MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2005 Regular Session
To: Judiciary, Division B
By: Senator(s) Lee (35th), Flowers, Tollison, Albritton, Ross, Pickering, King, Thames, Walley, Davis
AN ACT TO RECODIFY THE PROHIBITION ON THE DUMPING OF DEAD WILDLIFE ON PUBLIC HIGHWAYS OR ROADS OR THE LANDS OF ANOTHER WITHOUT PERMISSION AS SECTION 97-15-29.1, MISSISSIPPI CODE 1972, TO INCREASE THE PENALTY FOR SUCH VIOLATIONS; TO AMEND SECTIONS 97-15-29 AND 49-1-44, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 97-15-29.1, Mississippi Code of 1972:
97-15-29.1 (1) Any person who puts, throws or dumps any dead wildlife, wildlife parts or waste on the roads or highways of this state, or within the limits of the rights-of-way of the roads or highways, or upon any private property without permission of the owner of the property, in addition to being civilly liable for all damages caused by such act, upon conviction, is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished as provided by this section.
(2) Any person found guilty of violating this section shall be fined Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). The proceeds of such fines shall be expended by the collecting jurisdiction solely for the purpose of funding local litter prevention programs or projects or local or school litter education programs as recommended by the statewide litter prevention program of Keep Mississippi Beautiful, Inc.
(3) In addition to the fines imposed by this section, a person may be required to perform the following:
(a) Repair or restore property damaged by, or pay damages for any damage arising out of the unlawfully discarded solid waste;
(b) Perform community public service relating to the removal of any unlawfully discarded solid waste or to the restoration of any area polluted by unlawfully discarded solid waste; and
(c) Pay all reasonable investigative and prosecutorial expenses and costs to the investigative and prosecutorial agency or agencies.
(4) It shall be the duty of all law enforcement officers to enforce the provisions of this section.
SECTION 2. Section 97-15-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-15-29 (1) * * * Anyone who shall put, throw, dump or leave on the roads and highways of this state, or within the limits of the rights-of-way of such roads and highways, or upon any private property, any cigarette or cigar stubs, or any other thing or substance likely to ignite the grass or underbrush on a road or highway, in addition to being civilly liable for all damages caused by such act shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor and punished as provided by subsection (3) of this section.
* * *
(2) The Department of Transportation is authorized to erect warning signs along the roads and highways of this state advising the public of the existence of this section and of the penalty for the violation thereof and is further authorized to install receptacles at reasonable intervals along the roads and highways of this state to be used as containers for trash and rubbish and for the convenience of the public using such roads and highways.
(3) Any person found guilty of the violation of this section shall, upon conviction, be fined not less than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) nor more than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00). The proceeds of such fines shall be expended by the collecting jurisdiction solely for the purpose of funding local litter prevention programs or projects or local or school litter education programs as recommended by the statewide litter prevention program of Keep Mississippi Beautiful, Inc.
(4) As a part of the fine imposed by subsection (3) above, a person convicted for an offense upon which fines are imposed by this section may be required to perform the following, and a person convicted for a second or subsequent offense upon which fines are imposed by this section shall be required to:
(a) Remove or render harmless, in accordance with written direction, as appropriate, from the Department of Environmental Quality or local law enforcement authorities, the unlawfully discarded solid waste;
(b) Repair or restore property damaged by, or pay damages for any damage arising out of the unlawfully discarded solid waste;
(c) Perform community public service relating to the removal of any unlawfully discarded solid waste or to the restoration of any area polluted by unlawfully discarded solid waste; and
(d) Pay all reasonable investigative and prosecutorial expenses and costs to the investigative and/or prosecutorial agency or agencies.
(5) Upon a second or subsequent conviction of an offense upon which fines are imposed by this section, the minimum and maximum fines shall be doubled.
(6) When any litter is thrown or discarded from a motor vehicle, the operator of the motor vehicle shall be deemed in violation of this section.
(7) Assessments collected under subsection (4) of Section 99-19-73 from persons convicted of a violation of this section shall be deposited to the credit of the Statewide Litter Prevention Fund created in Section 65-1-167.
(8) It shall be the duty of all law enforcement officers to enforce the provisions of this section.
(9) This section shall not prohibit the storage of ties and machinery by a railroad on its right-of-way where the highway right-of-way extends to within a few feet of the railroad roadbed.
SECTION 3. Section 49-1-44, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-1-44. In addition to the regulations of the commission and the statutes relating to protection and preservation of wildlife and the environment, conservation officers are hereby authorized to assist in the detection and apprehension of violators of the laws of this state which pertain to theft of cattle, to enforce and apprehend violators of the laws of this state which pertain to unauthorized dumping of garbage, obstructing streams and littering, as set forth specifically in Sections 97-15-13, 97-15-21, 97-15-23, 97-15-25, 97-15-27, 97-15-29, 97-15-29.1, 97-15-31, 97-15-39, 97-15-41, 97-15-43, 97-15-45, 97-17-53, 97-17-79, 97-17-81 and 97-17-83, but not limited thereto, and in addition to any other powers and duties otherwise delegated or assigned to conservation officers.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2005.