Can a Mississippi county collect delinquent garbage fees from sixteenth section land when the leaseholder has abandoned the property?

Plain-English summary

Walthall County had been running an effort to collect delinquent garbage fees, and the county had demanded that the Walthall County Board of Education pay garbage fees that lessees on sixteenth section land had run up before abandoning the property. The board's attorney pushed back: the Board of Education is not the owner of sixteenth section land. So who is?

The AG laid out the structure. Sixteenth section land is state-owned, acquired when Mississippi became a state. It is held in public trust by the State for the benefit of the public schools. The local Board of Education has "control and jurisdiction" over the land under Section 29-3-1, but the Board is not the legal owner. The Mississippi Supreme Court confirmed this in Oak Grove Marketplace v. Lamar County School District, 287 So. 3d 924 (Miss. 2020).

The county's garbage-fee lien under Section 19-5-22(2)(b) attaches to "the real property receiving the service." For sixteenth section land, the AG concluded that the lien attaches to the leasehold interest, not to the state-owned fee. The county can pursue the leaseholder, including by levying the garbage fee as a special assessment on the ad valorem tax statement on the leasehold. When the lessee has abandoned the land or refuses to pay, the county's available tools are the same as for any other delinquent fee: file a lien, withhold a car tag, garnish wages, obtain and enroll a judgment.

What this means for you

For county attorneys and boards of supervisors

You cannot send the bill to the school board. The school board is not the owner of sixteenth section land. You can put the lien on the leasehold under Section 19-5-22(2)(b), and you can levy the garbage fee as a special assessment on the ad valorem tax statement against the leasehold interest. When the lessee abandons the property or refuses to pay, your collection toolbox is the standard set: lien filing, car-tag withholding, wage garnishment, judgment enrollment. The state-owned fee underneath the leasehold is not subject to the lien.

For school boards

The opinion confirms that the school board is not on the hook for tenant-incurred garbage fees on sixteenth section land. The board's role is fiduciary management of the trust property, not personal liability for tenant defaults. If a county tries to bill the school board for these fees, the answer is in Section 29-3-1: the State owns the fee in trust for the schools; the board has control and jurisdiction, not ownership.

For lessees of sixteenth section land

You are the responsible party for garbage fees on the leasehold. Even though you do not technically own the land, you pay ad valorem taxes on the leasehold interest, and the same lien framework that applies to ordinary property owners applies to you. Failing to pay garbage fees can result in liens on the leasehold, special assessments on the ad valorem tax statement, and the standard collection actions like wage garnishment and car-tag holds.

For tax collectors

Section 19-5-22(5) authorizes you to levy garbage fees as a special assessment on the ad valorem tax statement against the leasehold interest, even though the lessee is not a fee owner. That is the cleanest practical mechanism for collection on sixteenth section land.

Common questions

Who owns sixteenth section land in Mississippi?

The State of Mississippi owns it. Sixteenth section land is state land acquired when Mississippi became a state, held in public trust for the benefit of the public schools. Oak Grove Marketplace v. Lamar Cnty. School Dist., 287 So. 3d 924, 928 (Miss. 2020), a Mississippi Supreme Court decision. (The "So. 3d" reporter is the regional reporter for Mississippi state cases.)

What does the school board do, then?

Under Section 29-3-1, the local school board, under the general supervision of the state land commissioner, has "control and jurisdiction" of the land and of all funds arising from any disposition of the land. The board manages the property as a trustee, not as an owner.

Why does this matter for garbage fees?

Because Section 19-5-22 imposes garbage fees on the "owner of the property receiving the service," with a lien on the property. If the school board is not the owner, the lien cannot be placed on the school board's interest, and the school board cannot be billed as the owner.

Whose interest does the lien attach to?

The leaseholder's leasehold interest. The AG's prior opinion in MS AG Op., Woodard (Aug. 27, 2010) read Section 19-5-22(5) to authorize "levy[ing] the garbage fee as a special assessment on the ad valorem tax statement against the leasehold interest, even though that person is not a fee 'owner' of the property." The 2024 Mord opinion follows that approach.

What if the lessee has abandoned the leasehold or refuses to pay?

Section 19-5-22 does not have a special collection mechanism for that scenario. The county uses the ordinary tools: filing a lien, withholding a car tag, garnishing wages, obtaining and enrolling a judgment. The lien still attaches to the leasehold interest, but if the leasehold has been abandoned, recovery against the lessee personally takes whatever path the county can use to reach the lessee.

Can the county put a lien on the state's underlying fee in the sixteenth section land?

No. Section 19-5-22 does not contemplate attaching a lien to state-owned sixteenth section land for purposes of recouping garbage fees generated by a lessee.

Background and statutory framework

Section 29-3-1, sixteenth section school lands. Sixteenth section school lands constitute property held in trust for the benefit of the public schools and must be treated as such. The board of education, under the general supervision of the state land commissioner, has control and jurisdiction of the school trust lands and of all funds arising from any disposition of the land. The board manages the lands and funds as trust property.

Section 19-5-22, county garbage fees. Subsection (1) authorizes garbage-fee assessments jointly and severally against the generator and the owner of the property. Subsection (2)(b) makes the fees a lien on the real property receiving the service, subject to limitations in Subsection (6). Subsection (5) authorizes the tax collector to levy the fee as a special assessment on the ad valorem tax statement.

