Mississippi Advisory Opinions May 11, 1979: 19790511 (May 11, 1979)

Advisory Opinion Text

Honorable Orma R. Smith, Jr.

Smith, Downs, Ross, Trapp and Coleman

Attorneys and Counselors at Law

Post Office Box 191

Corinth, Mississippi 38834

Re: Employee running for public office—Welfare—Title XX Program

Dear Mr. Smith:

Your letter request of May 7, 1979, addressed to Honorable A. F. Summer, Attorney General, has been received and assigned to this writer for research and reply. Your letter states:

‘I represent the Alcorn County Board of Education. This Board of Education is operating an adult education program at the Gift Attendance Center. The cost of the operation of said program is supplemented with a grant from the Department of Public Welfare under a Title XX Program. The funds made available to the Department of Public Welfare for the Title XX Programs are federal funds. As a result, the contract between the State Department of Public Welfare and the Alcorn County Board of Education provides as follows:

‘Political activity prohibited. None of the funds, materials, property or services provided directly or indirectly under this agreement shall be used in the performance of this agreement for any partisan political activity or promotion, or to further the election or defeat of any candidate for public office.’

‘One of the employees at the Gift Attendance Center has qualified to run in the Democratic Primary for Supervisor of his district in Alcorn County. He has now requested that the board grant to him a leave of absence for three months in order for him to make this political race.

‘We propound the following questions to you:

‘(1) Would the granting of a leave of absence for three months violate the above cited provision of the contract?

‘(2) If not, would the granting of this leave of absence be in violation of the Hatch Act?’

Our response to your questions is:

(1) It is the opinion of this office that the answer is ‘no’ for the reason that upon his employment being severed by leave of absence, ‘none of the funds, materials, property or services provided directly or indirectly . . .’ are being utilized for political purposes.

(2) As to the Hatch Act, this office is not susceptible to rendering an opinion concerning a federal statute. However, under an informal memorandum on the federal Hatch Act prepared by the U.S. Civil Service Commission, a print copy of which is attached, it appears that ‘if their principal employment is in connection with an activity which is financed in whole or in part by loans or grants made by the United States or a federal agency’ there is a federal Hatch Act prohibition against their being ‘a candidate for public elective office in a partisan election’. The particular program one is working under would have to be examined in light of the enclosure and the federal authority indicated on the enclosure contacted by that person or your office.

Sincerely yours,

A.F. Summer, Attorney General.

John M. Weston Special Assistant Attorney General.