MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2004 Regular Session
To: Appropriations
By: Senator(s) Hewes, Pickering, Albritton, Morgan
AN ACT TO TRANSFER THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE MISSISSIPPI BUREAU OF NARCOTICS TO THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY; TO TRANSFER THE LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL OF THE MISSISSIPPI PUBIC SERVICE COMMISSION RELATED TO THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE MOTOR CARRIER REGULATORY LAW OF 1938 TO THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY; TO TRANSFER THE LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL OF THE MISSISSIPPI TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION AND THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY; TO PROVIDE THAT THE COMMISSIONER MAY INTERNALLY REORGANIZE THESE LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISIONS; TO PROVIDE THAT PERSONNEL ACTIONS SHALL BE EXEMPT FROM PERSONNEL BOARD REGULATIONS FOR A PERIOD OF ONE YEAR; TO AMEND SECTIONS 27-19-137, 27-55-547, 27-55-559, 63-5-43, 63-5-49 AND 65-1-44, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE TRANSFER OF LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY; TO AMEND SECTIONS 41-29-107, 41-29-108, 41-29-111 AND 45-1-2, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO TRANSFER THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE MISSISSIPPI BUREAU OF NARCOTICS TO THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY; TO AMEND SECTION 1, CHAPTER 520, LAWS OF 1972, TO CONFORM; TO AMEND SECTIONS 77-1-15, 77-7-127, 77-7-333, 77-7-335 AND 77-7-337, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO TRANSFER THE LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL OF THE MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION ENFORCING THE MOTOR CARRIER REGULATORY LAW OF 1938 TO THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY; TO REPEAL SECTIONS 77-1-19 AND 77-1-21, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH AUTHORIZE THE MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION TO EMPLOY CERTAIN PERSONNEL TO ENFORCE THE MOTOR CARRIER REGULATORY LAW OF 1938; TO REPEAL SECTION 77-7-339, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES THAT THE INSPECTOR SALARIES OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION SHALL BE PAID OUT OF A SPECIAL FUND; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) The Mississippi Public Commission shall transfer all employees, equipment, inventory and resources of the commission employed and used to enforce the Motor Carrier Regulatory Law of 1938 to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. The transfer of personnel shall be commensurate with the number and classification of positions (PINS) allocated to such enforcement. The transfer shall also include direct support, clerical, data processing and communications pins allocated to such law enforcement.
(2) The Commissioner of Public Safety shall have the authority to internally reorganize such law enforcement personnel to make an orderly, effective and timely transfer and reorganization of such personnel within the Department of Public Safety. For a period of one (1) year after July 1, 2004, the personnel actions of the Commissioner of Public Safety shall be exempt from State Personnel Board rules, regulations and procedures in order to give the commissioner flexibility in making an orderly transfer and reorganization.
(3) The Mississippi Public Service Commission and the Mississippi Department of Public Safety shall comply with Sections 5-11-1 through 5-11-5 in the transfer of the law enforcement personnel.
SECTION 2. (1) The Mississippi Transportation Commission and the Mississippi Department of Transportation shall transfer all employees, equipment, inventory and resources of the commission and department employed and used as law enforcement personnel to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. The transfer of personnel shall be commensurate with the number and classification of positions (PINS) allocated to such enforcement. The transfer shall also include direct support, clerical, data processing and communications pins allocated to such law enforcement.
(2) The Commissioner of Public Safety shall have the authority to internally reorganize such law enforcement personnel to make an orderly, effective and timely transfer and reorganization of such personnel within the Department of Public Safety. For a period of one (1) year after July 1, 2004, the personnel actions of the Commissioner of Public Safety shall be exempt from State Personnel Board rules, regulations and procedures in order to give the commissioner flexibility in making an orderly transfer and reorganization.
(3) The Mississippi Transportation Commission, the Mississippi Department of Transportation and the Mississippi Department of Public Safety shall comply with Sections 5-11-1 through 5-11-5 in the transfer of the law enforcement personnel.
