MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2024 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B
By: Representatives Carpenter, Arnold, Keen, Mattox
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 45-3-21, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE AUTHORITY TO THE COMMERCIAL TRANSPORTATION ENFORCEMENT DIVISION WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO ENFORCE PROVISIONS OF THE MISSISSIPPI IMPLIED CONSENT LAW AND THE PROVISIONS OF LAW GOVERNING MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS AND REPORTS; TO AMEND SECTIONS 63-3-411, 63-3-415, 63-9-21, 63-11-5 AND 63-11-19, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 45-3-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
45-3-21. (1) The powers and duties of the Highway Safety Patrol shall be, in addition to all others prescribed by law, as follows:
(a) To enforce all of the traffic laws, rules and regulations of the State of Mississippi upon all highways of the state highway system and the rights-of-way of such highways; provided, however, that if any person commits an offense upon the state highway system and be pursued by a member of the Highway Safety Patrol, such patrol officer may pursue and apprehend such offender upon any of the highways or public roads of this state, or to any other place to which such offender may flee.
(b) To enforce all rules and regulations of the commissioner promulgated pursuant to legal authority.
(c) When so directed by the Governor, to enforce any of the laws of this state upon any of the highways or public roads thereof.
(d) Upon the request of the Department of Revenue, and with the approval of the Governor, to enforce all of the provisions of law with reference to the registration, license and taxation of vehicles using the highways of this state, and relative to the sizes, weights and load limits of such vehicles, and to enforce the provisions of all other laws administered by the Department of Revenue upon any of the highways or public roads of this state; and for such purpose the Highway Safety Patrol shall have the authority to collect and receive all taxes which may be due under any of such laws, and to report and remit same to the Department of Revenue in the manner required by law, or the rules and regulations of the Department of Revenue.
(e) * * * To authorize the Commercial
Transportation Enforcement Division within the Department of Public Safety, and
when so instructed by the commissioner, to enforce:
(i) The Mississippi Motor Carrier Regulatory Law of 1938 and rules and regulations promulgated thereunder;
(ii) The Mississippi Implied Consent Law, established under Sections 63-11-1 through 63-11-47 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder; and
(iii) The provisions governing motor vehicle accidents and reports, established under Sections 63-3-401 through 63-3-425.
(f) To arrest without warrant any person or persons committing or attempting to commit any misdemeanor, felony or breach of the peace within their presence or view, and to pursue and so arrest any person committing such an offense to and at any place in the State of Mississippi where he may go or be. Nothing herein shall be construed as granting the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol general police powers.
(g) To aid and assist any law enforcement officer whose life or safety is in jeopardy. Additionally, officers of the Highway Safety Patrol may arrest without warrant any fugitive from justice who has escaped or who is using the highways of the state in an attempt to flee. With the approval of the commissioner or his designee, officers of the Highway Safety Patrol may assist other law enforcement agencies in manhunts for convicted felons who have escaped and/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.
(h) To cooperate with the State Forest Service by reporting all forest fires.
(i) Upon request of the sheriff or his designee, or board of supervisors of any county or the chief of police or mayor of any municipality, and when so instructed by the commissioner or his designee, to respond to calls for assistance in a law enforcement incident; such request and action shall be noted and clearly reflected on the radio logs of both the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol district substation and that of the requesting agency, entered on the local NCIC terminal, if available, and a request in writing shall follow within forty-eight (48) hours. Additionally, the time of commencement and termination of the specific law enforcement incident shall be clearly noted on the radio logs of both law enforcement agencies.
