MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1997 Regular Session

To: Judiciary B

By: Representative Livingston

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 97-15-29, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE PENALTIES FOR LITTERING; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO PUBLISH IN A LOCAL NEWSPAPER THE PICTURES OF PERSONS CONVICTED OF LITTERING; TO PROVIDE FOR THE SUSPENSION OF CERTAIN LICENSES FOR LITTERING; TO AMEND SECTIONS 49-7-27 AND 63-1-51, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 97-15-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

97-15-29. (1) Anyone who shall put, throw, dump or leave on the roads and highways of this state, or within the limits of the rights-of-way of such roads and highways, or upon any private property, any litter, or any cigarette or cigar stubs, or any other thing or substance likely to ignite the grass or underbrush on a road or highway, in addition to being civilly liable for all damages caused by such act shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor and punished as provided by subsections (3) and (11) of this section.

(2) The Department of Transportation is authorized to erect warning signs along the roads and highways of this state advising the public of the existence of this section and of the penalty for the violation thereof and is further authorized to install receptacles at reasonable intervals along the roads and highways of this state to be used as containers for trash and rubbish and for the convenience of the public using such roads and highways.

(3) Any person found guilty of the violation of this section shall, upon conviction, be fined not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00). The proceeds of such fines shall be expended by the collecting jurisdiction solely for the purpose of funding local litter prevention programs or projects or local or school litter education programs as recommended by the statewide litter prevention program of Keep Mississippi Beautiful, Inc.

(4) As a part of the fine imposed by subsection (3) above, a person convicted for an offense upon which fines are imposed by this section may be required to perform the following, and a person convicted for a second or subsequent offense upon which fines are imposed by this section shall be required to:

(a) Remove or render harmless, in accordance with written direction, as appropriate, from the Department of Environmental Quality or local law enforcement authorities, the unlawfully discarded solid waste;

(b) Repair or restore property damaged by, or pay damages for any damage arising out of the unlawfully discarded solid waste;

(c) Perform community public service relating to the removal of any unlawfully discarded solid waste or to the restoration of any area polluted by unlawfully discarded solid waste; and

(d) Pay all reasonable investigative and prosecutorial expenses and costs to the investigative and/or prosecutorial agency or agencies.

(5) Upon a second or subsequent conviction of an offense upon which fines are imposed by this section, the minimum and maximum fines shall be doubled.

(6) When any litter is thrown or discarded from a motor vehicle, the operator of the motor vehicle shall be deemed in violation of this section.

(7) Assessments collected under subsection (4) of Section 99-19-73 from persons convicted of a violation of this section shall be deposited to the credit of the Statewide Litter Prevention Fund created in Section 65-1-167.

(8) It shall be the duty of all law enforcement officers to enforce the provisions of this section.

(9) This section shall not prohibit the storage of ties and machinery by a railroad on its right-of-way where the highway right-of-way extends to within a few feet of the railroad roadbed.

(10) The Department of Public Safety shall publish the pictures and names of persons convicted of violating the provisions of this section. Any person convicted of violating the provisions of this section shall pay to the Department of Public Safety such costs and expenses necessary to have their picture published in any weekly or daily newspaper generally circulated in the county in which such person resides and in which offense occurred. The picture shall exhibit the face of the convicted person and shall be labeled as necessary to identify such person as a litterbug.

(11) Any person found guilty of a violation of this section shall be subject to the suspension of such person's drivers' license or hunting, trapping or fishing license. The judge who imposes a sentence under this section may suspend a drivers' license for a period of thirty (30) days for a first offense and for a period of six (6) months for a second or subsequent offense or the judge may suspend a hunting, trapping or fishing license for a period of one (1) year.

(12) For the purposes of this section, the term "litter" means any refuse of any kind or any object or substance which tends to pollute, mar or deface any public or private property.

