reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MS Code § 65-23-201 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries|Chapter 23 - Bridges; Boundary and Other Waters|Article 5 - Interstate Bridge Districts|§ 65-23-201. Creation of interstate bridge districts on petition

 When fifty or more owners of real property within a proposed district shall file a petition with the chancery court of the county in which the largest portion of the lands of the proposed district are situated, seeking to establish a bridge district for the purpose of constructing, maintaining, and operating an interstate bridge and the approaches thereto embracing their property, said petition shall describe the region or area to be embraced within said district and describe generally the location of said bridge, the proposed plan of financing the construction, maintenance, and operation of said bridge, together with a general idea of its character and expenses, accompanied by a certificate or resolution from the Mississippi State Highway Commission showing the need and necessity for the construction of such bridge; then it shall be the duty of the clerk of the chancery court to enter upon its records an evidence of having filed the petition. After having filed said petition, said property owners or their representatives shall apply to the chancellor in vacation or term time for an order fixing a day and date for a hearing on said petition to determine whether or not the petition should be granted or denied. The chancery clerk, after having received the order fixing a day and date for such hearing, shall thereupon give notice by publication once each week for three consecutive weeks in some newspaper published and having a general circulation in the county or counties within which the lands of the proposed district are situated, notifying all persons owning property therein to appear before the chancery court on the day and date fixed by said court to show cause in favor of or against the establishment of said district. At the time named in said notice, the chancery court shall meet and hear all property owners within the proposed district who wish to appear for or against the establishment of the district. If it is deemed to the best interest of the owners of real property within said district that the same shall be created under the provisions of this article the court shall enter an order establishing the district as an interstate bridge district, which shall be subject to all of the terms and provisions of this article. Any landowner feeling aggrieved by the order of the court shall have the right of appeal within thirty days from the date the order was entered, and such appeal may be prosecuted in the manner now provided by law.
MS Code § 65-23-203 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries|Chapter 23 - Bridges; Boundary and Other Waters|Article 5 - Interstate Bridge Districts|§ 65-23-203. Hearing on petitions of property owners

 If, upon the hearing provided in Section 65-23-201, petitions are presented to the chancery court signed by property owners within the proposed district who own a majority of the real property in said district as determined by the value thereof, praying that the improvement be made, it shall be the duty of the chancery court to make an order establishing the district without further inquiry; however, this shall not preclude the rights of appeal hereinabove provided. If no such petitions are filed in the chancery court, then the question of whether such improvement be made shall be submitted to a special election held for the purpose. If a majority of those voting in said election approve the improvement, then upon proper certification thereof the matter may be submitted to the chancery court, and the court shall proceed to investigate the matters relevantly before the court. If it is the opinion of the court that such district should be formed, an order may be entered to that effect. The petitions of the property owners in this section referred to may be signed by any person, firm, or corporation owning real property therein; and guardians may sign for their wards, and fiduciaries may sign for the property they represent.
MS Code § 65-23-205 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries|Chapter 23 - Bridges; Boundary and Other Waters|Article 5 - Interstate Bridge Districts|§ 65-23-205. Appointment of commissioners

 When the chancery court has established a bridge district as hereinabove provided, it shall appoint five owners of real property residing within the district to act as commissioners. Each commissioner shall take the oath of office required by Section 268 of the Constitution of Mississippi, and shall also swear that he will not directly or indirectly be interested in any contract made by the board of commissioners and that he will well and truly assess all benefits resulting from said improvement.   No commissioner shall be eligible to discharge the duties of his office until the oath herein required has been taken.
MS Code § 65-23-207 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries|Chapter 23 - Bridges; Boundary and Other Waters|Article 5 - Interstate Bridge Districts|§ 65-23-207. Compensation of commissioners

 The commissioners hereinabove provided shall receive the sum of Ten Dollars ($10.00) per day for each day, or major fraction thereof, in which they are called upon to attend the meetings of the board, together with necessary travel expenses not to exceed Six Cents (6¢) per mile for miles actually travelled while engaged in the business of their office.
MS Code § 65-23-209 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries|Chapter 23 - Bridges; Boundary and Other Waters|Article 5 - Interstate Bridge Districts|§ 65-23-209. Employees

 The board of commissioners shall have the power to employ engineers, attorneys, auditors, manager or superintendent, and such other employees as may be necessary for the orderly function of such district, and to fix their respective compensation.
MS Code § 65-23-211 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries|Chapter 23 - Bridges; Boundary and Other Waters|Article 5 - Interstate Bridge Districts|§ 65-23-211. Plans

