reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MS Code § 29-1-13 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 29 - Public Lands, Buildings and Property|Chapter 1 - Public Lands|In General|§ 29-1-13. Private claims to lands

 The land commissioner shall investigate all claims of persons to any of the public lands, and shall cause the necessary suits to be instituted and prosecuted, and all pending suits to be prosecuted, to settle controversies concerning them. In all such suits, his findings and report, made upon investigation, shall be prima facie correct.
MS Code § 29-1-15 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 29 - Public Lands, Buildings and Property|Chapter 1 - Public Lands|In General|§ 29-1-15. Counties and municipalities may grant lands to state

 The governing authorities of any county or municipality of the State of Mississippi are hereby authorized and empowered, in their discretion, to convey lands to the State of Mississippi for hospitals and other public purposes.
MS Code § 29-1-17 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 29 - Public Lands, Buildings and Property|Chapter 1 - Public Lands|In General|§ 29-1-17. Protection of public lands from trespass

 It is the duty of the land commissioner to see that trespasses be not committed on the public lands; and for that purpose he may cause all necessary inquiries and investigations to be made. He shall cause the proper suits to be instituted and prosecuted for the recovery of possession of any public land adversely held by any person, and for damages against any person trespassing thereon.
MS Code § 29-1-19 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 29 - Public Lands, Buildings and Property|Chapter 1 - Public Lands|In General|§ 29-1-19. Damages for trespass

 If any person go or be upon any public land, and cut, fell, or otherwise injure any tree thereon or commit any other trespass on such land, the damages for such trespass shall not be assessed at less than the sum of two dollars ($2.00) per acre for each acre in every subdivision of forty (40) acres of land upon which any trespass was committed by the defendant, besides the statutory damages prescribed for trespass committed as to any tree or timber thereon. All such damages may be recovered in one (1) and the same action, and the secretary of state may institute suits for the recovery of any timber taken contrary to law; but this shall not apply to a person renting public land and having the license of the secretary of state to take trees or timber from contiguous woodland for fuel and the like.
MS Code § 29-1-21 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 29 - Public Lands, Buildings and Property|Chapter 1 - Public Lands|In General|§ 29-1-21. Record of tax lands

 The Secretary of State, on receiving from the chancery clerk the list of unredeemed lands sold to the state for taxes, shall enter the same in the register of tax lands by counties and in the regular order of townships, ranges and sections; and if the description of any of the lands be indefinite or defective and need to be made good by reference to the assessment roll under which it was sold, the Secretary of State may add to the description such alternative description as will clearly designate the land, prefacing the same with words "being as appears by the assessment roll of said county, for the year_______________ ."The Secretary of State, with the approval of the Governor, may sell the tax lands in the manner provided in this chapter, at such prices and under such terms and conditions as the Secretary of State with the approval of the Governor may fix, subject to the limitations imposed in this chapter, or the Secretary of State, with the approval of the Governor, may transfer any of the tax lands to any other state agency, county, municipality or political subdivision of the state.Such agency or subdivision then may retain or dispose of those lands as provided by law.If a state agency, county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state, has applied for transfer or purchase of the tax lands, it shall have priority over all other applicants except the original owner, his heirs or assigns.The courts shall not recognize claims by the original owner, his heirs or assigns after unredeemed lands are sold to the state for taxes and received by the Secretary of State's office or conveyed to a state agency, county, municipality or other political subdivision.
MS Code § 29-1-23 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 29 - Public Lands, Buildings and Property|Chapter 1 - Public Lands|In General|§ 29-1-23. Definition

 Wherever the words "original owner" appear in this chapter, they shall be construed to mean the owner of the title on date of sale of land for taxes.
MS Code § 29-1-25 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 29 - Public Lands, Buildings and Property|Chapter 1 - Public Lands|In General|§ 29-1-25. Lands acquired through error

 In cases where lands have passed from the ownership of individuals into that of the state by some mistake, oversight, or unintentional default, the land commissioner, with the approval of the governor and the attorney general, upon satisfactory proof shall, provided said lands are then held by the state, reconvey such lands to their original owners or to those claiming through the original owners upon payment of all taxes, damages, and costs accrued, on such equitable terms as may be agreed upon in each case by the owner and the land commissioner.   In cases where the owners of land have, through mistake, permitted the same to be sold for taxes, and afterwards, to protect their titles, have repurchased from the land commissioner at the price fixed by law the land so forfeited, the state shall, upon satisfactory proof of said facts with the written approval of the governor and the attorney general, refund said purchase money less the amount of taxes, costs, and damages; and the land commissioner shall make a report of such facts to the next session of the legislature and ask an appropriation therefor.
MS Code § 29-1-27 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 29 - Public Lands, Buildings and Property|Chapter 1 - Public Lands|In General|§ 29-1-27. Lands mistakenly claimed by state stricken from tax list

