Title 25, Public Officers and Employees; Public Records

Unless otherwise provided by law, all officers and employees of state agencies, boards, commissions, departments and institutions authorized by law to receive per diem compensation for each day or fraction thereof occupied with the discharge of official duties shall be entitled t…

From the state treasury shall be paid up to one fourth (¼) of the salary of each county assessor, but in no instance shall the payment exceed the figure paid for the fiscal year of 1970-1971 to the assessor, whether or not the offices of assessor and tax collector are combined.

The State Personnel Board shall prepare a written legislative report to be submitted to the members of the Mississippi Legislature on December 1, 1988, and on December 1 of every year thereafter, making recommendations on any salary increases and the amounts deemed necessary for …

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2), (3) and (4) of this section, the county prosecuting attorney may receive for his services an annual salary to be paid by the board of supervisors as follows:(a) For counties with a total population of more than two hundred thousand (200,…

(a) For purposes of Sections 25-3-91 through 25-3-99, the following words and terms shall have the meaning described herein, unless the context requires otherwise:(a) “Appointing authority” shall mean such person, agency or authority authorized by law to employ individuals in sta…

(1) When, in the opinion of the appointing authority, it is essential that a state employee work after normal working hours, the employee may receive credit for compensatory leave. Except as otherwise provided in Section 37-13-89, when, in the opinion of the appointing authority,…

(1) (a) Except as provided in subsection (1)(b), all employees and appointed officers of the State of Mississippi, who are employees as defined in Section 25-3-91, shall be allowed credit for personal leave computed as follows:ContinuousAccrual RateAccrual RateService(Monthly)(An…

(1) All employees and appointed officers of the State of Mississippi, except employees of the public universities who do not contribute to the Mississippi Public Employees’ Retirement System or the State Institutions of Higher Learning Optional Retirement Program, shall accrue cr…

(1) All organizations shall keep accurate records of the leave accumulated and used by the officers and employees thereof. (2) The appointing authority in nonstate service agencies within the meaning of Section 25-9-107 will develop rules for proper maintenance of leave records. …

Nothing in Sections 25-3-91 through 25-3-99 shall be construed to deny the payment of leave earned prior to July 1, 1976.

The Legislature hereby declares it essential to the proper operation of democratic government that public officials and employees be independent and impartial; that governmental decisions and policy be made in the proper channels of the governmental structure; that public office …

(1) Five (5) members of the commission shall constitute a quorum. Five (5) members of the commission shall vote in the affirmative before any official action can be taken by the commission. Execution of such official action may be delegated to the chairman or executive director o…

Members of the Mississippi Ethics Commission shall, while serving on business of the commission, be entitled to receive as compensation a per diem, as is provided by law, not to exceed Three Thousand One Hundred Twenty-five Dollars ($3,125.00) annually, in addition to any actual …

(1) The commission shall appoint an executive director to serve at the pleasure of the commission. The executive director shall possess a high degree of professional competence and integrity. The executive director shall be responsible for the administrative operations of the com…

(a) The commission shall, in addition to any other duties prescribed by law:(a) Prepare and publish a manual setting forth recommended uniform methods of accounting and reporting for use by persons required to file statements of economic interest pursuant to the provisions of thi…

(1) The appropriate committee designated by the Senate or the House of Representatives of the State of Mississippi to deal with ethical matters of their respective body may request, in writing, an opinion from the Attorney General as to real or hypothetical situations concerning …

(a) The commission shall have the authority to do the following:(a) (i) Make investigations, as provided in Section 25-4-21, with respect to statements of economic interest filed pursuant to this chapter and with respect to alleged failures to file any statement of economic inter…

(1) Upon receipt of a complaint that complies with Section 25-4-19, the commission shall authorize a confidential investigation of the complaint. Upon completion of the investigation, the commission shall proceed as follows:(a) If the complaint concerns a public official in the l…

All commission proceedings and records relating to any investigation shall be kept confidential, except this requirement shall not be construed to interfere with the commission’s authority, pursuant to paragraph (g) of Section 25-4-17, paragraphs (d) and (f) of Section 25-4-19, a…

(a) Each of the following individuals shall file a statement of economic interest with the commission in accordance with the provisions of this chapter:(a) Persons elected by popular vote, excluding United States Senators and United States Representatives, to any office, whether …

(a) Each person specified under Section 25-4-25 shall file a statement in accordance with the provisions of this chapter in the manner and format prescribed by the commission which shall be certified as to the accuracy and completeness of the information set forth to the best kno…

(1) A public official or public employee who has an interest in a blind trust which meets the standards set forth in this section is not required to disclose the holdings of the blind trust, if those holdings are acquired by the trustee after the trust complies with subsection (2…

