Boating; prohibit enforcement officers from performing vessel stops or boarding a vessel without probable cause., the official text

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2026 Regular Session

To: Ports and Marine Resources

By: Senator(s) England, Seymour

Senate Bill 2263

(As Sent to Governor)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 59-21-127 AND 59-23-5, MISSISSIPPI
CODE OF 1972, TO PROHIBIT ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF
MARINE RESOURCES FROM PERFORMING VESSEL STOPS OR BOARDING A VESSEL WITHOUT
PROBABLE CAUSE; TO PROHIBIT ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS FROM PERFORMING A VESSEL STOP
OR BOARDING A VESSEL FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF PERFORMING A SAFETY OR MARINE
SANITATION EQUIPMENT INSPECTION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1.  Section
59-21-127, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

59-21-127.  (1)  It
shall be the duty of all enforcement officers to enforce, and to obey and carry
out all instructions, directions, rules and regulations of the * * * commission department with respect to
the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter.  Each enforcement officer
shall account for and pay over, pursuant to law, all monies received by him or
her under this chapter. * * *  Such

(2)  Subject to the
provisions of subsections (3) and (4) of this section, enforcement officers
shall have the power, and it shall be their duty, to:

(a)  Execute all
warrants for violations of the rules and regulations of the * * * commission department and the
provisions of this chapter; * * * to

(b)  Serve
subpoenas issued for the examination and investigation or trial of such
violations; * * * to board
and examine, without warrant, any vessel required to be numbered under this
chapter, to ascertain whether any of the provisions of this chapter or any rule
or regulation of the commission has been or is being violated, and to use such
force as may be necessary for the purpose of such examination and inspection;
to

(c)  Arrest,
without warrant, any person committing a violation of this chapter or the rules
and regulations of the * * *
commission department in the presence of the enforcement
officers, and to take such person before a magistrate or court having
jurisdiction for trial or hearing; and * * * to

(d)  Exercise
such other powers of peace officers in the enforcement of this chapter and the
rules and regulations of the commission or of a judgment for the violation
thereof, as are not herein specifically provided.

(3)  An enforcement
officer may not board a vessel or perform a vessel stop in this state unless
the officer has probable cause to believe that a violation of this chapter or a
rule or regulation promulgated by the department has occurred or is occurring.

(4)  An enforcement
officer may not perform a vessel stop or board a vessel for the sole purpose of
performing a safety or marine sanitation equipment inspection.  A violation of
safety or marine sanitation requirements is a secondary offense rather than a
primary offense.

(5)  No enforcement
officers shall compromise or settle out of court any violation of the
provisions of this chapter or any rule or regulation promulgated by the * * * commission department.

SECTION 2.  Section
59-23-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

59-23-5.  (1)  A person who
operates a watercraft in waters over which this state has jurisdiction shall be
deemed to have given consent to submit to a chemical test or test of his breath
for the purpose of determining the alcohol content of his blood, as a condition
of operating the watercraft in this state.  However, a law enforcement
officer may not board a vessel or perform a vessel stop in this state unless
the officer has probable cause to believe that a violation of this chapter or a
rule or regulation promulgated by the Mississippi Commission on Wildlife,
Fisheries and Parks or the Department of Marine Resources has occurred or is
occurring.

(2)  A law enforcement
officer who has probable cause to believe that a person has committed an
offense under this chapter shall offer the person the opportunity to submit to
a chemical test.  It is not necessary for the law enforcement officer to offer
a chemical test to an unconscious person.  A law enforcement officer may offer
a person more than one (1) chemical test under this section.  However, all
tests must be administered within three (3) hours after the officer has
probable cause to believe the person violated this chapter.  If a person
refuses to submit to a chemical test under this chapter, the person shall be
informed by the law enforcement officer that the refusal to submit to the test
shall subject him to arrest and punishment consistent with the penalties
prescribed in Section 59-23-7 for persons submitting to the test, and that the
court shall order the person not to operate a watercraft for at least one (1)
year.

(3)  If the chemical test
results in prima facie evidence that the person is intoxicated, he shall
immediately be arrested.

(4)  (a)  The law
enforcement officer arresting a person pursuant to the provisions of this
chapter shall inform the person arrested that:

(i)  The person
arrested has the right to be represented by legal counsel;

(ii)  The person
arrested may waive the right to be represented by legal counsel; and

(iii)  The charge
for which the person is being arrested may be used against him, upon
conviction, for purposes of receiving an enhanced penalty as provided in
Section 59-23-7.

(b)  The citation or
affidavit which is issued to the person arrested shall be uniform throughout
all jurisdictions in the State of Mississippi and shall contain a place for the
arresting official to sign, stating that he has advised the person arrested of
the information contained in paragraph (a) of this subsection.  The judge
hearing the case or accepting the guilty plea, as the case may be, shall sign
in a place provided on the citation or affidavit stating that the person
arrested either employed an attorney or waived his right to an attorney after
having been advised pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection. If the person
arrested employed an attorney, the name, address and telephone number of the
attorney shall be written on the citation or affidavit.

(c)  The Mississippi
Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks shall prepare and furnish, no later
than July 1, 1995, to all jurisdictions in the State of Mississippi a uniform
citation form consistent with this chapter, which shall be used in all
jurisdictions in the State of Mississippi.

(d)  The Mississippi
Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks shall notify, by whatever means it
deems appropriate, all law enforcement officers who are authorized to enforce
the provisions of this chapter of their obligation to provide the information
and execute the citation or affidavit, as described in paragraphs (a) and (b)
of this subsection.

SECTION 3.  This act
shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.