 As soon as the board of commissioners shall have formed plans for such bridge and the approaches thereto and shall have ascertained the cost thereof, it shall file the same with the chancery clerk of each county having territory in said district. The plans shall be accompanied by a map showing the location of the bridge and approaches thereto, together with specifications describing the construction and character of the improvement to be made.
MS Code § 65-23-213 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries|Chapter 23 - Bridges; Boundary and Other Waters|Article 5 - Interstate Bridge Districts|§ 65-23-213. Assessment of benefits

 The board of commissioners shall proceed to assess the lands within the district, shall inscribe in a book the description of each tract, piece, and parcel of land, shall assess the benefits to accrue to each tract, piece, and parcel of land by reason of such improvement, and shall enter such assessment of the benefits to be derived opposite the description thereof. The assessment shall embrace not merely the lands but all public and corporate roads, railroads, tramroads, and other improvements on the land that will be benefited by the improvement. They shall place opposite each tract, piece, and parcel of land the supposed name of the owner, as shown by the last general assessment of lands within the county; but a mistake in name shall not vitiate or invalidate the assessment, and they may correct evident errors which occur in the assessment list.
MS Code § 65-23-215 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries|Chapter 23 - Bridges; Boundary and Other Waters|Article 5 - Interstate Bridge Districts|§ 65-23-215. Hearing to make assessment of benefits final

 When the assessment of benefits is completed the board of commissioners shall subscribe such assessment and file it with the chancery clerk of the county wherein the land is situated, where it may be preserved and kept as a public record. Upon the filing of said assessment of benefits, the chancery clerk of such county shall give notice of such filing by publication once each week for three consecutive weeks in some newspaper having general circulation in the county or counties in which the lands of the district are situated. Said notice shall include a day, not less than thirty days from the date of filing the assessment and not more than forty-five days from the date of filing the assessment, at which time property owners may appear and file objections to such assessment. The board of commissioners shall meet on the date set out in such notice, to hear such objections and to make such corrections and adjustments as may be proper in the case, and shall equalize the assessments according to the benefits to be derived from the special improvement herein provided. After having heard the objections and equalized the assessments, the board of commissioners shall enter its order making such assessments final. Any property owner within the district who feels aggrieved by the order making the assessment final shall have the right, within ten days after said order has been entered, to appeal the assessment to the chancery court of the county in which such property is situated. The appeal from the assessment may be heard by the chancellor in term time or in vacation, and after hearing thereof the chancellor shall enter such order as may be proper in the case. Appeals may be taken from the final order of the chancellor within the time and in the manner now provided by law for appeals from any decree of the court.   When the assessment of benefits has been made final and filed as hereinabove provided, the property owner shall have the right to pay such assessment of benefits in full at any time within sixty days after it became final; but if he does not avail himself of this privilege, the assessment of benefits shall bear interest at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum.
MS Code § 65-23-217 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries|Chapter 23 - Bridges; Boundary and Other Waters|Article 5 - Interstate Bridge Districts|§ 65-23-217. Tax levy

 After the board of commissioners has completed the assessment as hereinabove provided, it shall have the authority and is hereby directed to levy a tax upon the taxable property of the district, as it may consider necessary to be levied to pay the preliminary expenses of said district. When the rate of taxation is determined by the commissioners, it shall be filed with the tax collector of the county wherein such property is situated, together with a copy of the assessment hereinabove required, which shall be a warrant for the collection of such taxes. The taxes herein levied shall be collected by the tax collector of the county, along with other taxes of the county. For collecting such taxes, the tax collector shall receive the same compensation as is provided by law for the collection of state and county taxes, and the taxes so collected shall be paid over by the tax collector to the board of commissioners of the district at the same time he is required to make settlement with the county for general taxes.   All taxes levied under the provisions of this article shall be payable at the same time and in the same manner as state and county taxes and, upon default, the tax collector shall certify such delinquent taxes to the board of commissioners and shall also file a copy of such delinquent taxes with the clerk of the chancery court, as is now required to be filed for other delinquent taxes. The board of commissioners shall have the same authority and it is hereby required to enforce the collection of delinquent taxes, penalties, and costs by proceeding in the chancery court of the county in which the lands are situated, and may have the lands subject to such tax sold by order of the chancery court.
MS Code § 65-23-219 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries|Chapter 23 - Bridges; Boundary and Other Waters|Article 5 - Interstate Bridge Districts|§ 65-23-219. Deficiency tax levy