(1) Required statements hereunder shall be filed as follows:(a) Every incumbent public official required by paragraphs (a), (b), (d) and (e) of Section 25-4-25 to file a statement of economic interest shall file such statement with the commission on or before May 1 of each year t…

(a) As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise:(a) “Advisory boards or commissions” means committees created solely to provide technical or professional knowledge or expertise to a parent organization, and whose members exercise no direct authority to expend p…

(1) Any person who violates the confidentiality of a commission proceeding pursuant to this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or imprisoned not more than one (1) year, or be both fined and impris…

(1) There is hereby created the Mississippi Ethics Commission which shall be composed of eight (8) members, each of whom shall be a qualified elector of the State of Mississippi, of good moral character and integrity. (2) Two (2) members of the commission shall be appointed by ea…

As soon as all of the initial members of the commission have been appointed, the Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court shall call and provide for the holding of an organizational meeting of the commission; provided, however, in no instance shall such meeting be set for l…

The commission shall annually elect one (1) member to serve as chairman of the commission and one (1) member to serve as vice chairman. The vice chairman shall act as chairman in the absence or upon the disability of the chairman or in the event of a vacancy of the office of the …

The Legislature declares that elective and public office and employment is a public trust and any effort to realize personal gain through official conduct, other than as provided by law, or as a natural consequence of the employment or position, is a violation of that trust. Ther…

(a) The following definitions apply in this article unless the context otherwise requires:(a) “Authority” means any component unit of a governmental entity.(b) “Benefit” means any gain or advantage to the beneficiary, including any gain or advantage to a third person pursuant to …

(1) No public servant shall use his official position to obtain, or attempt to obtain, pecuniary benefit for himself other than that compensation provided for by law, or to obtain, or attempt to obtain, pecuniary benefit for any relative or any business with which he is associate…

(1) The commission may pursue enforcement of this chapter by means of hearings held before the commission or an independent hearing officer to determine whether a respondent violated the law and, if so, what penalty should be imposed. Hearings shall be conducted according to the …

(1) Upon a finding by clear and convincing evidence that any elected public servant or other person has violated any provision of this article, the commission may censure the elected public servant or impose a civil fine of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both…

(1) An authority head and any other public servant having the authority to appoint a person to a position of public service, regardless of whether or not such appointment requires the approval of the senate or any other body, employee or person, shall take such action as may be o…

The Attorney General of the State of Mississippi, the commission, or any governmental entity directly injured by a violation of this article may bring a separate civil action against the public servant or other person or business violating the provisions of this article for recov…

This article shall not bar, suspend or otherwise restrict any right or liability to damage, penalty, forfeiture, restitution or other remedy authorized by law to be recovered or enforced in a civil action, regardless of whether the conduct involved in the proceeding constituted a…

The provisions of this article shall be in addition to any criminal laws. Actions taken under the provisions of this article shall not bar prosecution for violations of the criminal law.

No elected or appointed official shall derive any pecuniary benefit, directly or indirectly, as a result of such elected or appointed official’s duties under Sections 21-19-33, 27-109-1, 27-109-3, 27-109-7, 27-109-9, 67-1-71, 87-1-5, 95-3-25, 97-33-1, 97-33-7, 97-33-9, 97-33-17, …

No elected or appointed official shall derive any pecuniary benefit, directly or indirectly, as a result of his duties under Chapter 497, Laws of 2009. Any elected or appointed official, any member of the immediate family or any partner or associate of the elected or appointed of…

If any public officer, state, district, county or municipal, shall be convicted or enter a plea of guilty or nolo contendere in any court of this state or any other state or in any federal court of any felony other than manslaughter or any violation of the United States Internal …

Such petitions may be circulated and signed in sections; that is, there may be more than one copy of the petition circulated, provided they contain identical language. All petitions, all copies thereof, and all sheets for signature shall be dated as of the day of the first signat…

Each and every petition, or separately circulated section thereof, containing signatures shall be verified on the last page thereof in substantially the following form: STATE OF MISSISSIPPICounty of I, , a qualified elector of said county do now state under oath that every person…

Before the submission of the petitions to the governor to be filed by him, all sections of the same shall be consolidated and delivered to the county registrar of the county in which the petition has been circulated. No signatures shall be thereafter added. The county registrar s…

Such certificate by the county registrar shall be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein and of the qualification of the electors whose signatures are thus certified. The Governor shall consider and count only those signatures on such petition as shall be so certified b…

The county registrar shall not retain in his possession any such petition or any section thereof for a longer period than two (2) days for the first two hundred (200) signatures thereon and one (1) additional day for each two hundred (200) additional signatures or fraction thereo…

When said petitions shall have been filed with the Governor, within ten (10) days of the filing thereof the Governor shall cause true copies thereof (photostatic copies being sufficient) to be personally delivered by some officer of the county, designated in writing by the Govern…