MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2000 Regular Session

To: Judiciary A

By: Representatives Smith (59th), Moore (60th), Rogers, Weathersby

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 51-9-171, 51-9-175, 51-9-177, 51-9-179, 51-9-181 AND 51-9-183, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REDESIGNATE PEARL RIVER VALLEY WATER SUPPLY DISTRICT SECURITY OFFICERS AS PEARL RIVER VALLEY WATER SUPPLY DISTRICT RESERVOIR PATROL OFFICERS; TO AMEND SECTIONS 63-11-5 AND 63-11-19, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 51-9-171, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

51-9-171. Sections 51-9-171 through 51-9-185 shall be cited as "The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Reservoir Patrol Officer Law * * *."

SECTION 2. Section 51-9-175, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

51-9-175. (1) The board of directors of the district may appoint and commission qualified persons as reservoir patrol officers of the district. Any such reservoir patrol officer so appointed shall be a full-time employee of the district and shall not be employed by any privately owned guard or security service, and shall at all times be answerable and responsible to the board of directors of the district.

(2) A reservoir patrol officer appointed and commissioned as provided in subsection (1) of this section shall, before entering upon his duties as such officer, take the oath of office prescribed by Section 268, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, which shall be endorsed upon his commission. The commission, with the oath endorsed upon it, shall be entered in the official minute book of the district.

(3) A reservoir patrol officer appointed and commissioned pursuant to the provisions of Sections 51-9-171 through 51-9-185, shall, while engaged in the performance of his duties, carry on his person a badge identifying him as a reservoir patrol officer of the district and an identification card issued by the district. When in uniform, each such reservoir patrol officer shall wear his badge in plain view.

(4) A reservoir patrol officer may exercise the same powers of arrest and the right to bear firearms that may be exercised by any state, municipal or other police officer in this state, but only with respect to violations of law or violations of regulations adopted pursuant to Section 51-9-127, which are committed on the property owned by the district. This includes property which is owned by the district but has been leased or rented to other parties. Any right granted under this subsection in no way relieves the requirements of appropriate affidavit and warrant for arrest from the appropriate jurisdiction and authority pursuant to the laws of this state.

(5) On behalf of each person who is trained as a reservoir patrol officer at the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers' Training Academy, the district shall be required to pay to the academy at least an amount equal to the per student cost of operation of said academy as tuition.

SECTION 3. Section 51-9-177, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

51-9-177. A person arrested by a reservoir patrol officer shall be handled or processed in the jurisdiction in which the offense was committed, in the same manner as if the arrest had been made by a sheriff or constable. If the reservoir patrol officer detains any person arrested by him, he shall forthwith deliver the arrested person to the sheriff of the county in which the offense was committed, and the reservoir patrol officer shall have no further authority as to the custody of such arrested person.

SECTION 4. Section 51-9-179, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

51-9-179. The district, by the act of the appointment of any such reservoir patrol officer, shall be liable and responsible for all acts of such reservoir patrol officer while he is acting or purporting to act under the provisions of Sections 51-9-171 through 51-9-185, whether such action be authorized by Sections 51-9-171 through 51-9-185 or not; further, the district shall indemnify the State of Mississippi and any sheriff for any loss, costs or expenses incurred by virtue of any act, deed or omission committed by such reservoir patrol officer while he is acting or purporting to act under the provisions of Sections 51-9-171 through 51-9-185, whether such act, deed or omission is authorized by Sections 51-9-171 through 51-9-185 or not.

SECTION 5. Section 51-9-181, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

51-9-181. Each reservoir patrol officer commissioned under this article shall file a bond in the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) with the district for the lawful and faithful performance of his duties. The cost of the bond shall be borne by the district. The filing of such bond shall not relieve the district from any civil liability it may otherwise incur in accordance with the provisions of Section 51-9-179. The district shall indemnify and hold the State of Mississippi, the Commissioner of Public Safety, and any sheriff harmless from any and all liability which any or all of them might otherwise incur for the negligent or unlawful acts of said reservoir patrol officer.

SECTION 6. Section 51-9-183, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

51-9-183. The powers and authority of any reservoir patrol officer, whether appointed or commissioned pursuant to the provisions of Sections 51-9-171 through 51-9-185 or any former law of this state, may be terminated at any time by the board of directors of the district.

SECTION 7. Section 63-11-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

63-11-5. (1) Any person who operates a motor vehicle upon the public highways, public roads and 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 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. The test or tests shall be administered at the direction of any highway patrol officer, any sheriff or his duly commissioned deputies, any police officer in any incorporated municipality, any national park ranger, any 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 any reservoir patrol officer appointed and commissioned pursuant to the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Reservoir Patrol Officer Law  * * * 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, 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. No such test shall be administered by any person who has not met all the educational and training requirements of the appropriate course of study prescribed by the Board on Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Training; provided, however, that sheriffs and elected chiefs of police shall be exempt from such educational and training requirement. No such tests shall be given by any officer or any agency to any person within fifteen (15) minutes of consumption of any substance by mouth.

(2) 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, and streets of this state while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, such officer shall inform such person that his failure to submit to such chemical test or tests of his breath shall result in the suspension of his privilege to operate a motor vehicle upon the public streets and highways of this state for a period of ninety (90) days in the event such person has not previously been convicted of a violation of Section 63-11-30, or, for a period of one (1) year in the event of any previous conviction of such person under Section 63-11-30.

(3) 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).

(4) 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.

(5) The Commissioner of Public Safety and the State Crime Laboratory created pursuant to Section 45-1-17 are hereby authorized from and after the passage of this section to adopt procedures, rules and regulations, applicable to the Implied Consent Law.

SECTION 8. 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 State Crime 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 State Crime Laboratory for making such analysis. The State Crime 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 State Crime Laboratory. The State Crime Laboratory shall not approve the permit required herein for any law enforcement officer other than a member of the State Highway Patrol, a sheriff or his deputies, a city policeman, an officer of a state-supported institution of higher learning campus police force, a reservoir patrol officer appointed and commissioned pursuant to the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Reservoir Patrol Officer Law * * *, 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 conservation officer or 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 State Crime 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.

SECTION 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2000.