SECTION 3. (1) The powers and duties and all employees, equipment, inventory and resources of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics shall be transferred to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.
(2) The Commissioner of Public Safety shall have the authority to internally reorganize the employees of the bureau to make an orderly, effective and timely transfer and reorganization of such personnel within the Department of Public Safety. For a period of one (1) year after July 1, 2004, the personnel actions of the Commissioner of Public Safety shall be exempt from State Personnel Board rules, regulations and procedures in order to give the commissioner flexibility in making an orderly transfer and reorganization.
(3) The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and the Mississippi Department of Public Safety shall comply with Sections 5-11-1 through 5-11-5 in the transfer of the bureau.
SECTION 4. Section 27-19-137, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
27-19-137. The agents of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and the State Tax Commission shall have the right to inspect at all reasonable times all motor vehicles operating upon the highways of this state and shall likewise have the authority to inspect and examine all records kept by any person relating or pertaining to the liability of any person for any tax imposed by the provisions of this article. They shall likewise have the power to require the production of any such records within this state, at any time and place designated by them, upon giving reasonable notice to the person having control and custody of such records. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety and its representatives shall also have the authority and power to cause any vehicle engaged in the transportation of property upon the public highways of this state to submit to a weighing of such vehicle and the load thereon, either by means of portable or stationary scales, and may require that such vehicle be driven to the nearest scales for weighing. If a vehicle has been issued a registration card, such registration card shall be carried in such vehicle at all times.
SECTION 5. Section 27-55-547, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
27-55-547. The commissioner and his agents and employees shall have full access, ingress and egress at all reasonable hours to and from any place or building where special fuel may be received, stored, transported, sold, offered or exposed for sale, manufactured, refined, distilled, compounded or blended. The commissioner and his agents and employees shall have the right to open and inspect any case, package or other container, any tank, pump, tank car or storage tank in which special fuel is kept and enter upon any barge, vessel or other vehicle transporting special fuel and, with instruments conforming to the weights and measures adopted by the United States Bureau of Standards, check any measuring device or volume of weight of the contents of any such container.
The commission, its employees or agents and enforcement officers of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety are hereby authorized to inspect any vehicle transporting special fuel over the highways of this state, or any boat, barge or vessel transporting special fuel over the waters of this state, to examine the contents of such vehicle, boat, barge or vessel, to take a sample, not to exceed one (1) gallon, of the special fuel contained in such vehicle, boat, barge or vessel, and to inspect the bills of lading, manifest, invoices or other records pertaining to the special fuel being transported.
The commission, its employees or agents and enforcement officers of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety are hereby authorized to stop any motor vehicle traveling the highways of this state; to inspect the contents of the motor vehicle's fuel supply tank; to take a sample, not to exceed one (1) gallon, of the contents of the fuel supply tank of such motor vehicle and to examine any invoices, receipts or other documents pertaining to the contents of the motor vehicle's fuel supply tank.
Any person who refuses to allow an inspection as authorized in this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or both such fine and imprisonment.
SECTION 6. Section 27-55-559, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
27-55-559. Every person hauling, transporting or conveying more than five hundred (500) gallons of special fuel over the highways, streets, alleys or waters of this state, or into this state over any highway, street, alley or water route, shall, during the entire time he is so engaged, have in his possession a bill of sale, bills of lading, invoices or other written evidence, each of which shall be serially numbered, showing the kind and amount of special fuel being transported, the name and address of the person from whom such special fuel was received, and the name and address of the person to whom delivery is to be made. The vehicle or boat conveying such special fuel shall have clearly printed on it the name and address of the person transporting the special fuel on both sides of the vehicle or boat in well-balanced letters of not less than two (2) inches in height on a contrasting background.
