Mississippi Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Mississippi, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Can a Mississippi PERS retiree elected as Transportation Commissioner keep getting retirement benefits and partial pay?
Generally no. The AG concluded that the Transportation Commissioner's salary is fixed at $78,000 by Miss. Code Ann. § 25-3-31 and cannot be reduced or waived. So § 25-11-127(4)(a)'s half-salary path i…
Can a Mississippi state legislator be appointed Executive Director of the Public Utilities Staff?
Yes, with separate ethics review. The AG concluded that the Executive Director of the Mississippi Public Utilities Staff is a fixed six-year term position under § 77-2-7(1). A sitting legislator may b…
How much does a Mississippi constable get paid for serving as a bailiff if he covers both civil and criminal court the same day?
The AG concluded that a Mississippi constable serving as bailiff was paid $55 for each day or part of a day, separately for civil and criminal court. A constable who served in both civil and criminal …
Can a Mississippi sheriff put his own son on as a volunteer deputy without violating the state nepotism law?
The AG concluded that the Mississippi nepotism statute did not bar a sheriff's son from serving as an unpaid auxiliary deputy or using county-issued equipment, but it did bar the Sheriff's Department …
Can a Mississippi county issue refunding bonds to refinance a hospital construction loan and pledge full faith and credit to pay it off?
The AG concluded that George County could issue refunding bonds under Sections 31-27-1 et seq. to refinance its outstanding hospital general-obligation debt, and that Section 31-15-11 required an annu…
Can a Mississippi municipal employee drive a city vehicle home outside the city or county boundaries?
Yes for official-duty travel. The AG concluded a Mississippi municipality may authorize an employee to take a city vehicle home outside corporate or county limits if the governing authorities determin…
Does a Mississippi county have to reimburse the tax collector for unpaid travel expenses from prior years?
Reimbursement of mandatory-training travel is required, but late claims for prior years can only be paid from the current fiscal year budget if there is an allocation for them, since under § 19-11-25 …
Can a Mississippi regional mental health commission refinance through the state development bank or hospital authority?
No. The AG concluded that under Miss. Code Ann. § 41-19-33(1)(l), a Mississippi regional mental health commission may borrow money only from private lending institutions. The Hinds County Mental Healt…
Can a Mississippi county exempt a production facility at the same address as a free-port warehouse from ad valorem taxes?
Yes, with conditions. The AG concluded that under the 2018 amendments to Miss. Code Ann. § 27-31-53(d), a production or processing facility at the same physical address as a licensed free port warehou…
Who is supposed to set up the audiovisual gear when a Mississippi justice court does an initial appearance by webcam, the judge or the county?
The county. The AG concluded that under Miss. Code Ann. § 19-7-23 and Article 14 Section 261 of the Mississippi Constitution, the Board of Supervisors is responsible for providing all equipment necess…
Can a Mississippi county pay an attorney to defend its tax assessor in an election contest appeal?
Yes, with a condition. The AG concluded that under Miss. Code Ann. § 19-3-47(1)(b), the Humphreys County Board of Supervisors could hire and pay private counsel from county funds for the current Tax A…
Can a Mississippi town tear down a dilapidated building even when the owner is still living in it?
Yes, if the town gives proper notice and a hearing under Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-11, finds the building a menace to public health and safety, and records its findings on the official minutes. Owner oc…
How does a Mississippi county board buy emergency E-911 equipment without competitive bidding, and can it sign a 7-year contract?
Once the Board declares an emergency under § 31-7-1(f), § 31-7-13(k) lets it skip competitive bidding. Multi-year equipment with a 7-year life is fine, but service contracts that extend past the curre…
Can a Mississippi community college lease land to a private nonprofit without monetary rent if the lessee covers construction, taxes, and maintenance?
Yes, the AG concluded a community college may take into account the lessee's payment of construction costs, ad valorem taxes, maintenance, and the college's right to use part of the facility when dete…
Whose job is it to draft Mississippi youth court orders, the prosecutor or the court staff?
Filing petitions is the youth court prosecutor's job. Orders from adjudication and disposition hearings are the responsibility of court staff hired by the judge and paid by the county under § 43-21-11…
Can the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District pay half the cost of a county guardrail repair to protect its existing water and sewer lines?
Yes. The AG concluded the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District may contract with Rankin County to share the cost of guardrail repairs on Northshore Causeway, if the District factually determines t…
Can a Mississippi waterway district give a lender a security interest in just the lease (not the state land itself) for its tenant?
Yes for the leasehold. The AG concluded the Pat Harrison Waterway District may grant the lessee's lender a security interest in the leasehold interest itself, but not in the state-owned premises. On f…
Can a Mississippi county tax assessor/collector also serve as the interim county administrator at the same time?
Yes. Under the core-powers doctrine, the tax assessor/collector exercises core executive powers, but the county administrator does not, so holding both positions does not violate separation of powers.…
Can a Mississippi county let the Red Cross use a county building for free?
Yes, with a cap. The AG concluded that under Miss. Code Ann. § 19-5-93(1), Yazoo County could enter into a use agreement with the American Red Cross for free use of a county-owned building, treating i…
Are total donation amounts to specific charities under Mississippi's Children's Promise Act tax credits public information?
