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To: Judiciary A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Representative McLean
HOUSE BILL NO. 888
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 97-15-29, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO INCREASE FINES FOR LITTERING; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 2
97-15-30, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES PENALTIES FOR 3
UNAUTHORIZED DUMPING OF SOLID WASTES, FOR PURPOSES OF AMENDMENT; 4
AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 6
SECTION 1. Section 97-15-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 7
amended as follows: 8
97-15-29. (1) Anyone who shall put, throw, dump or leave on 9
the roads and highways of this state, or within the limits of the 10
rights-of-way of such roads and highways, or upon any private 11
property, any cigarette or cigar stubs, or any other thing or 12
substance likely to ignite the grass or underbrush on a road or 13
highway, in addition to being civilly liable for all damages 14
caused by such act shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a 15
misdemeanor and punished as provided by subsection (3) of this 16
section. 17
(2) The Department of Transportation is authorized to erect 18
warning signs along the roads and highways of this state advising 19
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the public of the existence of this section and of the penalty for 20
the violation thereof and is further authorized to install 21
receptacles at reasonable intervals along the roads and highways 22
of this state to be used as containers for trash and rubbish and 23
for the convenience of the public using such roads and highways. 24
(3) Any person found guilty of the violation of this section 25
shall, upon conviction, be fined not less than * * * One Hundred 26
Dollars ($100.00) nor more than * * * Five Hundred Dollars 27
($500.00). The proceeds of such fines shall be expended by the 28
collecting jurisdiction solely for the purpose of funding local 29
litter prevention programs or projects or local or school litter 30
education programs as recommended by the statewide litter 31
prevention program of Keep Mississippi Beautiful, Inc. 32
(4) As a part of the fine imposed by subsection (3) above, a 33
person convicted for an offense upon which fines are imposed by 34
this section may be required to perform the following, and a 35
person convicted for a second or subsequent offense upon which 36
fines are imposed by this section shall be required to: 37
(a) Remove or render harmless, in accordance with 38
written direction, as appropriate, from the Department of 39
Environmental Quality or local law enforcement authorities, the 40
unlawfully discarded solid waste; 41
(b) Repair or restore property damaged by, or pay 42
damages for any damage arising out of the unlawfully discarded 43
solid waste; 44
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(c) Perform community public service relating to the 45
removal of any unlawfully discarded solid waste or to the 46
restoration of any area polluted by unlawfully discarded solid 47
waste; and 48
(d) Pay all reasonable investigative and prosecutorial 49
expenses and costs to the investigative and/or prosecutorial 50
agency or agencies. 51
(5) Upon a second or subsequent conviction of an offense 52
upon which fines are imposed by this section, the minimum and 53
maximum fines shall be doubled. 54
(6) When any litter is thrown or discarded from a motor 55
vehicle, the operator of the motor vehicle shall be deemed in 56
violation of this section. 57
(7) There shall be imposed and collected an assessment 58
of * * * One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) on each violation of this 59
section. The assessment shall be deposited into the Law 60
Enforcement Officers Monument Fund created in Section 39-5-71. 61
After the monument is constructed, the assessment shall not be 62
deposited into the fund. The assessment shall then be deposited 63
with the Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board to be 64
used for the scholarship program for children of deceased or 65
disabled law enforcement officers and firemen as provided by 66
Section 37-106-39. 67
(8) It shall be the duty of all law enforcement officers to 68
enforce the provisions of this section. 69
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(9) This section shall not prohibit the storage of ties and 70
machinery by a railroad on its right-of-way where the highway 71
right-of-way extends to within a few feet of the railroad roadbed. 72
SECTION 2. Section 97-15-30, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 73
brought forward as follows: 74
97-15-30. (1) For purposes of this section the term 75
"commercial purpose" means for the purpose of economic gain. 76
(2) (a) Except as authorized by law or permit, it is 77
unlawful for any person to throw, scatter, spill or place, or 78
cause to be thrown, scattered, spilled, or placed, or otherwise 79
disposed of, any solid waste in any of the following manners or 80
amounts: 81
(i) In or on any public highway, road, street, 82
alley or thoroughfare, including any portion of the right-of-way 83
thereof, or any other public lands, except in containers or areas 84
lawfully provided therefor. When any solid waste is thrown or 85
discarded from a motor vehicle, the operator or owner of the motor 86
vehicle, or both, shall be deemed in violation of this section; 87
(ii) In or on any waters of the state. When any 88
solid waste is thrown or discarded from a vessel, the operator or 89
owner of the boat, or both, shall be deemed in violation of this 90
section; or 91
(iii) In or on any private property, unless prior 92
written consent of the owner has been given and the solid waste 93
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will not cause a public nuisance or be in violation of any other 94
state or local law, rule or regulation; 95
(iv) Raw human waste from any train, aircraft, 96
motor vehicle or vessel upon the public or private lands or waters 97
of the state. 98
(b) Nothing in this section shall prohibit acts 99
authorized pursuant to Section 17-17-13. 100
(3) (a) Any person who violates this section in an amount 101
