Offense of mitigated criminal littering

(a) Mitigated criminal littering is littering in an amount less than or equal to five pounds (5 lbs.) in weight or seven and one-half (7.5) cubic feet in volume. (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.Litter: includes garbage, refuse, rubbish and all other waste material, including a tobacco product as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 39-14-501Person: includes the singular and the plural and means and includes any individual, firm, partnership, copartnership, association, corporation, governmental subdivision or agency, or other organization or other legal entity, or any agent or servant thereof. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105(b) Mitigated criminal littering is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by a fine of five hundred dollars ($500) and as provided in subsections (c) and (d). (c) A person charged with a violation of this section may, in lieu of appearance in court, submit the applicable five hundred dollar ($500) fine to the clerk of the court that has jurisdiction of the offense within the county in which the offense charged is alleged to have been committed. A person paying in this manner is not subject to subsection (d), and, in the discretion of the judge, may be excused from paying court costs for the offense. (d) In addition to the penalties established in this section, the court shall require a person convicted under this section to remove litter from the state or local highway system, public playgrounds, public parks or other appropriate public locations for not more than forty (40) hours. The court, in its discretion, may also require a person convicted under this section to work in a recycling center or other appropriate location for any stated period of time not to exceed eight (8) hours.