Any person other than a common or contract carrier bringing special fuel into this state in quantities of more than five hundred (500) gallons shall give notice to the commission of his intent to import such special fuel. The commission is authorized to promulgate rules setting forth the manner in which such notice is to be given. However, if information on special fuel imported into this state can be accurately secured from other sources by the commission, it may waive the requirements of such notice.
If any person, other than a common or contract carrier, shall transport special fuel over the highways of this state by motor vehicle without having given the notice required by this section, or if a copy of such notice is not carried in such motor vehicle as required by this section, the entire amount of the state excise tax upon such special fuel being transported shall be deemed due and payable, plus a penalty of twenty-five percent (25%) of the amount of such tax, and any authorized representative of the commission or enforcement officers of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety shall have the right to seize or impound the motor vehicle in which such special fuel is being transported until such excise tax together with the penalty thereon has been paid. Provided, however, that the penalty shall not apply when the driver of the truck stops at the first weighing station in the line of travel and secures the signature of the officer on duty on the import notice.
SECTION 7. Section 63-5-43, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
63-5-43. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety shall designate its agents to enforce Sections 63-5-29 through 63-5-41, Mississippi Code of 1972, and, upon the failure of any person so designated to enforce such sections, any executive order or directive to the contrary notwithstanding, he or they shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and be fined not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00) for each such conviction.
SECTION 8. Section 63-5-49, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
63-5-49. (1) Any police officer or law enforcement officer of the Department of Public Safety * * * may require the driver of any vehicle that is required by law or by any rule or regulation of the Mississippi Department of Transportation or the State Tax Commission to stop at inspection stations and submit to an inspection to stop and submit to a weighing of the vehicle, either by means of portable or stationary scales, and may require that such vehicle be driven to the nearest scales for weighing. To aid the enforcement of this chapter, the Department of Public Safety may assign up to forty (40) portable scale teams as it deems necessary for efficient enforcement.
(2) Whenever such an officer, upon weighing a vehicle and load as above provided, determines that the weight is unlawful, such officer shall assess a penalty against the owner or operator in accordance with Section 27-19-89, and may require the driver to drive the vehicle to a suitable place and remain standing until such portion of the load is removed as may be necessary to reduce the gross weight of such vehicle to such limit as permitted under this chapter. All material so unloaded shall be cared for by the owner or operator of such vehicle at the risk of such owner or operator.
(3) Any police officer or law enforcement officer of the Department of Public Safety * * * who stops a vehicle pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall have the authority to inspect such vehicle to determine whether or not such vehicle is engaged in the illegal transportation of any contraband.
(4) Any driver of a vehicle who fails or refuses to stop and submit the vehicle and load to a weighing, or who fails or refuses, when directed by such an officer upon weighing of the vehicle, to stop the vehicle and otherwise comply with the provisions of this section, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by confinement in the county jail for not more than thirty (30) days, or by both such fine and jail sentence and, if operating at a gross weight in excess of the legal limit, such additional penalty or assessment as provided by law.
(5) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Department of Public Safety and all police officers shall cooperate with the Transportation Department in the enforcement of the highway weight laws of this state.
SECTION 9. Section 65-1-44, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
65-1-44. Agents and employees of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety who are charged with the enforcement of the weight laws and the motor vehicle privilege tax laws of this state pursuant to Sections 63-5-43 and 27-19-137, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall, as soon as practicable after being appointed enforcement personnel, and in order to continue serving as such, successfully complete a course of instruction at the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers' Training Academy * * *.
SECTION 10. Section 41-29-107, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-29-107. (1) From and after July 1, 2004, the Commissioner of Public Safety may assign to the appropriate offices such powers and duties deemed appropriate to carry out the lawful functions of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.
(2) There is hereby created within the Mississippi Department of Public Safety an office to be known as the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics * * *. The said office shall have * * * a director who shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(3) Any funds, property or PINS that are appropriated to or otherwise received by the bureau, or appropriated to, transferred to or otherwise received by the Department of Public Safety for the use of the bureau, shall be budgeted and maintained by the department as funds of the department. Personnel occupying PINS transferred from the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety shall serve on a probationary basis for the twelve (12) months following transfer.