 The land commissioner and auditor are hereby authorized to report to the attorney general any lands that may now or hereafter be claimed by the state on their respective records, the title to which is in doubt, and the attorney general shall make an investigation into the subject matter. If in his opinion the state has no title to said land, he shall so notify the auditor or land commissioner, who shall strike such land from the record in his office and notify, with certified lists of lands so stricken off, the clerk of the board of supervisors of the county in which such land is situated. The clerk shall report said land to the board of supervisors for new assessment or, if the land be vacant, state, or United States land, the board of supervisors shall have it stricken from the tax sales list in his office, and the tax collector shall be credited as in erroneous assessments.
MS Code § 29-1-29 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 29 - Public Lands, Buildings and Property|Chapter 1 - Public Lands|In General|§ 29-1-29. Lands mistakenly sold to state may be stricken

 The chancery clerk of any county is hereby authorized to report to the attorney general any lands that have been or may hereafter be sold to the state for delinquent taxes, the validity of which sale is in doubt, and the attorney general shall make an investigation into the subject matter. If in his opinion such sale of said land is void, he shall so notify such chancery clerk in writing, and the said clerk shall strike such land from the list of lands sold to the state of record in his office, and shall report said land to the board of supervisors for a new assessment if the assessment is invalid, or for an order for resale if the assessment is valid.
MS Code § 29-1-31 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 29 - Public Lands, Buildings and Property|Chapter 1 - Public Lands|In General|§ 29-1-31. Void tax sales stricken

 In all cases where it appears that the claim of title of the state to the lands on the records of the land office is void on account of uncertain description, or was acquired under tax sales which were void and which passed no title to the state, the land commissioner, with the written approval of the attorney general, is hereby authorized and directed to strike such lands from the lists in his office of lands sold to the state for delinquent taxes. The land commissioner shall transmit a list of the lands thus stricken from the records of forfeited state tax lands in his office to the clerk of the chancery court of the county in which such lands are situated, and the clerk of the chancery court shall note the same on the recorded lists in his office and shall file and preserve the list of lands thus stricken from the records in his office. The land commissioner shall at the same time give written notice to the assessor of the county that such lands have been stricken from the lists of lands held by the state for the nonpayment of taxes, and it shall be the duty of the assessor to assess such lands for taxes for the proper year or years at such valuation as the assessor may deem just. Such assessment shall be made in the manner provided by law for the assessment of property which has escaped taxation for former years. And the tax collector shall collect the taxes on such lands in the manner provided by law. The striking of such lands from the lists of forfeited state tax lands in the land commissioner's office, as herein provided, shall cancel all title or claim of the state to such lands, except for taxes due thereon at the time of the sale and accruing after the sale.
MS Code § 29-1-33 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 29 - Public Lands, Buildings and Property|Chapter 1 - Public Lands|In General|§ 29-1-33. Sale price of tax lands

 The land commissioner with the approval of the governor is hereby authorized to sell to any bona fide purchaser any lands which may have been forfeited to the state for the nonpayment of taxes after the time allowed by law for redemption shall have expired, for such price as the land commissioner with the approval of the governor may fix; provided, however, that the minimum price for such forfeited tax land shall be two dollars ($2.00) per acre, except as otherwise provided herein. When the land commissioner has good reason to believe, however, that any of said lands are actually worth more than two dollars ($2.00) per acre, he shall cause a proper investigation to be made for the purpose of ascertaining the actual value of such lands, and such lands shall be sold for such price as the land commissioner with the approval of the governor may fix, provided that such sale price shall not be less than two dollars ($2.00) per acre as aforesaid. The land commissioner may fix different prices for separate tracts of land, but all such prices shall be subject to the approval of the governor.   In cases where it reasonably appears that the actual value of any of said lands is less than two dollars ($2.00) per acre, such lands may be sold by the land commissioner, with the approval of the governor, at a price less than two dollars ($2.00) per acre; provided, however, that in no such case shall such lands be sold for less than the amount of the state, levee board (where the land is situated in a levee district), and county taxes (not including, however, the drainage district tax, if any) for which said lands were sold to the state, plus an amount equal to all penalties, fees, damages, and costs accrued up to and including the date of the sale of such lands to the state.   In selling or contracting for the sale of state forfeited tax lands, it shall not be necessary that the land commissioner include in the sale price of such lands any state, drainage district, county, levee, or municipal taxes, or any special assessment.
MS Code § 29-1-35 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 29 - Public Lands, Buildings and Property|Chapter 1 - Public Lands|In General|§ 29-1-35. Sale of land after buildings destroyed; factors Secretary of State may consider in determining sales price for land

