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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Are hemp beverages legal to sell in Mississippi, and do they have to be under 0.3% THC?
Hemp beverages sit in a legal gray zone. Section 97-31-5 makes it unlawful to sell any drug, elixir, or compound that produces intoxication when drunk to excess unless state law specifically legalizes…
Can a Mississippi county pay each employee a $1,000 ARPA bonus for staying on the job during the pandemic?
No. Once American Rescue Plan Act funds enter the county treasury, state rules govern how they are spent. Miss. Const. Art. 4 §§ 66 and 96 prohibit a county from granting extra compensation for servic…
Does a town housing authority commissioner have to live inside the town, or can they live within five miles of the town?
Yes. Mississippi housing authority commissioners must reside within the housing authority's territorial jurisdiction, but that jurisdiction extends beyond the town limits. Under Miss. Code Ann. § 43-3…
Can a habitual offender in a Mississippi prison get conditional medical release if they're terminally ill, even though habitual offenders aren't eligible for parole?
Yes. Conditional medical release under Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-4 is a separate and distinct program from parole under § 47-7-3. The habitual-offender exclusion in § 47-7-3 does not apply to § 47-7-4. A…
If I file a transfer-on-death deed in Mississippi, do I have to reapply for my homestead exemption?
No. A revocable transfer-on-death deed does not affect the owner's homestead rights during life, so no reapplication is required after filing. The homestead exemption keeps rolling forward annually un…
If a Mississippi county overpaid sick leave by mistake, can other employees donate leave so the worker can repay it?
Yes. If the county determines an administrative error caused an employee to be paid sick leave they had not earned, the employee can repay the county using leave donated by coworkers, as long as the d…
Can a Mississippi city accept land instead of cash to settle a special assessment debt the property owner owes?
Yes. The 2021 opinion concluded that under municipal home rule, a Mississippi city can accept real property in lieu of cash payment to satisfy a special-assessment debt, as long as the property is acq…
How many times must a Mississippi county advertise an ordinance, and can it post a shortened version online instead of the full text in the newspaper?
For ordinances not governed by a specific publication statute, Mississippi counties have no minimum number of newspaper runs and can post a shortened version on a county website. But if a particular t…
Can a Mississippi county provide group health insurance to part-time employees or non-salaried employees, and can it pick which employees to cover?
The 2021 opinion concluded that a Mississippi county can provide group health insurance only to employees who (1) work full-time for the county and (2) receive direct compensation from the county. Par…
Can a Mississippi county hire a chamber of commerce to manage a county-owned property and share offices, and does revenue generated have to flow through the county?
On the office-sharing question: yes. The 2021 opinion concluded that nothing prohibits a county and a chamber of commerce from agreeing, in a lawful management agreement, that the county retains offic…
Can a Mississippi school district sell laptop computers (purchased with COVID Equity in Distance Learning Act funds) to graduating seniors?
Yes. The 2021 opinion concluded that a Mississippi school district may sell laptop computers, purchased with grants under the Equity in Distance Learning Act (EDLA), to graduating twelfth graders. The…
Can a Mississippi county board of supervisors add secretarial expenses to the county prosecutor's base salary, raising the retirement and tax base?
No. The 2021 opinion concluded that the county prosecutor's salary (set by Section 25-3-9 based on county population and location) is separate from secretarial expenses paid under that statute or unde…
Does a Mississippi city judge in a city of 10,000 to 20,000 have to be a qualified elector of the county where the city sits?
No. The 2021 opinion concluded that Brookhaven's municipal court judge does not need to be a qualified elector of Lincoln County. Section 21-23-3 generally requires city judges in cities of 10,000+ to…
Can a Mississippi city forgive part of a cleanup assessment when the cost to clean up exceeds what the property is worth?
The AG concluded that cleanup assessments imposed under Section 21-19-11 are property liens that a Mississippi municipality cannot reduce, waive, or postpone, even when the cost exceeds the property's…
Can the membership on a Mississippi joint airport board be adjusted when one owner has been paying double the cost?
Yes. The 2021 opinion concluded that the statutes governing joint airport boards (Sections 61-5-33 to 61-5-41) permit revision and amendment of the joint agreement, including the number of board membe…
Can a Mississippi special-charter city's board of mayor and selectmen remove school board trustees mid-term or change school board term lengths by ordinance?
No on both counts. The 2021 opinion concluded that the City of McComb's Board of Mayor and Selectman cannot remove a school board trustee mid-term and cannot adopt an ordinance conflicting with state-…
When a Mississippi statute says "latest available federal census," do you use the prior official census or the new one's preliminary numbers?
The 2021 opinion concluded that until the 2020 census numbers became finalized and official, the official 2010 census numbers were the "latest available federal census" for Section 21-23-3 (governing …
Can a Mississippi pretrial detainee held in their home county vote absentee on the disability excuse?
Only if they actually have a temporary or permanent physical disability. Detention itself is not a disability under § 23-15-713(d). Whether a particular elector qualifies is a case-by-case determinati…
Can a Mississippi county board of supervisors shrink, dissolve, or audit the trustees running a county hospital?
The 2020 opinion concluded a Mississippi board of supervisors could (1) decline to fill an at-large hospital trustee vacancy, letting the trustee board operate with six members until it could shrink t…
Can a Mississippi county tax assessor send employees home with pay during COVID without the Board of Supervisors' approval?
The AG concluded that under Executive Order 1460 and H.B. 1647 (2020), only county boards of supervisors, municipal governing authorities, and local school boards could grant administrative leave with…
Can a Mississippi municipal court expunge a first-offense drug-related DUI?