 If the tax first levied shall prove insufficient to complete the improvement or to pay the bonds, both principal and interest, issued by the board of commissioners for such improvement, as the same shall become due and payable, the board of commissioners shall, from time to time, report the amount of the deficiency to the chancery court; and said commissioners shall make such levy or levies upon the property previously assessed for a sum or sums sufficient to complete the improvement and to pay the bonds and interest in the manner as the first levy above provided.
MS Code § 65-23-221 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries|Chapter 23 - Bridges; Boundary and Other Waters|Article 5 - Interstate Bridge Districts|§ 65-23-221. Bond issue

 In order to carry out the purposes for which the district is organized and created, the board of commissioners may borrow money at a rate of interest not exceeding six percent (6%) per annum and issue negotiable notes or bonds therefor, signed by the chairman or vice-chairman and the secretary, when authorized by the commissioners, and may pledge all assessments of benefits for the repayment thereof. No bonds issued under the terms of this article shall run for more than thirty years, and all issues of such bonds must be divided so that a portion thereof will mature each year, as other general obligation bonds are now required to be issued.
MS Code § 65-23-223 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries|Chapter 23 - Bridges; Boundary and Other Waters|Article 5 - Interstate Bridge Districts|§ 65-23-223. Lien of bonds

 All bonds issued by the board of commissioners shall be secured by liens on all lands, railroads, and tramroads in the district. The board of commissioners shall be required to levy a tax annually and to collect same under the provisions of this article so long as it is necessary and required to pay any bonds or obligations issued under the authority herein granted. The making of such levy of tax on the assessment of benefits and collection thereof may be enforced by proper proceedings in court.
MS Code § 65-23-225 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries|Chapter 23 - Bridges; Boundary and Other Waters|Article 5 - Interstate Bridge Districts|§ 65-23-225. Tolls

 The board of commissioners herein created are hereby granted the right and power to construct, operate, and maintain said bridge as a toll bridge, and shall have the power to fix and determine, subject to the terms and provisions of the General Bridge Authority Act of Congress, approved August 2, 1946, and any laws amendatory thereof, the tolls to be charged for transit over such bridge for motor-propelled vehicles, wagons, carriages, animals, foot passengers, pipe line or lines, or other persons, firms, or corporations using such bridge; and the rates so prescribed shall be the legal rates demanded and received for such transit. The rates for such tolls may be increased or decreased from time to time by the board of commissioners, subject, however, to the terms and provisions of the above-mentioned act of Congress. The board of commissioners shall make an annual report of all tolls collected to a trustee or trustees representing the bond holders and to the Mississippi State Highway Commission, and one copy of said report shall be filed with the clerk of the chancery court of the county in which the bridge is located. When the bonded indebtedness and all claims and liability have been fully paid and discharged, said bridge shall become a free bridge. The board of commissioners shall thereupon convey all its right, title, and interest in said bridge to the Mississippi State Highway Commission, and said commission shall maintain and operate said bridge as a part of its highway system without cost to the individual user thereof. The tolls so charged and collected for the use of such bridge shall be used as follows:   To the payment of the reasonable cost of maintaining, repairing, and operating the bridge and approaches thereto, under economical management;   To the payment of the principal and interest on the bonded indebtedness; and   The balance, if any, to be placed in an interest and sinking fund to be used for future maintenance and operations and the retirement of the bonded indebtedness.
MS Code § 65-23-227 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries|Chapter 23 - Bridges; Boundary and Other Waters|Article 5 - Interstate Bridge Districts|§ 65-23-227. Contract powers of commissioners

 For the purpose of carrying into effect the objects and purposes of this article the board of commissioners shall have full power and authority to negotiate and enter into contract or contracts with the federal government or any of its agencies, the Mississippi State Highway Commission, the state highway commission of any adjoining state where said bridge may be located, any counties, cities, or town of the State of Mississippi or of any adjoining state whereby the district may receive financial aid in the construction, maintenance, and operation of said bridge and approaches thereto; to contract for the joint ownership thereof and the means and manner of operating and maintaining said bridge and approaches thereto. The powers herein granted to the board of commissioners shall have broad and liberal construction for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this article.
MS Code § 65-23-229 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries|Chapter 23 - Bridges; Boundary and Other Waters|Article 5 - Interstate Bridge Districts|§ 65-23-229. Acquisition and holding of real estate; eminent domain

