MS 2023-06-E-Kramer-III-June-29-2023-Off-Road-Vehicle-Use-During-Parades June 29, 2023

Can a Mississippi city allow four-wheelers, side-by-sides, and golf carts in a parade on city streets?

Short answer: A Mississippi municipality may, by ordinance, allow golf carts and low-speed vehicles to participate in parades on city streets. But under Section 63-31-3(6), there is no statutory authority for off-road vehicles, including ATVs, dirt bikes, and recreational off-highway vehicles like side-by-sides, on public roads or highways. Whether a particular vehicle is a 'low-speed vehicle' or an 'off-road vehicle' is a fact question for the city.

Disclaimer: This is an official Mississippi Attorney General opinion. AG opinions are persuasive authority but not binding precedent. This summary is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed Mississippi attorney for advice on your specific situation.

Subject

Off-Road Vehicle Use During Parades

Recipient

Edward N. Kramer III, Esq., Attorney, City of Quitman

Plain-English summary

The City of Quitman asked whether it could let golf carts, four-wheelers, and side-by-sides participate in parades on city streets and state highways. The AG broke the answer into two parts because Mississippi treats those vehicles differently.

Golf carts and low-speed vehicles are governed by Section 63-32-3(1), which lets a municipality "authorize the operation of golf carts and low-speed vehicles only on public roads and streets as designated by ordinance, within the corporate limits of the municipality." So a city can pass an ordinance and let a parade include golf carts and low-speed vehicles. The opinion does not say the city has special parade authority; it says the city has the regular ordinance authority for golf carts and low-speed vehicles, which extends to parade contexts.

Off-road vehicles are different. Section 63-31-3 defines an "off-road vehicle" as "any all-terrain vehicle, dirt bike or recreational off-highway vehicle," which includes side-by-sides. Section 63-31-3(6) says there is no authorization for "the operation of an off-road vehicle on a public road or highway of this state." That means a Mississippi city cannot pass an ordinance putting four-wheelers and side-by-sides in a parade on a public road. The state has not given the city that power.

The AG also flagged that whether a particular vehicle is a low-speed vehicle (legal, with ordinance) or an off-road vehicle (not legal on roads) is a fact question for the local governing authority based on the vehicle's specifications: top speed, four wheels versus tracks/two wheels, federal safety equipment compliance, etc.

The opinion modifies "all prior opinions to the contrary" prospectively, which signals the AG was reversing or narrowing earlier guidance.

What this means for you

City attorneys

Pass an ordinance now if your city wants golf carts in the holiday parade and you do not already have one. The ordinance should designate the streets where operation is permitted. Do not let four-wheelers, dirt bikes, or side-by-sides into the parade lineup; the AG has been explicit that those vehicles cannot be on public roads, and a parade route is a public road.

Parade organizers and chambers of commerce

Update your parade application form. Include a checkbox for vehicle type that distinguishes golf carts and low-speed vehicles from off-road vehicles. Send the parade application to the city for approval and confirm the vehicles fit a permitted category. If a homecoming float is being towed by a tractor or pickup truck, that is a regular vehicle and is fine; if it is a side-by-side, the vehicle has to come out of the parade.

Police chiefs

Enforce the ordinance during the parade. The AG opinion gives you a clean rule to apply: golf carts and low-speed vehicles need an ordinance and otherwise comply with state law; off-road vehicles do not belong on the parade route at all.

Parade participants

If you have been used to driving the family ATV in the local Christmas parade, that ride is no longer authorized under the AG's reading. Talk to the city about borrowing or renting a low-speed vehicle if you want to participate.

State legislators

The opinion makes clear that Section 63-31-3(6) is a flat ban on off-road vehicles on public roads, with no parade exception. If communities want a parade exception, the legislature is the only body that can create one.

Common questions

What's the difference between a golf cart and a low-speed vehicle?
A golf cart, under Section 63-32-1(a), is designated for golf-course operation, capped at 20 mph, and equipped with safety equipment under 49 CFR § 571.500. A low-speed vehicle, under Section 63-32-1(b), is a four-wheeled electric or gasoline vehicle with a top speed greater than 20 mph but less than 25 mph, with the same safety equipment.

Is a side-by-side an off-road vehicle?
Side-by-sides are typically "recreational off-highway vehicles," which Section 63-31-3 includes in the off-road vehicle definition. They are barred from public roads under subsection (6).

What about ATVs and dirt bikes?
Both are explicitly listed as "off-road vehicles." Same answer: no public roads, including parade routes.

Does the parade ordinance let us put golf carts on a state highway?
The opinion says cities may authorize golf carts and low-speed vehicles "within the corporate limits of the municipality." A state highway segment running through the city can be the parade route; the city ordinance still applies on that segment, but the AG's opinion does not change MDOT or state-highway-specific requirements for parades. Coordinate with the Mississippi Highway Patrol for highway segments.

What about an electric bicycle?
Section 63-31-3 explicitly excludes electric bicycles from the off-road vehicle definition. Bikes have their own treatment under state law.

Can the city use its police powers to allow ATVs just for the parade?
The AG said no. Section 63-3-209 prohibits a local rule that conflicts with state vehicle law unless expressly authorized, and Section 63-31-3(6) bars off-road vehicles on roads. The local ordinance cannot override that.

Background and statutory framework

Section 63-3-103 defines "vehicle" and "motor vehicle" broadly. Section 63-3-211 gives local authorities, with respect to streets and highways under their jurisdiction, the power to regulate or prohibit "processions or assemblages on highways, such as parades." Section 63-3-209 limits that local power: "no local authority shall enact or enforce any rule or regulation in conflict with the provisions of this chapter unless expressly authorized herein."