(2) The Legislature declares that the primary law enforcement officer in any county in the State of Mississippi is the duly qualified and elected sheriff thereof, but for the purposes of this subsection there is hereby vested in the Department of Public Safety, in addition to the powers hereinabove mentioned and the other provisions of this section under the terms and limitations hereinafter mentioned and for the purpose of insuring domestic tranquility and for the purpose of preventing or suppressing, or both, crimes of violence, acts and conduct calculated to, or which may, provoke or lead to violence and/or incite riots, mobs, mob violence, a breach of the peace, and acts of intimidation or terror, the powers and duties to include the enforcement of all the laws of the State of Mississippi relating to such purposes, to investigate any violation of the laws of the State of Mississippi and to aid in the arrest and prosecution of persons charged with violating the laws of the State of Mississippi which relate to such purposes. Investigators of the Bureau of Investigation of the Department of Public Safety shall have general police powers to enforce all the laws of the State of Mississippi. All officers of the Department of Public Safety charged with the enforcement of the laws administered by that agency, for the purposes herein set forth, shall have full power to investigate, prevent, apprehend and arrest law violators anywhere in the state, and shall be vested with the power of general police officers in the performance of their duties. The officers of the Department of Public Safety are authorized and empowered to carry and use firearms and other weapons deemed necessary in the discharge of their duties as such and are also empowered to serve warrants and subpoenas issued under the authority of the State of Mississippi. The Governor shall be authorized to offer and pay suitable rewards to persons aiding in the investigation, apprehension and conviction of persons charged with acts of violence, or threats of violence or intimidation or acts of terrorism. The additional powers herein granted to or vested in the Department of Public Safety or any of its officers or employees by this section, excepting investigating powers, and those powers of investigators who shall have general police power, being the investigators in the Bureau of Investigation of the Department of Public Safety, shall not be exercised by the Department of Public Safety, or any of its officers or employees, except upon authority and direction of the Governor or Acting Governor, by proclamation duly signed, in the following instances, to wit:
(a) When requested by the sheriff or board of supervisors of any county or the mayor of any municipality on the grounds that mob violence, crimes of violence, acts and conduct of terrorism, riots or acts of intimidation, or either, calculated to or which may provoke violence or incite riots, mobs, mob violence, violence, or lead to any breach of the peace, or either, and acts of intimidation or terror are anticipated, and when such acts or conduct in the opinion of the Governor or Acting Governor would provoke violence or any of the foregoing acts or conduct set out in this subsection, and the sheriff or mayor, as the case may be, lacks adequate police force to prevent or suppress the same.
(b) Acting upon evidence submitted to him by the Department of Public Safety, or other investigating agency authorized by the Governor or Acting Governor to make such investigations, because of the failure or refusal of the sheriff of any county or mayor of any municipality to take action or employ such means at his disposal, to prevent or suppress the acts, conduct or offenses provided for in subsection (1) of this section, the Governor or Acting Governor deems it necessary to invoke the powers and authority vested in the Department of Public Safety.
(c) The Governor or Acting Governor is hereby authorized and empowered to issue his proclamation invoking the powers and authority vested by this paragraph, as provided in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection, and when the Governor or Acting Governor issues said proclamation in accordance herewith, said proclamation shall become effective upon the signing thereof and shall continue in full force and effect for a period of ninety (90) days, or for a shorter period if otherwise ordered by the Governor or Acting Governor. At the signing of the proclamation by the Governor or Acting Governor, the Department of Public Safety and its officers and employees shall thereupon be authorized to exercise the additional power and authority vested in them by this paragraph. The Governor and Acting Governor may issue additional proclamations for periods of ninety (90) days each under the authority of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection (2).
(3) All proclamations issued by the Governor or Acting Governor shall be filed in the Office of the Secretary of State on the next succeeding business day.
(4) It is not the intention of this section to vest the wide powers and authority herein provided for, as general powers of the Department of Public Safety, and the same are not hereby so vested, but to limit these general powers to cases and incidents wherein it is deemed necessary to prevent or suppress the offenses and conditions herein mentioned in this and other subsections of this section, and under the terms and conditions hereinabove enumerated, it being the sense of the Legislature that the prime duties of the Department of Public Safety are to patrol the highways of this state and enforce the highway safety laws.
(5) Patrol officers shall have no interest in any costs in the prosecution of any case through any court; nor shall any patrol officer receive any fee as a witness in any court held in this state, whether a state or federal court.
(6) Provided, however, that the general police power vested by virtue of the terms of subsection (2) of this section is solely for the purposes set out in said subsection.
SECTION 2. Section 63-3-411, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
63-3-411. (1) The driver of a vehicle involved in an
accident resulting in injury to or death of any person or total property damage to an apparent extent of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or more shall immediately, by the quickest means of communication, give notice of the collision to the local police department if the collision occurs within an incorporated municipality, or if the collision occurs outside of an incorporated municipality to the nearest sheriff's office or highway patrol station.
