MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2013 Regular Session

To: Judiciary, Division B

By: Senator(s) Burton

Senate Bill 2168

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 97-29-31, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE PENALTY FOR INDECENT EXPOSURE UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

     SECTION 1.  Section 97-29-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     97-29-31.  (1)  (a)  Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection and subsection (2) of this section, a person who willfully and lewdly exposes his person, or private parts thereof, in any public place, or in any place where others are present, or procures another to so expose himself, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, * * *on  upon conviction, shall be punished as follows:

              (i)  For a first offense, * * *shall be punished by a fine not exceeding Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or * * * be imprisonedimprisonment not exceeding six (6) months, or both.

              (ii) * * *  Upon conviction  For a second offense, * * * within five (5) years, such person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine * * *of not * * *more than exceeding One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or * * *shall be imprisoned imprisonment not exceeding one (1) year, or both.

          (b) * * *Upon conviction of  For a third or subsequent offense, * * *within five (5) years, such the person shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by a fine of not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or shall be imprisoned for not more than five (5) years in the State Penitentiary, or both.

     (2)  A person who violates this section and who is required to register as a sex offender under Section 45-33-21 et seq., or who willfully and lewdly exposes his person, or private parts thereof, to a child under the age of sixteen (16), or procures another to so expose himself, for a first offense is guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or imprisonment not exceeding one (1) year, or both, and for a second or subsequent offense, shall be guilty of a felony and punished by a fine not exceeding Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a period not exceeding five (5) years, or both.

     (23)  It is not a violation of this statute for a woman to breast-feed.

     SECTION 2.  This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2013.