Bill Text: MS HB1159 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Derelict and abandoned vessels; revise removal procedures for.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Failed) 2016-02-23 - Died In Committee [HB1159 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2016-HB1159-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2016 Regular Session
To: Marine Resources
By: Representative Eure
House Bill 1159
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 49-27-71, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE PROCEDURES FOR THE DISPOSAL OF DERELICT VESSELS; TO PROVIDE THE PURPOSE AND PROCEDURES; TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN PROCEEDS ESCHEAT TO THE STATE; TO REQUEST DETERMINATION OF REGISTRATION INFORMATION FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE, FISHERIES, AND PARKS BEFORE DISPOSAL; TO PROVIDE PROCEDURES FOR THE REMOVAL OF ABANDONED VESSELS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 49-27-71, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-27-71. (1) The following words shall have the following meanings:
(a) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.
(b) "Derelict" means a vessel that has been grounded, allowed to remain in an unseaworthy or dilapidated condition, or submerged or in immediate danger of sinking. A ship submerged for one hundred (100) years or more is not derelict.
(c) "Vessel" means vessels and floatable buildings and structures, whether or not they are used for navigation.
(2) In all areas south of Interstate 10, a person must not leave derelict any vessel on the coastal wetlands, marine waters or on public or privately owned lands without the owner�s permission.
(3) The following parties have standing to initiate the derelict vessel procedures in this section:
(a) The owner of the property where the vessel came to rest or to which the vessel was made fast;
(b) Any harbormaster, police department, municipality or agent of the state that agrees to accept or process a derelict vessel; or
(c) Any professional marine salvager when the salvager is engaged by a person with standing.
(4) The parties provided for in subsection (3) of this section may initiate the notice procedures by filing an application to remove the derelict vessel with the department.
(a) Upon receipt and review of the application, an officer of the department shall post a notice on the vessel in a prominent location that is visible to an approaching person. The notice shall indicate that the vessel must be removed within seven (7) days of the date the notice was posted, and the notice must include a space for the owner of the vessel to respond.
(b) If the owner responds to the notice with a signature or written response requesting an extension of time in the space provided on the notice, then the department shall allow the owner an additional five (5) days to remove the vessel.
(c) The department must attempt to contact the owner of the vessel and any lien holders of record by other available means. The owner is presumed to be the person to whom the vessel is registered.
(5) (a) After the period for providing notice as described in subsection (4) of this section has lapsed, the derelict vessel may be removed by the department or the party with standing.
(b) Prior to disposing of the vessel, the department or the party with standing must determine from the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks the status of the vessel under the Mississippi Boating Law of 1960, 59-21-1 et al. The determination must provide the description of the vessel, including the vessel registration number. Upon request of the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the department or party with standing shall furnish satisfactory evidence that the dereliction was completed in compliance with this section. The Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks will advise the department or party with standing on the proper registration procedures, where indicated, depending on method of disposition of the vessel.
(c) Once registration is complete, title to the derelict vessel vests with the person or governmental agency that registered it. No liabilities incurred by the vessel or the vessel owner transfer along with title. Any vessel transferred under this paragraph (c) may be disposed of without additional notice to the original owner of the vessel. Any value retrieved from the sale or disposal of the vessel offsets the costs of removal and storage attributed to the original owner.
(d) Any person who acts in good faith and without malicious intent in the processing, storage or movement of any derelict vessel pursuant to this section is immune from civil liability for damage to the vessel.
(6) A derelict vessel within any designated navigation channel or within one hundred (100) yards of the boundaries of a state, county or municipal port may be declared a hazard to navigation and subject to immediate removal and disposal by the department. A derelict vessel that is leaking any hazardous substances, chemicals, or fuels may be declared an environmental hazard and subject to immediate removal and disposal by the department. An owner of a vessel removed in accordance with this subsection (6) shall be liable for the costs associated with the salvage and disposal of the vessel and any damages to the flora and fauna within the affected area. The department is not liable for damages resulting from relocation or removal unless the damage results from gross negligence or willful misconduct.
(7) (a) Any party with standing may seek full cost recovery from the owner of the vessel for any expense incurred as a result of, or incidental to, removing the vessel. The owner of the vessel is liable for the costs of removal, storage and restoration of affected lands. If ownership of the vessel transfers under subsection (5)(c) of this section, the original owner shall be liable for double the costs of removal, storage, restoration of affected lands, attorney's fees and all court costs.
(b) The owner of the vessel is also liable for a fine of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) per day. However, no fine will be charged if the vessel is reclaimed by the owner and all expenses paid before title transfers under this section.
(8) (a) The chancery court of the county in which the vessel is located shall have jurisdiction over all matters regarding the derelict vessels under this section, including injunctions and demands for damages.
(b) The chancery court may, in its discretion, order damages in an amount not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) per day for every day the vessel was left abandoned or derelict, beginning on the day of the notice was posted on the vessel. If the vessel was removed prior to title transferring under subsection (5)(c) of this section, then no such damages will be assessed. The vessel owner is liable for reasonable attorneys� fees and all court costs.
(c) If a party with standing seeks to require the owner to remove the vessel, then the party may apply to the chancery court for a writ of mandatory injunction, ordering the owner to remove the vessel. The chancery court must allow a reasonable time for removal and restoration of the affected lands. The chancery court may order further damages in an amount not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) per day for each day that the violation exists beyond the date set by the court in an injunction for the removal of the vessel and restoration of the affected lands.
(d) Any court-ordered reimbursed costs or damages in excess of the actual costs of removal and restoration must be deposited in a special fund in the State Treasury known as the "Derelict Vessel Fund" administered by the department. Any funds deposited in the fund must be used to cover the administrative costs and removal costs incurred by the department for the removal of vessels. Any remaining funds must be used to cover the costs of removing additional derelict vessels.