(2) The department may require any driver of a vehicle involved in an accident, of which report must be made as provided in this section, to file supplemental reports whenever the original report is insufficient in the opinion of the department.
Additionally, the department may require witnesses of accidents to render reports to the department.
(3) It shall be the duty of the highway patrol, law enforcement officers of the Commercial Transportation Enforcement Division within the Department of Public Safety or the
sheriff's office to investigate all accidents required to be reported by this section when the accident occurs outside the corporate limits of a municipality, and it shall be the duty of the police department of each municipality to investigate all accidents required to be reported by this section when the accidents occur within the corporate limits of the municipality.
Every law enforcement officer who investigates an accident as required by this subsection, whether the investigation is made at the scene of the accident or by subsequent investigation and interviews, shall forward within six (6) days after completing the investigation a written report of the accident to the department if the accident occurred outside the corporate limits of a municipality, or to the police department of the municipality if the accident occurred within the corporate limits of such municipality. Police departments shall forward such reports to the department within six (6) days of the date of the accident.
(4) Whenever an engineer of a railroad locomotive, or other person in charge of a train, is required to show proof of his identity under the provisions of this article, in connection with operation of such locomotive, to any law enforcement officer, such person shall not be required to display his operator's or chauffeur's license but shall display his railroad employee number.
(5) In addition to the information required on the "statewide uniform traffic accident report" forms provided by Section 63-3-415, the department shall require the parties involved in an accident and the witnesses of such accident to furnish their phone numbers in order to assist the investigation by law enforcement officers.
SECTION 3. Section 63-3-415, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
63-3-415. (1) The department shall prepare and furnish "statewide uniform traffic accident report" forms to other agencies, municipal police departments, county sheriffs and other suitable law enforcement agencies, including the Commercial Transportation Enforcement Division within the department, or individuals. The department may charge an amount not exceeding the actual costs incurred by the department in preparing and furnishing the forms. The Department of Public Safety also may make such forms available in electronic format, which shall be accessible by law enforcement departments and other agencies without charge.
(2) Every accident report required by Section 63-3-411 from a law enforcement officer or individual shall be made on the "statewide uniform traffic accident report" form provided by the department.
(3) In addition to the information required on the accident report forms provided for herein, the department shall include a place on such report forms for the phone numbers of the parties involved in the accident and any witnesses to such accident.
(4) "Statewide uniform traffic accident report" forms shall not have printed upon them the name of any elected state official.
SECTION 4. Section 63-9-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
63-9-21. (1) This section shall be known as the Uniform Traffic Ticket Law.
(2) All traffic tickets, except traffic tickets filed electronically as provided under subsection (8) of this section, shall be printed in the original and at least two (2) copies and such other copies as may be prescribed by the Commissioner of Public Safety. All traffic tickets shall be uniform as prescribed by the Commissioner of Public Safety and the Attorney General, except as otherwise provided in subsection (3)(b) and except that the Commissioner of Public Safety and the Attorney General may alter the form and content of traffic tickets to meet the varying requirements of the different law enforcement agencies. The Commissioner of Public Safety and the Attorney General shall prescribe a separate traffic ticket, consistent with the provisions of subsection (3)(b) of this section, to be used exclusively for violations of the Mississippi Implied Consent Law.
(3) (a) Every
traffic ticket issued by any sheriff, deputy sheriff, constable, county patrol
officer, municipal police officer * * *, State Highway Patrol officer or officer
of the Commercial Transportation Enforcement Division for any violation of
traffic or motor vehicle laws shall be issued on the uniform traffic ticket or
uniform implied consent violation ticket consisting of an original and at least
two (2) copies and such other copies as may be prescribed by the Commissioner
of Public Safety.
(b) The traffic ticket, citation or affidavit issued to a person arrested for a violation of the Mississippi Implied Consent Law shall contain a place for the trial judge hearing the case or accepting the guilty plea, as the case may be, to sign, stating that the person arrested either employed an attorney or waived his right to an attorney after having been properly advised of his right to have an attorney. If the person arrested employed an attorney, the name, address and telephone number of the attorney shall be entered or written on the ticket, citation or affidavit.
