How much can a Mississippi city pay a county to house its municipal inmates in the county jail?

Plain-English summary

The City of Clinton's attorney asked about the 2019 amendment to Section 19-25-73(3), which governs what counties may charge municipalities for housing municipal prisoners in the county jail. Before 2019, the statute referenced a different (now-repealed) statute. The 2019 amendment swapped that out and replaced it with "state law." So what is the cap now?

The AG read four statutes together:

• Section 47-1-39(1) authorizes municipalities to contract with county boards of supervisors for use of the county jail.
• Section 19-25-73(3) (as amended in 2019) caps what counties can charge a political subdivision (a city) at "an amount not to exceed the payments provided under state law for the keeping in the county jail of persons committed, sentenced or otherwise placed under the custody of the Department of Corrections."
• Section 47-5-901(2) sets the standard MDOC per-diem at no more than $25 per day per offender, except as authorized in Section 47-5-909(2).
• Section 47-5-909(2) authorizes $32.71 per day per offender for days 31 or greater for certain offenders.

Read in pari materia, the four statutes mean: a municipality may pay a county up to $25 per day for days 1 through 30 of municipal-inmate housing, and up to $32.71 per day for days 31 and beyond. The AG cited a March 2025 opinion (Mallette) reaching the same conclusion.

The AG also noted that prior AG opinions on this question that predated the 2019 amendment were correct when issued but are now obsolete to the extent they conflict with the new framework. This Purdie opinion controls going forward.

What this means for you

For municipal attorneys negotiating county jail contracts

Cap your contract terms at $25/day for days 1-30 and $32.71/day for days 31+. The county cannot lawfully charge more under Section 19-25-73(3). If your county is presenting a proposed contract with a higher per-diem, point them to this opinion and the Mallette opinion. The cap is statutory, not negotiable.

If your municipal-jail housing demand is irregular (some short-term, some long-term), build the contract billing around the day-tier structure. Track inmate days carefully. The first 30 days at one rate, days 31+ at another, per inmate.

For county attorneys and county administrators

If your county has been billing municipalities above the statutory cap, those charges are likely uncollectible to the extent they exceed $25/day for days 1-30 or $32.71/day for days 31+. Bring contracts into compliance. Existing higher-per-diem agreements may face refund requests or non-payment defenses from cities citing this opinion.

The cap is on what counties can charge a political subdivision. It does not cap what counties pay for their own inmates or how counties account for actual costs of housing. The statute simply limits the inter-governmental transfer.

For sheriffs running the jail

The day-counting matters. Make sure your records distinguish days 1-30 from days 31+ per inmate, since the per-diem the city owes the county changes at day 31. If your county uses a flat-rate billing system, you risk under-charging or over-charging.

For state legislators

The 2019 amendment tied the municipal-payment cap to "state law" rather than a specific statute, and Sections 47-5-901 and 47-5-909 are the operative state-law numbers. If those amounts change in future legislative sessions, the municipal cap moves with them. Any update to MDOC per-diem rates flows through automatically into Section 19-25-73(3).

For city clerks and finance officers

Confirm your invoices from the county against the cap. Days 1-30 at no more than $25/day, days 31+ at no more than $32.71/day. Push back on anything higher.

Common questions

What is the cap on what a city can pay a county to house its municipal inmates?
Up to $25/day for days 1 through 30 and up to $32.71/day for days 31 and beyond, per inmate. The cap applies whether the inmate is a pretrial detainee or a sentenced prisoner held under the city's authority.

Why is the cap tied to MDOC per-diem rates?
The 2019 amendment to Section 19-25-73(3) replaced a specific statutory reference with "state law." The state-law per-diem rates for state inmates in county jails are at Sections 47-5-901(2) ($25 standard cap) and 47-5-909(2) ($32.71 for days 31+ for certain offenders). Reading the four statutes together, those are the figures the cap incorporates.

Are older AG opinions on this still good law?
No, not to the extent they conflict with this Purdie opinion or the March 2025 Mallette opinion. The 2019 amendment changed the framework. The AG explicitly said prior opinions "predate the 2019 amendment to Section 19-25-73(3). These opinions were correct interpretations of the law when they were issued, but later statutory amendments may have rendered portions of these prior opinions obsolete."

Does the cap apply to other political subdivisions besides cities?
Yes. Section 19-25-73(3) speaks to "any political subdivision of the state" housing prisoners in the county jail. Cities, school districts, special districts, etc. all sit under the same cap.

Can the city and county agree to a different rate by contract?
The cap is statutory. A contract can specify a lower rate, but it cannot specify a higher rate than the statute allows. Section 47-1-39(1) authorizes the contract; Section 19-25-73(3) caps the price.

What if the county's actual cost of housing the inmate exceeds the cap?
The cap is what the city pays. If the county's actual cost is higher, the county absorbs the difference (or seeks legislative relief). The Mississippi Legislature set the cap, not the county.

Background and statutory framework

Four statutes, read together, set the framework.

Section 47-1-39(1) authorizes "the governing authorities of municipalities . . . to contract with the board of supervisors, which is empowered in the premises, for the use of the county jail by the municipality."

Section 19-25-73(3), as amended in 2019:

In the event that prisoners are housed in the county jail by any political subdivision of the state, the county may charge the political subdivision for housing, feeding and otherwise caring for such prisoners an amount not to exceed the payments provided under state law for the keeping in the county jail of persons committed, sentenced or otherwise placed under the custody of the Department of Corrections.

