How many times must a Mississippi county advertise an ordinance, and can it post a shortened version online instead of the full text in the newspaper?
Plain-English summary
Oktibbeha County's attorney asked two practical questions: when the board passes an ordinance, how many times does it have to run it in the local newspaper, and can it shorten the ordinance and post the rest on a county website?
The AG's answers split based on the subject matter:
If a specific Mississippi statute tells the county how to publish a particular type of action (a tax levy, a bond resolution, a notice to borrow, a district-boundary change, a special meeting), the county follows that specific statute. The opinion lists fourteen examples of code sections that prescribe their own publication rules, including § 19-3-1 (district-boundary changes), § 19-5-189 (tax-levy resolutions), § 19-9-11 (bond resolutions), and § 19-3-19 (special-meeting notices).
If a particular ordinance has no specific publication statute, the Mississippi Code does not prescribe a minimum number of newspaper runs at all. The board has discretion. It can also publish a shortened version and direct readers to the full text, including by posting on the county website.
The opinion includes a footnote reminder that even when newspaper or website publication is short, the chancery clerk (acting as clerk of the board) still has to keep "a complete and correct record of all the proceedings and orders of the board" under § 19-3-27 and Miss. Const. art. VI, § 170. That obligation does not change.
What this means for you
For Mississippi boards of supervisors and county attorneys
Before publishing an ordinance, identify whether a specific Mississippi statute governs that ordinance type. The opinion provides a partial list to start from:
- Bonds and loans: §§ 19-5-81, 19-9-11, 19-9-13
- Tax levies: §§ 19-5-189, 19-9-111
- Construction contract notices: § 19-5-199
- Fire protection grading districts: § 19-5-221
- District-boundary changes: § 19-3-1
- Meeting-location moves: § 19-3-11
- Special meetings: § 19-3-19
- Board allowances and itemized statements: § 19-3-35
- Certain expenses: § 19-3-67
If your ordinance falls under one of these or a similar specific statute, follow it exactly. The medium (newspaper vs. website), the number of runs, and the timing are typically prescribed.
If your ordinance is on a subject with no specific publication statute (a routine local regulation, for example), the Code does not require any specific number of newspaper runs. You can choose what your county considers appropriate notice. Common practice is one or two newspaper runs plus website posting.
For shortened versions, write a summary that fairly describes the ordinance and tells readers where to find the full text. Mississippi has not litigated the adequacy of summary publications extensively, so err toward describing enough that a reader knows what they would be reading if they followed the link.
For chancery clerks
The opinion's footnote is the key takeaway for clerks. Whatever the board does about newspaper or website publication, you still record the full ordinance in the board minutes under § 19-3-27. The minutes are the authoritative record.
If a citizen asks for a copy of an ordinance, your minutes are the source. The website is supplemental.
For Mississippi newspaper publishers
Counties may shift toward website publication for ordinances that lack a specific newspaper-publication statute. Bond, tax-levy, and similar high-stakes ordinances still require newspaper publication and represent ongoing legal-notice work.
For citizens following county government
If you want to track what your county is doing, two reliable sources remain: the chancery clerk's office (board minutes) and any required newspaper notices. The county website is increasingly used but is not a substitute for the official record.
If your county has shortened a published ordinance and you want the full text, ask the chancery clerk or check the website link in the published summary.
Common questions
Q: Is there a minimum number of newspaper runs for any ordinance?
A: Only if a specific statute requires it. For ordinances without a specific publication statute, the Code is silent on frequency.
Q: Can the county skip newspaper publication entirely and only post online?
A: For ordinances without a specific statute requiring newspaper publication, yes. For ordinances on topics where a statute requires newspaper publication, no.
Q: What counts as a shortened version?
A: The opinion does not define this. A summary that captures the substance and tells readers where to find the full text is the safe approach.
Q: Does the website have to be the official county website?
A: The opinion says "the board of supervisors may disseminate on a website" without specifying. The most defensible practice is the official county website (the same one used for other public notices) rather than a third-party site.
Q: What if our county doesn't have a website?
A: Then publish in the newspaper or by posting at the courthouse, depending on the ordinance type.
Q: Does the chancery clerk have to publish anything separately?
A: The chancery clerk does not have an independent publication duty for general ordinances. The clerk's job under § 19-3-27 is to maintain the official minute record.
Q: What about ordinances under home rule for counties?
A: County home rule is narrower than municipal home rule. Most county action proceeds under specific statutes, so check whether a specific publication rule applies.
Q: Can the board declare an ordinance effective before publication?
A: For ordinances with statute-prescribed publication, no, follow the statute's effective-date rules. For ordinances without a specific publication statute, the board can set the effective date by ordinance, but publication helps establish notice and reduce challenges.
Q: Who decides whether the published version is "shortened" enough?
A: The board, but a court will look at whether actual notice was reasonable if the publication is challenged.
Q: Does the same rule apply to municipal ordinances?
A: This opinion is about counties. Municipal publication is governed by separate statutes, mainly under Title 21.