(c) Every traffic ticket shall show, among other necessary information, the name of the issuing officer, the name of the court in which the cause is to be heard, and the date and time the person is to appear to answer the charge. The ticket shall include information that will constitute a complaint charging the offense for which the ticket was issued, and when duly sworn to and filed with a court of competent jurisdiction, prosecution may proceed thereunder.
(d) The traffic ticket shall contain a space to include the current address and current telephone number of the person being charged. It shall not contain a space to include the social security number of the person being charged.
(4) All traffic tickets, except traffic tickets filed electronically under subsection (8) of this section, shall be bound in book form, shall be consecutively numbered and each traffic ticket shall be accounted for to the officer issuing such book. The traffic ticket books shall be issued to sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, constables and county patrol officers by the chancery clerk of their respective counties, to each municipal police officer by the clerk of the municipal court, and to each State Highway Patrol officer and officer of the Commercial Transportation Enforcement Division by the Commissioner of Public Safety.
(5) The chancery clerk, clerk of the municipal court and the Commissioner of Public Safety shall keep a record of all traffic ticket books issued and to whom issued, accounting for all books printed and issued. All traffic tickets submitted electronically shall be filed automatically with the Commissioner of Public Safety and either the clerk of the municipal court or clerk of the justice court using the system of electronic submission for the purpose of maintaining a record of account as prescribed by this subsection (5).
(6) The original traffic ticket, unless the traffic ticket is filed electronically as provided under subsection (8) of this section, shall be delivered by the officer issuing the traffic ticket to the clerk of the court to which it is returnable to be retained in that court's records and the number noted on the docket. However, if a ticket is issued and the person is incarcerated based upon the conduct for which the ticket was issued, the ticket shall be filed with the clerk of the court to which it is returnable no later than 5:00 p.m. on the next business day, excluding weekends and holidays, after the date and time of the person's incarceration; however, failure to timely file the traffic ticket shall not be grounds for dismissal of the traffic ticket and shall not prevent the person's release from incarceration. The officer issuing the traffic ticket shall also give the accused a copy of the traffic ticket. The clerk of the court shall file a copy with the Commissioner of Public Safety within forty-five (45) days after judgment is rendered showing such information about the judgment as may be required by the commissioner or, in cases in which no judgment has been rendered, within one hundred twenty (120) days after issuance of the ticket. Other copies that are prescribed by the commissioner pursuant to this section shall be filed or retained as may be designated by the commissioner. All copies shall be retained for at least two (2) years.
(7) Failure to comply with the provisions of this section shall constitute a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punishable by a fine of not less than Ten Dollars ($10.00) nor more than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00).
(8) (a) Law enforcement
officers and agencies may file traffic tickets, including tickets issued for a
violation of the Mississippi Implied Consent Law and general misdemeanor affidavits,
by computer or electronic means if the ticket or affidavit conforms in all
substantive respects, including layout and content, as provided under * * * subsection (2) or (3)(b) of
this section. The provisions of subsection (4) of this section requiring tickets
bound in book form do not apply to a ticket that is produced by computer or
electronic means. Information concerning tickets produced by computer or
electronic means shall be available for public inspection in substantially the
same manner as provided for the uniform tickets described in subsection (2) of
this section.
(b) The defendant shall be provided with a paper copy of the ticket. A law enforcement officer who files a ticket or misdemeanor affidavit electronically shall be considered to have certified, signed and sworn to the ticket or misdemeanor affidavit and has the same rights, responsibilities and liabilities as with all other tickets or affidavits issued pursuant to this section.
SECTION 5. Section 63-11-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
63-11-5. (1) (a) Any
person who operates a motor vehicle upon the public highways, public roads * * * or streets of this state shall be
deemed to have given his consent, subject to the provisions of this chapter, to
a chemical test or tests of his breath, blood or urine for the purpose of
determining alcohol concentration. A person shall give his consent to a
chemical test or tests of his breath, blood or urine for the purpose of
determining the presence in his body of any other substance which would impair
a person's ability to operate a motor vehicle.
(b) The test or tests shall be administered at the direction of any authorized officer, when such officer has reasonable grounds and probable cause to believe that the person was driving or had under his actual physical control a motor vehicle upon the public streets or highways of this state while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any other substance which had impaired such person's ability to operate a motor vehicle.
