Can a Mississippi drainage district lease hunting and farming rights without competitive bidding on land it owns but didn't buy from the state or at a tax sale?

Plain-English summary

The Potacocowa Drainage District wanted to lease hunting rights and agricultural rights on land it owned, without going through competitive bidding. Its attorney asked the AG whether two statutes that authorize streamlined drainage-district leases (§§ 51-33-49 and 51-33-55) applied to all the district's land or only to certain parcels.

The AG said only certain parcels. Section 51-33-49 specifically authorizes drainage districts to lease land that has been "purchased from the State of Mississippi" or "purchased at any tax sale after the time for redemption has expired." Section 51-33-55 then provides the procedural mechanism (board order, three-year max term, terms set by the commissioners). But § 51-33-55 only applies to land "authorized to be leased under the terms of Sections 51-33-49 through 51-33-57," and the only land § 51-33-49 authorizes is the state-purchased / tax-sale-purchased land.

So if the district owned land it had purchased through normal real-estate transactions (not from the state and not at a tax sale), the relaxed lease procedures in §§ 51-33-49 and 51-33-55 did not apply to that land. The opinion ruled only on the reach of those two statutes; it did not decide what other authority or procedure would govern a lease of the district's other land.

The attorney also asked whether the district could lease to one of its own commissioners. The AG declined that question, stating only that it should be addressed by the Mississippi Ethics Commission to ensure compliance with Mississippi's ethics in government laws.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2021. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

What the opinion said for each audience, at the time

For Mississippi drainage district commissioners

In 2021, the takeaway was that the easy-lease provisions of §§ 51-33-49 and 51-33-55 had a narrow scope. Districts that wanted to use those provisions had to confirm the underlying acquisition history of the land:

• Land purchased from the State of Mississippi was eligible.
• Land purchased at a tax sale (after redemption period expired) was eligible.
• All other district land was not.

For non-eligible land, the district had to look at general public-property lease authority and might need to follow competitive bidding procedures.

For attorneys advising drainage districts

The opinion was a useful reminder to read the statutory chain carefully. Section 51-33-55 looked like a freestanding lease procedure, but it cross-referenced § 51-33-49, which in turn limited eligibility to specific acquisition routes. The AG's plain reading prevented districts from leveraging the streamlined procedure for land outside that scope.

For commissioners considering leasing district land to themselves

The AG declined that question. It said the second question (whether the district may lease hunting or agricultural rights to a district commissioner) should be addressed by the Mississippi Ethics Commission to ensure compliance with the state's ethics in government laws. The opinion did not itself answer whether a commissioner could be the lessee.

For hunting clubs and farmers leasing drainage district land

Under the opinion, the route to a lease depended on which parcels the district was offering. For state-purchased and tax-sale parcels, the district could lease without competitive bidding under §§ 51-33-49 and 51-33-55, subject to the three-year cap. For other parcels, the opinion held those streamlined statutes did not apply, and it did not say what procedure would.

Common questions

Q: What is a drainage district in Mississippi?
A: A special-purpose unit of local government created to provide flood control and agricultural drainage. They are established under Title 51 of the Mississippi Code and are governed by elected or appointed boards of commissioners. They can own land, levy assessments on benefited property, and contract for drainage works.

Q: Why does it matter where the land came from?
A: Because § 51-33-49 names the eligible land by how it was acquired. It authorizes a drainage district board to "sell, lease, or rent" district land that was "purchased from the State of Mississippi" or "purchased at any tax sale after the time for redemption has expired." Section 51-33-55's streamlined lease procedure then applies only to "lands authorized to be leased under the terms of Sections 51-33-49 through 51-33-57," and § 51-33-49 is the only one of those sections that identifies eligible land. The 2021 AG opinion read that chain to limit the relaxed procedure to state-purchased and tax-sale land.

Q: What's a "tax sale" in this context?
A: When a private landowner fails to pay property taxes, the county can sell the land at a tax sale to recover the taxes. After a statutory redemption period (during which the original owner can pay back the taxes and reclaim the land), the buyer's title becomes clear. Drainage districts could be tax-sale buyers, especially of land in areas where drainage assessments had also gone unpaid.

Q: Can a drainage district lease hunting rights at all?
A: Yes, on state-purchased or tax-sale-purchased land. For other land, the district would have to use whatever public-property leasing authority applies. The opinion did not catalogue all the possibilities; it only ruled on §§ 51-33-49 and 51-33-55.

