Taxes; exempt leases and subleases of state park lands to nonprofits.

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To: Finance
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Blount

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 3109

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 55-3-47, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
EXEMPT LEASEHOLD INTERESTS OR SUBLEASES THEREOF CONVEYED TO 2
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT, SUPPORT, IMPROVEMENT, 3
ADMINISTRATION AND/OR OPERATION OF STATE PARK LANDS FROM ALL STATE 4
AND LOCAL AD VALOREM TAXES; TO AMEND SECTION 27-31-1, MISSISSIPPI 5
CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 7
SECTION 1. Section 55-3-47, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 8
amended as follows: 9
55-3-47. (1) In order to carry out its management 10
responsibilities over all state park lands which are now or which 11
may hereafter come under its jurisdiction, the Mississippi 12
Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks is hereby authorized 13
to lease, and to grant easements and rights-of-way over and 14
across, any part of such state park lands. Such leases, easements 15
and rights-of-way may be granted for such consideration, and upon 16
such terms and conditions, as the department may deem to be in the 17
best interest of the state, consistent with the use of said lands 18
for recreational purposes, and subject to the following 19
limitations: The department shall lease such lands for a term not 20
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exceeding twenty-five (25) years and shall grant in the original 21
lease contract a nonnegotiable option to renew such lease for an 22
additional term not to exceed twenty-five (25) years. Both the 23
original lease contract and the option to renew such lease shall 24
be transferable contracts. Further, the department shall not 25
lease such lands for purposes which are incompatible with 26
recreational use and may place such terms, limitations, 27
restrictions and conditions in such leases as are deemed necessary 28
to ensure the proper utilization of such lands. Any easement for 29
a utility line shall be granted for that period of time which the 30
department deems to be in the best interest of a state park. 31
(2) The department is further authorized to enter into such 32
agreements as may be required, upon such terms as may be found to 33
be in the best interest of the state, in settlement of disputes or 34
litigation regarding the title to or boundaries of any state park 35
lands within the jurisdiction of the department, provided such 36
settlement agreements shall be negotiated and drafted with the 37
advice, counsel and assistance of the Attorney General and shall 38
be approved by the Department of Finance and Administration. 39
(3) In case any of the real estate within any state park 40
under the jurisdiction of the department shall cease to be used or 41
useful for state park purposes, or becomes the subject of boundary 42
or title disputes or litigation, the department may sell and 43
convey the same, with the approval of the Department of Finance 44
and Administration, upon such terms as the Department of Finance 45
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and Administration may elect and may, in addition, exchange the 46
same, with the approval of the department, for real estate 47
belonging to any other political subdivision or state, county or 48
local governmental agency or department. The department is 49
authorized to sell and convey or otherwise transfer any state park 50
or historical site as described in subsection (2) of Section 51
55-3-33. Before any such sale or transfer, except as may occur in 52
settlement of title or boundary disputes or litigation, the 53
department shall publish notice of its intention to sell the park 54
land by public sale to the highest and best bidder at least once 55
each week for three (3) consecutive weeks in at least one (1) 56
public newspaper of general circulation in the county where such 57
land is located and also in at least one (1) newspaper of general 58
circulation throughout the state. Prior to any such sale, the 59
department shall obtain at least two (2) separate and independent 60
appraisals of the land to be sold and may not accept any bid lower 61
than the average of all appraisals made. The department may 62
reject any and all bids. The owner or any co-owner of record next 63
preceding the state in title to any lands sold hereunder by public 64
bid, excluding any entity which may have exercised the power of 65
eminent domain to assist the state in acquiring said lands, shall 66
have the opportunity to reacquire such lands by matching the 67
successful bid therefor. If the owner or any co-owner of record 68
next preceding the state in title, or the heirs or estate of such 69
owner or co-owner, acquires said lands, then the department shall 70
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not reserve unto the state any minerals owned by the state 71