 Where buildings and improvements situated on tax-forfeited lands have been removed or destroyed by fire, windstorm, or flood, the Secretary of State may, in his discretion, sell the tax-forfeited lands for any amount he may deem reasonable, irrespective of the amount of taxes for which the property was sold to the state. The Secretary of State, in determining the sales price for the land, may take into account the cost of cleanup and removal of debris from destroyed buildings and improvements situated thereon, or may contract with the purchaser for cleanup and removal of debris from destroyed buildings as part of the consideration for sale of the land.
MS Code § 29-1-37 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 29 - Public Lands, Buildings and Property|Chapter 1 - Public Lands|In General|§ 29-1-37. Application to purchase tax lands

  Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of this section, any person desiring to purchase any state-forfeited tax land shall make application in writing to the Secretary of State for the purchase of the land, and shall state in the application:   A correct description of the land sought to be purchased.   The name of the former owner and the name of the person to whom the land was assessed at the time of the tax sale, and the post office address of the former owner and the post office address of the person to whom the land was assessed at the time of the sale, if known to the applicant.   Whether or not the land is occupied at the date of the filing of such application, and the name of the person occupying the land, if any.   The nature and value of the improvements on the land.   The approximate quantity of the merchantable timber on the land, if any.   Any other special information as the Secretary of State, with the approval of the Governor, may require.  Each applicationshall be signed by the applicant and shall contain a declaration thatthe statements and information submitted in the application are trueand correct and are made under penalty of perjury. The Secretary ofState may require any additional information with reference to thevalue of the lands, thenature and condition of the buildings and improvements on the lands, and the value of the timberon the lands as he may deemnecessary. The applicationsshall be filed by the Secretary of State in the order in which theyare received. Each application shall be given a serial number andshall be entered on a record book on the day it is received. The recordbook shall show the name of the applicant, the serial number of theapplication, and the county in which the property is situated.      Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3) of this section, the Secretary of State, with the approval of the Governor, may dispose of any state-forfeited tax land by sealed bids after three (3) weeks' advertisement in a newspaper in the county in which the land is located.   The Secretary of State may sell state-forfeited tax land by online auction. The Secretary of State may establish procedures and adopt administrative rules for the sale of state-forfeited tax land by online auction.
MS Code § 29-1-39 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 29 - Public Lands, Buildings and Property|Chapter 1 - Public Lands|In General|§ 29-1-39. Contract for sale of tax lands

 The Secretary of State with the approval of the Governor may contract to sell any state forfeited tax lands, including state lands lying within municipalities, even though said lands may have been subdivided into blocks, lots, divisions, or otherwise and sold to the state by such descriptions. The purchase price required in the contract for the sale of state forfeited tax land shall be the same as that required in direct sale of state forfeited tax lands. In the event the Secretary of State with the approval of the governor shall decide that any state forfeited tax land shall be contracted for sale, the Secretary of State with the approval of the governor shall fix a price for the sale of such lands. Said contract for the sale of such lands shall provide that a part of the purchase price shall be paid in cash, and that the balance of such purchase price shall be paid in equal annual installments extending over a period not to exceed five (5) years, said period to be fixed by the Secretary of State. The purchaser in said contract of sale shall agree that he shall pay all installments of the purchase price and all taxes and special assessments that may become due on said lands during the continuance or life of said contract, that he shall not cut any merchantable timber nor commit any waste of any kind on said land without the written permission of the Secretary of State and that he shall not allow any other person to cut any merchantable timber therefrom or permit any waste of any kind thereon until said purchaser has secured a patent from the state in accordance with his contract of sale. Contracts for sale of state forfeited tax lands shall not be transferred nor assigned without the written consent of the Secretary of State. All applications for contracts of sale shall be made on written forms prepared by the attorney general and approved by the Secretary of State and shall be kept on file in the office of the Secretary of State as public records. At such time as the purchaser shall have paid the entire purchase money under any contract of sale and shall have complied with all of the other provisions of said contract of sale, the Secretary of State shall issue a state land patent as in other cases of the sale of state lands.
MS Code § 29-1-41 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 29 - Public Lands, Buildings and Property|Chapter 1 - Public Lands|In General|§ 29-1-41. Unlawful to cut timber until purchase price is paid

