MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1998 Regular Session

To: Juvenile Justice

By: Representative Scott (80th)

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A STATEWIDE CURFEW FOR MINORS UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN; TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS; TO AUTHORIZE COUNTIES AND MUNICIPALITIES TO OPT OUT FROM UNDER THE STATEWIDE CURFEW AND, IN THEIR DISCRETION, ADOPT THEIR OWN CURFEW ORDINANCES; TO PROVIDE FOR PENALTIES; TO AMEND SECTIONS 45-17-1, 45-17-3, 45-17-5 AND 45-17-9, 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. (1) No minor under the age of eighteen (18) years shall be in or upon any street, highway, park, alley or other public place between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m of the following morning, unless:

(a) Such minor is accompanied by a parent, guardian or other person eighteen (18) years of age or over and authorized by the parent or by law to have care and custody of the minor;

(b) Such minor is then engaged in a lawful pursuit or activity which requires the presence of the minor in such public places during the hours specified in this section;

(c) The minor has had the disability of minority removed;

(d) Such minor is engaged in a civic related activity which is supervised by adults; or

(e) The minor is in a county or municipality that has opted out from under the statewide curfew pursuant to subsection (3) of this section.

(2) No parent, guardian or person having the care and custody of a minor under the age of eighteen (18) years shall allow such minor to be in or upon any street, highway, park, alley or other public place between the hours specified in subsection (1) of this section, except as otherwise provided in that subsection.

(3) Subsections (1) and (2) of this section do not affect the authority of any county or municipality to make regulations concerning the conduct of minors in public places by ordinance or other local law. The governing authority of any county or municipality may opt out from under the statewide curfew established under subsection (1) of this section by spreading such decision upon the minutes of the governing authority and the reasons therefor.

(4) Any county or municipality that has opted out from under the statewide curfew pursuant to subsection (3) of this section may adopt a local ordinance establishing a curfew restriction for that county or municipality. Any such ordinance adopted by a county board of supervisors shall be applicable only to areas not within a city. Any ordinance adopted under this section may provide different periods of curfew for different age groups.

(5) Any minor who violates subsection (1) of this section or an ordinance established under subsection (4) of this section shall be considered to have committed an act of delinquency, and for a first offense, may be taken into custody subject to the provisions of the Youth Court Law, as provided in Sections 43-21-105 and 43-21-151. The parent or guardian shall be fined up to Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00), and the minor shall perform two hundred (200) hours of community service within one (1) year of conviction and shall have his or her driver's license suspended for one (1) year.

(6) Any minor who violates subsection (1) of this section or an ordinance established under subsection (4) of this section for a second or subsequent offense shall have his or her driver's license suspended until the age of eighteen (18) years and the parent or guardian shall be fined Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00).

SECTION 2. Section 45-17-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

45-17-1. (a) "Civil emergency" is defined as:

(1) A riot or unlawful assembly characterized by any use of force or violence disturbing the public peace, or any threat to use such force and violence, if accompanied by immediate power of execution, by two (2) or more persons acting together and without authority of law.

(2) Any natural disaster or man-made calamity, including but not limited to flood, conflagration, cyclone, tornado, earthquake or explosion within the geographic limits of a municipality resulting in the death or injury of persons, or the destruction of property to such an extent that extraordinary measures must be taken to protect the public health, safety and welfare.

(3) The destruction of property, or the death or injury of persons brought about by the deliberate acts of one or more persons acting either alone or in concert with others when such acts are a threat to the peace of the general public or any segment thereof.

(b) "Curfew" is hereby defined as a prohibition against any person or persons walking, running, loitering, standing, sitting, lying or motoring upon any alley, street, public property or vacant premises within the corporate limits of the municipality except persons officially designated to duty with reference to said civil emergency or those lawfully on the streets as defined hereinafter. The term "curfew" shall include the provisions of Section 1 of this act as it relates to minors.

(c) "Chief administrative officer" is defined to be the mayor of any municipality. Any municipality, however, may by ordinance specially designate any official as chief administrative officer for purposes of this chapter.

SECTION 3. Section 45-17-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

45-17-3. Except as otherwise provided in Section 1 of this act, when, in the judgment of the chief administrative officer of a municipality a civil emergency as defined herein is determined to exist, he shall forthwith proclaim in writing the existence of same, a copy of which proclamation will be filed with the clerk of the municipality.

SECTION 4. Section 45-17-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

45-17-5. Except as otherwise provided in Section 1 of this act, after proclamation of a civil emergency by the chief administrative officer, he may order a general curfew applicable to such geographical areas of the municipality or to the municipality as a whole as he deems advisable, and applicable during such hours of the day or night as he deems necessary in the interest of the public safety and welfare. Said proclamation and general curfew shall have the force and effect of law and shall continue in effect until rescinded in writing by the chief administrative officer, but not to exceed five (5) days.

SECTION 5. Section 45-17-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

45-17-9. Except as provided in Section 1 of this act, municipalities may provide by ordinance that any person violating the provisions of orders issued by the chief administrative officer pursuant to this authorization during a proclaimed civil emergency be guilty of a misdemeanor and be punished by a fine not exceeding Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00) or six (6) months imprisonment, or both such fine and imprisonment.

SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 1998.