Oak Grove Marketplace v. Lamar Cnty. School Dist., 287 So. 3d 924 (Miss. 2020), confirms that sixteenth section land is state-owned, acquired when Mississippi became a state, held in public trust for the public schools.

MS AG Op., Woodard (Aug. 27, 2010) previously opined that the leaseholder, as generator of the garbage and as the party paying ad valorem taxes on the leasehold interest, is the responsible party for garbage fees, and that Section 19-5-22(5) authorizes special assessment on the leasehold's ad valorem tax statement.

Citations

• Miss. Code Ann. § 19-5-22
• Miss. Code Ann. § 29-3-1(1)
• Oak Grove Marketplace v. Lamar Cnty. School Dist., 287 So. 3d 924 (Miss. 2020)
• MS AG Op., Woodard (Aug. 27, 2010)
• MS AG Op., Abraham (Sept. 10, 2004)
• MS AG Op., Prichard (July 10, 1998)

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/C.Mord-December-5-2024-Collecting-Delinquent-Garbage-Fees-on-Sixteenth-Section-Land.pdf

Original opinion text

December 5, 2024
Conrad Mord, Esq.
Attorney, Walthall County Board of Supervisors
Post Office Drawer 311
Tylertown, Mississippi 39667
Re:

Collecting Delinquent Garbage Fees on Sixteenth Section Land

Dear Mr. Mord:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.
Background
The Walthall County Board of Supervisors has engaged in an effort to collect delinquent garbage
fees and has made demand upon the Walthall County Board of Education ("Board of Education")
to pay delinquent garbage fees generated on sixteenth section leases by leaseholders who have
abandoned the property and cannot be found.
Questions Presented
1. Is the Board of Education an "owner" within the meaning and purview of Mississippi Code
Annotated Section 19-5-22 and as such, liable for the garbage fees generated by a
leaseholder?
2. If the Board of Education is not the "owner," who is the "owner" under these
circumstances?
3. Does the lien described in Section 19-5-22(2)(b) attach to sixteenth section leasehold
properties, and if so, how is it to be collected/extinguished when the leaseholder abandons
the leasehold property or refuses to pay?

Brief Response
1. The Board of Education is not the owner of sixteenth section land but has control and
jurisdiction of the land and all funds arising from the disposition thereof. Miss. Code Ann.
§ 29-3-1(1).
2. The state of Mississippi is the owner of sixteenth section land and holds the land in public
trust for the benefit of public schools. Oak Grove Marketplace v. Lamar Cnty. School Dist.,
287 So. 3d 924, 928 (Miss. 2020).
3. The lien in Section 19-5-22(2)(b) attaches to the leasehold interest of the state-owned
sixteenth section land, and the county may collect from the lessee.
Applicable Law and Discussion
Section 29-3-1 provides in pertinent part:
(1) Sixteenth section school lands, or lands granted in lieu thereof, constitute
property held in trust for the benefit of the public schools and must be
treated as such. The board of education under the general supervision of
the state land commissioner, shall have control and jurisdiction of said
school trust lands and of all funds arising from any disposition thereof
heretofore or hereafter made. It shall be the duty of the board of education
to manage the school trust lands and all funds arising therefrom as trust
property.
(emphasis added). In response to your first and second questions, the Mississippi Supreme Court
has said, "Sixteenth [s]ection [l]and is state-owned land, acquired when Mississippi became a
state." Oak Grove Marketplace, 287 So. 3d at 928 (internal citations omitted). The sixteenth
section land is held in public trust by the state for the public schools' benefit pursuant to Section
29-3-1(1), and the Board of Education has control and jurisdiction over said land. Id. at 928-29.
In response to your third question, Section 19-5-22(1) authorizes fees for garbage collection to be
assessed jointly and severally against the generator of the garbage and the owner of the property
receiving the service. Section 19-5-22(2)(b) provides that, subject to Subsection (6), these fees are
liens upon the real property receiving the service. We have previously said that the leaseholder of
sixteenth section land, as the generator of the garbage, is liable for garbage fees pursuant to Section
19-5-22 and that Subsection (5) authorizes the county, "to levy the garbage fee as a special
assessment on the ad valorem tax statement against the leasehold interest, even though that person
is not a fee 'owner' of the property." MS AG Op., Woodard at *3 (Aug. 27, 2010) (emphasis
added). This is because even though sixteenth section land tenants are not "owners," they do pay
ad valorem taxes on the leasehold interest. Id. As such, it is also the opinion of this office that the
lien in Section 19-5-22(2)(b) may attach to the person/entity who holds leasehold interest of the
property. Section 19-5-22 does not contemplate attaching a lien to state-owned sixteenth section
land for the purpose of recouping delinquent garbage fees generated by a lessee.

Regarding the course of action to be taken when the lessee of sixteenth section land has abandoned
the leasehold property or refuses to pay, Section 19-5-22 does not contemplate or provide an
additional mechanism for recouping funds outside of traditional methods such as filing a lien,
withholding a car tag, garnishing wages, and obtaining and enrolling a judgment. See Miss. Code
Ann. § 19-5-22; MS AG Op., Abraham (Sept. 10, 2004); and MS AG Op., Prichard (July 10,
1998).
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/ Abigail C. Overby
Abigail C. Overby
Special Assistant Attorney General