 The board of commissioners, acting for and in behalf of the district, shall have the right, power, and authority to purchase, hold, and possess such real estate as may be necessary for the purposes for which the district was organized and, in addition thereto, the district organized hereunder shall have the right of eminent domain. If condemnation proceedings become necessary, such proceedings shall be instituted and conducted in the manner as is now provided by law for such condemnation proceedings.
MS Code § 65-23-301 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries|Chapter 23 - Bridges; Boundary and Other Waters|Article 7 - Pearl River Bridges|§ 65-23-301. Citation

 This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the "Pearl River Bridge Revenue Bond Law".
MS Code § 65-23-303 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries|Chapter 23 - Bridges; Boundary and Other Waters|Article 7 - Pearl River Bridges|§ 65-23-303. Legislative determination

 It is hereby declared, as a matter of legislative determination, that the construction, operation, and maintenance of additional bridges and adjacent roadways across the flood plain of, and across, the Pearl River will promote the economic development of the state and will promote the general welfare of the entire people of the state.
MS Code § 65-23-305 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries|Chapter 23 - Bridges; Boundary and Other Waters|Article 7 - Pearl River Bridges|§ 65-23-305. Construction by certain counties authorized

 Any county of this state bordering on the Pearl River is hereby authorized and empowered, separately or jointly, with any other county of the state bordering on the Pearl River:   To plan, construct, operate, and maintain a toll bridge or bridges and adjacent roadways across the flood plain of, and over and across, the Pearl River.   To issue bridge revenue bonds of such county or counties, payable from bridge earnings, to pay the cost of such bridges.   However, no bonds or liens given under authority of this article shall constitute a lien on any property of such county or counties other than the bridge or bridges constructed under this article, or a pledge of the revenues therefrom.   In the event two counties, acting jointly, exercise the powers conferred by this article, all acts shall be authorized by the governing body of each county, and in such event any revenue bonds issued shall be bonds of both of said counties.   To enter into contracts and/or agreements with any federal agencies, public agencies, or political subdivisions of any kind, including municipalities, corporations, districts, or others, for any financing, construction, operation, or maintenance requirements.
MS Code § 65-23-307 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries|Chapter 23 - Bridges; Boundary and Other Waters|Article 7 - Pearl River Bridges|§ 65-23-307. Definitions

 As used in this article, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings:   The word "bridge" shall be deemed to include the structure and the superstructure of the bridge, the approaches thereto, and adjacent roadways across the flood plain of the Pearl River and also all property, rights, easements, and franchises relating thereto and deemed necessary or convenient for the operation thereof.   The term "governing body" shall mean the board of supervisors of a county or counties.   The term "cost of bridge," as applied to a bridge to be constructed pursuant to the provisions hereof, shall embrace the cost of construction, the cost of all land, property, rights, easements, and franchises acquired, which are deemed necessary for such construction, financing charges, interest prior to and during construction and for eighteen months after acceptance of the completed work by the governing body of such county or counties, cost of traffic estimates and of engineering and of legal expenses, plans, specifications, surveys, estimates of cost and of revenues, other expenses necessary or incident to determining the feasibility or practicability of the enterprise, administrative expense, and such other expenses as may be necessary or incident to the financing herein authorized and the construction of the bridge and the placing of the bridge in operation.
MS Code § 65-23-309 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries|Chapter 23 - Bridges; Boundary and Other Waters|Article 7 - Pearl River Bridges|§ 65-23-309. Acquisition of rights of way

 Any such county acting separately or jointly with another county is hereby authorized and empowered to construct, whenever it shall deem such construction expedient, any toll bridge located as provided in Section 65-23-305. Authority is hereby granted to any such county or counties to purchase, solely from funds provided under the authority of this article, such lands, rights of way, easements, and other interests in lands, including lands under water and riparian rights of any person, copartnership, association, railroad or other corporation, municipality, or political subdivision, deemed necessary for the construction of any such bridge, upon such terms and at such prices as may be considered by it or them to be reasonable and can be agreed upon between it or them and the owner thereof, and to take title thereto in the name of such county or counties. Any such county or counties may acquire such lands, rights of way, easements, and other interest in land by eminent domain in the manner now provided by law. The State of Mississippi hereby consents to the use of all lands lying under water, which are within the state and are necessary for the construction and operation of any such bridge and the approaches and appurtenances thereto.