underlying the conveyed lands. However, if anyone other than such 72
owner or co-owner, or his heirs or estate, acquires said lands, 73
then the department shall reserve unto the state one-half (1/2) of 74
the minerals owned by the state underlying the conveyed lands, 75
except for lands sold in settlement of title or boundary disputes 76
or litigation, in which case the department may, in its 77
discretion, reserve said minerals. Appraisal fees shall be shared 78
equally by the department and purchaser. 79
(4) In exercising the authority granted in this section, the 80
department may act by and through its executive director in the 81
execution of any document or instrument prepared hereunder. Any 82
lease, deed or settlement agreement executed under the provisions 83
of this section shall bear the seal and attest of the Secretary of 84
State, with whom said instrument or document shall be filed and 85
recorded in addition to any other recording requirements of state 86
law. 87
This section shall not apply to sixteenth section school 88
lands or lieu lands included within any state park, except as may 89
be necessary or appropriate for the department to ratify or 90
confirm any action taken by the agency or department having 91
jurisdiction over such school or lieu lands. 92
All revenues collected by the department by virtue of any 93
transaction consummated under the provisions of this section shall 94
be deposited in the Mississippi Park Fund created by Section 95
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55-3-41, from which funds shall be expended only as authorized by 96
the legislative appropriations process. 97
(5) This section shall not apply to the donation and 98
conveyance of the Nanih Waiya State Park to the Mississippi Band 99
of Choctaw Indians. 100
(6) Any leasehold interest or sublease thereof conveyed to 101
any nonprofit organization for the development, support, 102
improvement, administration and/or operation of any state park 103
lands under this section shall be exempt from all state and local 104
ad valorem taxes. 105
SECTION 2. Section 27-31-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 106
amended as follows: 107
27-31-1. The following shall be exempt from taxation: 108
(a) All cemeteries used exclusively for burial 109
purposes. 110
(b) All property, real or personal, belonging to the 111
State of Mississippi or any of its political subdivisions, except 112
property of a municipality not being used for a proper municipal 113
purpose and located outside the county or counties in which such 114
municipality is located. A proper municipal purpose within the 115
meaning of this section shall be any authorized governmental or 116
corporate function of a municipality. 117
(c) All property, real or personal, owned by units of 118
the Mississippi National Guard, or title to which is vested in 119
trustees for the benefit of any unit of the Mississippi National 120
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Guard; provided such property is used exclusively for such unit, 121
or for public purposes, and not for profit. 122
(d) All property, real or personal, belonging to any 123
religious society, or ecclesiastical body, or any congregation 124
thereof, or to any charitable society, or to any historical or 125
patriotic association or society, or to any garden or pilgrimage 126
club or association and used exclusively for such society or 127
association and not for profit; not exceeding, however, the amount 128
of land which such association or society may own as provided in 129
Section 79-11-33. All property, real or personal, belonging to 130
any foundation organized as a nonprofit corporation that is exempt 131
from federal income taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the 132
Internal Revenue Code and that receives, invests and administers 133
private support for a state-supported institution of higher 134
learning, a public community college or junior college located in 135
the State of Mississippi or a nonprofit private university or 136
college located in the State of Mississippi, as the case may be. 137
For the sole purpose of applying the preceding sentence, all 138
property, real or personal, belonging to an entity that is wholly 139
owned by and controlled by such a foundation shall be treated as 140
belonging to the foundation, provided such property is not leased 141
or otherwise used to generate revenue that is not used exclusively 142
to benefit an institution described above. All property, real or 143
personal, belonging to any rural waterworks system or rural sewage 144
disposal system incorporated under the provisions of Section 145
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79-11-1. All property, real or personal, belonging to any college 146
or institution for the education of youths, used directly and 147
exclusively for such purposes, provided that no such college or 148
institution for the education of youths shall have exempt from 149
