A Greenwood legislator is sponsoring legislation that would require every owner of an all-terrain vehicle to pay a registration fee and have information listed on a public log.
Rep. Willie J. Perkins Sr., a Democrat, says his constituents have complained about people on ATVs using county roads and sometimes causing disturbances. Perkins says there is no way of identifying those riders. He said he and others in his district want the information made public.
“If there is somebody creating a problem, and if they take off and run and you can’t track them down … then we want to be able to track them down,” Perkins said.
Perkins introduced the bill this session. If H.B. 6 is passed, all ATV owners in Mississippi will be required to register the vehicles with their local sheriff’s department.
Each ATV owner would be required to provide information on the purchase, where the vehicle is stored and data on the owner. The log of registration forms would be available to the public, as required by the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983.
Some, including Lamar County Sheriff Danny Rigel, have criticized the bill.
“If they pass the law, I’m going to uphold it, but I don’t see the need for it,” Rigel said. He said he couldn’t see “how the public would benefit from knowing where I keep my four-wheeler.”
