 107
SECTION 6. Section 21-1-37, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 108
amended as follows: 109
21-1-37. If the municipality or any other interested person 110
who was a party to the proceedings in the chancery court * * * is 111
aggrieved by the decree of the chancellor regarding contraction of 112
the municipal boundaries, then * * * the municipality or other 113
person may prosecute an appeal * * * from the chancellor's decree 114
within the time and in the manner and with like effect as is 115
provided in Section 21-1-21 in the case of appeals from the decree 116
of the chancellor with regard to the creation of a municipal 117
corporation. 118
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SECTION 7. Section 21-1-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 119
amended as follows: 120
21-1-39. (1) Whenever the corporate limits of any 121
municipality * * * are contracted, as herein provided, the 122
chancery clerk shall forward, after the expiration of ten (10) 123
days from the date of * * * the decree if no appeal be taken 124
therefrom, * * * to the Secretary of State a certified copy 125
of * * * the decree, which shall be filed in the Office of the 126
Secretary of State and shall remain a permanent record 127
thereof. * * * If an appeal * * * is taken from * * * the decree 128
and * * * the decree is affirmed, then the certified copy * * * of 129
the decree shall be forwarded to the Secretary of State within ten 130
(10) days after receipt of the mandate from the Supreme Court 131
notifying the clerk of * * * the affirmance. 132
(2) Whenever the corporate limits of any municipality are 133
enlarged as provided in Section 21-1-27, the governing body of the 134
municipality, after the annexation ordinance has become effective, 135
shall forward to the Secretary of State a certified copy of the 136
ordinance, which shall be filed in the Office of the Secretary of 137
State and shall remain a permanent record thereof. 138
SECTION 8. Any action on an ordinance proposing the 139
enlargement of municipal boundaries that is pending before a court 140
on the effective date of this act as a result of any prior law 141
shall be withdrawn, and an election as provided in Section 21-1-27 142
may be held. 143
S. B. No. 2892 *SS36/R689.2* ~ OFFICIAL ~
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ST: Municipal annexation; require petition in
annexed territory to approve.
SECTION 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from 144
and after July 1, 2026. 145