Yes. The AG concluded that the total contribution amounts received by individual charities under Mississippi's Children's Promise Act tax credit programs are subject to disclosure under the Public Rec…
Can a Mississippi county offer health insurance dependent coverage to some employees but not others?
Yes. The AG concluded that under Miss. Code Ann. § 25-15-103(4)(b), as amended in 2019, a county Board of Supervisors may provide group hospitalization benefits and life insurance for specified groups…
If a Mississippi defendant misses a justice or municipal court date for a traffic ticket, can the judge issue a warrant and require a cash bond equal to the fines?
The court can hold the no-show defendant in contempt and impose a fine up to $1,000 or six months in jail, or both. A cash bond is not strictly proper because contempt has already been adjudicated. Af…
Does the Fresh Start Act force the Mississippi Board of Physical Therapy to ignore prior felony convictions when licensing applicants?
The AG concluded that because the Physical Therapy Board's enabling statute did not bar licensure based on prior convictions, the Board had to comply with Section 73-77-5 of the Fresh Start Act. Its g…
Does Mississippi's Fresh Start Act let people with criminal records get a nursing license, or can the Board of Nursing still bar them?
The AG concluded that the Mississippi Board of Nursing's existing enabling statute, which let it deny a license for felony or moral-turpitude convictions, qualified as 'applicable state law' that exem…
Does the Fresh Start Act limit the Mississippi Funeral Services Board from disqualifying applicants for prior crimes?
Partly. The AG concluded that the Funeral Services Board's enabling statute, Miss. Code Ann. § 73-11-51, did not bar an applicant for a prior criminal conviction. So Fresh Start Act § 73-77-5 applied …
Does Mississippi's Fresh Start Act let a person with a serious felony become a licensed nursing home administrator?
No, for serious felonies. The AG concluded that Miss. Code Ann. § 43-11-13(5)(c), which bars nursing home administrator licensure for felonies including drug offenses, murder, manslaughter, sexual bat…
Does Mississippi's Fresh Start Act stop the Optometry Board from rejecting a license applicant for a moral-turpitude crime?
No. The AG concluded that Miss. Code Ann. § 73-19-23(1), which lets the Optometry Board refuse, cancel, or suspend a license for 'conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude,' was 'applicable stat…
Does Mississippi's Fresh Start Act of 2019 stop the social-worker board from denying a license based on a felony conviction?
No. The AG concluded that the social-work board's enabling statute, Miss. Code Ann. § 73-53-13, was 'applicable state law' that exempted the board from the Fresh Start Act's restrictions on using prio…
Does a Mississippi tax collector in a two-district county get $7,000 extra pay or just $3,500?
$7,000. The AG concluded that under Miss. Code Ann. § 25-3-3(5), the Hinds County Tax Collector was entitled to two mandatory $3,500 supplements: one for serving in a county with two judicial district…
Can a Mississippi county hire its Planning and Development District to handle tax-refund setoff collections for it under the 2019 Local Government Debt Collection Setoff Act?
The AG concluded that the Local Government Debt Collection Setoff Act limited delegation: a county could not assign its point-of-contact or notice duties to a Planning & Development District, but its …
Can a Mississippi levee board partner with the Army Corps to build a flood-control berm that disturbs a cemetery on the levee toe?
Yes, with conditions. The AG concluded the Mississippi Levee Board has plenary constitutional authority under Article 11, Section 232 to construct, or partner with the Army Corps of Engineers to const…
Can a Mississippi mayor and aldermen replace an appointed school board member before the appointee's five-year term ends?
No. The AG concluded that an appointed municipal-separate-school-district trustee was entitled to serve the full five-year term as long as he remained qualified, and a mayor and aldermen could not rep…
Does an appointed county prosecuting attorney in Mississippi have to live in the county and be a registered voter there?
The AG concluded that an appointed Mississippi county prosecuting attorney is a contract employee, not an officeholder. Article 12, Section 250's qualified-elector rule and Section 19-23-9's residency…
Can a Mississippi town require a business that only sells beer and light wine to also get an ABC liquor license?
No. The AG concluded that a Mississippi municipality cannot require a business already permitted by the Department of Revenue under § 67-3-25 to also hold an ABC liquor license to sell beer or light w…
Can a Mississippi city forgive part of an under-billed water bill if the customer's water pressure was so low she barely received service?
The AG concluded that a Mississippi municipality could compromise an under-billed utility account, including the meter demand fee, when the customer credibly received minimal or no benefit from the se…
Does a Mississippi regional railroad authority have to get a full CPA audit each year, or is a CPA 'review' enough?
Neither is statutorily required as such. AG Hood concluded that a Mississippi regional railroad authority's only annual reporting duty under § 19-29-45 is to file a general report of activities; the s…
Can a Mississippi town sign a 15-year energy savings agreement with a private vendor that would bind the next Board to keep paying after this Board's term ends?
Yes, if the agreement is structured under § 31-7-14, which expressly authorizes energy-efficiency contracts up to 20 years and overrides the usual rule that one municipal board cannot bind a successor…
Can a Mississippi county board of supervisors appoint an attorney who lives outside the county to serve as the appointed county prosecutor?
Yes. AG Hood concluded that under § 19-3-49 Miss. Code, an appointed county prosecuting attorney does not hold a constitutional 'office,' so the qualified-elector residency requirement in Article 12 §…
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Attorney general opinions in Mississippi are written by the Mississippi Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.