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
The opinion sorts publication into two buckets. If a specific Mississippi statute governs how a particular action is published, the county follows that statute, including its medium and timing. The opinion lists examples of code sections that carry their own publication rules:
- District-boundary changes: § 19-3-1
- Meeting-location moves in single-court-district counties: § 19-3-11
- Special meetings: § 19-3-19
- Itemized allowances, contracts, sixteenth-section transactions, and expenditures: § 19-3-35
- Certain expenses: § 19-3-67
- Notice of intent to borrow funds: § 19-5-81
- Tax-levy resolutions: § 19-5-189
- Construction contract notices: § 19-5-199
- Fire protection grading districts: § 19-5-221
- Bond resolutions and bond election notices: §§ 19-9-11, 19-9-13
- Economic development district tax: § 19-9-111
For an ordinance whose subject matter is not covered by a specific publication statute, the opinion holds that the Code does not prescribe any specific number of newspaper runs, and that the board may shorten the ordinance for dissemination and, absent a statutorily required medium, post it on a website.
For chancery clerks
The opinion's footnote is the point for clerks. Whatever the board does about newspaper or website publication, the chancery clerk, as clerk of the board, must still 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.
For Mississippi newspaper publishers
The opinion holds that ordinances without a specific publication statute may be shortened and posted on a website rather than run in full in the newspaper. Where a statute requires newspaper publication (bonds, tax levies, and the other listed subjects), the opinion holds that newspaper publication in the specified manner is still required.
For citizens following county government
Under the opinion, the official record of an ordinance is the board minutes the chancery clerk keeps under § 19-3-27, not the newspaper or website publication. If a county has posted only a shortened version, the full text lives in those minutes.
Common questions
Q: Is there a minimum number of newspaper runs for a county ordinance?
A: Only where a specific statute requires it. The opinion holds that for ordinances on subjects not governed by a specific publication requirement, the Mississippi Code does not prescribe a specific number of times the county must advertise.
Q: Can the county post the ordinance online instead of running it in the newspaper?
A: For ordinances without a statutorily required medium, yes. The opinion holds the board "may disseminate on a website" in that situation. If a statute requires publication "in a specific manner, i.e., by newspaper," the ordinance must be published in that manner.
Q: Can the county shorten the ordinance for publication?
A: The opinion holds that ordinances on subjects not governed by a publication requirement "may be shortened for dissemination, if the board so desires." The opinion does not define how short is acceptable.
Q: Does the chancery clerk have a separate duty to publish?
A: The opinion does not give the clerk an independent publication duty for general ordinances. The footnote states the clerk's job is to maintain "a complete and correct record of all the proceedings and orders of the board" under § 19-3-27.
Q: Does this opinion cover municipal ordinances?
A: No. The request and the opinion are about county ordinances and the Title 19 publication statutes. The opinion does not address municipal publication.
Background and statutory framework
Several chapters of Title 19 (counties) carry their own publication rule for the specific actions they authorize: tax levies, bond resolutions, notices of intent to borrow, district-boundary changes, special meetings, and others. The opinion lists fourteen such sections as examples and reads the law in two buckets: where a specific statute prescribes how to publish, the county follows it; where no specific statute applies, the Code does not fix a number of newspaper runs and the board has discretion.
The website point is the practical part of the opinion. For ordinances not covered by a specific publication statute, and "in the absence of a statutorily required medium of publication," the opinion concludes the board may disseminate on a website if it so desires.
The opinion's footnote keeps the chancery clerk's recordkeeping duty separate from all of this. Newspaper and website publication are about reaching the public; the minutes the clerk maintains under § 19-3-27 and Miss. Const. art. VI, § 170 are the official record.
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
-
When a county passes an ordinance, how many times must it advertise in the local newspaper?
-
Must all ordinances be advertised in their entirety, or may they be shortened and posted on a website?
Brief Response
-
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.
-
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.").