taxation more than six hundred forty (640) acres of land; 150
provided, however, this exemption shall not apply to commercial 151
schools and colleges or trade institutions or schools where the 152
profits of same inure to individuals, associations or 153
corporations. All property, real or personal, belonging to an 154
individual, institution or corporation and used for the operation 155
of a grammar school, junior high school, high school or military 156
school. All property, real or personal, owned and occupied by a 157
fraternal and benevolent organization, when used by such 158
organization, and from which no rentals or other profits accrue to 159
the organization, but any part rented or from which revenue is 160
received shall be taxed. 161
(e) All property, real or personal, held and occupied 162
by trustees of public schools, and school lands of the respective 163
townships for the use of public schools, and all property kept in 164
storage for the convenience and benefit of the State of 165
Mississippi in warehouses owned or leased by the State of 166
Mississippi, wherein said property is to be sold by the Alcoholic 167
Beverage Control Division of the Department of Revenue. 168
(f) All property, real or personal, whether belonging 169
to religious or charitable or benevolent organizations, which is 170
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used for hospital purposes, and nurses' homes where a part 171
thereof, and which maintain one or more charity wards that are for 172
charity patients, and where all the income from said hospitals and 173
nurses' homes is used entirely for the purposes thereof and no 174
part of the same for profit. All property, real or personal, 175
belonging to a federally qualified health center where all the 176
income from such center is used entirely for the purposes thereof 177
and no part of the same for profit. 178
(g) The wearing apparel of every person; and also 179
jewelry and watches kept by the owner for personal use to the 180
extent of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) in value for each owner. 181
(h) Provisions on hand for family consumption. 182
(i) All farm products grown in this state for a period 183
of two (2) years after they are harvested, when in the possession 184
of or the title to which is in the producer, except the tax of 185
one-fifth of one percent (1/5 of 1%) per pound on lint cotton now 186
levied by the Board of Commissioners of the Mississippi Levee 187
District; and lint cotton for five (5) years, and cottonseed, 188
soybeans, oats, rice and wheat for one (1) year regardless of 189
ownership. 190
(j) All guns and pistols kept by the owner for private 191
use. 192
(k) All poultry in the hands of the producer. 193
(l) Household furniture, including all articles kept in 194
the home by the owner for his own personal or family use; but this 195
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shall not apply to hotels, rooming houses or rented or leased 196
apartments. 197
(m) All cattle and oxen. 198
(n) All sheep, goats and hogs. 199
(o) All horses, mules and asses. 200
(p) Farming tools, implements and machinery, when used 201
exclusively in the cultivation or harvesting of crops or timber. 202
(q) All property of agricultural and mechanical 203
associations and fairs used for promoting their objects, and where 204
no part of the proceeds is used for profit. 205
(r) The libraries of all persons. 206
(s) All pictures and works of art, not kept for or 207
offered for sale as merchandise. 208
(t) The tools of any mechanic necessary for carrying on 209
his trade. 210
(u) All state, county, municipal, levee, drainage and 211
all school bonds or other governmental obligations, and all bonds 212
and/or evidences of debts issued by any church or church 213
organization in this state, and all notes and evidences of 214
indebtedness which bear a rate of interest not greater than the 215
maximum rate per annum applicable under the law; and all money 216
loaned at a rate of interest not exceeding the maximum rate per 217
annum applicable under the law; and all stock in or bonds of 218
foreign corporations or associations shall be exempt from all ad 219
valorem taxes. 220
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(v) All lands and other property situated or located 221
between the Mississippi River and the levee shall be exempt from 222
the payment of any and all road taxes levied or assessed under any 223
road laws of this state. 224
(w) Any and all money on deposit in either national 225
banks, state banks or trust companies, on open account, savings 226
account or time deposit. 227
(x) All wagons, carts, drays, carriages and other 228
horse-drawn vehicles, kept for the use of the owner. 229
(y) (i) Boats, seines and fishing equipment used in 230
fishing and shrimping operations and in the taking or catching of 231
oysters. 232
(ii) All towboats, tugboats and barges documented 233
under the laws of the United States, except watercraft of every 234
