2/13/09-A bill has died that sought to expand the use of speed radar by sheriff’s deputies in the state.
Sponsored by Sen. Lee Yancey, R-Brandon, SB2223 failed to meet a deadline to advance, effectively killing it for the year.
State law now restricts the use of speed radar detection equipment to the Mississippi Highway Patrol and city police departments. Cities with populations of fewer than 2,000 are prohibited from using radar on their public streets while populations of more than 15,000 can use radar on federal highways within their boundaries.
The bill sought to give sheriffs in all of the state’s 82 counties the green light to use radar detection devices, under certain circumstances.
The measure would have allowed sheriffs to use radar on roads under the jurisdiction of the board of supervisors for maintenance and construction.
Sheriffs could have used the devices only on public streets, roads and highways lying outside the limits of municipalities authorized to use radar. Radar use also would have been allowed by sheriffs in cities that don’t authorize use of the enforcement tool.