MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2022 Regular Session
To: Highways and Transportation
By: Senator(s) Jackson (11th)
AN ACT TO REINSTATE THE MISSISSIPPI MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY INSPECTION LAW, WHICH WAS REPEALED IN 2015; TO CODIFY THIS LAW AT ITS FORMER LOCATION, SECTIONS 63-13-1 THROUGH 63-13-29, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972; TO MAKE THE PERIOD OF INSPECTION FOR MOTOR VEHICLES EVERY TWO YEARS RATHER THAN EVERY YEAR; TO SET THE INSPECTION FEE AT $15.00 BIANNUALLY, RATHER THAN THE PREVIOUS ANNUAL FEES OF $5.00 FOR VEHICLES REGISTERED IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI AND $10.00 FOR VEHICLES REGISTERED IN ANOTHER STATE; TO AMEND SECTIONS 63-1-33 AND 63-7-59, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE ABOVE PROVISIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 63-13-1, Mississippi Code of 1972:
63-13-1. Short title. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Mississippi Motor Vehicle Safety Inspection Law."
SECTION 2. The following shall be codified as Section 63-13-3, Mississippi Code of 1972:
63-13-3. Operation of vehicles without required properly operating equipment or in unsafe mechanical condition. No person shall drive or move on any highway any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer or pole trailer, or any combination thereof, unless the equipment upon any and every said vehicle is in good working order and adjustment as required in this chapter, and said vehicle is in such safe mechanical condition as not to endanger the driver or other occupant or any person on the highway. This section does not apply to disabled vehicles being moved to a garage or service station by means of another vehicle, or to farm trailers engaged in farm operations, or to any farm tractor, combine, cotton picker, semitrailer, pole trailer, or other agricultural or farming equipment or machinery, or any combination thereof, used primarily for agricultural purposes, and not normally used on the public highways of the state. Moreover, pulpwood trucks or log trucks used exclusively during daylight hours are not required under the provisions of this chapter to have any lights in addition to headlights and taillights.
SECTION 3. The following shall be codified as Section 63-13-5, Mississippi Code of 1972:
63-13-5. Motor Vehicle Inspection Department. The Commissioner of Public Safety, together with the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and Commissioner of Revenue shall constitute the Motor Vehicle Inspection Department of this state and as such are hereby authorized to make necessary rules and regulations for the administration and enforcement of this chapter, including a reasonable provision for the bonding of the official inspection stations. In these rules and regulations, no specific brand or type of equipment shall be named or designated as inspection equipment, and only standard of performance shall be set; moreover, the rules and regulations shall be so drawn as not to provide a monopoly of one (1) type of equipment but shall provide approval of at least two (2) different brands of competitive equipment.
SECTION 4. The following shall be codified as Section 63-13-7, Mississippi Code of 1972:
63-13-7. Requirement of periodic inspection and approval of motor vehicles and trailers; display of certificate of inspection and approval; exemption of certain motor vehicles. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the Commissioner of Public Safety shall, not more than once every two (2) years, 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 vehicle. Each vehicle must display at all times a certificate of inspection and approval duly issued for the vehicle upon the lower left-hand corner of the windshield or upon the vehicle in a position as to be visible from the outside.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this section, every motor vehicle registered in any other state and operated on the highways of this state shall be inspected and shall display an inspection certificate which shall be different either in color or design from the inspection certificates issued for use on state-registered vehicles.
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 the 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 and subject to its rules and regulations and its periodic inspections.
(3) 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 5. The following shall be codified as Section 63-13-8, Mississippi Code of 1972:
63-13-8. Grace period for obtaining valid inspection sticker; dismissal of charge of violating inspection law where defendant presents receipt showing vehicle inspection and valid inspection sticker prior to hearing date or date fine is due. (1) A grace period for obtaining a valid inspection sticker, according to the provisions of this chapter, shall be granted in the following situations:
(a) Whenever an inspection sticker expires on a legal holiday or on a weekend, the owner of the vehicle shall have a grace period of three (3) days in which to obtain a valid inspection sticker.
(b) Whenever an inspection sticker expires while the vehicle is being repaired or restored, the owner of the vehicle 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 the expiration date.
