Title 77, Public Utilities and Carriers

Any telephone solicitor shall apply for a certificate of registration from the Office of the Attorney General as a condition for doing business in this state. The certificate of registration shall be in a form as prescribed by the Attorney General. The application for a certifica…

(1) A contract made pursuant to a telephonic sales call is not valid and enforceable against a consumer unless made in compliance with this section. (2) A contract made pursuant to a telephonic sales call shall:(a) Be reduced to writing and signed by the consumer.(b) Comply with …

(a) The provisions of Sections 77-3-601 through 77-3-619 shall not apply to:(a) A person engaging in commercial telephone solicitation where the solicitation is an isolated transaction and not done in the course of a pattern of repeated transactions of like nature.(b) A person ma…

The Attorney General shall investigate any complaints received concerning violations of Sections 77-3-601 through 77-3-619. If, after investigating any complaint, the Attorney General finds that there has been a violation of Sections 77-3-601 through 77-3-619, the Attorney Genera…

In any civil proceeding alleging a violation of Sections 77-3-601 through 77-3-619, the burden of proving an exemption or an exemption from a definition is upon the person claiming it.

(1) In any civil litigation resulting from a transaction involving a violation of Sections 77-3-601 through 77-3-619, the prevailing party, after judgment in the trial court and exhaustion of all appeals, if any, shall receive his reasonable attorney’s fees and costs from the non…

(a) The Attorney General shall by rule ensure that telecommunications companies inform their customers of the provisions of Sections 77-3-601 through 77-3-619. The notification may be made by:(a) Annual inserts in the billing statements mailed to customers; and(b) Conspicuous pub…

The Attorney General is authorized to issue any necessary rules and regulations in order to carry out the provisions of Sections 77-3-601 through 77-3-619.

This article shall be known and may be cited as the “Mississippi Telephone Solicitation Act.”

(1) The use of the telephone to make all types of solicitations to consumers is pervasive. This article gives consumers a tool by which to object to telemarketing calls and text messages, as these communications can amount to a nuisance, an invasion of privacy, and can create a h…

(a) For the purposes of this article, the following words and terms shall have the meanings ascribed in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:(a) “Consumer” means a person or business that receives a telephone call or text message from a telephone solicitor.…

(1) Except as otherwise provided under Section 77-3-709, 77-3-711, or subsection (4) of this section, a telephone solicitor may not make or cause to be made any telephone solicitation to any consumer in this state unless the telephone solicitor has obtained the “no-calls” databas…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in Section 77-3-707(4), the Attorney General, in his or her discretion, may allow telephone solicitors to make telephone solicitations without requiring them to purchase the “no-calls” database, and regardless of whether a telephone solicitation m…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in Section 77-3-707(4), the provisions of this article shall not apply to:(a) A person soliciting:(i) Who does not make the major sales presentation during the telephone solicitation;(ii) Without the intent to complete or obtain provisional accept…

All telephone solicitors must register with the Attorney General before conducting any telephone solicitations in the State of Mississippi.

(a) The Attorney General may promulgate rules and regulations necessary to effectuate this article, including, but not limited to, the following:(a) The methods by which a notice of objection becomes effective and the effect of a change of telephone number on the notice;(b) The p…

If the Federal Trade Commission establishes a single national database of telephone numbers of consumers who object to receiving telephone solicitations, the Attorney General may utilize the single national database for enforcement in the State of Mississippi. The Attorney Genera…

Information contained in the database established under this article may be used and accessed only for the purpose of compliance with this article and shall not be otherwise subject to public inspection or disclosure.

All fees collected under the provisions of this article shall be deposited into a special fund which is created in the State Treasury to be expended by the Attorney General for the implementation and administration of this article. From and after July 1, 2016, the expenses of the…

(1) Any person or entity who makes an authorized telephone solicitation to a consumer in this state shall announce clearly, at the beginning of each call, his or her name, the company he or she represents and the purpose of the call. Such calls may only be made between the hours …

The Attorney General may investigate alleged violations and initiate proceedings relative to a violation of this article or any rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this article. Such proceedings include, without limitation, proceedings to issue a cease and desist order.…

Any person who has received a telephone solicitation in violation of this article, or any rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this article, may file a complaint with the Attorney General. The complaint will be processed pursuant to complaint procedures established by th…

It shall be a defense in any action or proceeding brought under Section 77-3-725 or 77-3-727 that the defendant has established and implemented, with due care, reasonable practices and procedures to effectively prevent telephone solicitations in violation of this article.

