Session Laws

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to immediately allow the seizure of motor vehicles used for the dumping of rubbish on public lands, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Section 16 of chapter 270 of the General Laws, as amended by chapter 151 of the acts of 1988, is hereby further amended by inserting after the first paragraph the following paragraph:-

If a motor vehicle is used in committing such an offense where the offense involves the unlawful disposal of more than seven cubic feet of trash, bottles or cans, refuse, rubbish, garbage, debris, scrap, waste or any other materials and the motor vehicle is observed while the offense is in progress by an officer authorized to enforce this section, the officer may seize the vehicle and remove and store it or otherwise immobilize it by a mechanical device until (1) payment is made to the enforcing authority of a fine set by such enforcing authority up to the maximum fine which may be imposed under this section, (2) the illegally disposed of material is removed and legally disposed of, and (3) payment is made to the enforcing authority of its reasonable towing and storage charges, if any, for the seized vehicle. If, after payment of the above fine and towing and storage charges, the use of the seized vehicle is necessary to dispose of the material, the enforcing authority shall release the seized vehicle upon the posting of security sufficient to pay for the cost of legal disposal of the material. The security shall be returned to the person posting it upon proof of legal disposal of the material. Within five days of the payment of a fine to secure the release of a seized vehicle as provided for herein, the enforcing authority to whom the fine is paid shall deposit the fine in court along with a criminal complaint regarding the offense, and the court shall hold the fine until judgment is entered on said complaint; provided, however, that, at the discretion of the enforcing authority, the violation may be disposed of by the noncriminal disposition procedures pursuant to section twenty of chapter forty, in which case the maximum fine shall be one thousand dollars. If a conviction is returned on the complaint the court shall award to any person or persons, other than an employee of the enforcing authority, whose information materially contributed to the identification of the convicted party, up to five hundred dollars, and the balance of the fine shall be equally divided between the enforcing authority and the court. If such violation is disposed of noncriminally, the balance of such fine, after payment of the award, if any, shall be deposited in the general fund of the enforcing authority. Vehicles seized under the provisions of this section which are not claimed or redeemed by their owners as provided for above within thirty days of the date of seizure, may after thirty days notice by certified mail to the vehicle's registered owner, be sold at auction and the proceeds be applied to the fines assessed herein, vehicle towing and storage costs and the costs for legal disposal of the material. Enforcing authorities shall adopt appropriate rules and regulations which provide for the orderly implementation of this section.