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To: Judiciary A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Foster

HOUSE BILL NO. 518

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 97-15-30, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO INCREASE THE PENALTIES FOR ILLEGALLY DUMPING SOLID WASTE 2
MATERIAL; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 4
SECTION 1. Section 97-15-30, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 5
amended as follows: 6
97-15-30. (1) For purposes of this section the term 7
"commercial purpose" means for the purpose of economic gain. 8
(2) (a) Except as authorized by law or permit, it is 9
unlawful for any person to throw, scatter, spill or place, or 10
cause to be thrown, scattered, spilled, or placed, or otherwise 11
disposed of, any solid waste in any of the following manners or 12
amounts: 13
(i) In or on any public highway, road, street, 14
alley or thoroughfare, including any portion of the right-of-way 15
thereof, or any other public lands, except in containers or areas 16
lawfully provided therefor. When any solid waste is thrown or 17
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discarded from a motor vehicle, the operator or owner of the motor 18
vehicle, or both, shall be deemed in violation of this section; 19
(ii) In or on any waters of the state. When any 20
solid waste is thrown or discarded from a vessel, the operator or 21
owner of the boat, or both, shall be deemed in violation of this 22
section; or 23
(iii) In or on any private property, unless prior 24
written consent of the owner has been given and the solid waste 25
will not cause a public nuisance or be in violation of any other 26
state or local law, rule or regulation; 27
(iv) Raw human waste from any train, aircraft, 28
motor vehicle or vessel upon the public or private lands or waters 29
of the state. 30
(b) Nothing in this section shall prohibit acts 31
authorized pursuant to Section 17-17-13. 32
(3) (a) Any person who violates this section in an amount 33
not exceeding fifteen (15) pounds in weight or twenty-seven (27) 34
cubic feet in volume and not for commercial purposes is guilty of 35
littering and subject to a fine as provided in Section 97-15-29. 36
(b) Any person who violates this section in an amount 37
exceeding fifteen (15) pounds or twenty-seven (27) cubic feet in 38
volume, but not exceeding five hundred (500) pounds in weight or 39
one hundred (100) cubic feet in volume and not for commercial 40
purposes is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of not 41
less than * * * Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), nor more 42
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than * * * One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00), or to 43
imprisonment for a term of not more than one (1) year, or both. 44
(c) Any person who violates this section in an amount 45
exceeding five hundred (500) pounds in weight or one hundred (100) 46
cubic feet in volume, or in any amount or volume of solid waste 47
for commercial purposes, or in any amount or volume of hazardous 48
waste is guilty of a felony and subject to a fine of not less 49
than * * * One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), nor more than * * * 50
Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00) or to imprisonment for 51
a term of not more than five (5) years, or both. For purposes of 52
the fine, each day shall constitute a separate violation. 53
(d) In addition to any other fines, penalties or 54
injunctive relief prescribed by law, a person convicted under 55
subsection * * * (3)(b) or (3)(c) of this section shall: 56
(i) Remove or render harmless, in accordance with 57
written direction from the Department of Environmental Quality, 58
the unlawfully discarded solid waste; 59
(ii) Repair or restore property damaged by, or pay 60
damages for any damage arising out of the unlawfully discarded 61
solid waste; 62
(iii) Perform community public service relating to 63
the removal of any unlawfully discarded solid waste or to the 64
restoration of an area polluted by unlawfully discarded solid 65
waste; and 66
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(iv) Pay all reasonable investigative and 67
prosecutorial expenses and costs to the investigative and/or 68
prosecutorial agency or agencies. 69
(e) If a conviction under subsection (3) of this 70
section is for a violation committed after a first conviction of 71
that person under this section, the maximum punishment under the 72
respective paragraphs shall be doubled with respect to both fine 73
and imprisonment. 74
(4) A court may enjoin a violation of subsection (2) of this 75
section. 76
(5) Any motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft, container, crane, 77
winch, or machine used in a felony violation of this section may 78
be seized with process or without process if a law enforcement 79
officer has probable cause to believe that the property was used 80
in violation of that section. The seized property shall be 81
subject to an administrative and/or judicial forfeiture by the 82
same standards and procedures provided under Sections 41-29-176 83
through 41-29-185. 84
(6) In the criminal trial of any person charged with 85
violating subsection (2) of this section, the defendant must 86
affirmatively show that he had authority to discard the solid 87
waste. 88
(7) Any person who conspires to commit a violation of this 89
section shall be punished in accordance with the underlying 90
offense set forth in this section. 91
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(8) It shall be the duty of all law enforcement officers to 92
enforce the provisions of this chapter. 93
(9) All prosecutions for felony violations of this section 94
shall be instituted only by the Attorney General, his designee, 95
the district attorney of the district in which the violation 96
occurred or his designee and shall be conducted in the name of the 97
people of the State of Mississippi. In the prosecution of any 98
criminal proceeding under this section by the Attorney General, or 99
his designee, and in any proceeding before a grand jury in 100
connection therewith, the Attorney General or his designee shall 101
exercise all the powers and perform all the duties which the 102
district attorney would otherwise be authorized or required to 103
exercise or perform. The Attorney General shall have the 104
authority to issue and serve subpoenas for any felony violation in 105
the same manner as prescribed under Section 7-5-59. 106
(10) Jurisdiction for all felony violations shall be in the 107
circuit court of the county in which the violation occurred. 108
(11) Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of 109
the department to enforce the provisions of the Solid Waste 110
Disposal Law or shall limit the authority of any state or local 111
agency to enforce any other laws, rules or ordinances. 112
(12) The Department of Transportation may erect warning 113
signs along the roads and highways of this state advising the 114
public of the existence of these sections and of the penalty for 115
the violation thereof. 116
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ST: Illegal dumping; increase penalties for.
(13) This section shall not prohibit the storage of ties, 117
poles, other materials and machinery by a railroad or a public 118
utility on its right-of-way. This section does not apply to any 119
vehicle transporting agricultural products or supplies when the 120
solid waste from that vehicle is a nontoxic, biodegradable 121
agricultural product or supply. 122
(14) The Attorney General may pay an award, not to exceed 123
Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) to any person who furnishes 124
information or services that lead to a felony criminal conviction 125
for any violation of this section. The payment shall be subject 126
to available appropriations for those purposes as provided in 127
annual appropriation acts. Any officer or employee of the United 128
States or any state or local government who furnishes information 129
or renders service in the performance of an official duty is 130
ineligible for payment under this subsection. 131
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 132
and after July 1, 2026. 133