The Attorney General is granted personal jurisdiction over any telephone solicitor, whether a resident or a nonresident, for the purpose of administering this article. The Attorney General is granted personal jurisdiction over any nonresident telephone solicitor, its executor, ad…

Any party aggrieved by any final order of the Chancery Court pursuant to this article, or any rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this article, shall have the right of appeal to the Supreme Court of Mississippi.

No provider of telephonic caller identification service, local exchange telephone company or long distance company certificated by the Mississippi Public Service Commission may be held liable for violations of this article committed by other persons or entities.

(1) All positions, duties and functions of the Mississippi Public Service Commission that are substantially involved with the Mississippi No Call Program, and/or the No-Call list, database or registry, shall be transferred to the Mississippi Attorney General. Any person whose pos…

This article may be cited as the “Caller ID Anti-Spoofing Act.”

(a) As used in this article:(a) “Automatic number identification” means a system that identifies the billing account for a call and includes an enhanced 911 service capability that enables the automatic display of the ten-digit number used to place a 911 call from a wire line, wi…

Except as provided in Section 77-3-807, a person shall not, in connection with any telecommunications service or interconnected VOIP service, knowingly and with the intent to defraud or cause harm to another person or to wrongfully obtain anything of value, cause any caller ident…

(a) This article does not apply to:(a) The blocking of caller identification information.(b) Any law enforcement agency of the federal, state, county or municipal government.(c) Any intelligence or security agency of the federal government.(d) A telecommunications, broadband or v…

(1) Any person who violates this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or shall be imprisoned in the county jail not exceeding one (1) year, or both. (2) Any violation of…

This article may be cited as the “State Rural Electrification Authority Law.”

Promptly after appointment the board shall meet to organize. At such meeting and at the first meeting in each year thereafter, the members shall choose from their number a president and a secretary.

The members of the board shall not be entitled to compensation for their services but they shall be entitled to reimbursement for all expenses incurred in connection with the performance of their duties, and to an honorarium of not more than six hundred dollars ($ 600.00) per yea…

The members of the board shall not hold any full time salaried public office under the state.

(1) The board shall have power to do all things necessary or convenient in conducting the business of the authority, including, but not limited to:(1) The power to adopt and amend by-laws for the management and regulation of its affairs and the business in which it is engaged;(2)…

The corporate purpose of the authority is to encourage and promote the fullest possible use of energy by all of the inhabitants of the state by rendering service to said inhabitants, to whom energy is not available or, in the opinion of the board, is not available at reasonable r…

The authority is hereby vested with all powers necessary or requisite for the accomplishment of its corporate purpose and capable of being delegated by the legislature of this state. No enumeration of particular powers granted shall be construed to impair any general grant of pow…

(a) The authority shall have power:(a) To sue and be sued.(b) To have a seal and alter the same at pleasure.(c) To render service to the inhabitants of the state and, by contract or contracts with any person, federal agency or municipality or by its own employees, to acquire, own…

To the extent necessary in the judgment of the board to make effective the powers conferred by this article, the authority shall have the power to acquire, own, operate, maintain and/or improve a generating and/or transmission system or systems outside the State of Mississippi.

The authority shall have power and is hereby authorized from time to time to issue its bonds in anticipation of its revenues, for any corporate purpose. Said bonds may be authorized by resolution or resolutions of the board, and may be issued in one or more series, may bear such …

Said bonds bearing the signature of officers in office on the date of the signing thereof shall be valid and binding obligations notwithstanding that before the delivery thereof and payment therefor any or all the persons whose signatures appear thereon shall have ceased to be of…

(a) The following terms, whenever used in this article, shall have the following meanings, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:(a) “Authority” shall mean the corporation created by this article.(b) “Board” shall mean the board of directors of the authority…

No holder or holders of any bonds issued under this article shall ever have the right to compel any exercise of the taxing power of the state or of any political subdivision thereof to pay said bonds or the interest thereon. Each bond issued under this article shall recite in sub…

The authority shall not be operated for gain or profit or primarily as a source of revenue to the state. The authority shall, however, prescribe and collect reasonable rates, fees or charges for the services, facilities and commodities made available by it, and shall revise such …