Opinion ID: 1761036
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Whether the 1987 Amendments, which establish the circumstances under which municipality can condemn the facilities of a public utility located in the municipality's corporate limits, are in violation of Section 190 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890.

Text: ¶ 13. As this issue indicates, the municipalities are attacking the constitutionality of the 1987 Amendments. Prior to the 1987 Amendments, the Public Utilities Act of 1956 provided in part that [a]ny municipality shall have the right to acquire by purchase, negotiation or condemnation the facilities of any utility that is now or may hereafter be located within the corporate limits of such municipality. 1956 Miss. Laws, ch. 372, § 5(e), codified at § 77-3-17 (1972). As stated supra, the 1987 Amendments provide that prior to any condemnation as provided for under Miss. Code Ann. Section 77-3-17, the PSC must first determine that the certificated utility is not providing reasonably adequate service in the area in question and that the utility's certificate of public convenience and necessity should be canceled as provided in Miss. Code Ann. Section 77-3-21. The municipalities allege that the 1987 Amendments abridge their power of eminent domain in violation of Section 190 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890. The Court finds this argument unpersuasive for the reasons set forth below. ¶ 14. As conceded by both parties, under Mississippi law a party challenging the constitutionality of a statute must prove unconstitutionality beyond a reasonable doubt. Secretary of State v. Wiesenberg, 633 So.2d 983, 989 (Miss. 1994); Miss. Power Co. v. Goudy, 459 So.2d 257, 263 (Miss. 1984). This Court has previously discussed the presumption of a statute's validity, holding: We adhere here to the rule that one who assails a legislative enactment must overcome the strong presumption of validity and such assailant must prove his conclusions affirmatively, and clearly establish it beyond a reasonable doubt. All doubts must be resolved in favor of validity of a statute. If possible, a court should construe statutes so as to render them constitutional rather than unconstitutional if the statute under attack does not clearly and apparently conflict with organic law after first resolving all doubts in favor of validity. Loden v. Miss. Public Service Comm'n, 279 So.2d 636, 640 (Miss. 1973) (citations omitted).
¶ 15. The municipalities assert that the 1987 Amendments have the effect of depriving, curtailing or diminishing their right of eminent domain by placing in the hands of privately owned corporations the power to prevent its exercise in violation of Section 190 of the Mississippi Constitution (1890). The defendant-utilities counter by stating that the 1987 Amendments were an entirely appropriate exercise of the Legislature's constitutional and statutory prerogatives, and that the lower court properly held as such. ¶ 16. First, let us begin by looking at the power of eminent domain and where a municipality gains such power. This Court discussed the power of eminent domain in H.K. Porter Co., Inc. v. Board of Supervisors of Jackson County, 324 So.2d 746 (Miss. 1975). In the H.K. Porter case, the lower court previously declared certain portions of § 7605-06 of the 1942 Code (now codified at Miss. Code Ann. § 59-9-19 (1972)) void. Those sections imposed certain prohibitions on the exercise of eminent domain by a county and its port authority. We held that: Although the legislature cannot convey its power of eminent domain as that power is inherent in its sovereignty, the chancellor was in error in holding that the provisions were void for that reason. The legislature in which the power of eminent domain is vested can delegate this authority by statute. However, as stated in 26 Am.Jur.2d, Eminent Domain, § 19: It has long been held that cities and other municipal corporations, counties, and other governmental subdivisions of the state may be authorized to acquire land by eminent domain. A municipal corporation or a county, however, has no inherent power of eminent domain and can exercise it only when especially authorized by the Legislature. Since the right is delegated it can be exercised only within the ordinary scope of the delegation. We hold that the legislature in furtherance of the purpose of the act had the authority to limit the power of the county to take by eminent domain in certain situations. It has the right to say what property or to what extent eminent domain power shall be exercised by the county. H.K. Porter, 324 So.2d at 752 (emphasis added by this Court in H.K. Porter ). ¶ 17. Furthermore, 26 Am.Jur.2d, Public-utility or service-company property; taking by a municipality or other public body, § 124, states: A municipality or other public body, when authorized by the legislature, may take the property or plant of a public utility or service company for uses similar to those to which it has been devoted. ... . However, the power of a municipality or other public body to take for public-utility purposes the property of a public utility already in use for its peculiar purposes must rest upon legislative authority granted either expressly or by implication. In addition, a municipality or other public body may take any of the properties of a public-service company for application to utility purposes unlike those of the company only if authority so to do is granted by the legislature, either expressly or by necessary implication. ¶ 18. The Court had the opportunity to consider the 1987 Amendments in City of Clarksdale v. Miss. Power and Light Co . The City of Clarksdale (the City) filed a petition to condemn facilities of Mississippi Power & Light (MP & L) pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 77-3-17 (Supp. 1986) on March 5, 1987. 