(1) The board of supervisors of any county of the state and the governing authorities of any municipality within such county may enter into a contract for the joint construction, expansion, remodeling and/or maintenance and equipping of a jail in such municipality, or within one (1) mile of the corporate limits thereof, and may issue bonds of both the county and such municipality in the manner provided by general statutes for the issuance of county and municipal bonds for such purposes, provided that in no event shall the municipality bear over fifty percent (50%) of the cost of constructing, expanding, remodeling and/or maintaining and equipping such jail. Such contract or future contracts may provide for the continued joint use of equipping, repairing, reconstructing and remodeling of such jail. Before issuing any bonds for the purposes herein set forth, the board of supervisors and the governing authorities of such municipality shall adopt a joint resolution declaring their intention to issue the same, which resolution shall state the amount and purposes of the bonds to be issued, and shall fix the date upon which action will be taken to provide for the issuance of such bonds. Said resolution shall be published once a week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper published in the county, the first publication of such notice to be made not less than twenty-one (21) days prior to the date fixed in such resolution and the last publication to be made not more than seven (7) days prior to such date. If twenty percent (20%) or fifteen hundred (1500), whichever is less, of the qualified electors of the county and municipality, respectively, shall file a written protest against the issuance of such bonds on or before the date specified in such resolution, then an election upon the issuance of such bonds shall be called and held, and in such case such bonds or other evidences of indebtedness shall not be issued unless same are authorized by the affirmative vote of a majority of the qualified electors of said county and municipality, respectively, who vote on the proposition at such election. Notice of such election shall be given by publication in like manner as is provided for the publication of the initial resolution, and said election shall be called, held and conducted and the returns thereof made, canvassed and declared in the same manner as provided by Section 19-9-1 et seq., and Section 21-33-301 et seq., respectively. If no such petition be filed protesting against the issuance of said bonds, then the said board of supervisors and the governing authorities of the municipality shall have the authority to issue said bonds without an election.

(2) If the board of supervisors of a county and the governing authorities of a municipality enter into an agreement under the Regional Economic Development Act or an intergovernmental agreement approved by the Attorney General for the operation of a county jail, such county jail may be located outside the corporate limits of the municipality and is not subject to location restrictions in subsection (1).