(4) The Commissioner of Public Safety is empowered to employ or appoint necessary agents. The Commissioner of Public Safety may also employ such secretarial, clerical and administrative personnel, including a duly licensed attorney, as necessary for the operation of the bureau, and shall have such quarters, equipment and facilities as needed. The salary and qualifications of the attorney authorized by this section shall be fixed by the director, but the salary shall not exceed the salary authorized for an assistant attorney general who performs similar duties.
(5) The director and agents so appointed shall be citizens of the United States and of the State of Mississippi, and of good moral character. The agents shall be not less than twenty-one (21) nor shall have attained the age of thirty-six (36) years of age at the time of such appointment. In addition thereto, those appointed shall have satisfactorily completed at least two (2) years of college studies. However, two (2) years of satisfactory service as a law enforcement officer and the completion of the prescribed course of study at a school operated by the Drug Enforcement Administration or the United States Justice Department shall satisfy one (1) year of such college studies, and four (4) years of satisfactory service as a law enforcement officer and the completion of the prescribed course of study at such federal bureau school as stated heretofore shall fully satisfy the two (2) years of college requirement. The director shall also be required to complete a prescribed course of study at a school operated by the Drug Enforcement Administration or the United States Justice Department.
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(6) The Commissioner of Public Safety may assign members of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, regardless of age, to the bureau * * *; however, when any highway patrolman or other employee, agent or official of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety is assigned to duty with, or is employed by, the bureau, he shall not be subject to assignment or transfer to any other office or department within the Mississippi Department of Public Safety except by the Commissioner of Public Safety. Any highway patrolman assigned to duty with the bureau shall retain his status as a highway patrolman, but shall be under the supervision of the director. For purposes of compensation and seniority within the Highway Safety Patrol and for purposes of retirement under the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol Retirement System, highway patrolmen assigned to the bureau will be credited as if performing duty with the Highway Safety Patrol. The Commissioner of Public Safety may assign employees of the Highway Safety Patrol to the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and also assign agents of the bureau to the Highway Patrol; provided, however, that employees so assigned meet all established requirements for duty.
(7) The Commissioner of Public Safety may enter into contracts or agreements with the State Board of Health for purposes of recruitment and screening of applicants through the merit system.
(8) The Commissioner of Public Safety may enter into agreements with bureaus or departments of other states or of the United States for the exchange or temporary assignment of agents for special undercover assignments and for performance of specific duties.
(9) The Commissioner of Public Safety is hereby authorized to assign agents of the bureau to such duty and to request and accept agents from such other bureaus or departments for such duty.
(10) In transferring the responsibilities of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics to the Department of Public Safety, the commissioner and the director shall develop and implement written security precautions which shall be observed by all affected employees. The commissioner and the director of the bureau shall review, modify and approve the plan prior to the effective date of the merger of responsibilities required herein.
SECTION 11. Section 41-29-108, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-29-108. (1) TheCommissioner of Public Safety is hereby authorized to accept vehicles which may be available from the federal government for use in enforcement of this article. The commissioner is further authorized to expend reasonable funds from any funds appropriated for the bureau for the delivery, repair and maintenance of such automobiles.
(2) The commissioner is further authorized to rent or lease motor vehicles for undercover missions. Such vehicles shall be used only on specified missions and not as additions to the regularly authorized and budgeted vehicles of the bureau.
