Mississippi Advisory Opinions October 02, 1991: AGO 000005401 (October 2, 1991)

AGO 000005401.

Dear Mr. Griffith:

Attorney General Mike Moore has received your request for an opinion and has assigned it to me for research and reply. A copy of your letter is attached hereto and incorporated herein for reference.

Mississippi Code Annotated Section 23-15-219 (1990) states, in part:

(1) The board of election commissioners is hereby authorized and empowered to employ and set or determine the duties of and determine the compensation of such .

. . technical advisors and any other employees or persons who or which said board or a majority thereof may deem necessary to enable them to discharge the duties and obligations presently or hereafter vested in them. However, before employing such persons or setting or determining said compensation, the election commissioners must first have the approval of the board of supervisors of the county.

* * *

(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a person who holds the office of commissioner of election from being employed and receiving compensation pursuant to this section. Any compensation which such a person may receive from his employment pursuant to this section shall be in addition to any compensation such person may receive in performing his duties as a commissioner of election.

This code section expressly authorizes the board of election commissioners to employ and compensate its members to perform necessary work that enables the board to carry out its own duties.

We are mindful of the prohibitions of Section 109, Mississippi Constitution of 1890 as well as the decisions of the Mississippi Supreme Court which bring into question the constitutionality of Section 23-15-219(2). However, this office does not make determinations as to whether legislative acts are violative of the Constitution.

Therefore, while we do not comment on the constitutionality or propriety of the contemplated action, it is the opinion of this office that a county board of election commissioners may, pursuant to upon23-15-219(2), employ individual commissioners for the purposes stated therein provided the county board of supervisors first authorize such employment.

We also invite you to consult with the Ethics Commission on the upon109 and other conflicts in interest concerns that may touch on this issue.

Sincerely,

MIKE MOORE, ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY Phil Carter Special Assistant Attorney General PC:mfd Enclosure