MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2017 Regular Session
To: Judiciary, Division B
By: Senator(s) Jordan
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 97-17-41, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THEFT OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES, LEGEND DRUGS OR FIREARMS WILL CONSTITUTE GRAND LARCENY WITHOUT REGARD TO THE VALUE OF THE THINGS STOLEN; TO AMEND SECTION 97-17-42, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO THE OFFENSE OF LARCENY OF A MOTOR VEHICLE; TO AMEND SECTION 97-17-43, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 97-17-41, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-17-41. (1) Any person
who * * *
is convicted of taking and carrying away, feloniously, the personal
property of another * * *
of the value of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or more * * *
shall be guilty of grand larceny, and * * * punished as set out in this section.
The total value of property taken and carried away by the person from a single
victim shall be aggregated in determining the gravity of the offense.
(a) (i) If the value of the property is One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or more, but less than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), the person shall be imprisoned in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a term not exceeding five (5) years or fined not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both.
( * * * ii) * * * If
the value of the property is Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or more,
but less than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), * * * the
person shall be imprisoned in the * * * custody of the Department of
Corrections for a term not exceeding ten (10) years * * * or * * * fined not more than Ten Thousand Dollars
($10,000.00), or both. * * *
( * * * iii) * * * If
the value of the property is Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00)
or more, * * * the person shall be imprisoned
in the * * *
custody of the Department of Corrections for a term not exceeding twenty
(20) years * * *
or * * *
fined not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both. * * *
( * * *b) * * * If the property * * * belongs to a church, synagogue,
temple or other established place of worship, and:
(i) Is
of the value of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or more, * * * but
less than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), the person shall be
imprisoned in the * * * custody of the Department of Corrections for a
term not exceeding ten (10) years * * * or * * * fined not more than Ten Thousand
Dollars ($10,000.00), or both.
( * * *ii) * * * Is of the value of Twenty-five
Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) or more, * * * the
person shall be imprisoned in the * * * custody of the Department of
Corrections for a term not exceeding twenty (20) years * * * or * * * fined not more than Ten Thousand
Dollars ($10,000.00), or both. * * *
(2) (a) Any person who is convicted of taking and carrying away, feloniously, a legend drug or firearm of any value, is guilty of grand larceny, and the person shall be imprisoned in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a term not exceeding ten (10) years, or fined not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the term "legend drug" is interchangeable with the term "prescription drug" and means a drug required under federal law to be labeled with a statement that restricts dispensing without a prescription or that restricts the drug to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian, or both.
SECTION 2. Section 97-17-42, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-17-42. (1) Any
person who * * *
willfully and without authority * * * takes possession of or takes
away a motor vehicle of any value belonging to another, with intent to either permanently
or temporarily convert it or to permanently or temporarily deprive the owner of
possession or ownership, and any person who knowingly * * * aids and abets in the
taking possession or taking away of the motor vehicle, shall be guilty of larceny
and shall be punished based on the value of the motor vehicle involved
according to the schedule in Section 97-17-41(1). If the value of the
motor vehicle involved is less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) * * *, the person shall be punished
according to the schedule in Section 97-17-43.
(2) Any person convicted under this section who causes damage to any motor vehicle shall be ordered by the court to pay restitution to the owner or owners of the motor vehicle or vehicles damaged.
(3) This section shall not apply to the enforcement of a security interest in a motor vehicle.
(4) * * * A person who * * * is convicted * * * of a second or subsequent offense
under this section shall be imprisoned in the * * * custody of the Department of
Corrections for a term not exceeding * * * ten (10) years or * * * fined not more than Ten Thousand
Dollars ($10,000.00), or both.
SECTION 3. Section 97-17-43, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-17-43. (1) * * * (a) Except as otherwise provided in
this section or in Section 97-17-41, a person * * * who feloniously takes,
steals and * * * carries away any personal property of another under the
value of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), * * * is guilty of petit larceny
and, upon conviction, may be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not
exceeding six (6) months, or by a fine not exceeding One Thousand
Dollars ($1,000.00), or both, if the court finds that, for
substantial and compelling reasons * * *, the offender cannot be safely and
effectively supervised in the community, is not amenable to community-based
treatment, or poses a significant risk to public safety. * * * Unless such a finding is * * * made, the court * * * must suspend the sentence of
imprisonment and impose a period of probation not exceeding one (1) year or a
fine not exceeding One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or both. * * *
(b) * * * A person convicted of a third or
subsequent offense under this * * * subsection (1) where the value
of the property is * * * Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) * * * or more shall be imprisoned in the * * * custody of the Department of Corrections for a
term not exceeding three (3) years or fined an amount not exceeding One
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or both.
(2) * * * (a) A person * * * who feloniously takes,
steals and * * * carries away any property of a church, synagogue,
temple or other established place of worship under the value of One Thousand
Dollars ($1,000.00) * * * is guilty of petit larceny and, upon conviction,
may be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one (1) year
or by a fine not exceeding Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00), or both,
if the court finds that, for substantial and compelling reasons * * *, the offender cannot be safely and
effectively supervised in the community, is not amenable to community-based
treatment, or poses a significant risk to public safety. * * * Unless such a finding is * * * made, the court * * * must suspend the sentence of
imprisonment and impose a period of probation not exceeding one (1) year or a
fine not exceeding Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00), or both.
(b) * * * A person convicted of a third or
subsequent offense under this * * * subsection where the value of
the property is * * * Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or more, shall be
imprisoned in the * * * custody of the Department of Corrections for a term not
exceeding three (3) years or fined an amount not exceeding Two Thousand Dollars
($2,000.00), or both.
(3) The total value of property taken, stolen or carried away by the person from a single victim shall be aggregated in determining the gravity of the offense.
( * * *4) * * * A person who leaves the premises
of an establishment at which motor fuel offered for retail sale was dispensed
into the fuel tank of a motor vehicle by driving away in that motor vehicle
without having made due payment or authorized charge for the motor fuel so
dispensed, with intent to defraud the retail establishment, shall be guilty of
petit larceny and punished * * * by
imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six (6) months, or by a fine not
exceeding One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or both, and, upon any second or subsequent such
offense, the driver's license of the person shall be suspended as follows:
(a) The person shall submit the driver's license to the court upon conviction and the court shall forward the driver's license to the Department of Public Safety.
(b) The first suspension of a driver's license under this subsection shall be for a period of six (6) months.
(c) A second or subsequent suspension of a driver's license under this subsection shall be for a period of one (1) year.
(d) At the expiration
of the suspension period, and upon payment of a restoration fee of Twenty-five
Dollars ($25.00), the suspension shall terminate and the Department of Public
Safety shall return the person's driver's license to the person. The
restoration fee shall be in addition to the fees provided for in Chapter 1,
Title 63, * * *
and shall be deposited into the State General Fund in accordance with Section
45-1-23.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2017.