(2) If the operator of a vehicle charged with a violation of this chapter for failure to have a valid vehicle inspection sticker 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 sticker issued for the vehicle, no fine, fee, penalty, assessment or court costs shall be imposed, and the charge shall be dismissed.
SECTION 6. The following shall be codified as Section 63-13-9, Mississippi Code of 1972:
63-13-9. Details of inspection; inspection of certain vehicles by representative of Liquified Compressed Gas Board; suspension of registration of unsafe vehicles. (1) Inspections shall be made of every such vehicle, and 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 has 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.
SECTION 7. The following shall be codified as Section 63-13-11, Mississippi Code of 1972:
63-13-11. Inspection fees; disposition of funds. A fee of Fifteen Dollars ($15.00) shall be charged for an inspection and issuance of a certificate of inspection for vehicles registered in this state, or 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 shall include a charge of Two Dollars ($2.00) per certificate of inspection, which shall be remitted to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. The fee for motor vehicles registered in another state includes a charge of Nine Dollars ($9.00) per certificate of inspection, which shall be remitted to the Department of Public Safety. The funds received by the department shall be deposited in the General Fund of the State Treasury in accordance with the provisions of Section 45-1-23(2). The portion of the fee which is not remitted to the department may be retained by the official inspection stations.
SECTION 8. The following shall be codified as Section 63-13-13, Mississippi Code of 1972:
63-13-13. Issuance, use, etc., of false certificate of inspection; display of false or improperly obtained certificate of inspection. (1) No person shall make, issue or knowingly use any imitation or counterfeit of an official certificate of inspection.
(2) No person shall display or cause or permit to be displayed on any vehicle any certificate of inspection and approval knowing the same to be fictitious or issued for another vehicle or issued without inspection having been made.
SECTION 9. The following shall be codified as Section 63-13-15, Mississippi Code of 1972:
63-13-15. Licensing of official inspection stations; qualifications of inspectors; inspection of stations; list of inspection stations. (1) The Commissioner of Public Safety shall annually issue permits for and furnish instructions and all necessary forms to official inspection stations for the inspection of vehicles as required by this chapter in the issuance of official certificates of inspection and approval.
(2) Application for a permit shall be made on an official form and shall be granted only when the Commissioner of Public Safety is satisfied that the station is properly equipped and has competent personnel to make such inspections and that such inspections will be properly conducted. A fee of Ten Dollars ($10.00) shall be charged any person or facility seeking a permit as an official inspection station, or a renewal thereof, for the purpose of defraying the cost of administering the processing of the application.
(3) The person making the actual inspection for the station or under whose immediate personal supervision the inspection is made shall have not less than one (1) year's practical experience as an automotive mechanic. No person shall be designated by the station to make inspections for it unless the person has been approved for that purpose by the Department of Public Safety.
(4) The Commissioner of Public Safety shall properly supervise and cause inspections to be made of stations and may, after reasonable notice, suspend or revoke and require the surrender of the permit issued to a station which he finds is not properly equipped or conducted. The Commissioner of Public Safety shall maintain and post at the office of the Department of Public Safety lists of all stations holding permits and of those whose permits have been suspended or revoked.
SECTION 10. The following shall be codified as Section 63-13-17, Mississippi Code of 1972:
63-13-17. Improper representation of establishment as official station; issuance of certificate by unauthorized person. (1) No person shall represent any place as an official inspection station unless the station is licensed as provided in this chapter.
(2) No person not described in Section 63-13-15 shall issue an official certificate of inspection and approval.
SECTION 11. The following shall be codified as Section 63-13-19, Mississippi Code of 1972:
63-13-19. Inspections by vehicle dealers. (1) Every licensed new and used car and/or truck dealer doing business in this state shall inspect or have inspected every new and used vehicle sold by such dealer in the manner prescribed by Section 63-13-9, and shall affix an official dealer's inspection certificate, which shall be furnished by the Commissioner of Public Safety, to each new and used vehicle, if such dealer is authorized to make inspections. If such dealer is not so authorized, such dealer shall have such vehicle inspected by an authorized inspection station. No new or used vehicle shall be sold that does not have a properly affixed and current inspection certificate. Such certificates shall be valid until the next official inspection is required.
