Bill Text: MS SB3206 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

Mississippi Senate Bill 3206 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Harrison County; authorize to create the "Harrison County Motor Vehicle for Hire Commission."

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2010-04-23 - Died In Committee [SB3206 Detail]

Download: Mississippi-2010-SB3206-Introduced.html

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2010 Regular Session

To: Local and Private

By: Senator(s) Gollott

Senate Bill 3206

AN ACT TO CREATE THE HARRISON COUNTY MOTOR VEHICLE FOR HIRE COMMISSION; TO PROVIDE THE PURPOSE OF THE COMMISSION; TO PROVIDE THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMISSION; TO PROVIDE THE DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE COMMISSION; TO PROVIDE CERTAIN JURISDICTIONAL LIMITATIONS OF THE COMMISSION; TO PROVIDE CERTAIN PENALTIES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. There is hereby created and established a public body corporate and politic constituting a political subdivision of the State of Mississippi to be known as the "Harrison County Motor Vehicle for Hire Commission" for the purpose of serving the citizens of Harrison County. The commission is created as a means of unifying rules and regulations governing motor vehicles for hire engaging in business within Harrison County by empowering the commission to enact rules and regulations that will be applicable in all political jurisdictions in Harrison County.

SECTION 2. (1) (a) All powers of the Harrison County Motor Vehicle for Hire Commission shall be exercised by a board of commissioners to be composed of a representative appointed and confirmed by each of the governing authorities of Harrison County, including all municipalities and the board of supervisors.

(b) Members of the commission shall be as follows:

(i) One (1) commissioner appointed by the governing authorities of the City of Pass Christian;

(ii) One (1) commissioner appointed by the governing authorities of the City of Long Beach;

(iii) One (1) commissioner appointed by the governing authorities of the City of D'Iberville;

(iv) Two (2) commissioners appointed by the governing authorities of the City of Biloxi;

(v) Two (2) commissioners appointed by the governing authorities of the City of Gulfport; and

(vi) One (1) commissioner appointed by the Harrison County Board of Supervisors.

(c) The initial terms of the commissioners shall be as follows: one (1) year for the commissioner appointed by the City of Pass Christian; two (2) years for the commissioners appointed by the City of Long Beach and the City of D'lberville; three (3) years for the commissioner appointed by the board of supervisors; and four (4) years for the commissioners appointed by the City of Biloxi and the City of Gulfport. Subsequent terms shall be for a period of four (4) years.

(2) an elected public official shall not be appointed to serve on the commission.

(3) At the initial meeting of the commission, the commission shall elect a president and a vice president. Thereafter, the commission will annually, at the last meeting of the fiscal year, elect a president and a vice president who shall serve in their respective offices for the next fiscal year. The vice president shall act in the absence or disability of the president. The commissioners shall serve without salary but are entitled to receive per diem pay as provided for in Section 25-3-69, Mississippi Code of 1972, and actual and necessary expenses incurred while in the performance of any duties as a member of the commission as provided in Section 25-3-4, Mississippi Code of 1972.

(4) Any commissioner who does not attend three (3) consecutive regular meetings of the commission shall be subject to removal by a majority vote of the board and shall be replaced with an appointment from the governing authority which originally appointed him or her to serve out the remainder of that term.

(5) The commissioner presiding as president, or president pro tem, at any meeting of the commission shall have the right to vote only to break a tie in the vote of the commissioners present and voting. Each commissioner shall be required to give bond in the sum of not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), with sureties qualified to do business in this state, and the premiums on the bonds shall be an expense of the commission. Each bond shall be payable to the State of Mississippi. The condition of each bond shall be that each commissioner will faithfully perform all duties of his or her office and account for all monies or other assets which shall come into his or her custody as a commissioner of the commission.

(6) A quorum for any meeting of the commission shall be the majority of total membership of the commission, excluding vacant positions. All business of the commission shall be transacted or authorized by the vote of the commission.

(7) The commission shall conduct regular meetings as set forth in its bylaws. The commission shall establish rules and regulations regarding its meetings and may amend such bylaws, rules, and regulations as may be necessary to conduct the business of the commission.

SECTION 3. (1) The commission shall prepare a budget consistent with its bylaws estimating its expenses and revenue needs for each forthcoming fiscal year at least ninety (90) days prior to the beginning of each fiscal year.

(2) The commission shall have the authority to receive and spend funds from any source.