SECTION 12. Section 41-29-111, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-29-111. The Commissioner of Public Safety shall administer this article and shall work in conjunction and cooperation with the State Board of Pharmacy, county and municipal law enforcement agencies, the district and county attorneys, the Office of the Attorney General and the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol. The State Board of Health shall work with the bureau in an advisory capacity and shall be responsible for recommending to the Legislature the appropriate schedule for all substances to be scheduled or rescheduled in Sections 41-29-113 through 41-29-121. In making a recommendation regarding a substance, the board shall consider the following:
(a) (1) The actual or relative potential for abuse;
(2) The scientific evidence of its pharmacological effect, if known;
(3) The state of current scientific knowledge regarding the substance;
(4) The history and current pattern of abuse;
(5) The scope, duration and significance of abuse;
(6) The risk to the public health;
(7) The potential of the substance to produce psychic or physiological dependence liability; and
(8) Whether the substance is an immediate precursor of a substance already controlled under this article.
(b) After considering the factors enumerated in paragraph (a), the board shall make findings with respect thereto and issue a recommendation to control the substance if it finds the substance has a potential for abuse.
(c) If the board designates a substance as an immediate precursor, substances which are precursors of the controlled precursor shall not be recommended for control solely because they are precursors of the controlled precursor.
(d) If any substance is designated, rescheduled, or deleted as a controlled substance under federal law and notice thereof is given to the board, it shall recommend the control of the substance under this article at the next session of the Legislature.
(e) Authority to control under this article does not extend to distilled spirits, wine, malt beverages, or tobacco as those terms are defined or used in the Local Option Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, being Sections 67-1-1 through 67-1-91, and the Tobacco Tax Law of 1934, being Sections 27-69-1 through 27-69-77. It is the intent of the Legislature of the State of Mississippi that the bureau shall concentrate its efforts and resources on the enforcement of the Uniform Controlled Substances Law with respect to illicit narcotic and drug traffic in the state.
The controlled substances listed in the schedules in Sections 41-29-113 through 41-29-121 are included by whatever official, common, usual, chemical or trade name designated.
(f) The board shall recommend the exclusion of any nonnarcotic substance from a schedule if such substance may, under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and the laws of this state, be lawfully sold over the counter without a prescription.
SECTION 13. Section 45-1-2, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
45-1-2. (1) The Executive Director of the Department of Public Safety shall be the Commissioner of Public Safety.
(2) The Commissioner of Public Safety shall establish the organizational structure of the Department of Public Safety which shall include the creation of any units necessary to implement the duties assigned to the department and consistent with specific requirements of law, including, but not limited to:
(a) Office of Public Safety Planning;
(b) Office of Medical Examiner;
(c) Office of Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol;
(d) Office of Crime Laboratories;
(e) Office of Law Enforcement Officers' Training Academy;
(f) Office of Support Services;
(g) The Office of Narcotics, known as the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics * * *.
(3) The department shall be headed by a commissioner who shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The appointment of the commissioner shall be made with the advice and consent of the Senate. The commissioner may assign to the appropriate offices such powers and duties as deemed appropriate to carry out the department's lawful functions.
(4) The commissioner of the department shall appoint heads of offices, who shall serve at the pleasure of the commissioner. The commissioner shall have the authority to organize the offices established by subsection (2) of this section as deemed appropriate to carry out the responsibilities of the department. The organization charts of the department shall be presented annually with the budget request of the Governor for review by the Legislature.
(5) The commissioner of the department shall appoint, from within the Department of Public Safety, a statewide safety training officer who shall serve at the pleasure of the commissioner and whose duty it shall be to perform public training for both law enforcement and private persons throughout the state concerning proper emergency response to the mentally ill, terroristic threats or acts, domestic conflict, other conflict resolution, and such other matters as the commissioner may direct.
SECTION 14. Section 1, Chapter 520, Laws of 1972, is amended as follows:
Section 1. (a) The Mississippi Bureau of Drug Enforcement shall henceforth be designated as an office known as the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics within the Department of Public Safety.
