Mississippi Advisory Opinions December 10, 1999: AGO 000013535 (December 10, 1999)

AGO 000013535.

Dear Dr. Ranck:

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

Please be advised Miss. Code Ann. Section 7-1-101 (1991) requires the Department of Finance and Administration to provide the governor-elect with office space and office equipment for the period of time between the election and inauguration.

Further S.B. No. 3130 (1999) provides the Department of Finance and Administration with sixty thousand dollars ($60,000.00) for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the inaugural ceremonies and other necessary expenses of the incoming Governor.

The gubernatorial election appears to be headed to the House of Representatives for the January 4, 2000 vote.

Meanwhile, should circumstances change in the interim, this office must be prepared to immediately effect the office space requirement and the appropriation herein.

Please advise this office if either candidate is entitled, at this juncture, to the office space and the appropriation for defraying expenses. Further, I would appreciate your opinion as to when a candidate may be entitled to office space and the appropriation recited herein. Your immediate help will be appreciated.

In response Section 7-1-101 provides as follows:

The governor's office of general services shall provide a governor-elect with office space and office equipment for the period between the election and inauguration.

A special appropriation to the governor's office of general services is hereby authorized to defray the expenses of providing necessary staff employees and for the operation of the office of a governor-elect during the period between the election and inauguration.

The state fiscal management board shall make available to a governor-elect and his designated representatives information on the following: (a) all information and reports used in the preparation of the budget report; and (b) all information and reports on projected income and revenue estimates for the state.

We can find no statute which defines the term "governor-elect"; however, all words and phrases contained in a statute should be used according to the common and ordinary acceptation and meaning. Miss. Code Ann. Section 1-3-65. In that regard, Webster's, Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines the term "elect" as "chosen for office or position but not yet installed (the president-elect)." In response to your request it is our opinion that, at this juncture, there is no "governor-elect" and therefore neither candidate is solely entitled to the office space provided for in Section 7-1-101.

The appropriation bill, Senate Bill No. 3130 appropriates Sixty Thousand Dollars "to the Department of Finance and Administration, for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the inaugural ceremonies and other necessary expenses of the incoming Governor for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1999 and ending June 30, 2000". This appropriation is to the Department of Finance and Administration and said department may use it for the above-stated purposes as it deems fit and necessary. Further, it is our opinion that a candidate may become entitled to the office space in question at such time as he meets the definition of governor-elect, i.e., he is actually chosen for the office by the House of Representatives. However, until that time it is our opinion that the Department of Finance and Administration may offer and provide this space equally to both candidates.

Very truly yours,

MIKE MOORE

ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: Mike Lanford

Deputy Attorney General

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