(2) The Commissioner of Public Safety may suspend or revoke, for any reasonable time not to exceed one (1) year, the privilege of any dealer to make such an inspection and affix such dealer's inspection certificate to his vehicle upon abuse of any dealer of this right.
(3) No person not described in this section shall issue a dealer's certificate of inspection and approval.
SECTION 12. The following shall be codified as Section 63-13-21, Mississippi Code of 1972:
63-13-21. Highway inspection by members of Highway Safety Patrol; written notice for correction of defects. (1) Members of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol may at any time, upon reasonable cause to believe that a vehicle is unsafe or not equipped as required by law, or that its equipment is not in proper adjustment or repair, require the driver of such vehicle to stop and submit the vehicle to an inspection and such test with reference thereto as may be reasonably appropriate. No person driving a vehicle shall refuse to submit the vehicle to an inspection and test when required to do so by a member of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol.
This authority is limited to the inspection of the vehicle for mechanical defects and does not authorize the search of the vehicle or its occupants for any other purpose without due process of law. Evidence of the commission of an unlawful act, if procured by an inspection or test under this section, is not admissible in any criminal prosecution except as provided in this chapter.
(2) If a vehicle is found to be in unsafe condition, or any required part or equipment is not present or is not in proper repair and adjustment, the officer shall give a written notice to the driver and shall send a copy to the department. The notice shall require that the vehicle be placed in safe condition and its equipment in proper repair and adjustment, specifying the particulars with reference thereto, and that a certificate of inspection and approval be obtained within five (5) days.
SECTION 13. The following shall be codified as Section 63-13-23, Mississippi Code of 1972:
63-13-23. Correction of defects covered in notice issued under Section 63-13-21. (1) Every owner or driver, upon receiving a notice as provided in Section 63-13-21, shall comply therewith and shall, within five (5) days, secure an official certificate of inspection and approval which shall be issued in duplicate, one (1) copy to be retained by the owner or driver and the other copy to be forwarded to the department. In lieu of compliance with the provisions of this subsection, the vehicle shall not be operated, except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, and each day upon which the motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer or pole trailer, or any combination thereof, is operated over any highway of this state after failure to comply with this subsection shall constitute a separate offense.
(2) No person shall operate any vehicle after receiving a notice as provided in Section 63-13-21, except as may be necessary to return the vehicle to the residence or place of business of the owner or driver, if within a distance of twenty (20) miles, or to take the vehicle to a garage or service station in the nearest town in which there is an open and operating inspection station, until the vehicle and its equipment have been placed in proper repair and adjustment and otherwise made to conform to the requirements of this chapter.
(3) If repair or adjustment of any vehicle or its equipment is found necessary on inspection, the owner of the vehicle may obtain the repair or adjustment at any place he may choose. However, an official certificate of inspection and approval must always be obtained; otherwise, the vehicle shall not be operated on the highways of this state.
(4) Any person who wishes to make his own repairs may do so. He may not be charged twice for both inspection and repairs.
SECTION 14. The following shall be codified as Section 63-13-25, Mississippi Code of 1972:
63-13-25. Effect of inspection certificate; effect of failure to discover defects during inspection. The inspection of any vehicle under this chapter and the issuance of an official certificate of inspection shall not be construed in any court as a warranty of the mechanical condition of the vehicle inspected. The failure to discover any defect in any vehicle in the course of an inspection under this chapter shall not be made the basis of an action for damages in any court.
SECTION 15. The following shall be codified as Section 63-13-27, Mississippi Code of 1972:
63-13-27. Administration of chapter. For the purpose of administering this chapter, the Commissioner of Public Safety may hire necessary and qualified personnel and purchase the necessary equipment and vehicles out of funds appropriated therefor by the Legislature.
SECTION 16. The following shall be codified as Section 63-13-29, Mississippi Code of 1972:
63-13-29. Penalties for violations of chapter. 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 Fifty Dollars ($50.00) or sentenced to not more than six (6) months in the county jail, or both.
SECTION 17. Section 63-1-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
63-1-33. (1) Except as otherwise provided under subsections (6) and (7) of this section, it shall be the duty of the license examiner, when application is made for an operator's license or learner's permit, to test the applicant's ability to read and understand road signs and to give the required signals as adopted by the National Advisory Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.