kind and character used in connection with gaming operations. 235
(z) (i) All materials used in the construction and/or 236
conversion of vessels in this state; 237
(ii) Vessels while under construction and/or 238
conversion; 239
(iii) Vessels while in the possession of the 240
manufacturer, builder or converter, for a period of twelve (12) 241
months after completion of construction and/or conversion; 242
however, the twelve-month limitation shall not apply to: 243
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1. Vessels used for the exploration for, or 244
production of, oil, gas and other minerals offshore outside the 245
boundaries of this state; or 246
2. Vessels that were used for the exploration 247
for, or production of, oil, gas and other minerals that are 248
converted to a new service for use outside the boundaries of this 249
state; 250
(iv) 1. In order for a vessel described in 251
subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph (z) to be exempt for a period 252
of more than twelve (12) months, the vessel must: 253
a. Be operating or operable, generating 254
or capable of generating its own power or connected to some other 255
power source, and not removed from the service or use for which 256
manufactured or to which converted; and 257
b. The manufacturer, builder, converter 258
or other entity possessing the vessel must be in compliance with 259
any lease or other agreement with any applicable port authority or 260
other entity regarding the vessel and in compliance with all 261
applicable tax laws of this state and applicable federal tax laws. 262
2. A vessel exempt from taxation under 263
subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph (z) may not be exempt for a 264
period of more than three (3) years unless the board of 265
supervisors of the county and/or governing authorities of the 266
municipality, as the case may be, in which the vessel would 267
otherwise be taxable adopts a resolution or ordinance authorizing 268
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the extension of the exemption and setting a maximum period for 269
the exemption. 270
(v) As used in this paragraph (z), the term 271
"vessel" includes ships, offshore drilling equipment, dry docks, 272
boats and barges, except watercraft of every kind and character 273
used in connection with gaming operations. 274
(aa) Sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66-2/3%) of 275
nuclear fuel and reprocessed, recycled or residual nuclear fuel 276
by-products, fissionable or otherwise, used or to be used in 277
generation of electricity by persons defined as public utilities 278
in Section 77-3-3. 279
(bb) All growing nursery stock. 280
(cc) A semitrailer used in interstate commerce. 281
(dd) All property, real or personal, used exclusively 282
for the housing of and provision of services to elderly persons, 283
disabled persons, mentally impaired persons or as a nursing home, 284
which is owned, operated and managed by a not-for-profit 285
corporation, qualified under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 286
Revenue Code, whose membership or governing body is appointed or 287
confirmed by a religious society or ecclesiastical body or any 288
congregation thereof. 289
(ee) All vessels while in the hands of bona fide 290
dealers as merchandise and which are not being operated upon the 291
waters of this state shall be exempt from ad valorem taxes. As 292
used in this paragraph, the terms "vessel" and "waters of this 293
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state" shall have the meaning ascribed to such terms in Section 294
59-21-3. 295
(ff) All property, real or personal, owned by a 296
nonprofit organization that: (i) is qualified as tax exempt under 297
Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as 298
amended; (ii) assists in the implementation of the national 299
contingency plan or area contingency plan, and which is created in 300
response to the requirements of Title IV, Subtitle B of the Oil 301
Pollution Act of 1990, Public Law 101-380; (iii) engages primarily 302
in programs to contain, clean up and otherwise mitigate spills of 303
oil or other substances occurring in the United States coastal or 304
tidal waters; and (iv) is used for the purposes of the 305
organization. 306
(gg) If a municipality changes its boundaries so as to 307
include within the boundaries of such municipality the project 308
site of any project as defined in Section 57-75-5(f)(iv)1, Section 309
57-75-5(f)(xxi) or Section 57-75-5(f)(xxviii) or Section 310
57-75-5(f)(xxix), all real and personal property located on the 311
project site within the boundaries of such municipality that is 312
owned by a business enterprise operating such project, shall be 313
exempt from ad valorem taxation for a period of time not to exceed 314
thirty (30) years upon receiving approval for such exemption by 315
the Mississippi Major Economic Impact Authority. The provisions 316
of this paragraph shall not be construed to authorize a breach of 317