Section 63-32-1 defines golf carts and low-speed vehicles. Section 63-32-3(1) lets municipalities authorize their operation on designated public roads within corporate limits by ordinance.

Section 63-31-3 defines off-road vehicles to include ATVs, dirt bikes, and recreational off-highway vehicles. Subsection (6) provides no authorization for operation on public roads or highways. The legislature has thus said clearly that off-road vehicles are off-road, period.

The AG's parade analysis stitches these provisions together: parades are processions on highways, local authority over them must respect state law, and state law allows golf carts and low-speed vehicles by ordinance but flatly bars off-road vehicles. The opinion ends by modifying "all prior opinions to the contrary" prospectively, an unusual signal that some past AG guidance had treated off-road vehicles in parades more permissively than the present opinion allows.

Citations

Miss. Code Ann. § 63-3-103(a) (definition of "vehicle")
Miss. Code Ann. § 63-3-103(b) (definition of "motor vehicle")
Miss. Code Ann. § 63-3-209 (no local rule in conflict with state vehicle code)
Miss. Code Ann. § 63-3-211 (local authority over processions and parades on highways)
Miss. Code Ann. § 63-31-3 (off-road vehicle definition)
Miss. Code Ann. § 63-31-3(6) (no authorization to operate off-road vehicles on public roads or highways)
Miss. Code Ann. § 63-32-1(a) (golf cart definition)
Miss. Code Ann. § 63-32-1(b) (low-speed vehicle definition)
Miss. Code Ann. § 63-32-3(1) (municipal authority to authorize golf carts and low-speed vehicles by ordinance)

Source

Original opinion text

June 29, 2023
Edward N. Kramer III, Esq.
Attorney, City of Quitman
101 East Church Street
Quitman, Mississippi 39355-0016
Re:

Off-Road Vehicle Use During Parades

Dear Mr. Kramer:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.
Question Presented
Does a municipality have the authority to allow golf carts, four-wheelers, and side-by-sides to
participate in parades on city streets and state highways?
Brief Response
Mississippi Code Annotated Section 63-32-3(1) provides that municipalities "may . . . authorize
the operation of golf carts and low-speed vehicles only on public roads and streets as designated
by ordinance, within the corporate limits of the municipality." However, Section 63-31-3(6) states
that there is no authorization for the "operation of an off-road vehicle on a public road or highway
of this state." Whether a vehicle is a "low-speed vehicle" or an "off-road vehicle" is a question of
fact for the governing authority.
Applicable Law and Discussion
You ask about a municipality's authority to allow vehicles such as four wheelers, side-by-sides,
and golf carts to participate in parades. Section 63-3-103(a) defines a "vehicle" as "every device
in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway,
except devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks." A "motor vehicle" is defined as
"every vehicle which is self-propelled and every vehicle which is propelled by electric power
obtained from overhead trolley wires, but not operated upon rails." Miss. Code Ann. § 63-3-103(b).
Section 63-3-211 provides that local authorities, with respect to streets and highways under their
jurisdiction, have the power to regulate or prohibit processions or assemblages on highways, such
as parades. Local authorities' power to regulate parades is limited, however, by Section 63-3-209,
which provides that "no local authority shall enact or enforce any rule or regulation in conflict
with the provisions of this chapter unless expressly authorized herein." Accordingly, it is the
opinion of this office that local authorities have the ability to regulate parades on streets and
highways under their jurisdiction; however, when doing so, local authorities must still abide by
state law applicable to motor vehicles, including but not limited to state law regarding golf carts
and all-terrain vehicles as further addressed below.
Section 63-32-1(a) defines a "[g]olf cart" as "a motor vehicle that is designated and manufactured
for operation on a golf course . . ., is not capable of exceeding speeds of twenty (20) miles per
hour, and is equipped with safety equipment as required under 49 CFR Section 571.500." Section
63-32-1(b) defines a "[l]ow-speed vehicle" as "any four-wheeled electric or gasoline-powered
vehicle that has a top speed greater than twenty (20) miles per hour but less than twenty-five (25)
miles per hour and is equipped with safety equipment as required under 49 CFR Section 571.500."
Section 63-32-3(1) allows municipalities to "authorize the operation of golf carts and low-speed
vehicles only on public roads and streets as designated by ordinance, within the corporate limits
of the municipality." Accordingly, it is the opinion of this office that municipalities have the
authority to authorize the operation of golf carts and low-speed vehicles on public roads and streets
within the corporate limits of the municipality during parades. To exercise this authority,
municipalities must pass an ordinance as provided in Section 63-32-3(1).
Beyond this, Section 63-31-3 defines an "off-road vehicle" as "any all-terrain vehicle, dirt bike or
recreational off-highway vehicle" with the exclusion of "electric bicycles." Pursuant to Section
63-31-3(6), there is no authorization for the "operation of an off-road vehicle on a public road or
highway of this state." Accordingly, it is the opinion of this office that municipalities may not pass
ordinances to allow for the operation of off-road vehicles on public roads and streets within the
corporate limits of the municipality during parades. Whether a vehicle is a low-speed vehicle, as
defined in Section 63-32-1(b), or an off-road vehicle, as defined in Section 63-31-3, is a question
of fact for the governing authority.
All prior opinions to the contrary are modified prospectively to conform herewith.
If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL
By:

/s/ Maggie Kate Bobo
Maggie Kate Bobo
Special Assistant Attorney General