556 So.2d 1056, 1057 (Miss. 1990). Subsequent to that date, Governor Allain's veto of Senate Bill No. 2840 was overridden by both houses on March 17, 1987, thus on that date amending Miss. Code Ann. §§ 77-3-13,  17,  21 (1987 Amendments). In City of Clarksdale, the PSC had not acted on the utility's certificate of public convenience and necessity, as the amended sections so required. Therefore, the special court of eminent domain dismissed the City's petition. City of Clarksdale, 556 So.2d at 1057. ¶ 19. The main issue in that case was whether or not the 1987 Amendments even applied to the City since it began its condemnation proceedings some twelve or so days prior to the passage of the 1987 Amendments. We held that the 1987 Amendments did apply because [i]t is also the general rule that where a statute affects only the mode of procedure, and not the substantive rights of parties, it applies to pending actions. Id. This Court further stated that we glean a positive Legislative intent for Miss. Code Ann. § 77-3-17 to apply to condemnation proceedings of this nature, whether pending or not. Especially is this true since the City's power to institute eminent domain proceedings is solely statutory. Id. at 1058 (emphasis added). City of Clarksdale gave this Court sufficient opportunity to study and review the 1987 Amendments, yet we affirmed the dismissal of the condemnation proceedings for failure of the City to have MP & L's certificate of public convenience and necessity canceled by the PSC before instituting their power of eminent domain. ¶ 20. The municipalities argue that the 1987 Amendments abridge their power of eminent domain in favor of privately-held corporations. They cite a number of old cases decided by the United States Supreme Court to support their position. Contributors to Pennsylvania Hospital v. City of Philadelphia, 245 U.S. 20, 38 S.Ct. 35, 62 L.Ed. 124 (1917); Stone v. State of Miss., 101 U.S. (11 Otto) 814, 25 L.Ed. 1079 (1879); West River Bridge Co. v. Joseph Dix and the Town of Brattleboro and Dummerston, 47 U.S. (6 How.) 507, 12 L.Ed. 535 (1848); Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, 36 U.S. (11 Pet.) 420, 9 L.Ed. 773 (1837). In fact, none of the cases cited by the municipalities are applicable in the case sub judice. We find the argument made by defendant-utilities as persuasive on this point. They contend that the cases cited by the municipalities on this point stand for the proposition that private property is always subject to the sovereign's eminent domain power should the legislature decide to exercise it, which is not the issue before this Court here. ¶ 21. The municipalities concede that the Legislature has the power to deny municipalities the ability to exercise the power of eminent domain. Indeed, the municipalities state that: The fact that the legislature may take away entirely the eminent domain power it has conferred on municipalities, or refuse to confer the power is beside the point. While the legislature may have the power to deny entirely or modify as it chooses the right of a municipality to exercise the power of eminent domain, it is clear that any attempt by the legislature to place in the hands of private corporations such as the power companies the ability to prevent exercise of the power of eminent domain is a nullity. ¶ 22. Therefore, it seems that the municipalities' main contention as to the constitutionality of the 1987 Amendments is that by allowing utilities to correct any deficiencies or inadequacies, pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. Section § 77-3-21 (1972), before the PSC will cancel the utilities' certificate of public convenience and necessity is effectively placing the ability to abridge the power of eminent domain in the hands of private corporations which would be violative of Section 190 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890. ¶ 23. We find this argument unpersuasive. The municipalities have no inherent power or right of eminent domain. The municipalities have asserted that the defendant-utilities have some sort of veto power over the municipalities' eminent domain power. The 1987 Amendments provide a procedure which the municipalities must follow before condemning the land service areas and facilities of the defendant-utilities. Surely the Legislature which may grant or deny the power of eminent domain to a municipality may also establish a procedure or method by which it may be void.