House Bill 82

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 97-15-29, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCREASE THE FINES AND PENALTIES AUTHORIZED TO BE IMPOSED FOR LITTERING; TO REDISTRIBUTE A PORTION OF THE PROCEEDS FROM THE INCREASED FINES TO REIMBURSE COLLECTING JURISDICTIONS FOR THE COST OF REMOVING LITTER, TO SUPPORT LITTER PREVENTION EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR THE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS MONUMENT FUND; TO AMEND SECTION 39-5-71, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT ANY MONIES REMAINING AT THE END OF A FISCAL YEAR UNEXPENDED OR UNENCUMBERED IN THE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS MONUMENT FUND IN EXCESS OF THE AMOUNT NECESSARY FOR CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE MONUMENT SHALL BE EXPENDED AND DISBURSED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING IN ADMINISTERING THE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN OF DECEASED OR DISABLED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS OR FIREMEN; TO AMEND SECTION 37-107-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCLUDE THE COSTS OF BOOKS IN THE SCHOLARSHIP PROVIDED TO DEPENDENTS OF A MISSISSIPPI LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, FULL-TIME FIRE FIGHTER OR VOLUNTEER FIRE FIGHTER WHO SUFFERS OR HAS SUFFERED FATAL INJURIES OR WOUNDS OR BECOME PERMANENTLY AND TOTALLY DISABLED AS A RESULT OF INJURIES OR WOUNDS WHICH OCCURRED IN THE PERFORMANCE OF OFFICIAL DUTIES; TO EXPAND THE USE OF SUCH FUNDS TO ALLOW SUCH A DEPENDENT TO ATTEND A PRIVATE COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OR COMMUNITY/JUNIOR COLLEGE; TO PROVIDE THAT THE AMOUNT OF THE SCHOLARSHIP AWARDED FOR ATTENDANCE AT A PRIVATE COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OR COMMUNITY/JUNIOR COLLEGE SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT AWARDED FOR ATTENDANCE AT A STATE-SUPPORTED COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OR COMMUNITY/JUNIOR COLLEGE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 97-15-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

97-15-29. (1) (a) 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.

(b) Anyone who puts, throws or dumps on the roads or highways of this state, or within the limits of the rights-of-way of such roads or highways, or upon any private property without permission of the owner of such property, any dead wildlife, wildlife parts or waste, in addition to being civilly liable for all damages caused by such act, upon conviction, shall 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 a first violation of this section shall, upon conviction, be fined Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). Any person convicted of a second or subsequent violation of this section, the offenses being committed within three (3) years, shall be fined One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00). Fifty percent (50%) of the proceeds of such fines shall be used to reimburse the collecting jurisdiction for the cost of removing litter and, if the proceeds exceed such reimbursement, the balance shall be used by the Mississippi Department of Transportation to fund statewide litter prevention television advertisements to inform and educate the public regarding litter prevention and the penalties for violating this section. Of the remaining fifty percent (50%) of the proceeds, twenty-five percent (25%) shall be used 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., and twenty-five percent (25%) shall be deposited into the Law Enforcement Officers Monument Fund created under Section 39-5-71(2).

(4) In addition to the fines imposed by subsection (3) of this section, a person convicted for a first violation of this section may be required * * *, and a person convicted for a second or subsequent violation of this section, the offenses being committed within three (3) years, shall be required * * *:

(a) To 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) To repair or restore property damaged by, or pay damages for any damage arising out of the unlawfully discarded solid waste;

(c) To perform fifty (50) hours of community public service for a first violation of subsection (3) of this section, or one hundred (100) hours of community public service for a second or subsequent violation of subsection (3) of this section, 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) To pay all reasonable investigative and prosecutorial expenses and costs to the investigative and/or prosecutorial agency or agencies.

* * *

(5) 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.

(6) 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.

(7) It shall be the duty of all law enforcement officers to enforce the provisions of this section.

(8) 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 2. Section 39-5-71, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

39-5-71. (1) The Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training, in cooperation with the Department of Archives and History and the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management, is hereby authorized, subject to funds being made available, to cause to be constructed and maintained on state-owned lands at some suitable and appropriate place in or near the City of Jackson, a monument containing the names and paying tribute to all state, county and municipal law enforcement officers whohave given their lives in the performance of their official duties. This shall include any federal law enforcement officer employed and residing in Mississippi at the time of death.

It is the intent of the Legislature that adequate space be left on the monument to be available to add names of law enforcement officers in the future who give their lives in the performance of their official duties.

(2) The Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training is hereby authorized to accept gifts, grants and donations from individuals and organizations, to be deposited into the Law Enforcement Officers Monument Fund which is hereby created as a special fund in the State Treasury. The fund also shall consist of such monies as are directed to be deposited into the fund under Section 97-15-29(3). The State Treasurer shall invest all monies in the fund and any interest earned shall be deposited into the fund. All funds deposited into the fund, including interest earned thereon, shall be used for the purpose of fund-raising, erecting and maintaining the monument as provided in subsection (1) of this section. The funds may be used for any fund-raising activity the board deems necessary for the construction and maintenance of the monument. Any monies remaining unexpended or unencumbered in the fund upon completion of the monument shall revert to the Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training for maintenance of the monument. At the end of each fiscal year, any monies remaining unexpended or unencumbered in the fund in excess of the amount necessary for construction and maintenance of the monument shall be transferred to and credited to the Board of Trustees of Institutions of Higher Learning for expenditure and disbursement in administering the scholarship program for children of deceased or disabled law enforcement officers or firemen established under Chapter 107, Title 37, Mississippi Code of 1972.

SECTION 3. Section 37-107-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-107-1. If any Mississippi law enforcement officer, full-time fire fighter or volunteer fire fighter shall suffer or has suffered fatal injuries or wounds or become permanently and totally disabled as a result of injuries or wounds which occurred in the performance of the official and appointed duties of his or her office, his or her spouse, child or children shall be entitled to an eight-semester scholarship, inclusive of books, without cost, exclusive of * * * food, school supplies, materials and dues or fees for extracurricular activities, at any state-supported or private college, university or community/junior college of his or her choice within this state. The amount of the scholarship awarded for attendance at a private college or university shall not exceed the amount awarded for attendance at a state-supported college, university or community/junior college. No child shall be entitled to receive benefits during any semester or quarter when said child has reached the age of twenty-three (23) years on the first day of said semester or quarter. However, any child who has begun the process of acquiring college credits under the provisions of this section prior to attaining the age of twenty-three (23) years shall be entitled to the full eight-semester scholarship if his or her college instruction was interrupted for any reason.

Scholarship benefits shall not accrue hereunder to any person if the wounds or injuries suffered by any law enforcement officer, full-time fire fighter or volunteer fire fighter are self-inflicted or if his death is self-induced.

SECTION 4. The following shall be codified as Section 37-107-11, Mississippi Code of 1972:

37-107-11. The provisions of this chapter and any rules and regulations promulgated by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning implementing the provisions of this chapter shall be included in any handbook issued to a law enforcement officer, full-time fire fighter or volunteer fire fighter.

SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2007.