Background and statutory framework
Mississippi has accumulated a patchwork of publication statutes over the years. Each chapter of Title 19 (counties) tends to include its own publication rule for the high-stakes actions it authorizes. The result is that the same county may have one ordinance requiring two newspaper runs ten days apart and another ordinance requiring only a website posting, depending on subject matter.
The 2021 Roberson opinion does not invent new law. It reads the existing statutes in two buckets: specific-statute ordinances follow the specific statute, and everything else follows board discretion. That is consistent with the "specific controls general" rule of statutory interpretation Mississippi courts apply.
The website-posting authorization is the practical advance. Boards have wanted to use websites for years, both to save publication costs and to reach more readers. The opinion confirms they can, for ordinances not covered by a specific statute. The key check is whether your subject matter has its own statute. If it does, the website cannot substitute.
The chancery clerk's recordkeeping duty under § 19-3-27 is the constant. Newspaper and website publication are about reaching the public; the minutes are about preserving the official record. Both serve different functions.
Citations and references
Statutes:
- Miss. Code Ann. § 19-3-1 (publication of order changing boundaries of districts)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 19-3-11 (notice for moving meeting location in single-court-district counties)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 19-3-19 (notice for special meetings)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 19-3-27 (chancery clerk maintains complete record of board proceedings)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 19-3-35 (publication of itemized allowances, contracts, sixteenth section transactions, expenditures)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 19-3-67 (publication of certain expenses)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 19-5-81 (publication of intent to borrow funds)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 19-5-189 (publication of tax-levy resolution)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 19-5-199 (notice of construction contracts)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 19-5-221 (resolution of intent for fire protection grading district)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 19-9-11 (publication of resolution of intent to issue bonds)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 19-9-13 (publication of bond election notice)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 19-9-111 (publication of intent to levy economic development district tax)
- Miss. Const. art. VI, § 170 (chancery clerk as clerk of board of supervisors)
Source
- Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
- Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/R.Roberson-September-30-2021-Publication-of-County-Ordinances.pdf
Original opinion text
September 30, 2021
The Honorable Rob Roberson
Attorney, Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors
212 East Main Street
Starkville, Mississippi 39759
Re: Publication of County Ordinances
Dear Mr. Roberson:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.
Questions Presented
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When a county passes an ordinance, how many times must it advertise in the local newspaper?
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Must all ordinances be advertised in their entirety, or may they be shortened and posted on a website?
Brief Response
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For ordinances dealing with a subject matter that is not governed by specific statutory publication requirements, the Mississippi Code does not prescribe a specific number of times that a county must advertise such an ordinance.
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Ordinances dealing with a subject matter not governed by a publication requirement may be shortened for dissemination. If a statute requires publication in a specific manner, the ordinance must be published in such manner. In the absence of a statutorily required medium of publication, the board of supervisors may disseminate on a website.
Applicable Law and Discussion
Several sections of the Mississippi Code lay out specific publication requirements for different orders, resolutions, or ordinances passed by a county board of supervisors, and other matters of county business. See, e.g., Miss. Code Ann. §§ 19-3-1 (publication of order changing boundaries of districts); 19-3-11 (publication of notice for moving location of meeting in counties with one court district); 19-3-19 (notice for special meetings); 19-3-35 (publication of itemized statement of allowances; list of all contracts; statement of all loans from sixteenth section funds, lieu land funds, and sinking, and other trust funds; statement or list of all sales of timber, of all leases upon, including all leases for oil, gas, and minerals upon, sixteenth section or lieu lands situated in the county or belonging to the county; recapitulation of all expenditures); 19-3-67 (publication of certain expenses); 19-5-81 (publication of notice of intention to borrow funds and issue loan warrants, notes or bonds); 19-5-189 (publication of a resolution to levy taxes); 19-5-199 (publication of notice of construction contracts); 19-5-221 (publication of resolution of intent to create fire protection grading district); 19-9-11 (publication of resolution of intent to issue bonds); 19-9-13 (publication of election notice related to county bonds); 19-9-111 (publication of intention to levy tax related to economic development district).
With respect to your first question, for ordinances dealing with a subject matter not governed by a specific publication requirement, such as those listed above, the Mississippi Code does not prescribe a specific number of times that a county must advertise such an ordinance.
With respect to your second question, ordinances dealing with a subject matter not governed by a publication requirement may be shortened for dissemination, if the board so desires. If a statute requires publication in a specific manner, i.e., by newspaper, the ordinance must be published in such specified manner.[^1] However, in the absence of a statutorily required medium of publication, it is the opinion of this office that the board of supervisors may disseminate on a website, if the board so desires.
If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL
By: /s/ Abby Cummings
Abby Cummings
Special Assistant Attorney General
[^1]: The chancery clerk, as the clerk of the board of supervisors, is still required to maintain "a complete and correct record of all the proceedings and orders of the board." See Miss. Code Ann. § 19-3-27; MISS. CONST. art. VI, § 170 ("The clerk of the chancery court shall be the clerk of the board of supervisors.").