in Mississippi

2. Disclosure statements, generally referred to as Preliminary Official Statements (POS) or
Official Statements (OS), are required unless the particular bond issue fits within an
exception. Common exceptions: issues below $1 million, private placements.
3. Continuing disclosure requirements apply if an Official Statement is required. The issuer
must generally file an annual continuing disclosure report and its annual audit with
EMMA (Electronic Municipal Market Access), a centralized and internet-based system
for free real-time public access for municipal securities. In addition, the issuer must file
notice of certain material events upon occurrence thereof. In order to assure compliance,
counties often contract with bond counsel or other professionals to make a required
annual filing.
4. Any information released by or on behalf of a county pertaining to its finances or
economy that is reasonably expected to reach the public may be considered as disclosure
of financial information subject to securities laws. A county should, for example, ensure
that any information on its website is accurate and up-to-date.
PUBLIC SALE REQUIREMENTS
Code, § 31-19-25 requires (among other things) that all bonds sold by any county shall be
advertised for sale on sealed bids or at public auction, and requires that publication be made at
least two times in a newspaper published in the county. The first such publication shall be made
at least ten days preceding the date set for receipt of bids. A 2% good faith check or exchange is
also required. This section states general rules that will apply in the event there is no applicable
statutory provision or interpretation that gets the county out of the general rules. Some statutes
contain explicit or implied exemption from this requirement.
VOTING RIGHTS PRECLEARANCE
On June 25, 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States held in Shelby County v. Holder (133
S. Ct. 2612) that it is unconstitutional to use the coverage formula in Section 4(b) of the Voting
Rights Act of 1965 to determine which jurisdictions are subject to the pre-clearance requirement
of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The Supreme Court did not rule on the constitutionality of
Section 5 itself. The effect of the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County is that the
jurisdictions, including all of the State of Mississippi, previously identified by the coverage
formula in Section 4(b) no longer need to seek pre-clearance for new voting changes, unless they
are covered by a separate court order entered into under Section 3(c) of the Voting Rights Act.
MAJOR STEPS IN THE PROCESS FOR ISSUANCE OF BONDS
Although not to be considered an exhaustive listing, the following steps are the major steps or
procedures usually involved in the process of issuing bonds (certain bond issues may involve
only some of these steps):
1. Resolution of Intent
The board of supervisors of the county may be required to adopt a resolution declaring
the intention of the county to issue bonds (assuming an election is not called), stating the
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