any agreement entered into pursuant to Section 21-1-59. 318
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(hh) All leases, lease contracts or lease agreements 319
(including, but not limited to, subleases, sublease contracts and 320
sublease agreements), and leaseholds or leasehold interests 321
(including, but not limited to, subleaseholds and subleasehold 322
interests), of or with respect to any and all property (real, 323
personal or mixed) constituting all or any part of a facility for 324
the manufacture, production, generation, transmission and/or 325
distribution of electricity, and any real property related 326
thereto, shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation during the 327
period as the United States is both the title owner of the 328
property and a sublessee of or with respect to the property; 329
however, the exemption authorized by this paragraph (hh) shall not 330
apply to any entity to whom the United States sub-subleases its 331
interest in the property nor to any entity to whom the United 332
States assigns its sublease interest in the property. As used in 333
this paragraph, the term "United States" includes an agency or 334
instrumentality of the United States of America. This paragraph 335
(hh) shall apply to all assessments for ad valorem taxation for 336
the 2003 calendar year and each calendar year thereafter. 337
(ii) All property, real, personal or mixed, including 338
fixtures and leaseholds, used by Mississippi nonprofit entities 339
qualified, on or before January 1, 2005, under Section 501(c)(3) 340
of the Internal Revenue Code to provide support and operate 341
technology incubators for research and development start-up 342
companies, telecommunication startup companies and/or other 343
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technology startup companies, utilizing technology spun-off from 344
research and development activities of the public colleges and 345
universities of this state, State of Mississippi governmental 346
research or development activities resulting therefrom located 347
within the State of Mississippi. 348
(jj) All property, real, personal or mixed, including 349
fixtures and leaseholds, of start-up companies (as described in 350
paragraph (ii) of this section) for the period of time, not to 351
exceed five (5) years, that the startup company remains a tenant 352
of a technology incubator (as described in paragraph (ii) of this 353
section). 354
(kk) All leases, lease contracts or lease agreements 355
(including, but not limited to, subleases, sublease contracts and 356
sublease agreements), and leaseholds or leasehold interests, of or 357
with respect to any and all property (real, personal or mixed) 358
constituting all or any part of an auxiliary facility, and any 359
real property related thereto, constructed or renovated pursuant 360
to Section 37-101-41. 361
(ll) Equipment brought into the state temporarily for 362
use during a disaster response period as provided in Sections 363
27-113-1 through 27-113-9 and subsequently removed from the state 364
on or before the end of the disaster response period as defined in 365
Section 27-113-5. 366
(mm) For any lease or contractual arrangement to which 367
the Department of Finance and Administration and a nonprofit 368
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corporation are a party to as provided in Section 39-25-1(5), the 369
nonprofit corporation shall, along with the possessory and 370
leasehold interests and/or real and personal property of the 371
corporation, be exempt from all ad valorem taxation, including, 372
but not limited to, school, city and county ad valorem taxes, for 373
the term or period of time stated in the lease or contractual 374
arrangement. 375
(nn) All property, real or personal, that is owned, 376
operated and managed by a not for profit corporation qualified 377
under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and used to 378
provide, free of charge, (i) a practice facility for a public 379
school district swim team, and (ii) a facility for another not for 380
profit organization as defined under Section 501(c)(3) of the 381
Internal Revenue Code to conduct water safety and lifeguard 382
training programs. This section shall not apply to real or 383
personal property owned by a country club, tennis club with a 384
pool, or any club requiring stock ownership for membership. 385
(oo) Any all-terrain vehicle, as defined in Section 386
63-21-5, when held by a retailer on a consignment or floor plan 387
basis. 388
(pp) Any leasehold interest or sublease thereof 389
conveyed to any nonprofit organization for the development, 390
support, improvement, administration and/or operation of any state 391
park lands under Section 55-3-47. 392
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ST: Taxes; exempt leases and subleases of state
park lands to nonprofits.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 393
and after January 1, 2026. 394