AN ACT to authorize the issuance of notes of the state of Mississippi to meet the current and temporary needs of said state.

Authorizing issuance of temporary notes for emergency purposes, by bond commission.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Mississippi, That the state improvement bond commission, as created under the provisions of chapter 112 of the laws of Mississippi, 1920, hereinafter referred to as the "commission," be, and it is hereby authorized and empowered, in its discretion, to issue and have prepared ready for signature and execution, the notes of the state of Mississippi in such amounts as may be deemed advisable by said commission, provided that the total amount issued by said commission shall not exceed the difference between the appropriations made by the legislature at the 1920 and 1922 sessions and the total estimated revenues to be received by the state from various sources during each of the years 1922 and 1923, the amount of this difference to be determined by said commission in the manner hereinafter set forth, at the time said notes or any series or part thereof, shall be authorized by said commission by an order spread upon its minutes.

It is the intention of this act to vest in said commission full authority to re-investigate and re-determine at any time the difference between the estimated revenues and estimated obligations, and to issue additional notes at any time, and the findings of said commission shall be conclusive thereof. Said notes shall be payable to bearer at the state treasury, or at some bank in the city of New York to be named by the commission at the time of the issuance of said notes; they shall be dated at such times and shall be payable at such times as may be designated by said commission; not exceeding two years from the date of said notes, shall bear interest at a rate not exceeding six per cent per annum, payable annually or semi-annually as evidenced by interest coupons attached to said notes, or, if issued for a shorter time than one year, the interest on said notes may, in the discretion of said commission, be payable at the maturity of said notes. Said notes shall be issued at such times and in such amounts, subject to the above limitation, and in such denominations and in such form as may be determined by said commission by an order spread upon its minutes, shall be signed by the governor and secretary of state and sealed with the great seal of the state, and the coupons attached thereto and evidencing the interest thereon, may be unsealed and may be signed with the fac simile signatures of the governor and secretary of state.

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How commission to sell said notes.

Sec. 2. The commission shall at such times as it may deem necessary, proceed to sell said notes in such amounts and at such times as it may elect, at public or private sale; provided, however, that said notes shall not be sold for less than par and accrued interest, and no commission shall be paid for their sale. All notes issued hereunder, reciting that they are issued under the provisions of this act, shall be incontestable, and both principal and interest thereof shall be exempt from all taxation within the state of Mississippi.

Proceeds-how to be used.

Sec. 3. The proceeds of said notes shall be used for the purpose of meeting and satisfying appropriations made by the legislature of said state at its 1920 and 1922 sessions and the balance remaining, if any, shall be covered into the general fund of the state treasury. Amount of interest to be deducted by commission.

Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of the commission at the time of the issuance of any series of said notes, to deduct from the proceeds thereof a sum sufficient in amount to take care of the interest on said notes until maturity, and said sum so deducted shall be set up as a special fund in the state treasury and shall be used solely for the payment of interest on the notes issued at the time said fund is set up. It shall be the duty of the state treasurer to have in the vaults of the state treasury or the state depository in the city of Jackson, or at the bank in New York where said notes are payable, at least ten days prior to the date on which the principal or any interest on said notes may be due and payable, funds sufficient in amount to pay such principal and interest as the same becomes due, as provided in said notes.

Credit of state pledged-when notes to be issued.

Sec. 5. The full faith and credit of the state of Mississippi are hereby irrevocably pledged for the payment of the principal and interest of said notes as the same shall become due and payable. When any of said notes, or series thereof, shall be sold and delivered and the proceeds paid over, there shall be set up on the books of the state treasury a special fund to be known as the "Note Fund" in which fund all such proceeds shall be kept until disbursed as hereinafter stated. When said commission shall have ascertained that there are not sufficient funds on hand in the general fund of the state treasury, or any special fund, to pay any appropriation or part thereof, the commission shall transfer from the note fund to the general fund of the state treasury such amount as may be necessary to pay said appropriation. When any funds shall be received by the state treasurer from any source in excess of the amount needed to meet current

obligations, maturing in that calendar year, except such funds as may go into special funds, the state treasurer shall transfer such excess funds into the note fund until the amount so transferred into the treasury note fund shall equal the amount previously disbursed from said fund to pay such appropriation. Such excess funds may be used in the discretion of the commission to purchase treasury notes as provided in section 7 of this act.

Commission may call for information-Recitals of minutes absolute.

Sec. 6. The commission shall have full and complete authority to call on the treasurer, auditor, state tax commission, or other state or county officials for such information as may in the discretion of said commission be necessary for them to have in order to ascertain the estimated revenues to be received and expenditures to be made by the state. When the commission shall have placed an order on its minutes declaring the necessity for the issuance of said notes and shall have issued the same, the recitals on the minutes of said commission shall be absolute and conclusive as to the necessity for the issuance of said notes.

