Mississippi § 27-35-51 - Buildings, minerals, etc., separately owned; agreements in connection with financing, design, construction, acquisition, maintenance and/or operation of toll road or toll bridge project.

§ 27-35-51. Buildings, minerals, etc., separately owned; agreements in connection with financing, design, construction, acquisition, maintenance and/or operation of toll road or toll bridge project.

Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of this section, whenever any buildings, improvements or structures, mineral, gas, oil, timber or similar interests in real estate, including building permits or reservations, are owned separately and apart from and independently of the rights and interests owned in the surface of such real estate, or when any person reserves any right or interest, or has any leasehold in the elements above enumerated, all of such interests shall be assessed and taxed separately from such surface rights and interests in said real estate, and shall be sold for taxes in the same manner and with the same effect as other interests in real estate are sold for taxes. All interests in real estate herein enumerated shall be returned to the tax assessor within the same time and in the same manner as the owners of land are now required by law to list lands for assessment and taxation and under like penalties. The tax assessor shall enter the assessment of the interests herein enumerated upon the assessment roll by entering the same upon the next succeeding line or lines of the roll following the assessment of the surface owner, the name of the owner and the name of the interest, and by placing the value in the appropriate column or columns on the roll; or the assessor may enter the assessment of any or all of such interests upon a page or pages in the land roll following the assessment of the lands of the county, and the value of all such interests shall be included in the recapitulation of the roll. And the value of said interest or interests shall be determined and fixed in the same manner and by the same officials now required by law to value and assess property for taxation. Pursuant to Section 65-43-3(2)(i), any contract entered into under Section 65-43-3 by a governmental entity, as defined in Section 65-43-1, with a company as defined in Section 65-43-3(1), involving a franchise, license agreement, concession agreement, operating agreement, construction agreement, design agreement and/or any other similar contractual arrangement in connection with the financing, design, construction, acquisition, maintenance and/or operation of a toll road or toll bridge project pursuant to Section 65-43-3, shall not constitute any right, title or interest in land or other real property or real estate or in personal property separate and apart and independent of the rights and interests of the governmental entity for purposes of subsection (1) of this section, in the toll road or toll bridge project, including tollbooths and related toll facilities, including, but not limited to, land, pavement, drainage-related structures, and other infrastructure and property related thereto in which a governmental entity is the title owner of such property and/or holder of easements, rights-of-way and/or other interests for such toll road or toll bridge project.