(2) (a) A breath analysis
test must be administered by a person who has met all the educational and
training requirements of the appropriate course of study prescribed by the
Board on Law Enforcement * * * Officers Officer Standards and Training; however,
sheriffs and elected chiefs of police are exempt from the educational and
training requirement. A breath analysis test must not be given to any person
within fifteen (15) minutes of consumption of any substance by mouth.
(b) For purposes of this section, the term "authorized officer" means any highway patrol officer, officer of the Commercial Transportation Enforcement Division within the Department of Public Safety, sheriff or his duly commissioned deputies, police officer in any incorporated municipality, national park ranger, officer of a state-supported institution of higher learning campus police force if such officer is exercising this authority in regard to a violation that occurred on campus property, or security officer appointed and commissioned pursuant to the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Security Officer Law of 1978 if such officer is exercising this authority in regard to a violation that occurred within the limits of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District.
(3) If the officer has
reasonable grounds and probable cause to believe such person to have been
driving a motor vehicle upon the public highways, public roads * * * or streets of this state while
under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any other substance that has
impaired the person's ability to operate a motor vehicle, the officer shall
inform the person that his failure to submit to such chemical test or tests of
his breath, blood or urine shall result in the suspension of his privilege to operate
a motor vehicle upon the public streets * * *, roads or highways of this state
for a period of ninety (90) days if the person has not previously been
convicted of a violation of Section 63-11-30, or * * * for a period of one (1) year if the person
has a prior conviction under Section 63-11-30.
(4) The traffic ticket,
citation or affidavit issued to a person arrested for a violation of this
chapter shall conform to the requirements of Section 63-9-21(3)(b) * * * and, if filed electronically, shall conform
to Section 63-9-21(8).
(5) Any person arrested under the provisions of this chapter shall be informed that he has the right to telephone for the purpose of requesting legal or medical assistance immediately after being booked for a violation under this chapter.
(6) The Commissioner of Public Safety and the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory created pursuant to Section 45-1-17 are authorized to adopt procedures, rules and regulations applicable to the Implied Consent Law.
SECTION 6. Section 63-11-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
63-11-19. A chemical analysis of the person's breath, blood or urine, to be considered valid under the provisions of this section, shall have been performed according to methods approved by the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory created pursuant to Section 45-1-17 and the Commissioner of Public Safety and performed by an individual possessing a valid permit issued by the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory for making such analysis. The Mississippi Forensics Laboratory and the Commissioner of Public Safety are authorized to approve satisfactory techniques or methods, to ascertain the qualifications and competence of individuals to conduct such analyses, and to issue permits which shall be subject to termination or revocation at the discretion of the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory. The Mississippi Forensics Laboratory shall not approve the permit required herein for any law enforcement officer other than a member of the State Highway Patrol, an officer of the Commercial Transportation Enforcement Division within the Department of Public Safety, a sheriff or his deputies, a city policeman, an officer of a state-supported institution of higher learning campus police force, a security officer appointed and commissioned pursuant to the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Security Officer Law of 1978, a national park ranger, a national park ranger technician, a military policeman stationed at a United States military base located within this state other than a military policeman of the Army or Air National Guard or of Reserve Units of the Army, Air Force, Navy or Marine Corps, a marine law enforcement officer employed by the Department of Marine Resources, or a conservation officer employed by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. The permit given a marine law enforcement officer shall authorize such officer to administer tests only for violations of Sections 59-23-1 through 59-23-7. The permit given a conservation officer shall authorize such officer to administer tests only for violations of Sections 59-23-1 through 59-23-7 and for hunting related incidents resulting in injury or death to any person by discharge of a weapon as provided under Section 49-4-31.
The Mississippi Forensics Laboratory shall make periodic, but not less frequently than quarterly, tests of the methods, machines or devices used in making chemical analysis of a person's breath as shall be necessary to ensure the accuracy thereof, and shall issue its certificate to verify the accuracy of the same.
Without compromising accepted law enforcement standards and methodologies, the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory shall approve for use at least one (1) model of a breath alcohol content instrument that is readily available to law enforcement agencies throughout the state.
SECTION 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.