MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2001 Regular Session

To: Judiciary B

By: Representative Holland

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 97-19-67, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF A BAD CHECK FOR DETERMINING WHETHER THE OFFENSE IS A MISDEMEANOR OR FELONY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 97-19-67, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

97-19-67. (1) Except as may be otherwise provided by subsection (2) of this section, any person violating Section 97-19-55, upon conviction, shall be punished as follows:

(a) For the first offense of violating said section, where the check, draft or order involved be less than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00), the person committing such offense shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not less than Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00), nor more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term of not less than five (5) days nor more than six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court;

(b) Upon commission of a second offense of violating said section, where the check, draft or order involved is less than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00), the person committing such offense shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not less than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term of not less than thirty (30) days nor more than one (1) year, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court;

(c) Upon commission of a third or any subsequent offense of violating said section, regardless of the amount of the check, draft or order involved, and regardless of the amount of the checks, drafts or orders involved in the prior convictions, the person committing such offense shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be punished by imprisonment in the State Penitentiary for a term of not less than one (1) nor more than five (5) years;

(d) Where the check, draft or order involved shall be Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) or more, the person committing such offense, whether same be a first or second offense, shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not less than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment in the State Penitentiary for a term of not more than three (3) years, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court. Upon conviction of a third or any subsequent offense, the person convicted shall be punished as is provided in the immediately preceding paragraph hereof.

(2) Where the conviction was based on a worthless check, draft or order given for the purpose of satisfying a pre-existing debt or making a payment or payments on a past-due account or accounts, no imprisonment shall be ordered as punishment, but the court may order the convicted person to pay a fine of up to the applicable amounts prescribed in paragraphs (1)(a)(b) and (d) of this section.

(3) In addition to or in lieu of any penalty imposed under the provisions of subsection (1) or subsection (2) of this section, the court may, in its discretion, order any person convicted of violating Section 97-19-55 to make restitution in accordance with the provisions of Sections 99-37-1 through 99-37-23 to the holder of any check, draft or order for which payment has been refused.

(4) Upon conviction of any person for a violation of Section 97-19-55, when the prosecution of such person was commenced by the filing of a complaint with the court by the district attorney under the provisions of Section 97-19-79, the court shall, in addition to any other fine, fee, cost or penalty which may be imposed under this section or as otherwise provided by law, and in addition to any order as the court may enter under subsection (3) of this section requiring the offender to pay restitution under Sections 99-37-1 through 99-37-23, impose a fee in the amount up to eighty-five percent (85%) of the face amount of the check, draft or order for which the offender was convicted of drawing, making, issuing, uttering or delivering in violation of Section 97-19-55.

(5) It shall be the duty of the clerk or judicial officer of the court collecting the fees imposed under subsection (4) of this section to monthly deposit all such fees so collected with the State Treasurer, either directly or by other appropriate procedures, for deposit in the special fund of the State Treasury created under Section 99-19-32, known as the "Criminal Justice Fund."

(6) After the accused has complied with all terms of the statute and the complainant or victim has been paid, the district attorney's check unit may dispose of the accused's file after one (1) year has expired after the last audit.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2001.