Opinion ID: 1700088
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: assignment of error and law

Text: The appellants, Pearl River Valley Water Supply District, et al have assigned, inter alia, that the chancellor erred in his construction of Mississippi Code Annotated section 51-9-131 and related provisions of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply Act. In making his ruling, the chancellor placed much stress on the wording of section 51-9-131 saying: Section 51-9-131 is composed of only one short statement. It states two mills payable on or before February 1, 1961, and so long as any bonds issued hereunder are outstanding, the tax collector of said county shall pay into the depository selected by the said water district ... it goes on to state that the levy shall continue at not less than two mills on each county in the district so long as any bonds issued pursuant to this article remain outstanding. (Emphasis theirs). It is clear to this Court that the intent of the Legislature was that the State levy of two mills would be used only for the payment of the principal of, interest on, and other charges in connection with said bonds. Likewise, the tax collector of the member counties was directed to pay said levy to the district for the purpose of paying off the bonds. The Legislature then provided a safeguard by providing in Section 51-9-139 that in the event additional funds were needed in connection with the bonds, they might be raised by the special tax not to exceed two mills. The Defendants concede that this special tax can only be used for bond payments. Significant to this Court is the language of Section 51-9-133, supra. This section states, inter alia, that the district is authorized to issue bonds for the purpose of paying the costs of acquiring, owning, constructing, operating, repairing, and maintaining the district. This section makes it clear the bonds shall not constitute general obligation bonds and provides that the said bonds shall be secured by three sources: (A) A pledge of the net revenue, (B) the two mills provided in Section 51-9-131, and (C) The special tax provided in Section 51-9-139. Defendants argue that if the Legislature had intended to restrict the two mill state levy authorized in Section 51-9-131, it would have done so. As stated above, this Court is of the opinion that the Legislature did just that when the two mills of all ad valorem taxes due by the member county was tied directly to the life of the bonds. It is inconceivable to this Court, as contended by Defendants, that the Legislature intended that the district might use this two mill levy for any purpose. Such a construction would say to the district, You are not required to use any of the two mills from the five counties to pay bonds but may continue to use same for operation and maintenance. We are of the opinion that the learned chancellor erred in his construction of section 51-9-131. The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Law is a comprehensive act of the legislature and the legislative intent must be determined from the total language of the act and not from one section thereof considered apart from the remainder. McCluskey v. Thompson, 363 So.2d 256, 259 (Miss. 1978), citing Brady v. John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co., 342 So.2d 295 (Miss. 1977), appeal dismissed, 434 U.S. 804, 98 S.Ct. 32, 54 L.Ed.2d 61 (1977); Miss. Public Service Commission v. City of Jackson, 328 So.2d 656 (Miss. 1976) and Akers v. Johnson's Estate, 236 So.2d 437 (Miss. 1970). Additionally, the words of a statute or act should be ascribed their ordinary and usual meaning. Brady v. John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co., supra at 298; Entrican v. King, 289 So.2d 913, 917 (Miss. 1974). With these rules of construction in mind, we find it necessary to refer to several relevant statutes in the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Law in order to determine the intent of the legislature. First, Mississippi Code Annotated section 51-9-103 (1972) is a declaration of legislative policy with reference to the creation of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District. That section states in part: It is further determined and declared that the preservation, conservation, storage, and control of the waters of the Pearl River and its tributaries and its overflow waters for domestic, municipal, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and manufacturing purposes, for recreational uses, for flood control, timber development, irrigation, and pollution abatement are, as a matter of public policy, for the general welfare of the entire people of the state. (emphasis added). That section goes on to provide in part: All the terms and provisions of this article are to be liberally construed to effectuate the purposes herein set forth, this being a remedial law. Mississippi Code Annotated section 51-9-159 (1972) made provisions for the District to acquire preliminary expenses prior to issuance of any bonds. That section reads: Any municipality or county which is within the territorial limits of the district may advance funds to said district to pay the preliminary expenses, including engineers' reports, organization, or administration expenses ... [and] The Board of directors is hereby authorized to repay any such advances from the proceeds of any bonds issued under the provisions of this article. By this statute, it is evident that the legislature contemplated that the District would begin operation and have expenses prior to the issuance of any bonds or receiving any monies from tax levies. It was, therefore, a foregone conclusion that bonds would be issued and the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District would be in operation prior to February 1, 1961. This explains the provision in section 51-9-131 relied on so heavily by the chancellor, which states: ... beginning with the ad valorem tax assessment for the calendar year 1960, payable on or before February 1, 1961, and so long as any bonds issued hereunder are outstanding, [3] the tax collector of said county