 It shall be unlawful for any person who has contracted to purchase any state forfeited tax lands to cut, sell, or dispose of any merchantable timber on said lands before the purchase price has been fully paid and a patent duly executed and delivered as provided in this chapter. Any person who shall cut, sell, or dispose of any merchantable timber on any such lands before the purchase price has been fully paid and a patent duly executed and delivered shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
MS Code § 29-1-43 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 29 - Public Lands, Buildings and Property|Chapter 1 - Public Lands|In General|§ 29-1-43. Lands under contract for sale taxable

 When any contract for the sale of state forfeited tax lands shall be made, as provided in Section 29-1-39, such lands shall then become taxable in all respects and to the same extent and in like manner as where patents are issued, except that such lands under contract for sale shall not be sold for taxes while the state is the holder of the legal title. It shall be the duty of the land commissioner to give notice in writing to the clerk of the chancery court of the county in which the land is situated, and likewise the clerk of the municipality if such land be situated in a municipality, that such land is under contract for sale, giving the name of the purchaser and the price. The chancery clerk, and the municipal clerk where the land is located in a municipality, shall file said notices and enter the land upon the assessment rolls and shall clearly designate that such land is public land which has been contracted for sale. Such land shall thereupon be assessed for taxes as other lands are assessed, and the tax collector of the county, and the municipality where said land is located in a municipality, shall collect the taxes thereon as in cases of additional assessments, as provided by Section 29-1-83, with reference to patents.
MS Code § 29-1-45 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 29 - Public Lands, Buildings and Property|Chapter 1 - Public Lands|In General|§ 29-1-45. Cancellation of contract of sale

 If taxes become delinquent on lands which are contracted for sale or on any part thereof, the tax collector shall, within thirty (30) days after such delinquency, certify such fact in writing to the Secretary of State and said tax collector shall neither advertise nor sell such land at a tax sale. If said land should be sold at a tax sale, the sale shall be void as against the state, and the state's title thereto shall not be affected by said sale. Likewise, if such a tax sale is made, the tax collector shall be liable on his official bond to the purchaser at said sale in the penal sum of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) plus all actual damages suffered by said purchaser. Within fifteen (15) days after receipt of notice from the tax collector that said lands are delinquent for taxes, or if no notice is given by said tax collector then within thirty (30) days after the Secretary of State ascertains that there is a delinquency in the payment of taxes on said land, the Secretary of State shall cancel the contract of sale and shall, within said period of thirty (30) days, inform the contract purchaser of such cancellation by mail at the post office address contained in the application. The said notice shall be given by registered mail with return receipt requested. The Secretary of State shall likewise immediately notify the clerk of the board of supervisors of the county in which said land is situated of the cancellation and the clerk shall report said action to the board of supervisors of said county, who shall have said land stricken from the assessment roll and also stricken from the tax sale list, if the same is contained thereon. The land shall then be re-entered on the record in the Secretary of State's office, the former entry of the contract of the purchase shall be marked "canceled" on the Secretary of State's records, and the land shall become subject to disposition by the Secretary of State in the same manner as if no contract of sale had been made. In case the Secretary of State should fail to give notice of the cancellation of said contract or should fail to cancel said contract within the time stipulated herein, the Secretary of State may cancel and give said notice of cancellation on any subsequent date. If said land is located in a municipality, the acts and duties provided herein to be performed by the clerk of the board of supervisors and the board of supervisors shall be performed in like manner by the municipal clerk and the governing authorities of said municipality.
MS Code § 29-1-47 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 29 - Public Lands, Buildings and Property|Chapter 1 - Public Lands|In General|§ 29-1-47. Purchase price forfeited

 On the cancellation of the contract of sale, as provided in the preceding sections of this chapter, that portion of the purchase price paid by the purchaser shall be forfeited to the state as liquidated damages, and the contract purchaser shall lose all rights which he had under the contract of sale. If any waste has been committed or allowed by the purchaser on said land, said purchaser shall, in addition to the liquidated damages, be liable for all actual damages to said land.
MS Code § 29-1-49 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 29 - Public Lands, Buildings and Property|Chapter 1 - Public Lands|In General|§ 29-1-49. Tax land may be sold to drainage district

 The land commissioner, with the approval of the Governor, is hereby authorized to sell state forfeited tax lands lying within a drainage district to the board of drainage commissioners of such district in the manner provided by Section 51-33-45.