27-55-547 - Right to inspection.
§ 27-55-547. Right to inspection.
The commissioner and his agents and employees shall have full access, ingress, and egress at all reasonable hours to and from any place or building where special fuel may be received, stored, transported, sold, offered or exposed for sale, manufactured, refined, distilled, compounded or blended. The commissioner and his agents and employees shall have the right to open and inspect any case, package, or other container, any tank, pump, tank car or storage tank in which special fuel is kept and enter upon any barge, vessel, or other vehicle transporting special fuel and, with instruments conforming to the weights and measures adopted by the United States Bureau of Standards, check any measuring device or volume of weight of the contents of any such container.
The commission, its employees or agents and enforcement officers of the Mississippi Department of Transportation are hereby authorized to inspect any vehicle transporting special fuel over the highways of this state, or any boat, barge or vessel transporting special fuel over the waters of this state, to examine the contents of such vehicle, boat, barge or vessel, to take a sample, not to exceed one (1) gallon, of the special fuel contained in such vehicle, boat, barge or vessel, and to inspect the bills of lading, manifest, invoices or other records pertaining to the special fuel being transported.
The commission, its employees or agents and enforcement officers of the Mississippi Department of Transportation are hereby authorized to stop any motor vehicle traveling the highways of this state; to inspect the contents of the motor vehicle's fuel supply tank; to take a sample, not to exceed one (1) gallon, of the contents of the fuel supply tank of such motor vehicle and to examine any invoices, receipts or other documents pertaining to the contents of the motor vehicle's fuel supply tank.
Any person who refuses to allow an inspection as authorized in this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or both such fine and imprisonment.
Sources: Laws, 1999, ch. 461, § 24, eff from and after July 1, 1999.