MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2000 Regular Session

To: Ports and Marine Resources

By: Senator(s) Gollott

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 49-15-63, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE GENERAL PENALTY FOR VIOLATION COMMITTED MORE THAN ONCE; TO AMEND SECTION 49-15-64, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE PENALTY FOR SHRIMPING DURING CLOSED SEASON; TO AMEND SECTION 49-15-15, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE REGULATIONS TO BE WRITTEN IN PLAIN ENGLISH; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 49-15-63, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-15-63. (1) (a) Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this chapter or any ordinance duly adopted by the commission, unless otherwise specifically provided for herein, may, on conviction, be fined not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), nor more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), for the first offense, unless the first offense is committed during a closed season, in which case the fine may be not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00); and not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), for the second offense when the same offense is committed within a period of three (3) years from the first offense; and not less than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) nor more than Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000.00), or imprisonment in the county jail for a period not exceeding thirty (30) days for any third or subsequent offense when the same offense is committed within a period of three (3) years from the first offense.

(b) In addition, upon conviction of a third or subsequent offense, * * * the court may revoke the license of the convicted party * * *, and no further license may be issued to such person * * * to engage in catching or taking of any seafood from the waters of the State of Mississippi for a period of one (1) year following such conviction. Forfeiture of any equipment or nets used in a second or subsequent offense may be instituted pursuant to Sections 49-7-251 through 49-7-257. If the person in possession of or using the nets in the violation is not the owner or licensee of the nets, the department shall notify the owner or licensee of the nets. The nets shall be subject to forfeiture unless the nets were stolen and prosecution for the theft is initiated. Equipment as used in this section shall not mean boats or vessels.

(c) Except as provided under subsection (5) of Section 49-15-45, any fines collected under this section shall be paid into the Seafood Fund.

(2) For any violation of this chapter, the individual registered as the captain of a freight boat, ice boat or catching boat used in catching or transporting of saltwater shrimp shall be subject to the penalties provided in this chapter, if that individual is aboard the vessel. If that individual is not aboard the vessel, the individual designated as the substitute captain in accordance with Section 49-15-64.5 shall be subject to the penalties provided in this chapter. If no individual is designated under Section 49-15-64.5, the person, firm or corporation owning the vessel shall be subject to the penalties provided for boat captains.

(3) All citations issued to boat operators for not possessing the boat's registration card shall be dismissed, along with all related court costs, upon the presentment of the boat's proper registration card to the court or magistrate holding the trial or hearing.

SECTION 2. Section 49-15-64, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-15-64. Any operator, firm or corporation engaged in commercial shrimping during the closed season shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00). Upon an arrest for a violation of this section, monies for the sale of catch and nets may be confiscated. Any catch shall be sold by the fisherman * * * at the average wholesale price being paid for shrimp. The sale shall be at a place of the fisherman choosing as long as the place is located in the State of Mississippi and the catch is paid for by a money order or cashier's check payable to the appropriate law enforcement agency. The arresting officer may escort the fisherman and have another person from the law enforcement agency meet them at the place of sale. The monies derived from the sale shall be held in escrow pending disposition of the charge. If a conviction is obtained, the monies held in escrow shall be forfeited. The monies so forfeited shall be paid to the department, to be paid into the seafood fund. If the operator, firm or corporation is acquitted of the charge or if the charge is dismissed, then the monies obtained from the sale shall be paid to the proper operator, firm or corporation. Forfeiture of confiscated nets and paraphernalia shall be instituted pursuant to Sections 49-7-251 through 49-7-257. If the person in possession of or using the nets in the violation is not the owner or licensee of the nets, the department shall notify the owner or licensee of the nets. The nets shall be subject to forfeiture unless the nets were stolen and prosecution for the theft is initiated.

The commission may issue special permits for the purpose of catching shrimp prior to the official opening of shrimp season, to those nonprofit organizations that are tax exempt under Section 501(c) of the United States Internal Revenue Code and which have on file with the State Tax Commission a tax exemption letter issued by the United States Internal Revenue Service. However, until January 1, 1992, the requirement that a nonprofit organization have on file with the State Tax Commission a tax exemption letter issued by the United States Internal Revenue Service shall be considered as having been met if the organization has actually made application for such exemption and has on file with the State Tax Commission a copy of its application.

The commission shall promulgate rules and regulations governing the taking of shrimp by the nonprofit organization and shall issue such regulations to all organizations upon request and at the issuance of the special permit.

A GPS (Global Positioning System) coordinates reading is required for any violation occurring after sundown for shrimping in closed waters.

SECTION 3. 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 seafood 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 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 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 extent possible;

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

(o) To prescribe types and forms of scientific permits for public educational or scientific institutions, federal and state agencies and consultants performing marine resource studies; (p) To suspend the issuance of licenses when necessary to impose a moratorium to conserve a fishery resource; and

(q) To promote, construct, monitor and maintain artificial fishing reefs in the marine waters of the State of Mississippi and in adjacent federal waters; to accept grants and donations of money or materials from public and private sources for such reefs; and to apply for any federal permits necessary for the construction or maintenance of artificial fishing reefs in federal waters.

(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) All regulations shall be clearly written in plain English.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2000.