May refund and purchase unmatured notes.

Sec. 7. The commission shall have the authority to refund any notes previously issued, or to purchase any of said notes at the market price before maturity and to do any and all things which may, in their discretion, be to the best interest of the state.

To make recommendations for temporary financing.

Sec. 8. The commission shall make a study of the desirability of the legislature providing machinery for handling the temporary financing of the state of Mississippi, and shall make such recommendations as they may deem advisable to the next session of the legislature as to how this temporary financing should be handled, and shall make such other recommendations as to them may seem desirable.

Expense of issuing notes provided for.

Sec. 9. That the sum of ten thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary to pay the expense of advertising or negotiating the issuance and sale, and printing or lithographing, and other expenses necessary in securing approval and delivery of said notes, and the expenses of the members of said commission as provided for in section 7, Chapter 78 of the laws of 1920, is hereby appropriated out of any funds in the state treasury not otherwise appropriated. All moneys appropriated by this section shall be drawn out on auditor's warrant issued on certificate of the chairman and secretary of the commission, after having first been allowed by the commission.

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Emergency clause.

Sec. 10. The providing of funds necessary to take care of the difference between the appropriations mentioned in the preceding sections of this act and the estimated revenue of the state received in the years 1922 and 1923 being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency exists, and this act shall accordingly take effect immediately and be in force from and after its passage.

Approved April 5, 1922.

CHAPTER 116.

SENATE BILL No. 126.

AN ACT imposing an excise tax on persons engaged in the business of selling or distributing gasoline, providing for the payment of such tax and providing a method of payment thereof and the distribution of the funds derived therefrom, and fixing the penalties for the violation of any of the provisions of this act.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Mississippi: Definitions: As used in this act the word "gasoline"

means

Word "gasoline" defined.

(a) The volatile substance produced from petroleum, natural gas, oil shales or coal, heretofore sold under the name of gasoline.

(b) Any volatile substance or products of not less than 46% Tagliaubes Baume Test derived wholly or in part from petroleum, natural gas, oil shales or coal.

(c) Any other volatile substance or product of not less than 46% Tagliaubes Baume Test sold or used for motive power for propelling motor vehicles.

Word "person" defined.

The word "person" means and includes every person, corporation, co-partnership, company, agency or association. The distributor of gasoline means a person engaged in the sale of gasoline in any manner not commonly known as retail, but shall not include any person engaged in selling gasoline in whole or in part in interstate

commerce.

"Retail dealer" defined.

The term "retail dealer" includes any person engaged in the sale of gasoline from any place in this state, and delivered to the purchaser thereof in broken quantities.

STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

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Excise tax on dealers.

Sec. 2. Any person engaged in the business of distributor of gasoline, or retail dealer in gasoline, shall pay for the privilege of engaging in such business an excise tax of 1c per gallon upon the sale of gasoline by such dealer in this state, except however, such gasoline as is brought into this state and sold in original packages or otherwise in interstate commerce, or such as is purchased outside of the state and brought into this state in original packages or otherwise by the consumer for his own use, shall not be taxed; nor shall any retail dealer be required to pay said excise tax when such tax may be paid by the distributor of gasoline, which may be re-sold at retail by such retailer. Nor shall the distributor pay such tax when the same is paid by the retailer.

Payment and apportionment of tax.

Sec. 3. All the excise tax herein provided for and collected by the state auditor shall be paid in the following manner and apportioned as follows:

40% of the total funds received from each county shall be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the state highway fund, which fund shall be used exclusively for the maintenance of the state highway department and the construction and maintenance of the state. highways, bridges, and culverts under the direction and supervision of the state highway commission in such manner as may be authorized by law.

60% of the total amount received by the auditor from each county shall be returned by him to the county treasury of the county in which the gasoline was sold and shall constitute a road fund of such county and may be used in the construction and maintenance of any of the public highways, bridges or culverts, of the county, including the roads in special or separate road districts, in the discretion of the board of supervisors.

All monies received by the auditor of public accounts during each month shall be distributed by him in the manner herein provided on or before the 15th day of the succeeding month.

Statement of all sales of gasoline to be made to auditor monthly.

Sec. 4. On or before the 20th day of each month after this act takes effect, every distributor of gasoline and every retail dealer of gasoline shall render to the auditor of public accounts, on forms prescribed by said auditor, a true and correct statement of all gasoline sold by such distributor or retail dealer during the preceding month, liable for the excise tax required by this act to be paid.

The statement of each distributor shall show the number of gallons of gasoline sold to each retailer or other persons, giving the name of such retail dealer or other persons and the place or places