SECTION 2. Section 49-7-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-7-27. The commission may revoke any hunting, trapping, or fishing license or deny any person the right to secure such license if the person has been convicted of the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter or any regulation thereunder or a violation of Section 97-15-29. The revocation of license or refusal to grant license shall be for a period of one (1) year. However, before the revocation of the license shall become effective, the executive director shall send by registered mail notice to the person or licensee, who shall have the right to a hearing or representation before the commission at the next regular meeting or a special meeting, the notice shall set out fully the ground or complaint upon which revocation of, or refusal to grant, the license is sought.

Any person who shall be convicted for a second time during any period of twelve (12) consecutive months for violation of any of the laws with respect to game, fish or nongame fish or animals shall forfeit any license or licenses issued to him by the commission and the commission shall not issue the person any license for a period of one (1) year from the date of forfeiture.

Failure of any person to surrender his license or licenses upon demand made by the commission or by its representatives at the direction of the commission shall be a misdemeanor and shall be punishable as such.

Any violator whose license has been revoked, who shall, during the period of revocation, be apprehended for hunting or fishing without a valid license, shall have imposed upon him a mandatory jail term of not less than thirty (30) days nor more than six (6) months.

In addition to the reasons specified in this section and other provisions of this chapter, the commission shall be authorized to suspend any license issued to any person under this chapter for being out of compliance with an order for support, as defined in Section 2 of this act. The procedure for suspension of a license for being out of compliance with an order for support, and the procedure for the reissuance or reinstatement of a license suspended for that purpose, and the payment of any fees for the reissuance or reinstatement of a license suspended for that purpose, shall be governed by Section 4 or 7 of this act, as the case may be. If there is any conflict between any provision of Section 4 or 7 of this act and any provision of this chapter, the provisions of Section 4 or 7 of this act, as the case may be, shall control.

SECTION 3. Section 63-1-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

63-1-51. (1) It shall be the duty of the trial judge, upon conviction of any person holding a license issued pursuant to this article where the penalty for a traffic violation is as much as Ten Dollars ($10.00), to mail a copy of abstract of the court record or provide an electronically or computer generated copy of abstract of the court record immediately to the commissioner at Jackson, Mississippi, showing the date of conviction, penalty, etc., so that a record of same may be made by the Department of Public Safety. The commissioner shall forthwith revoke the license of any person for a period of one (1) year upon receiving a duly certified record of each person's convictions of any of the following offenses when such conviction has become final:

(a) Manslaughter or negligent homicide resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle;

(b) Any felony in the commission of which a motor vehicle is used;

(c) Failure to stop and render aid as required under the laws of this state in event of a motor vehicle accident resulting in the death or personal injury of another;

(d) Perjury or the willful making of a false affidavit or statement under oath to the department under this article or under any other law relating to the ownership or operation of motor vehicles;

(e) Conviction, or forfeiture of bail not vacated, upon three (3) charges of reckless driving committed within a period of twelve (12) months;

(f) Contempt for failure to pay a fine or fee or to respond to a summons or citation pursuant to a charge of a violation of this title.

(2) The commissioner shall revoke the license issued pursuant to this article of any person convicted of negligent homicide, in addition to any penalty now provided by law.

(3) In addition to the reasons specified in this section, the commissioner shall be authorized to suspend the license issued to any person pursuant to this article for being out of compliance with an order for support, as defined in Section 2 of this act. The procedure for suspension of a license for being out of compliance with an order for support, and the procedure for the reissuance or reinstatement of a license suspended for that purpose, and the payment of any fees for the reissuance or reinstatement of a license suspended for that purpose, shall be governed by Section 4 or 7 of this act, as the case may be. If there is any conflict between any provision of Section 4 or 7 of this act and any provision of this article, the provisions of Section 4 or 7 of this act, as the case may be, shall control.

(4) The commissioner shall suspend the license of any person convicted of a violation of Section 97-15-29 as provided in Section 97-15-29.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 1997.