Mississippi Code
Miss. Code Ann. § 29-3-63 (2026)
Right to re-lease or to extend existing lease; minimum annual rental
✓ current as of July 2026
- (1) The holder of a lease of sixteenth section or lieu land, at the expiration thereof, shall have a prior right, exclusive of all other persons, to re-lease or to extend an existing lease as may be agreed upon between the holder of the lease and board of education subject to the classification of said land. Provided, however, no holder of a lease of sixteenth section land classified as agricultural land shall have any priority rights in extending his lease contract, except as otherwise provided in Section 29-3-81. Provided, however, the compensation on an annual basis shall be the fair market rental of the land excluding buildings and improvements made on such land by the lessee, the title to which is not held in trust for the public schools, but in no event shall the compensation be less than the minimum amounts prescribed in subsection (2) of this section.
- (2) The board of education shall not lease or extend a lease on land classified as industrial or commercial at an annual rental less than five percent (5%) of the current market value, exclusive of buildings or improvements not owned by the school district. Such minimum acceptable percentage shall not apply to land classified as farm-residential, residential, recreational and other land; however, fair market rental will apply to those lands as determined by appraisal, comparative analysis or comparison with the private sector.
- (3) The prior right to re-lease or extend an existing oil, gas and mineral lease, or any part thereof, granted under this section shall be conditioned upon the existence of production of oil, gas or other minerals thereunder in paying quantities, or the existence of a well capable of such production, or the existence of drilling or reworking operations at the time of lease expiration. Provided, however, that said lease may, in the discretion of the board of education, be extended only as to the lands included in a unit or units as defined by the appropriate agency having jurisdiction over said unit or units. The replacement lease shall be upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon between the holder of the lease and the board of education, provided that the rental and royalty provisions shall not be less than the rental and royalty provisions as set out in the expired lease and the primary term shall not exceed the limitations in Section 29-3-99. Bonus payment for the replacement lease shall be consistent with the requirements set out in Sections 29-3-65 with respect to oil, gas and mineral leases.
- (4) Where used in this section and Section 29-3-65, the term "oil and gas lease" or "oil, gas and mineral lease" shall include all leases originally executed pursuant to Section 29-3-99.
- (5) The right to re-lease an oil, gas and mineral lease provided in subsection (3) above extends to oil, gas and mineral leases which have already expired as of May 7, 1992, subject to an accounting for production from the date of lease expiration to the date of the replacement lease authorized herein.
Codes, 1942, § 6597-03; Laws, 1948, ch. 497, § 4; Laws, 1956, ch. 290; Laws, 1978, ch. 525, § 29; Laws, 1986, ch. 505; Laws, 1992, ch. 486 § 4, eff. 5/7/1992.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6
cases, 1986–2002 · leading case: Broadhead v. Bonita Lakes Mall, Ltd. P'ship, 702 So. 2d 92 (Miss. 1997).
Broadhead v. Bonita Lakes Mall, Ltd. P'ship, 702 So. 2d 92 (Miss. 1997). “[4] Defendants Broadhead and Nicholson, the only parties opposing the leases, filed for each Complaint an Answer, Defenses, Counter-Claim and Cross-Claim on October 16, 1995, alleging that the leases were void for failure of LCBE to obtain a rental of at least five percent of…”
Bd. of Educ. of Lamar Cnty. v. Hudson, 585 So. 2d 683 (Miss. 1991). “Hudson the "right of first refusal" under a new lease to be executed the same as if he owned a perfectly valid lease which had expired under the terms of Miss. Code Ann. § 29-3-63 (1972). This statute gives no leaseholder of a void or voidable lease any "right of refusal.”
Exxon Corp. v. Bd. of Ed. of Lamar Cnty., Miss., 849 F. Supp. 479 (S.D. Miss. 1994). “The Chevron court noted that Miss. Code Ann. § 29-3-63 would provide some relief to oil and gas lessees affected by its decision: § 29-3-63 .”
Stewart v. Comm'r, 51 T.C.M. 1446 (Tax Ct. 1986). “(1985), which apparently requires that certain sixteenth section land may not be leased or re-leased at a rate of less than five percent of the appraised rental value.”
Paul Broadhead v. Bonita Lakes Mall (Miss. 1996). “(4) Defendants Broadhead and Nicholson, the only parties opposing the leases, filed for each Complaint an Answer, Defenses, Counter-Claim and Cross-Claim on October 16, 1995, alleging that the leases were void for failure of LCBE to obtain a rental of at least five percent of…”
Eric Clark v. Stephen D. Lee Found. (Miss. 2002). “9 shall not lease or extend a lease on land classified as industrial or commercial at an annual rental less than five percent (5%) of the current market value, exclusive of buildings or improvements not owned by the school district".”
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