16th section land; remove board of supervisors from having to approve leases and substitute Secretary of State.
SB 2245 streamlines how Mississippi counties handle 16th section lands (historically reserved for schools) by removing the requirement for county boards of supervisors to approve leases or waivers for mineral exploration/production. Instead, it authorizes the Secretary of State to approve these transactions, directly affecting counties and industrial development projects seeking to use these lands. The bill also updates provisions allowing counties to financially assist industrial projects through contributions, loans, or property donations without board approval. These changes aim to simplify processes for economic development on public lands while maintaining county oversight for project-related infrastructure.
Bill status
died
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Feb 2025
Senate Passage
Feb 2025
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 17, 2025
Last action Mar 4, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
Committee Substitute
→
Current version
·
5 edits
MODERATE
This bill was amended after passing the Senate to remove references to the Board of Supervisors and replace them with the Secretary of State and Mississippi Agricultural and Industrial Board as the approving authority for sixteenth section land sales and leases. The bill also streamlined the act's title to focus primarily on mineral rights sales and surface use waivers. These changes centralize approval authority and clarify the bill's primary purpose.
Scope change
The bill's scope was narrowed from multiple technical changes to sixteenth section land leasing to primarily focus on mineral interest sales and surface use waivers, while also updating the approval authority for land transactions.
ELIGIBILITY
Changed the approving authority for sixteenth section land sales and leases from the Board of Supervisors to the Secretary of State and Mississippi Agricultural and Industrial Board.
SCOPE
Removed references to amending sections 29-3-1 and 29-3-82, narrowing the bill's focus to sections 57-75-37 and 29-3-29.
REQUIREMENT
Updated the act's title to emphasize mineral interest sales and perpetual surface use waivers rather than general technical changes to land leasing.
TECHNICAL
Removed numerous references to the Board of Supervisors throughout the text and replaced them with the Secretary of State or Mississippi Agricultural and Industrial Board.
DEFINITION
Updated terminology throughout the bill to reflect the new approval authority structure and streamlined legislative focus.
Floor votes · Senate Feb 13, 2025
How they voted
51–0
Passed
Total votes 51
Feb 13, 2025
D
Democratic16
100% Yea
R
Republican35
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
12
Key actions
5
Committee
3
Amendments
2
Feb 18, 2025
Committee
Referred To Education;Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency
lower
Feb 17, 2025
Introduced
Transmitted To House
upper
Feb 13, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed As Amended
upper
Feb 13, 2025
Upper · Passed
Amended
upper
Feb 10, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed As Amended
upper
Feb 10, 2025
Upper · Passed
Amended
upper
Jan 31, 2025
Upper · Passed
Title Suff Do Pass Comm Sub
upper
Jan 20, 2025
Committee
Referred To Education
upper
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor
Sponsors
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