Pascagoula Sch. Dist. v. Tucker
| Docket Number: | 2010-CA-00955-SCT Linked Case(s): 2010-CA-00955-SCT |
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| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 04-12-2012 Opinion Author: Lamar, J. Holding: Reversed and Remanded |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Injunctive relief - Constitutionality of 19-9-171 - Miss.Const. Art. 8, Sec. 206 - Authority to levy ad valorem tax - Maintenance of levying school district’s schools Judge(s) Concurring: Carlson and Dickinson, P.JJ., Kitchens and King, JJ. Non Participating Judge(s): Pierce, J. Dissenting Author : Waller, C.J. Dissent Joined By : Randolph and Chandler, JJ. Concur in Part, Dissent in Part 1: Randolph, J., Concurs in Part and Dissents in Part With Separate Written Opinion Joined by Waller, C.J., and Chandler, J. Procedural History: Summary Judgment Nature of the Case: CIVIL - OTHER |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 05-13-2010 Appealed from: Jackson County Chancery Court Judge: Franklin McKenzie, Jr. Disposition: Found the challenged statute as constitutional. Case Number: 2008-2253RP |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | Pascagoula School District, City of Pascagoula, Mississippi, Daniel J. Marks, Sr., Individually and as a Taxpayer of the PSD, and Katherine Laird Mitchell, a Minor, By and Through her Father and Natural Guardian, Randall L. Mitchell |
LUTHER T. MUNFORD
FRED L. BANKS, JR.
R. GREGG MAYER
A. KELLY SESSOMS, III
JAMES L. ROBERTSON
EDDIE C. WILLIAMS |
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| Appellee: | Joe Tucker, Tax Collector, Jackson County, Mississippi, Benny Goff, Tax Assessor, Jackson County Mississippi, the Board of Supervisors of Jackson County, Mississippi, and the State of Mississippi, and Defendants-Intervenors Jackson County School District, Moss Point School District and Ocean Springs School District | JAMES H. HEIDELBERG JESSICA M. DUPONT OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: HAROLD E. PIZZETTA, III T. HUNT COLE, JR. CAROLINE M. UPCHURCH JACK C. PICKETT HENRY P. PATE, III ALWYN H. LUCKEY | ||
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| Appellee #3: | ||||
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| Topic: | Injunctive relief - Constitutionality of 19-9-171 - Miss.Const. Art. 8, Sec. 206 - Authority to levy ad valorem tax - Maintenance of levying school district’s schools |
| Summary of the Facts: | The Mississippi Legislature passed a law mandating that the revenue the Pascagoula School District collected from ad valorem taxes levied on liquified natural gas terminals and crude oil refineries be distributed to all school districts in the county where the terminals and refineries are located. The Pascagoula School District – which contains a Chevron crude oil refinery and a Gulf liquified natural gas terminal – brought suit, seeking a declaration that the new law was unconstitutional and requesting injunctive relief. All parties filed for summary judgment. After a hearing, the trial judge ruled that the law was constitutional, and the plaintiffs appeal. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | The defendants argue that the plaintiffs waived their argument that section 19-9-171 violates Section 206 of the Mississippi Constitution, because they did not raise that argument until their motion to stay before the chancery court. While the Court has stated repeatedly that constitutional questions not raised in the trial court will not be reviewed on appeal, the Court also has stated that it will “depart from this premise . . . in unusual circumstances.” This case presents such an unusual circumstance. The plaintiffs did raise their Section 206 argument in the chancery court – albeit late – in their motion to stay, giving the defendants and the trial court an opportunity to address it. The defendants were aware of the argument, briefly addressed it in their initial briefs to the Court, and assert no prejudice from the plaintiffs’ failure to raise this issue in their initial pleadings. And after oral argument, the Court granted the defendants’ request to file a supplemental brief to more fully address the issue. Additionally, this case affects the rights of all taxpayers in Jackson County and is of grave importance to every school district in the county. It would serve no purpose to delay an answer for another day while the revenue distributed according to that statute potentially is lost. The plaintiffs argue that section 19-9-171 violates Article 8, Section 206 of the Mississippi Constitution, based on Section 206’s plain language, its history, the pre-2007 statutory scheme and caselaw. The plain language of Section 206 grants the PSD the authority to levy an ad valorem tax and mandates that the revenue collected be used to maintain only its schools. Conversely, no such authority is given for the PSD to levy an ad valorem tax to maintain schools outside its district. The Legislature’s plenary power does not include the power to enact a statute that – on its face – directly conflicts with a provision of our Constitution. Section 206 specifically limits the use of the tax revenue from a school district’s tax levy to the maintenance of “its schools,” and the Legislature’s plenary taxation power does not authorize it to ignore this restriction. The Legislature has no authority to mandate how the funds are distributed, as Section 206 clearly states that the purpose of the tax is to maintain the levying school district’s schools. Thus, the plain language of Section 206 that grants a school district the right to levy taxes to maintain “its schools” defines the limits of power granted to the Legislature by Section 201. |
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