Mississippi Advisory Opinions July 12, 1989: AGO 000004801 (July 12, 1989)

AGO 000004801.

Dear Mrs. McRaney:

Attorney General Mike Moore has received your letter of request and has assigned it to me for research and reply. Your letter states:

"The Democratic Executive Committee has received one hundred sixty dollars ($160.00) as qualifying fees from municipal party candidates for Mayor and Aldermen. They do not anticipate any expenditures for these funds. There were no candidates that qualified for the Democratic Executive Committee for the term of 1989-93. The question is this, 'What does the Committee do with these funds?' Our county does have a Democratic Committee. In your opinion could the committee donate these funds to the county committee?"

Mississippi Code Annotated s 23-15-309 (Supp. 1988) provides in part:

"(1) All persons desiring to be candidates for the nomination in the primary elections shall first pay Ten Dollars ($10.00) to the clerk of the municipality, at least thirty (30) days prior to the first primary election, no later than 5:00 p.m. on such deadline day.

.....

(3) The clerk shall promptly receipt the payment, stating the office for which the person making the payment is running and the political party with which such person is affiliated. The clerk shall keep an itemized account in detail showing the time and date of the receipt of such payment received by him, from whom such payment was received, the party with which such person is affiliated, and for what office the person paying the fee is a candidate. The clerk shall promptly supply all necessary information and pay over all fees so received to the secretary of the proper municipal executive committee. Such funds may be used and disbursed in the same manner as is allowed in Section 23-15-299 in regard to other executive committees." (emphasis added)

Section 23-15-299 (5) provides:

"The secretaries of the proper executive committee shall hold said funds to be finally disposed of by order of their respective executive committees. Such funds may be used or disbursed by the executive committee receiving same to pay all necessary traveling or other necessary expenses of the members of the executive committee incurred in discharging their duties as committeemen, and of their secretary and may pay the secretary such salary as may reasonable." (emphasis added)

In response to your specific question it is the opinion of this office that the money in question may not be legally donated to the county democratic executive committee. The money may be paid to the secretary of the municipal democratic executive committee for services rendered if, consistent with the facts, the committee as a whole determines that such compensation is reasonable. Also, the chairman of said municipal committee or his designee who attended a training session conducted by the Office of Secretary of State pursuant to section 23-15-211 or incurred any other expenses in the performance of his duties could be reimbursed out of the money in question.

Sincerely,

MIKE MOORE, ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY:__________________________________

PHIL CARTER SPECIAL ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

PC/prb