(9) (a) The department is authorized to enter into contracts with individuals, firms and corporations for the removal of vessels. The salvage value, if any, of the vessel may be used to offset the cost of the removal and the restoration of the affected area. The department may enter into noncompetitive contracts or agreements with any state or federal entity for the removal of vessels.
(b) The Commission on Marine Resources shall adopt the necessary rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this section. The commission may also enter into interstate or intrastate efforts toward this end and may seek and utilize aid from all federal, state and local sources in this endeavor.
(c) The State of Mississippi, the commission, the department and their respective employees and representatives shall not be liable for any damage resulting from the removal, sale, or disposal of any vessel declared derelict or hazardous under this section.
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SECTION 2. (1) The purpose of this section is to provide a means for removing abandoned vessels from the waters and lands of the state in order to enhance the beauty of the waters and coastal areas, and to improve the health and welfare of its citizens. It is also to help relieve vessel dealers, repairmen, and others dealing in vessels from unnecessary storage of abandoned vessels which prevent the use of space and property, and is therefore in the public interest.
(2) As used in this section, unless the context requires otherwise:
(a) "Abandoned" means either of the following:
(i) Left with a vessel dealer, repairman or wrecker service for repair or other reason and has not been called for by the owner for forty (40) days from the pick-up time agreed on, or for forty (40) days from the time the vessel is left if there is no agreed time.
(ii) Left unattended for twenty-four (24) hours on the coastal wetlands, public waters or on public or privately owned lands without the owner's permission. This does not include the situation where a tenant leaves a vessel on property formerly rented or licensed.
(b) "Vessel" means vessels and includes floatable buildings and structures, whether or not they are used for navigation.
(3) (a) For abandoned vessels as defined in subsection (2)(a), only a law enforcement officer may initiate towing or removal. The officer shall post notice on the vessel in a prominent location so as to be visible to an approaching person, requiring the vessel to be removed within two days of the notice. The notice must include a space for the owner of the vessel to respond. If the owner responds with a signature in the space or written response to the law enforcement agency requesting an extension of time, then the owner will have an additional five (5) days to remove the vessel.
(b) The officer must also attempt to contact the owner of the vessel by other available means. The owner is presumed to be the person to whom the vessel is registered.
(c) If the owner does not remove the vessel within the available time, the abandoned vessel may be removed by a law enforcement officer or towed on written request from a law enforcement officer. The vessel must be removed to a storage facility approved by the Department of Marine Resources.
(4) (a) Any vessel dealer, wrecker service, or repair service owner, or any person or party on whose property a vessel is lawfully towed at the written request of a law enforcement officer, who has an abandoned vessel on his property, may sell, free and clear of all claims the vessel by public auction, or if the abandoned vessel has no market value, may dispose of the same after having received at least two (2) written statements from licensed vessel dealers as to the worthlessness of the vessel and after compliance with paragraph (b) of this subsection and subsection (6) of this section. An abandoned vessel as defined by Section 2(a)(ii) must not be sold at auction until thirty (30) days from the date the storage facility received the vessel.
(b) The person authorized to execute the sale or disposal of an abandoned vessel must notify, within ten (10) days of receipt of the vessel, any Mississippi lienholder on the vessel that unless a claim on the vehicle is made within thirty (30) days of such notice, the vessel will be sold or destroyed.
(c) After the sale of any vessel as set out hereinabove is made, the person or officer designated and making the sale of such property must promptly upon completion of the sale deliver to the chancery clerk a list or itemization of the property sold, the amount paid for each item, the person to whom each item was sold, and all moneys received from such sale, the gross charges levied by the person making the sale against the property sold and the net amount paid over to the chancery clerk. Any sale made by any person, officer, corporation or association must attach to the report of sale a sworn statement certifying as to the date such personal property or items sold first came into his possession or was abandoned on his premises and the date said personal property or item was sold.
(d) The proceeds of the sale in excess of repair, towing, and storage expenses, and all expenses incurred in connection with a sale when a sale is made under the provisions of this chapter, escheat to the state and must be paid over to the chancery clerk to be deposited in the special fund in the State Treasury known as the "Derelict Vessel Fund," as described in Section 49-27-71(8)(d).
(5) Prior to disposition of an abandoned vessel, any vessel dealer, wrecker service or repair service owner, or any person on whose property such vessel is lawfully towed at the written request of a law enforcement officer, must inquire of the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks as to status of the vessel in regard to the Mississippi Boating Law of 1960, 59-21-l et seq. The inquiry must provide the description of the vessel including the vessel registration number. Upon request of the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, satisfactory evidence must be furnished as to abandonment in compliance with this section. Upon receipt of notification of the foregoing, the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks will advise the inquirer of proper registration procedures, where indicated, depending upon method of disposition of the vessel.
(6) (a) The last-known registered owner of an abandoned vessel and all lienholders of record, when such information is reasonably obtainable, must be notified by registered or certified mail that the vessel will be sold pursuant to the provisions of this section. Notice must give the owner and lienholders the date, time and place of sale, and name of the person or party who has custody of the vessel.
(b) If the identity of the last registered owner cannot be determined, or if the registration contains no address for the owner, or if it is impossible to determine with reasonable certainty the identity and addresses of all lienholders, notice by three (3) publications once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the vessel was abandoned is sufficient to meet all requirements of notice under this chapter.
(7) Any person proving ownership or any lienholder may claim the abandoned vessel at any time prior to sale by paying towing, repair, storage and other necessary expenses incurred.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2016.