(2) Except as otherwise provided under subsections (6) and (7) of this section, the commissioner shall have prepared and administer a test composed of at least ten (10) questions relating to the safe operation of a motor vehicle and testing the applicant's knowledge of the proper operation of a motor vehicle. Every examination shall ensure adequate knowledge on the part of the applicant as to school bus safety requirements.
(3) Prior to the administration of the test, the license examiner shall inspect the horn, lights, brakes, inspection certificate, vehicle registration and proof of liability coverage of the motor vehicle which the applicant expects to operate while being tested, and if he finds that any of the aforementioned items are deficient, no license or endorsement shall be issued to the applicant until same have been repaired.
(4) An applicant for a Mississippi driver's license who, at the time of application, holds a valid motor vehicle driver's license issued by another state shall not be required to take a written test.
(5) Except as otherwise provided by Section 63-1-6, when application is made for an original motorcycle endorsement, the applicant shall be required to pass a written test which consists of questions relating to the safe operation of a motorcycle and a skill test similar to the "Motorcycle Operator Skill Test," which is endorsed by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. The commissioner may exempt any applicant from the skill test if the applicant presents a certificate showing successful completion of a course approved by the commissioner, which includes a similar examination of skills needed in the safe operation of a motorcycle.
(6) The Department of Public Safety shall accept the certification of successful completion of an individual's training in the knowledge and skills needed for the proper and safe operation of a motor vehicle from a driver education and training program at a secondary school that meets the standards of the State Board of Education, in lieu of the department administering the examination of the individual for the purpose of obtaining a driver's license. The school may employ teachers duly certified by the Department of Education to teach in such a program. In addition, off-duty members of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol shall be authorized to teach in such a program without having to obtain a teaching certificate from the Department of Education. Instructors will be considered employees of the school, not of the Driver License Examining Bureau. The commissioner and the State Board of Education shall jointly promulgate rules and regulations for the administration of this subsection.
(7) The commissioner shall develop an affidavit whereby a parent, teacher or guardian may certify that he or she has witnessed a student operate a motor vehicle for at least fifty (50) hours and attest to the student's proficiency in the proper and safe operation of a motor vehicle and the Department of Public Safety shall accept such in lieu of a skills test conducted by the department.
SECTION 18. Section 63-7-59, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
63-7-59. (1) No person shall drive any motor vehicle required to be registered in this state upon the public roads, streets or highways in this state with any sign or poster, or with any glazing material which causes a mirrored effect, upon the front windshield, side wings or side or rear windows of the vehicle, other than a certificate or other paper required or authorized to be so displayed by law. No person shall drive any motor vehicle required to be registered in this state upon the public roads, streets or highways in this state with any tinted film, glazing material or darkening material of any kind on the windshield of a motor vehicle except material designed to replace or provide a sun shield in the uppermost area as authorized to be installed by manufacturers of vehicles under federal law.
(2) From and after July 1, 2006, no person shall drive any motor vehicle required to be registered in this state upon the public roads, streets or highways in this state with any window tinted or darkened, by tinted film or otherwise, unless:
(a) The windshield of the vehicle has affixed to it a label as provided under subsection (6) of this section certifying that all the windows of the vehicle have a light transmittance of twenty-eight percent (28%) or more; or
(b) The owner or operator of the vehicle has a certificate of medical exemption issued under subsection (4) of this section.
(3) The prohibitions of subsection (2) of this section shall not apply to:
(a) School buses, other buses used for public transportation, any bus or van owned or leased by a nonprofit organization duly incorporated under the laws of this state or any funeral home services vehicle, any limousine owned or leased by a private or public entity, or any government-owned law enforcement or fire department vehicle or any volunteer fire department vehicle;
(b) Any window behind the front two (2) side windows, including the rear window, of any pickup truck, van, motor home, recreational vehicle, sport utility vehicle or multipurpose vehicle that has been tinted or darkened after factory delivery to the extent that the light transmittance of the window meets the minimum light transmittance requirements authorized to be installed for that window and for that vehicle under federal law or regulations before factory delivery; or
(c) Any other motor vehicle the windows of which have been tinted or darkened before factory delivery as permitted by federal law or federal regulations.