(b) The Mississippi Bureau of Drug Enforcement as created by Chapter 521, Section 3, Laws of 1971, being Section 6831-53, Mississippi Code of 1942, is hereby transferred from the State Board of Health to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety; all personnel, records, property, equipment and all funds allocated the Bureau of Drug Enforcement are hereby transferred to and placed under the supervision of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics of the Department of Public Safety. * * *
SECTION 15. Section 77-1-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
77-1-15. (1) There shall be an executive secretary of the commission, hereinafter referred to in this chapter as the secretary, to be appointed by the commission, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for the term of the commissioners. The secretary must have the same qualifications as the commissioners and shall be subject to the same disqualifications and to like penalties, except that he shall not be liable to impeachment. He shall receive a salary fixed by the Legislature. He shall take the oath of office and shall be removable at the pleasure of the commission, which may fill any vacancy until the Senate confirms a successor. The secretary shall make bond as provided for other state officers, in the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), conditioned upon the faithful performance of the duties of his office.
(2) The secretary shall collect all fees and penalties collected by or paid to the commission, and shall cover the same into the State Treasury * * *.
(3) The secretary of the commission shall be the custodian of all records, documents, and the seal of the commission. He shall issue all citations, subpoenas and other rightful orders and documents, and perform all other duties usually required of such officer, and as required by the commission.
(4) It shall be the duty and responsibility of the secretary to supervise and manage the offices and staff of the Public Service Commission and formulate written policies and procedures for the effective and efficient operation of the office and present these policies and procedures to the board for promulgation.
SECTION 16. Section 77-7-127, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
77-7-127. All funds collected by the Public Service Commission under the provisions of this chapter shall be deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the "Motor Carrier Regulation Enforcement Fund" for use by the Department of Public Safety for the administration and enforcement of the laws of this state relative to * * * motor carriers subject to this chapter.
SECTION 17. Section 77-7-333, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
77-7-333. After selection, the chief enforcement officer and the inspectors shall go through thirty (30) days of intensive instruction of the laws of this state pertaining to the Public Service Commission, the Mississippi Department of Transportation, and the Department of Public Safety, together with rules and regulations of all these departments, and the laws of this state pertaining to arrest. The expenses of attending such school shall be paid out of the funds of the Department of Public Safety * * *.
SECTION 18. Section 77-7-335, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
77-7-335. (1) All inspectors on duty shall wear uniforms, shall have the right to bear arms, and shall have the authority to make arrests and hold and impound any vehicle and the contents thereof which is being operated in violation of this chapter or the commission's rules, regulations or general orders promulgated thereunder.
(2) All inspectors shall have the authority to enforce all of the laws, rules and regulations of the Mississippi Public Service Commission upon all highways in the state and the rights-of-way of such highways and other properties as defined in Section 77-7-261; except that if any person commits an offense in violation of this chapter or the rules and regulations of this commission upon a highway in the state and be pursued by a member or inspector of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, such member may pursue and apprehend such offender upon any of the highways in this state, or to any other place to which such offender may flee.
(3) All inspectors shall have the authority to aid and assist any law enforcement officer whose life or safety is in jeopardy and may arrest without warrant any fugitive from justice who has escaped or who is using the highways in the state in an attempt to flee. With the approval of the Commissioner of Public Safety, inspectors * * * may assist other law enforcement agencies in searching for convicted felons who have escaped or for alleged felons where there is probable cause to believe that the person being sought committed the felony and a felony had actually been committed.
(4) Upon request of * * * a sheriff of any county or the chief of police of any community and with the consent of the Commissioner of Public Safety, all inspectors have the authority to assist in traffic control during time of natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornados or floods.
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SECTION 19. Section 77-7-337, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
77-7-337. The Department of Public Safety is hereby authorized and empowered to purchase all necessary equipment to enforce the provisions of this chapter, and to pay for the same out of the "Motor Carrier Regulation Enforcement Fund."
SECTION 20. Sections 77-1-19 and 77-1-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, which authorize the Mississippi Public Service Commission to employ certain personnel to carry out and enforce the provisions of the Motor Carrier Regulator Law of 1938, are repealed.
SECTION 21. Section 77-7-339, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides that the inspector salaries of the Public Service Commission shall be paid out of a special fund, is repealed.
SECTION 22. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2004.