MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2024

By: Senator(s) Horhn To: Judiciary, Division B

SENATE BILL NO. 2016

1 AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 97-15-30, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972,

2 TO INCREASE THE PENALTIES FOR ILLEGALLY DUMPING SOLID WASTE
3 MATERIAL; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

5 SECTION 1. Section 97-15-30, Mississippi Code of 1972, is

6 amended as follows:

7 97-15-30. (1) For purposes of this section the term

8 "commercial purpose" means for the purpose of economic gain.

9 (2) (a) Except as authorized by law or permit, it is

10 unlawful for any person to throw, scatter, spill or place, or

11 cause to be thrown, scattered, spilled, or placed, or otherwise

12 disposed of, any solid waste in any of the following manners or

13 amounts:

14 (i) In or on any public highway, road, street,

15 alley or thoroughfare, including any portion of the right-of-way

16 thereof, or any other public lands, except in containers or areas

17 lawfully provided therefor. When any solid waste is thrown or

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18 discarded from a motor vehicle, the operator or owner of the motor

19 vehicle, or both, shall be deemed in violation of this section;

20 (ii) In or on any waters of the state. When any

21 solid waste is thrown or discarded from a vessel, the operator or

22 owner of the boat, or both, shall be deemed in violation of this

23 section; or

24 (iii) In or on any private property, unless prior

25 written consent of the owner has been given and the solid waste

26 will not cause a public nuisance or be in violation of any other

27 state or local law, rule or regulation;

28 (iv) Raw human waste from any train, aircraft,

29 motor vehicle or vessel upon the public or private lands or waters

30 of the state.

31 (b) Nothing in this section shall prohibit acts

32 authorized pursuant to Section 17-17-13.

33 (3) (a) Any person who violates this section in an amount

34 not exceeding fifteen (15) pounds in weight or twenty-seven (27)

35 cubic feet in volume and not for commercial purposes is guilty of

36 littering and subject to a fine as provided in Section 97-15-29.

37 (b) Any person who violates this section in an amount

38 exceeding fifteen (15) pounds or twenty-seven (27) cubic feet in

39 volume, but not exceeding five hundred (500) pounds in weight or

40 one hundred (100) cubic feet in volume and not for commercial

41 purposes is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of not

42 less than * * * Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), nor more

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43 than * * * One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00), or to

44 imprisonment for a term of not more than one (1) year, or both.

45 (c) Any person who violates this section in an amount

46 exceeding five hundred (500) pounds in weight or one hundred (100)

47 cubic feet in volume, or in any amount or volume of solid waste

48 for commercial purposes, or in any amount or volume of hazardous

49 waste is guilty of a felony and subject to a fine of not less

50 than * * * One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), nor more than * * *

51 Seventy-Five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00) or to imprisonment for

52 a term of not more than five (5) years, or both. For purposes of

53 the fine, each day shall constitute a separate violation.

54 (d) In addition to any other fines, penalties or

55 injunctive relief prescribed by law, a person convicted under

56 subsection * * * (3)(b) or (3)(c) of this section shall:

57 (i) Remove or render harmless, in accordance with

58 written direction from the Department of Environmental Quality,

59 the unlawfully discarded solid waste;

60 (ii) Repair or restore property damaged by, or pay

61 damages for any damage arising out of the unlawfully discarded

62 solid waste;

63 (iii) Perform community public service relating to

64 the removal of any unlawfully discarded solid waste or to the

65 restoration of an area polluted by unlawfully discarded solid

66 waste; and

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67 (iv) Pay all reasonable investigative and

68 prosecutorial expenses and costs to the investigative and/or

69 prosecutorial agency or agencies.

70 (e) If a conviction under subsection (3) of this

71 section is for a violation committed after a first conviction of

72 that person under this section, the maximum punishment under the

73 respective paragraphs shall be doubled with respect to both fine

74 and imprisonment.

75 (4) A court may enjoin a violation of subsection (2) of this

76 section.

77 (5) Any motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft, container, crane,

78 winch, or machine used in a felony violation of this section may

79 be seized with process or without process if a law enforcement

80 officer has probable cause to believe that the property was used

81 in violation of that section. The seized property shall be

82 subject to an administrative and/or judicial forfeiture by the

83 same standards and procedures provided under Sections 41-29-176

84 through 41-29-185.

85 (6) In the criminal trial of any person charged with

86 violating subsection (2) of this section, the defendant must

87 affirmatively show that he had authority to discard the solid

88 waste.

89 (7) Any person who conspires to commit a violation of this

90 section shall be punished in accordance with the underlying

91 offense set forth in this section.

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92 (8) It shall be the duty of all law enforcement officers to

93 enforce the provisions of this chapter.

94 (9) All prosecutions for felony violations of this section

95 shall be instituted only by the Attorney General, his designee,

96 the district attorney of the district in which the violation

97 occurred or his designee and shall be conducted in the name of the

98 people of the State of Mississippi. In the prosecution of any

99 criminal proceeding under this section by the Attorney General, or

100 his designee, and in any proceeding before a grand jury in

101 connection therewith, the Attorney General or his designee shall

102 exercise all the powers and perform all the duties which the

103 district attorney would otherwise be authorized or required to

104 exercise or perform. The Attorney General shall have the

105 authority to issue and serve subpoenas for any felony violation in

106 the same manner as prescribed under Section 7-5-59.

107 (10) Jurisdiction for all felony violations shall be in the

108 circuit court of the county in which the violation occurred.

109 (11) Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of

110 the department to enforce the provisions of the Solid Waste

111 Disposal Law or shall limit the authority of any state or local

112 agency to enforce any other laws, rules or ordinances.

113 (12) The Department of Transportation may erect warning

114 signs along the roads and highways of this state advising the

115 public of the existence of these sections and of the penalty for
116 the violation thereof.

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117 (13) This section shall not prohibit the storage of ties,

118 poles, other materials and machinery by a railroad or a public

119 utility on its right-of-way. This section does not apply to any

120 vehicle transporting agricultural products or supplies when the

121 solid waste from that vehicle is a nontoxic, biodegradable

122 agricultural product or supply.

123 (14) The Attorney General may pay an award, not to exceed

124 Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) to any person who furnishes

125 information or services that lead to a felony criminal conviction

126 for any violation of this section. The payment shall be subject

127 to available appropriations for those purposes as provided in

128 annual appropriation acts. Any officer or employee of the United

129 States or any state or local government who furnishes information

130 or renders service in the performance of an official duty is

131 ineligible for payment under this subsection.

132 SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from

133 and after July 1, 2024.

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