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, it shall be lawful for any person who has been diagnosed by a physician licensed to practice medicine in the State of Mississippi as having a physical condition or disease that is seriously aggravated by minimum exposure to sunlight to place or have placed upon the windshield or windows of any motor vehicle which he owns or operates or within which he regularly travels as a passenger tinted film or other darkening material that would otherwise be in violation of this section. However, any vehicle, in order to be exempt under this subsection (4), shall have prominently displayed on the vehicle dashboard a certificate of medical exemption on a form prepared by the Commissioner of Public Safety and signed by the person on whose behalf the certificate is issued. The special certificate authorized by this subsection (4) shall be issued free of charge to the applicants through the offices of the tax collectors of the counties. Each applicant shall present to the issuing official:
(a) An affidavit signed personally by the applicant and signed and attested by a physician which states the applicant's physical condition or disease which entitles him to an exemption under this subsection (4); and
(b) Proof of ownership of the motor vehicle by the applicant, or a signed affidavit by the owner of a motor vehicle operated for the use of the applicant, for which he is obtaining the certificate.
(5) The windshield on every motor vehicle shall be equipped with a device for cleaning rain, snow or other moisture from the windshield, which device shall be so constructed as to be controlled or operated by the driver of the vehicle.
(6) The Department of Public Safety shall issue labels to official tint inspection stations for affixing to the windshield of every motor vehicle required to be inspected in this state with a window therein which has been tinted or darkened with any tinted film or other darkening material after factory delivery. The label shall be affixed to the lower left corner of the windshield directly above the certificate of inspection, shall be legible from outside the vehicle, and shall indicate the label registration number, a certification of compliance with Mississippi law, and such other information as the Commissioner of Public Safety deems appropriate. The labels shall be of a type which is pressure-sensitive, self-destructive upon removal, and no larger than one (1) inch square in size. Before affixing the label, the inspection station shall conduct a test to determine that the window complies with the light transmittance requirements prescribed under subsection (2) of this section. The test shall be conducted using such methods or devices as may be approved and certified not less often than annually by the Department of Public Safety. If the tint inspection station is also a motor vehicle inspection station under Title 63, Chapter 13, Mississippi Code of 1972, the station shall not be required by the department to enter into a bond separate and apart from any bond required for official inspection stations as provided under Section 63-13-5, but the bond required under Section 63-13-5 shall be considered entirely sufficient for the purposes of this section. For conducting such tests, tint inspection stations shall charge and collect a fee of Five Dollars ($5.00). Two Dollars ($2.00) of the fee shall be retained by the inspection station, and Three Dollars ($3.00) of the fee shall be remitted to the Department of Public Safety and may be expended, upon legislative appropriation, for the operational expenses of the department. No fee shall be charged unless a test is actually performed under this subsection (6). The presence of a label upon the windshield of a motor vehicle shall indicate that the person who affixed the label certifies that the windows of the vehicle meet the restrictions of subsection (2) of this section as to light transmittance.
(7) No person shall install any tinted film, darkening material, glazing material or any other material upon the windshield or any window of a motor vehicle which, after the installation thereof, would result in such vehicle being in violation of subsection (2) of this section.
(8) No label shall be issued for a vehicle on which the windshield or any window of the vehicle has been darkened by the installation of tinted film or by other means, except as authorized under this section.
(9) It shall be unlawful for any person to alter or reproduce any label or certificate of medical exemption approved by the Commissioner of Public Safety under this section for the purpose of misleading law enforcement officers or motor vehicle inspection stations, or to knowingly use any approved label or certificate except as authorized by this section.
(10) Any person violating subsection (7), (8) or (9) of this section, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than three (3) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(11) Any violation of this section other than a violation of subsection (7), (8) or (9) of this section shall be punishable upon conviction as provided in Section 63-7-7.
(12) Violations of this section shall be enforced only by law enforcement officers of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and municipal law enforcement officers of municipalities having a population of two thousand (2,000) or more on the public roads, streets and highways under their jurisdiction.
(13) The Department of Public Safety shall initiate a public awareness program designed to inform and educate persons of the provisions of this section. Funds for such public awareness program shall be available through the office of the Governor's representative for highway safety programs.
SECTION 19. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2022.