House Bill 115

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 63-13-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DELETE THE PROVISION OF LAW REQUIRING INSPECTION CERTIFICATES FOR VEHICLES REGISTERED IN ANOTHER STATE TO BE DIFFERENT IN COLOR OR DESIGN FROM THOSE FOR STATE REGISTERED VEHICLES; TO AMEND SECTION 63-13-8, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DELETE THE PROVISION OF LAW PROVIDING THAT A CHARGE OF VIOLATION OF THE MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY INSPECTION LAW SHALL BE DISMISSED IF THE DEFENDANT PRESENTS TO THE COURT ON OR BEFORE THE HEARING DATE OR THE DATE OF PAYMENT OF THE FINE A RECEIPT OR OTHER PROOF SUFFICIENT TO SHOW THAT THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN INSPECTED AND A VALID INSPECTION CERTIFICATE HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE VEHICLE; TO AMEND SECTION 63-13-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT NO VEHICLE SHALL BE ISSUED AN INSPECTION CERTIFICATE UNLESS THE VEHICLE'S LICENSE TAG IS CLEARLY VISIBLE; TO AMEND SECTION 63-13-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE FEE FOR AN INSPECTION CERTIFICATE FOR A VEHICLE REGISTERED IN ANOTHER STATE SHALL BE FIVE DOLLARS, THE SAME AS FOR STATE REGISTERED VEHICLES; TO AMEND SECTION 63-13-29, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE PENALTY FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE MISSISSIPPI MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY INSPECTION LAW; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 63-13-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

63-13-7. (1) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, the Commissioner of Public Safety shall, not more than once each year, require that every motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer and pole trailer registered in this state be inspected and that an official certificate of inspection and approval be obtained for each such vehicle. Each such vehicle must display at all times a certificate of inspection and approval duly issued for such vehicle upon the lower left-hand corner of the windshield thereof or upon such vehicle in such position as to be visible from the outside.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, every motor vehicle registered in any other state and operated over the highways of this state shall be inspected and shall display an inspection certificate * * *.

However, the Commissioner of Public Safety may authorize the acceptance in this state of a certificate of inspection and approval issued under the authority of a qualified agency or department of another state, provided that every municipality, county and state office in such other state accepts under a mutually acceptable reciprocal agreement, Mississippi's certificate of inspection and approval. The commissioner shall except from the provisions of this chapter all passenger buses and other vehicles certified by the * * *~~Interstate Commerce Commission~~ United States Department of Transportation and subject to its rules and regulations and its periodical inspections.

(3) The Commissioner of Public Safety shall require all school buses in the State of Mississippi to be inspected during the months of July or August each year and may provide such special certificate of inspection and approval as he may deem necessary.

(4) A motor vehicle manufactured or having a model year earlier than 1961 shall not be required to be inspected or to display a certificate of inspection under the provisions of this chapter.

SECTION 2. Section 63-13-8, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

63-13-8. * * *~~(1)~~ A grace period for obtaining a valid inspection sticker, according to the provisions of Chapter 13, Title 63, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall be granted in the following situations:

(a) Whenever a motor vehicle inspection sticker expires on a legal holiday or on a weekend, the owner of the vehicle involved shall have a grace period of three (3) days in which to obtain a valid inspection sticker.

(b) Whenever a motor vehicle inspection sticker expires while the vehicle is being repaired or restored, the owner of the vehicle involved shall have a grace period of three (3) days in which to obtain a valid inspection sticker. The period of three (3) days shall start to run from the date the owner takes possession of the vehicle after said expiration date.

* * *

SECTION 3. Section 63-13-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

63-13-9. (1) Such inspections shall be made of every such vehicle, and such certificates shall be obtained with respect to the mechanism, lights, tires, brakes and equipment, including a test to determine the luminous reflectance and light transmittance of the windows of vehicles that have been tinted or darkened after factory delivery, as shall be designated by the motor vehicle inspection department by rules and regulations.

(2) No vehicle equipped with a liquefied petroleum or natural gas carburetion system may be issued a certificate under this chapter unless the vehicle shall have first been inspected and approved by an inspector or qualified installer authorized by the State Liquefied Compressed Gas Board to inspect and approve the installation of such systems, and unless such approval is exhibited to the person making the actual inspection under this chapter.

(3) The Commissioner of Public Safety may suspend the registration of any vehicle which he determines is in such unsafe condition as to constitute a menace to safety and which, after notice and demand, is not equipped as required in this chapter and for which a required certificate has not been obtained.

(4) No vehicle may be issued a certificate under this chapter unless the vehicle's license tag is clearly visible, including the month and year, from a reasonable distance.

SECTION 4. Section 63-13-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

63-13-11. A fee of Five Dollars ($5.00) shall be charged for an inspection and issuance of a certificate of inspection for vehicles registered in this state. A fee of * * *~~Ten Dollars ($10.00)~~ Five Dollars ($5.00) shall be charged for an inspection and issuance of a certificate of inspection for vehicles registered in another state unless a reciprocal agreement, as provided for in Section 63-13-7 has been approved, in which event no Mississippi certificate of inspection shall be required. The fee for * * *~~state registered vehicles~~ each vehicle shall include a charge of Two Dollars ($2.00) per certificate of inspection, which shall be remitted to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. * * * Of the funds so received by the department, One Dollar ($1.00) shall be deposited in the General Fund of the State Treasury in accordance with the provisions of Section 45-1-23(2), and One Dollar ($1.00) shall be deposited in the Department of Public Safety Administration Fund. The portion of the fee which is not remitted to the department may be retained by the official inspection stations.

SECTION 5. Section 63-13-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

63-13-29. (1) Any person violating the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than * * * Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00).

(2) A violation of this chapter shall not be entered on the driving record of any individual so convicted, nor shall any state assessment provided for by Section 99-19-73, or any other state law, be imposed or collected.

SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015.