not exceeding fifteen (15) pounds in weight or twenty-seven (27) 102
cubic feet in volume and not for commercial purposes is guilty of 103
littering and subject to a fine as provided in Section 97-15-29. 104
(b) Any person who violates this section in an amount 105
exceeding fifteen (15) pounds or twenty-seven (27) cubic feet in 106
volume, but not exceeding five hundred (500) pounds in weight or 107
one hundred (100) cubic feet in volume and not for commercial 108
purposes is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of not 109
less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), nor more than One 110
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or to imprisonment for a term of not 111
more than one (1) year, or both. 112
(c) Any person who violates this section in an amount 113
exceeding five hundred (500) pounds in weight or one hundred (100) 114
cubic feet in volume, or in any amount or volume of solid waste 115
for commercial purposes, or in any amount or volume of hazardous 116
waste is guilty of a felony and subject to a fine of not less than 117
Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), nor more than Fifty Thousand 118
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Dollars ($50,000.00) or to imprisonment for a term of not more 119
than five (5) years, or both. For purposes of the fine, each day 120
shall constitute a separate violation. 121
(d) In addition to any other fines, penalties or 122
injunctive relief prescribed by law, a person convicted under 123
subsections (3)(b) or (3)(c) of this section shall: 124
(i) Remove or render harmless, in accordance with 125
written direction from the Department of Environmental Quality, 126
the unlawfully discarded solid waste; 127
(ii) Repair or restore property damaged by, or pay 128
damages for any damage arising out of the unlawfully discarded 129
solid waste; 130
(iii) Perform community public service relating to 131
the removal of any unlawfully discarded solid waste or to the 132
restoration of an area polluted by unlawfully discarded solid 133
waste; and 134
(iv) Pay all reasonable investigative and 135
prosecutorial expenses and costs to the investigative and/or 136
prosecutorial agency or agencies. 137
(e) If a conviction under subsection (3) of this 138
section is for a violation committed after a first conviction of 139
that person under this section, the maximum punishment under the 140
respective paragraphs shall be doubled with respect to both fine 141
and imprisonment. 142
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(4) A court may enjoin a violation of subsection (2) of this 143
section. 144
(5) Any motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft, container, crane, 145
winch, or machine used in a felony violation of this section may 146
be seized with process or without process if a law enforcement 147
officer has probable cause to believe that the property was used 148
in violation of that section. The seized property shall be 149
subject to an administrative and/or judicial forfeiture by the 150
same standards and procedures provided under Sections 41-29-176 151
through 41-29-185. 152
(6) In the criminal trial of any person charged with 153
violating subsection (2) of this section, the defendant must 154
affirmatively show that he had authority to discard the solid 155
waste. 156
(7) Any person who conspires to commit a violation of this 157
section shall be punished in accordance with the underlying 158
offense set forth in this section. 159
(8) It shall be the duty of all law enforcement officers to 160
enforce the provisions of this chapter. 161
(9) All prosecutions for felony violations of this section 162
shall be instituted only by the Attorney General, his designee, 163
the district attorney of the district in which the violation 164
occurred or his designee and shall be conducted in the name of the 165
people of the State of Mississippi. In the prosecution of any 166
criminal proceeding under this section by the Attorney General, or 167
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his designee, and in any proceeding before a grand jury in 168
connection therewith, the Attorney General or his designee shall 169
exercise all the powers and perform all the duties which the 170
district attorney would otherwise be authorized or required to 171
exercise or perform. The Attorney General shall have the 172
authority to issue and serve subpoenas for any felony violation in 173
the same manner as prescribed under Section 7-5-59. 174
(10) Jurisdiction for all felony violations shall be in the 175
circuit court of the county in which the violation occurred. 176
(11) Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of 177
the department to enforce the provisions of the Solid Waste 178
Disposal Law or shall limit the authority of any state or local 179
agency to enforce any other laws, rules or ordinances. 180
(12) The Department of Transportation may erect warning 181
signs along the roads and highways of this state advising the 182
public of the existence of these sections and of the penalty for 183
the violation thereof. 184
(13) This section shall not prohibit the storage of ties 185
poles, other materials and machinery by a railroad or a public 186
utility on its right-of-way. This section does not apply to any 187
vehicle transporting agricultural products or supplies when the 188
solid waste from that vehicle is a nontoxic, biodegradable 189
agricultural product or supply. 190
(14) The Attorney General may pay an award, not to exceed 191
Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) to any person who furnishes 192
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ST: Littering; increase fines for.
information or services that lead to a felony criminal conviction 193
for any violation of this section. The payment shall be subject 194
to available appropriations for those purposes as provided in 195
annual appropriation acts. Any officer or employee of the United 196
States or any state or local government who furnishes information 197
or renders service in the performance of an official duty is 198
ineligible for payment under this subsection. 199
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 200
and after July 1, 2026. 201