MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1998 Regular Session

To: Conservation and Water Resources; Game and Fish

By: Representative Guice

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 49-15-15 AND 55-3-33, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO LIMIT THE AMOUNT THE BUREAU OF MARINE RESOURCES AND THE DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE, FISHERIES AND PARKS MAY ASSESS AGAINST A PERSON FOR A VIOLATION OF AN ORDINANCE OR REGULATION PROMULGATED BY THE BUREAU OR DEPARTMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 

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

SECTION 1. Section 49-15-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-15-15. (1) In addition to any other powers and duties authorized by law, the commission shall have the following powers and duties regarding the regulation of seafood:

(a) To exercise full jurisdiction and authority over all marine aquatic life and to regulate any matters pertaining to seafood, including cultivated seafood;

(b) To adopt, promulgate, amend or repeal, after due notice and public hearing, in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law and subject to the limitations in subsection (2) of this section, rules and regulations authorized under this chapter, including, but not limited to, rules and regulations necessary for the protection, conservation or propagation of all shrimp, oysters, commercial fish and crabs in the waters under the territorial jurisdiction of the State of Mississippi and for the regulation of gill net and purse seine fishermen. All public hearings under this chapter concerning the regulation of marine resources shall be held in Hancock, Harrison or Jackson counties. Each rule or regulation promulgated under this chapter shall immediately be advertised one (1) time in a newspaper or newspapers having general circulation in counties affected by that regulation. A regulation shall become effective at 6:00 a.m. on the day after its publication;

(c) To regulate all seafood sanitation and processing programs. In the three (3) coastal counties, the  sanitation program regulating processing plants and seafood sold in retail stores operating in conjunction with a processing plant or seafood market that primarily deals with seafood is under the exclusive authority of the commission. The commission may also inspect and regulate those areas of any seafood processing plant which process freshwater species at any site where the department inspects seafood processing plants. To effectively and efficiently implement the state seafood sanitation program, the State Health Officer and the executive director of the department shall enter into a memorandum of understanding, which at a minimum, clearly specifies the responsibilities of each agency in implementing the seafood sanitation program, as well as the sharing of information and communication and coordination between the agencies;

(d) To set standards of measure;

(e) To set requirements for employment of nonenforcement commission employees whose compensation shall be governed by the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board;

(f) To acquire and dispose of commission equipment and facilities;

(g) To keep proper records of the commission, including an official ordinance book which contains all rules and regulations promulgated by the commission under this chapter;

(h) To enter into advantageous interstate and intrastate agreements with proper officials, which directly or indirectly result in the protection, propagation and conservation of the seafood of the State of Mississippi, or continue any such agreements now in existence;

(i) To arrange, negotiate or contract for the use of available federal, state and local facilities which would aid in the propagation, protection and conservation of the seafood of the State of Mississippi;

(j) To authorize the operation of double rigs in the waters lying between the mainland coast and the island chain, and those rigs shall not exceed a length of twenty-five (25) feet at the cork line, and to prescribe the length at the lead line for each rig, net or try-trawl;

(k) To destroy or dispose of equipment or nets which have been lawfully seized by the commission and which are not sold under to Section 49-15-65; 

(l) To open, close and regulate fishing seasons for the taking of shrimp, oysters, fish taken for commercial purposes and crabs and set size, catching and taking regulations for all types of seafood and culling regulations for oysters, except as otherwise specifically provided by law;

(m) To utilize the resources of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory to the fullest extend possible; and

(n) To develop a resource management plan to preserve our seafood resources and to ensure a safe supply of these resources.

(2) The commission shall not adopt rules, regulations or ordinances pertaining to marine resources which are more stringent than federal regulations. In any case where federal laws and regulations are silent on a matter pertaining to marine resources, the laws and regulations of the State of Mississippi shall control. The commission shall review all marine resource ordinances for compliance with the no more stringent standard and revise any ordinances more stringent than this standard no later than December 31, 1992. This subsection shall not apply to rules, regulations or ordinances pertaining to the wild stock of marine fin fish.

(3) The commission shall not assess a fine for the violation of an ordinance or regulation promulgated by the commission in excess of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) plus costs for the first offense; Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) plus costs for the second offense; Four Hundred Dollars ($400.00) plus costs for the third offense; Eight Hundred Dollars ($800.00) plus costs for the fourth offense; and the commission may double the amount of such fine limits for all subsequent offenses, including costs.

SECTION 2. Section 55-3-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

55-3-33. (1) The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks shall have the power and authority, and it shall be its duty to:

(a) Take charge and have full jurisdiction and control over all state parks, which parks shall be operated for the purpose of providing outdoor recreational activities and enjoyment for the citizens of the State of Mississippi and for the purpose of attracting visitors to the state.

(b) Set up a uniform accounting procedure for the state parks and prescribe the manner in which books, records and accounts shall be kept, which procedure shall account for all moneys taken in and expended by the various parks and shall provide for periodic audits of such books.

(c) Accept gifts, bequests of money or other property, real or personal, to be used for the purpose of advancing the recreation and conservation interests in state parks. The department is authorized, subject to approval by the State Legislature, to purchase property, real or personal, to be used for state park purposes.

(d) Contract with the State Transportation Commission, any municipality or board of supervisors of the state for locating, constructing and maintaining roads and other improvements in state parks and for payment of a part of the costs thereof; however, no county or municipality more than twenty-five (25) miles distant from a state park may contract for, or do, or pay for any such work for a state park other than the International Gardens of Mississippi. Any county or municipality authorized to assist financially under the provisions of Sections 55-3-31 through 55-3-51 is authorized, in the discretion of its respective governing authority, to set aside, appropriate and expend moneys from the General Fund for the purpose of defraying such expense after a mandatory election is held on the question within the county or municipality.

(e) Designate employees as peace officers with power to make arrests for infraction of the rules and regulations of the department. Such officers are authorized to carry weapons and to enforce the laws of the State of Mississippi within the confines of a state park.

(f) Enforce and delegate the responsibility to enforce all reasonable rules and regulations governing the occupancy and use of lands and waters in state parks under its jurisdiction, supply recreational and conservation facilities and charge fees for the use of same; review all rates and charges for facilities and accommodations furnished at the various state parks annually, making such charges as are justified; and establish fees for entrance to state parks.

Each park shall retain from revenues generated therein, a sum sufficient to pay necessary expenses of operation, but in no event to be less than seventy-five percent (75%) of such revenues.

(2) The department shall have the authority to lease to any entity, sell and convey or otherwise transfer to any county or municipality, or close any state park or historical site within its jurisdiction which received a General Fund subsidy in Fiscal Year 1985 in excess of Two Dollars ($2.00) per visitor to such state park or historical site; provided, however, that this authority shall not include the authority to sell, lease or convey any park that was not in operation under the jurisdiction of the department for a full fiscal year prior to Fiscal Year 1986.

(3) The department may execute agreements with rails-to-trails and recreational districts by which the department will assume responsibility for the operation and maintenance of trails developed under Sections 55-25-1 through 55-25-15.

(4) The department shall not assess a fine for the violation of an ordinance or regulation promulgated by the commission in excess of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) plus costs for the first offense; Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) plus costs for the second offense; Four Hundred Dollars ($400.00) plus costs for the third offense; Eight Hundred Dollars ($800.00) plus costs for the fourth offense; and the commission may double the amount of such fine limits for all subsequent offenses, including costs.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 1998.