What Survived Tuesday’s Committee Deadline?

Tuesday, March 5th was the third big deadline in the Mississippi legislature for general, non-revenue, bills to be approved by committees from the opposite chamber. The next deadline is this Wednesday, March 13th, the last day for floor action on general bills originating from the other chamber.

Below is the only bill affecting real property that is still alive that LTAMS has taken a [support] position on this session:

  • HB 777 (SUPPORT): If passed into law, HB 777 would enact the Revised Mississippi Law on Notarial Acts in Mississippi. HB 777 is the product of the study group organized by Secretary of State Hosemann to review Mississippi’s existing notary laws. The study group spent a considerable amount of time reviewing our current laws and drafting HB 777 as introduced. This bill would modernize Mississippi’s notary laws and add the ability for Mississippi notaries to perform “electronic notarization” should they so choose. Mississippi’s existing notary laws date as far back as the late 1800’s and the current Secretary of State’s rules regulating those laws are based largely on the original Uniform Law on Notarial Acts. Therefore, HB 777 is not too far afield from our existing notary laws.

It is important to note that HB 777 requires the signatory to sign “in person” before the notary. HB 777 does not authorize “remote online notarization.”

Below are a number of other bills affecting real property that are still alive and being monitored by LTAMS:

  • HB 807 (NEUTRAL): This bill would extend the automatic repealer in Miss. Code Ann. 29-1-75 to 2022. This statute prohibits corporations and nonresident aliens from becoming the owner of public lands.
  • HB 962 (NEUTRAL): This bill would amend Miss. Code Ann. § 89-1-69, which prohibits transfer fees in subdivision covenants, to limit the exceptions to the application of the statute.
  • HB 1307 (NEUTRAL): This bill would amend Miss. Code Ann. § 27-43-3 to provide that a tax sale is voidable upon suit by the record owner or his heirs, successors and assigns, and would allow the tax assessor to apply to reduce a property’s assessment after a casualty even if the owner does not make an application.
  • HB 1375 (NEUTRAL): This bill would make changes to a number of statutes in Chapter 91 of the Mississippi Code dealing with the administration of wills. Like HB 777, this bill was also the result of a study group organized by the Secretary of State’s office.
  • HB 1429 (NEUTRAL): This bill would make a number of changes in statutes addressing tax exemptions to reduce the requirements for exemptions for data centers.
  • HB 1584 (NEUTRAL): This bill would amend Miss. Code Ann. § 27-7-22.31, which addresses historic tax credits, to increase the amount of credits that can be awarded from $120 million to $180 million in any one year, and extends the term of the program from 2016 to July 1, 2019.
  • HB 1612 (NEUTRAL): This bill would authorize municipalities to create special local improvement assessment districts. Taxpayers within the district can vote to impose an assessment to pay for public improvements within the district.
  • SB 2716 (NEUTRAL): This bill would make landlord-friendly changes to the tenant eviction process.
    SB 2901 (NEUTRAL): This bill would create the Landowners Protection Act, which would limit premises liability claims and amend Miss. Code Ann. § 85-5-7 to apply to torts committed with a specific wrongful intent.