House Bill 606

AN ACT TO CREATE THE MISSISSIPPI HIT-AND-RUN ACCIDENT ALERT SYSTEM ACT; TO PROVIDE CERTAIN DEFINITIONS; TO PROVIDE THE CRITERIA TO REQUEST AN ACTIVATION FOR A HIT-AND-RUN ALERT; TO PROVIDE CERTAIN DUTIES OF LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ACT; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO PROMULGATE CERTAIN RULES REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. (1) This section shall be known and cited as the "Mississippi Hit-and-Run Accident Alert System Act."

(2) The Legislature finds that:

(a) A person who kills or inflicts a serious bodily injury upon a person during a motor vehicle accident and flees the scene poses a serious and imminent threat to the safety of the public;

(b) When a person kills or inflicts a serious bodily injury upon a person during a motor vehicle accident and flees the scene, the first few hours after the act are critically important to apprehending the person; and

(c) It is therefore necessary to create an alert system to facilitate the immediate apprehension of such persons by law enforcement agencies of the state.

(3) When used in this act, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(a) "Designated broadcaster" means a broadcaster that is designated by rules promulgated pursuant to subsection (5)(e) of this section to receive and broadcast a Hit-and-Run Alert.

(b) "Hit-and-run accident" means an incident when the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident fails to stop at the scene of the accident as required by Section 63-3-401.

(c) "Hit-and-Run Alert" means an alert issued by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(d) "Notification period" means the period of time established by rules promulgated under subsection (5)(c) of this section, during which time a Hit-and-Run Alert must remain effective unless it is cancelled by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation as described in subsection (4)(h) of this section.

(4) (a) The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety shall implement a statewide "Hit-and-Run Alert System" that has the purpose of providing a tiered, rapid response system to facilitate the immediate apprehension of persons who kill or cause serious bodily injury to another person during a hit-and-run accident.

(b) A Hit-and-Run Alert activation request may be made only by a law enforcement agency, and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation of the department of Public Safety may only activate a Hit-and-Run Alert after a request is made.

(c) To request a Hit-and-Run Alert, a law enforcement agency must notify the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, after verifying, that:

(i) A person has been killed or has suffered serious bodily injury during a hit-and-run accident; and

(ii) The law enforcement agency has additional information concerning the suspect or the suspect's vehicle, including, but not limited to:

(A) A complete license plate number of the suspect's vehicle;

(B) A partial license plate number and the make, style, and color of the suspect's vehicle; or

(d) Upon receipt of a notice from a law enforcement agency that a person has been killed or has suffered serious bodily injury during a hit-and-run accident and there is additional information concerning the suspect or the suspect's vehicle, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, using procedures established by rules promulgated under subsection (5) of this section, shall confirm the accuracy of the information and issue a Hit-and-Run Alert.

(e) The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation shall send the Hit-and-Run Alert, including the notification period associated with the Hit-and-Run Alert, to each designated broadcaster to be broadcast at designated intervals as specified in rules promulgated under subsection (5) of this section.

(f) A Hit-and-Run Alert must include:

(i) All appropriate information that the reporting law enforcement agency has that may assist in the apprehension of the suspect or suspects;

(ii) A statement instructing anyone with information related to the hit-and-run accident to contact his or her local law enforcement agency; and

(iii) A warning that the suspect or suspects are dangerous and that members of the public should not attempt to apprehend the suspect or suspects themselves.

(g) A federal, state or local law enforcement agency that locates or apprehends the suspect or suspects shall notify the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation as soon as practicable of such fact.

(h) A Hit-and-Run Alert is cancelled when the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation notifies the designated broadcaster that the suspect or suspects have been apprehended or at the end of the notification period, whichever occurs first.

(5) The Commissioner of Public Safety shall promulgate rules in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law for the implementation of the program. The rules shall include but need not be limited to:

(a) Procedures for a law enforcement agency to use to notify the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation that a person has been killed or has suffered serious bodily injury during a hit-and-run accident and there is additional information concerning the suspect or the suspect's vehicle;

(b) Procedures for the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation to follow in confirming the reporting law enforcement agency's information and reporting the information to each designated broadcaster;

(d) The intervals at which designated broadcasters shall issue a Hit-and-Run Alert; and

(e) A list of designated broadcasters who have volunteered to participate in the broadcasting of Hit-and-Run Alerts.

(6) The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the Mississippi Department of Transportation shall coordinate the priority of other messages for the public when determining whether to issue a Hit-and-Run Alert on the Department of Transportation's electronic signs.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015.