Q: Why didn't the AG answer the "lease to a commissioner" question?
A: Because the Mississippi Ethics Commission is the dedicated body for conflict-of-interest questions. Mississippi statutes give the Ethics Commission jurisdiction to issue advisory opinions and enforce the Ethics in Government Law. The AG often defers to the Ethics Commission on contracting-with-public-bodies questions.

Q: What's the maximum lease term under § 51-33-55?
A: Three years. The statute caps the term at "not to exceed three years." That cap, combined with the eligibility limits, meant a district could not use these statutes to grant a long-term lease (e.g., a 25-year hunting lease) even on eligible land.

Background and statutory framework

Mississippi's drainage district law sits in Title 51, Chapter 33. Sections 51-33-49 through 51-33-57 give a drainage district board streamlined authority to sell, lease, or rent certain district land. Section 51-33-49 identifies the eligible land as land "purchased from the State of Mississippi" or "purchased at any tax sale after the time for redemption has expired." Section 51-33-55 supplies the procedure for leasing that land: a term "not to exceed three years," at rentals and on terms set by an order of the board entered on its minutes, and without competitive bids.

The 2021 AG opinion read these statutes by their plain terms: because § 51-33-49 is the only section in the cluster that names the "lands authorized to be leased," the relaxed procedure reaches only state-purchased and tax-sale land. The opinion did not address what authority or procedure governs leases of other district land.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• Miss. Code Ann. § 51-33-49, drainage district authority to sell, lease, or rent land purchased from the State of Mississippi or at a tax sale
• Miss. Code Ann. § 51-33-55, lease procedures: three-year max, board order, terms by commissioners
• Miss. Code Ann. § 51-33-57, related provision in the lease-procedure chain

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/C.SwayzeIII_January-11-2021-Lease-of-property-owned-by-drainage-district.pdf

Original opinion text

January 11, 2021

Charles J. Swayze, III
Attorney for Potacocowa Drainage District
Post Office Box 941
Greenwood, Mississippi 38935-0941

Re: Lease of property owned by drainage district

Dear Mr. Swayze:

The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.

Questions Presented

You state that the Board of Commissioners of the Potacocowa Drainage District (the "District") wishes to confirm that it does not have to seek competitive bids to lease hunting rights and agriculture/farming rights to property owned by the District. You then present two questions.

1. Are the provisions of Sections 51-33-49 and 51-33-55 applicable to lands belonging to the District, other than lands purchased from the State of Mississippi or purchased at a tax sale?
2. May the District lease hunting rights and or agricultural rights to a District commissioner?

Brief Response

With respect to your first question, the authority set forth in Sections 51-33-49 and 51-33-55 to lease land owned by drainage districts on terms and conditions deemed appropriate by the commissioners, including not having to seek competitive bids, is limited to land purchased by such districts from the State of Mississippi or purchased at a tax sale.

Your second question should be addressed by the Mississippi Ethics Commission.

Applicable Law and Discussion

Mississippi Code Annotated Section 51-33-49, the first section you reference, provides:

The board of commissioners of any drainage district operating under any of the laws of this state may sell, lease, or rent, on the terms and conditions as hereinafter set out, the lands located within the limits of said district which have been heretofore purchased or may hereafter be purchased from the State of Mississippi, or such lands heretofore or hereafter purchased at any tax sale after the time for redemption has expired.

Miss. Code Ann. § 51-33-49 (emphasis added).

Section 51-33-55, the second section referenced in your request, provides:

The lands authorized to be leased or rented under the terms of Sections 51-33-49 through 51-33-57 may be leased or rented by the board of commissioners of the drainage district owning the same for a term not to exceed three years at such annual rental and on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed and designated for the lease or rental thereof by an order to be duly adopted by the board of commissioners of said district and entered on their minutes.

Section 51-33-55 provides parameters by which a board of commissioners of a drainage district may lease property "authorized to be leased under the terms of Section 51-33-49 through 51-33-57." Of those code sections, only Section 51-33-49 sets forth the "lands authorized to be leased or rented" by a drainage district, lands located within the district which have been purchased from the State of Mississippi or lands purchased at any tax sale after the time for redemption has expired. Based on a plain reading of these statutes, Sections 51-33-49 and 51-33-55 do not apply to lands belonging to the District that were not purchased from the State of Mississippi or purchased at a tax sale. Therefore, the authority to lease land on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed and designated for the lease thereof by an order duly adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the District and entered on their minutes, including not having to seek competitive bids, is limited to land purchased from the State of Mississippi or purchased at any tax sale after the time for redemption has expired.

Your second question should be addressed by the Mississippi Ethics Commission to ensure compliance with Mississippi's ethics in government laws.

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/ Phil Carter
Phil Carter
Special Assistant Attorney General