SECTION 4. (1) The commission shall have the right and powers necessary to carry out the purposes of this act including, but not limited to, the following:

(a) To adopt and enforce rules and regulations governing motor vehicles for hire which operate within Harrison County. These rules and regulations may include charges and fees to be paid to the commission both by operators of motor vehicles for hire and by businesses engaged in the motor vehicle for hire industry;

(b) To adopt rules and regulations establishing rates of fare and charges authorized to be imposed by operators and businesses subject to the commission's jurisdiction;

(c) To adopt rules and regulations requiring routine inspections of motor vehicles for hire and establishing applicable fees for conducting said inspections;

(d) To adopt rules and regulations prohibiting the transfer of any permit, license, certificate of registration, or any other documentation issued by the commission;

(e) To adopt rules and regulations regarding the suspension or revocation of any permit, license, certificate of registration, or any other documentation issued by the commission. Any person whose permit, license, certificate of registration, or other documentation issued by the commission has been suspended or revoked may appeal to the circuit court from such order in the manner provided for appeals from orders of the governing authority of municipalities, but such appeal shall not operate as a supersedeas of the order;

(f) To adopt rules and regulations requiring registration and numbering of vehicles utilized as a motor vehicle for hire within Harrison County;

(g) To sue and be sued in its own name and to enjoy all the protections, immunities, and benefits provided by the Mississippi Tort Claims Act, as it may be amended from time to time;

(h) To maintain office space at such place or places within the boundaries of Harrison County as the commission may determine;

(i) To own or lease real or personal property;

(j) To invest monies of the commission on such terms and in such manner as the commission deems proper;

(k) To apply for, accept, and utilize grants, gifts, and other funds from any source for any purpose necessary in support of the purpose of this act;

(1) To employ and terminate staff including, but not limited to, attorneys and consultants as may be necessary;

(m) To enter into contracts for all operational needs of the commission including, but not limited to, contracts for conducting inspections of vehicles and for conducting background checks of applicants;

(n) To request, receive, view, and retain copies of any criminal record pertaining to any applicant for a permit, license, certificate of registration, or any other documentation issued by the commission;

(o) To enter into contracts with any person or any public agency in furtherance of any of the purposes authorized by this act. Any such contract may extend over any period of time, including a term which extends beyond the term of the majority of the existing commissioners, notwithstanding any provision or rule of law to the contrary, may be upon such terms and for such consideration, nominal or otherwise, as the parties thereto shall agree and shall be binding upon the parties thereto according to its term;

(p) To contract with any governing authorities within Harrison County under any terms mutually agreed by the parties to carry out any powers, duties, or responsibilities granted by this act, or by any other laws to such governing authority;

(q) To acquire insurance for the commission's property, real or personal, to insure against all risks as any insurance may, from time to time, be available;

(r) To apply for, contract for, accept, receive, and administer gifts, grants, appropriations and donations of money, materials, and property of any kind, including loans and grants from the United States, the state, a unit of local government, or any agency, department, district, or instrumentality of any of the foregoing, upon any terms and conditions as the United States, the state, a unit of local government, or any agency, department, district, or instrumentality of any of the foregoing shall impose; and

(s) To do any and all other things which the commission may deem necessary to carry out the purposes of this act, provided that such action is not specifically prohibited by law.

(2) Notwithstanding the duties, responsibilities, and authority of the commission provided for in this section, the commission shall have neither authority nor jurisdiction over railroads operated within or through Harrison County, vehicles subject to the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission or the Interstate Commerce Commission, or vehicles owned by or operated while under contract with a public transportation system or other public agency.

SECTION 5. (1) No person may drive or operate motor vehicles for hire within the geographic boundaries of Harrison County unless he or she shall first have been licensed so to do by the commission. The commission may adopt rules and regulations establishing standards for the determination of whether it is in the best interest of the health, welfare, and safety of the citizens of the State of Mississippi to grant any individual an operator's license or permit.

(2) The commission may require the applicant for an operator's permit or license to give a reasonable bond to guarantee the faithful observance of the law as well as the rules and regulations established by the commission.

(3) If the commission refuses to grant an operator's permit or license to an applicant, an appeal may be taken to the circuit court, in the manner provided by law for appealing from other orders of the governing authorities of municipalities, and the questions to be tried upon appeal will be as to whether the best interest of the health, welfare, and safety of the citizens of the State of Mississippi would be served by permitting said applicant to pursue such vocation in Harrison County.

SECTION 6. (1) No permit, license, certificate of registration, or any other documentation shall be issued by the commission to the owner or operator of any motor vehicle owned or operated for hire in Harrison County, unless and until such owner or operator shall have filed with, and the same has been approved by, the commission, an insurance policy, or certificates of insurance in lieu thereof, issued by some insurance company authorized to transact business in this state, in an amount required by the commission, conditioned to pay any final judgment against the owner or operator for personal injuries or property damages resulting from or arising out of the use, maintenance or operation of the motor vehicle.

(2) The insurance policy or bond, filed with the commission as required by this section, shall contain a provision or endorsement to the effect that the same shall not be cancelled for any cause by either party thereto unless and until ten (10) days' written notice thereof shall have been given to the commission.

SECTION 7. (1) Any person or persons who may violate any of the rules or regulations established by the commission shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or sentenced to not more than thirty (30) days in jail, or both, in addition to any revocation or suspension of any permit, license, certificate of registration, or any other documentation issued by the commission.

(2) To provide additional enforcement mechanisms, the Harrison County Board of Supervisors as well as any municipality within Harrison County may adopt an ordinance making it a misdemeanor to violate any of the rules or regulations established by the commission. Any such misdemeanor violation may be prosecuted either in the Justice Court of Harrison County by the commission or the county or in the municipal court in the municipality in which the infraction occurred by the municipality.

SECTION 8. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.