shall pay into the depository selected by said water district for said purpose the amount of two mills of all ad valorem taxes due by said county to the State of Mississippi.... After preliminary studies and plans were made for construction of the reservoir, the first bonds authorized by section 51-9-133 were issued and construction began. The part of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Law authorizing the issuance of bonds is section 51-9-133 and is dispositive of the question before us. It provides as follows: The board of directors of the district is hereby authorized and empowered to issue bonds of the district for the purpose of paying the costs of acquiring, owning, constructing, operating, repairing, and maintaining the projects and works specified herein, including related facilities, and including all financing and financial advisory charges, interest during construction, engineering, legal, and other expenses incidental to and necessary for the foregoing, or for the carrying out of any power conferred by this article. Said board of directors is authorized and empowered to issue such bonds at such times and in such amounts as shall be provided for by resolution of the said board of directors, not to exceed the limitation prescribed in section 51-9-137. All such bonds so issued by said district shall be secured solely by a pledge of the net revenues which may now or hereafter come to the district, by the pledge of the avails of the two mill ad valorem tax levy provided for in section 51-9-131, and by the pledge of the special tax levy of two mills provided for in section 51-9-139; and such bonds shall not constitute general obligations of the State of Mississippi or of the counties comprising said district, and shall not be secured by a pledge of the full faith, credit, and resources of said state or of said counties. Bonds of the district shall not be included in computing any present or future debt limit of any county in such district under any present or future law.  Revenues  as used in this article shall mean all charges, rentals, tolls, rates, gifts, grants, tax proceeds, moneys, and all other funds coming into the possession of the district by virtue of the provisions of this article, except the proceeds from the sale of bonds issued hereunder.  Net revenues  as used in this article shall mean the revenues after payment of costs and expenses of operation and maintenance of the project and related facilities. (emphasis added). Said section first authorized the issuance of bonds by the district for the purpose of paying costs of acquiring, owning, constructing, operating, repairing, and maintaining the projects and works specified, including related facilities, and including all financing and financial advisory charges, interest during construction, engineering, legal, and other expenses incidental and necessary thereto as well as for the carrying out of any power conferred by the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Law. It then provided that All such bonds so issued by said district shall be secured solely by a pledge of the net revenues which may now or hereafter come to the district, by the pledge of the avails of the two mill ad valorem tax levy provided for in section 51-9-131, and by the pledge of the special tax levy of two mills provided for in section 51-9-139... . The statute went on to define Revenues to mean all charges, rentals, tolls, rates, gifts, grants, tax proceeds, moneys, and all other funds coming into the possession of the District, except the proceeds from the sale of bonds.  Net revenues  was defined in the statute as  the revenues after payment of costs and expenses of operation and maintenance [4] of the project and related facilities. It is therefore clear from a study of the above statutes that the legislature contemplated that there would be expenses of operation and maintenance of the District other than the expenses of paying interest on and retiring the bonds, and that these expenses would have to be first met if the purpose of the District Law was to be accomplished. Therefore, if, as conceded by all parties, the wording of section 51-9-139 precludes the use of the avails of the special levy provided for under that section from being used for any purpose except for the retirement of bonds when necessary, there would remain all other funds [5] coming into the possession of the District from whatever source, including the tax proceeds from the State levy. From those funds, the statute (section 51-9-133) contemplates that there would first be deducted the payment of costs and expenses of operation and maintenance of the project and related facilities with the balance being applied to the retirement of the bonds. In the event there was not a sufficient amount remaining to pay the cost of interest and bond retirement in a given year, then and only then, the board of directors has the authority under section 51-9-139 to assess the additional special levy of not more than two mills to also be applied toward the retirement of bonds. When all of the funds coming into the District are properly applied, there may or may not be a need for the special two-mill levy provided for under section 51-9-139, but, that question is not now before us. We are of the opinion that the learned chancellor erred in issuing the injunction. Therefore, for the reasons set out above, the judgment of the chancery court enjoining the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District from using funds paid to the District by Hinds County and Leake County as required by section 51-9-131 (State levy) for any purpose or use other than paying, prepaying, redeeming, or retiring the bonds issued by the District, and from using any of the special levy funds authorized by section 51-9-139 (special levy) when the revenue from the two-mill levy provided for under section 51-9-131 is equal to or exceeds the amount needed to pay the interest on and costs of the bonds issued pursuant to the District Law; and, assessing attorney's fees in the sum of $70,204.28 against the District should be reversed without prejudice.