Section 47-5-901(2) caps the standard MDOC per-day cost at $25 "except as authorized in Section 47-5-909(2)."

Section 47-5-909(2) sets a $32.71 per-day rate "for days thirty-one (31) or greater" for certain offenders.

Statutory construction in Mississippi requires reading multiple statutes on the same subject together. Tunica Cnty. v. Hampton Co. Nat. Sur., LLC, 27 So. 3d 1128, 1133 (Miss. 2009), quoting Lenoir v. Madison Cnty., 641 So. 2d 1124, 1129 (Miss. 1994): "when two [or more] statutes pertain to the same subject, they must be read together in light of legislative intent."

Read together, the cap on what a county can charge a political subdivision is the per-diem the State pays for MDOC inmates in county jails. The AG's earlier Mallette opinion (March 18, 2025) reached the same per-day rate breakdown.

Citations

• Miss. Code Ann. § 19-25-73(3) (cap on county charges for housing political subdivisions' prisoners)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 47-1-39(1) (municipality-county contract authority for use of county jail)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-901(2) (standard MDOC per-day cap of $25)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-909(2) ($32.71 per day for days 31+ for certain offenders)
• Tunica Cnty. v. Hampton Co. Nat. Sur., LLC, 27 So. 3d 1128 (Miss. 2009) (reading statutes in pari materia)
• Lenoir v. Madison Cnty., 641 So. 2d 1124 (Miss. 1994) (same)

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/W.-Purdie-April-17-2025-Statutory-Cap-on-Municipal-Payment-to-County-for-the-Housing-of-Inmates-in-the-County-Jail.pdf

Original opinion text

April 17, 2025

William C. Purdie, Esq.
Attorney, City of Clinton
Post Office Box 156
Clinton, Mississippi 39060
Re:

Statutory Cap on Municipal Payment to County for the Housing of
Inmates in the County Jail

Dear Mr. Purdie:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.
Background
In 2019, Mississippi Code Annotated Section 19-25-73(3), pertaining to the housing of municipal
prisoners in the county jail, was amended. Clinton seeks guidance on the impact of the amendment.
Question Presented
Is there a statutory cap on the amount municipalities may pay to a county for housing inmates in
the county jail pursuant to a contract under Section 47-1-39(1)?
Brief Response
Yes. As amended, Section 19-25-73(3) provides that municipalities may only pay up to the amount
"provided under state law for the keeping in the county jail of persons committed, sentenced or
otherwise placed under the custody of the Department of Corrections." Specifically, "for holding
a municipal pretrial detainee or prisoner in the county jail, a municipality is authorized to pay a
county up to $25 per day for days one through thirty and up to $32.71 for days thirty-one or
greater." MS AG Op., Mallette at *2 (Mar. 18, 2025).
Applicable Law and Discussion
There are four relevant statutes involved in our analysis.
First, Section 47-1-39(1) authorizes "the governing authorities of municipalities . . . to contract
with the board of supervisors, which is empowered in the premises, for the use of the county jail
by the municipality[.]"
Second, Section 19-25-73(3) provides as follows:

In the event that prisoners are housed in the county jail by any political subdivision
of the state, the county may charge the political subdivision for housing, feeding
and otherwise caring for such prisoners an amount not to exceed the payments
provided under state law for the keeping in the county jail of persons committed,
sentenced or otherwise placed under the custody of the Department of Corrections.

(emphasis added).
As you note in your request, Section 19-25-73(3) was amended in 2019 by House Bill No. 874 to
strike a reference to a previously repealed statute and insert "state law" in its place.
Third, Section 47-5-901(2) provides that the Department of Corrections "is encouraged to
negotiate a reasonable per day cost per prisoner, which in no event may exceed Twenty-five Dollars
(25.00) per day per offender, except as authorized in Section 47-5-909(2)." (emphasis added).
Fourth and finally, Section 47-5-909(2) provides that the Department of Corrections shall pay
"Thirty-two Dollars and Seventy-one Cents ($32.71) per day per offender for days thirty-one (31)
or greater" for certain offenders.
"It is a well-settled rule of statutory construction that 'when two [or more] statutes pertain to the
same subject, they must be read together in light of legislative intent.'" Tunica Cnty. v. Hampton
Co. Nat. Sur., LLC, 27 So. 3d 1128, 1133 (Miss. 2009) (quoting Lenoir v. Madison Cnty., 641 So.
2d 1124, 1129 (Miss. 1994)).
The four above-cited statutes, when read together, build a statutory scheme limiting the amount
counties can charge, and thus the amount that municipalities can pay, for the housing of inmates
at the county jail. The "payments provided under state law for the keeping in the county jail of
persons committed, sentenced or otherwise placed under the custody of the Department of
Corrections" are the per day, per offender costs established in Sections 47-5-901(2) and 47-5-909(2). Miss. Code Ann. § 19-25-73(3). Specifically, "it is the opinion of this office that for
holding a municipal pretrial detainee or prisoner in the county jail, a municipality is authorized to
pay a county up to $25 per day for days one through thirty and up to $32.71 for days thirty-one or
greater." MS AG Op., Mallette at *2 (Mar. 18, 2025).
You note in your request prior opinions of this office addressing this issue which predate the 2019
amendment to Section 19-25-73(3). These opinions were correct interpretations of the law when
they were issued, but later statutory amendments may have rendered portions of these prior
opinions obsolete. To the extent such opinions conflict, this opinion is controlling on the issues
presented in your request.
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/ Caleb A. Pracht
Caleb A. Pracht
Special Assistant Attorney General