Mississippi § 75-55-23 - Administration; right of inspection, access, etc.

§ 75-55-23. Administration; right of inspection, access, etc.

The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce (the “commissioner”) and his agents and employees shall have full access, ingress and egress, at all reasonable hours, to any place or building wherein internal combustion engine fuels, lubricating oils or other like products are stored, transported, sold, offered or exposed for sale. The commissioner and his agents or employees may open for inspection any case, package or other container, tank, pump, tank car, storage tank, stationary engine or tractor, and enter upon any barge, vessel or other vehicle of transportation and, with instruments conforming to the standards of weights and measures most recently adopted by the Division of Institute of Standards and Technology of the United States Department of Commerce, check any measuring device of the volume or weight of contents of any container. Furthermore, the commissioner and his agents or employees may take samples, not exceeding one (1) gallon, for analysis. Any distributor or other person failing or refusing to permit the commissioner and his agents and employees to exercise any right or authority granted the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce under the provisions of this section, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor for the first offense, and, upon conviction, shall be punishable by a fine of not less than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) nor more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for sixty (60) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Any person guilty of a second violation of this section shall, in addition to the other penalty provided herein, be enjoined from continuing in the gasoline, alcohol blended fuel, diesel fuel, kerosene or oil business in this state for a period of not less than one (1) year nor more than five (5) years, and any judge or chancellor now authorized to grant injunctions shall grant an injunction enjoining said distributor or other person from continuing in the gasoline, alcohol blended fuel, diesel fuel, kerosene or oil business for the period prescribed by this section, provided that no injunction shall be issued unless not less than five (5) days’ notice is given in the manner prescribed by law. Any room, house, building, boat, vehicle, structure or place where any petroleum product is received, stored, manufactured, refined, distilled, blended, compounded, sold or distributed in violation of this chapter, and any such petroleum product and all property kept and used in maintaining the same, is hereby declared to be a common nuisance. If such nuisance be found to exist, any judge or chancellor authorized to issue injunctions may issue an injunction, enjoining and restraining the continuance of such nuisance for a period of not less than three (3) months, nor more than one (1) year.