The AG concluded that a Mississippi municipal court could expunge a first-offense drug-related DUI that had been nonadjudicated under Section 63-11-30(14), but could not expunge any DUI conviction. Co…
Can a Mississippi municipal court start its own veterans treatment court for misdemeanor cases?
The AG concluded that the Greenwood Municipal Court could not create a municipal veterans misdemeanor treatment court. Only the Mississippi Legislature can establish inferior courts, and the Legislatu…
What does it mean that the Mississippi Civil Rights Education Commission is assigned to the Secretary of State 'for administrative purposes only'?
The Mississippi Secretary of State assists the Civil Rights Education Commission with managing activities and organizational tasks. The SOS has no statutory funding obligation, no authority over the C…
Can a sheriff's deputy who also moonlights as a town police officer write a town traffic ticket while on duty as deputy sheriff?
No. A sheriff's deputy on duty as deputy sheriff has no authority to issue a municipal traffic citation returnable to municipal court, even if the same person also moonlights as a town police officer.…
Can a Mississippi town deed homes to long-time residents to make up for Community Block Grant houses that were promised but never built?
Generally no. A Mississippi municipality cannot deed municipally-owned property to individual citizens because that is an unlawful donation. The narrow exception is § 43-35-503: if the Town of Gunniso…
How does a Mississippi joint airport board dispose of abandoned personal property left at the airport?
A Mississippi joint airport board created under § 61-5-37 can dispose of abandoned personal property using the county procedure (§ 19-3-85) or the city procedure (§ 21-39-21), unless the joint agreeme…
Can a Mississippi county make all employees take their paychecks by direct deposit?
No. A Mississippi county can offer direct deposit, and may pay an employee electronically once the employee agrees, but it cannot make direct deposit mandatory for all county employees. Mandatory dire…
In Mississippi, do you have to get a community mental-health screening before filing a commitment affidavit?
No. A relative or interested person can file an affidavit with the chancery clerk first. After the chancellor directs, the sheriff transports the person to a community mental health center for the pre…
Can a Mississippi public school district bus non-district students to a special STEM program?
Yes, conditionally. If the school board determines a program is a 'special or alternative program' under § 37-41-3, the district may transport non-district students, provided no additional public fund…
Can a Mississippi county dispose of a public park, give credit for past church donations, or contract with a church to operate it?
A Mississippi county may sell, lease, or convey a public park if its board finds the park is no longer used for county purposes and follows Section 19-7-3's bid process. The county may also contract w…
If a re-elected Mississippi alderman was never sworn in for the new term, are the votes still valid?
Assuming the city's special charter is silent, the alderman is a de facto officer at minimum, and Section 25-1-37 makes the official acts of de facto officers valid and binding. Mississippi law expect…
Can a Mississippi city repair a drainage ditch on private property to fix flooding and erosion?
Yes. Section 21-19-13(2) authorizes a Mississippi municipality to provide labor, materials, and supplies to clean drainage ditches and prevent erosion on public or private property, after the city mak…
Can a Mississippi city and county jointly pave roads using the county's existing paving contractor without violating purchasing laws?
Yes. The Mississippi Interlocal Cooperation Act (§§ 17-13-1 et seq.) lets a city and county act jointly through a lawful interlocal agreement, including for road paving, even though a city cannot dire…
In a Mississippi mayor-council city, who controls and evaluates the civil service commission's secretary, the mayor or the commission?
For commission work, the civil service commission controls. The commission appoints the secretary under § 21-31-7, can suspend or discharge them under the same procedure used for commissioners under §…
Can a Mississippi city give its share of jointly owned surplus property to the county for free so the county can pass it to a nonprofit?
Not as a donation. Mississippi cities are generally prohibited from donating real property without statutory authority. The only practical path here is for Batesville's governing authority to make a f…
Can a Mississippi city's board of aldermen reverse an earlier ordinance making the police chief an appointed position and switch back to electing the chief?
Yes. Under Miss. Code Ann. § 21-3-3 and §§ 21-13-1 et seq., a code charter municipality has full authority to pass, amend, or repeal ordinances. Brookhaven's Board of Aldermen can amend, repeal, or re…
Does Mississippi's HB 1365 ban on private election funding cover student art and essay contests about voting?
It depends on the facts. HB 1365 prohibits Mississippi election officials from soliciting, accepting, using, or disposing of private donations for election-related expenses or voter education, outreac…
Can a Mississippi school board member also serve on a joint airport board, or does the separation of powers prohibit it?
Yes. The 2021 opinion concluded that simultaneous service on a Mississippi public school board and a joint airport board does not violate the separation of powers doctrine. Both boards exercise execut…
Can a Mississippi school district reclassify Sixteenth Section land from commercial to residential during an existing 25-year lease, when the lessee wants to live there?
Yes. The 2021 opinion concluded that a Mississippi school board may reclassify Sixteenth Section land from commercial to residential during an existing lease, provided (1) the tract qualifies under th…
During COVID, can a Mississippi school district close schools and keep paying employees who didn't work?
The AG concluded that the Cleveland School Board could close schools for the COVID-19 epidemic under Section 37-13-65 if it made the required factual findings, subject to the 180-day school-session ru…
Can a Mississippi HOA charge a transfer fee when a homeowner sells the property?
The 2020 opinion confirmed that Mississippi's 2019 ban on private transfer fees in § 89-1-69 left a carve-out for HOA transfer fees: a property owners' association in a subdivision with more than one …
Can a Mississippi city let private organizations or the chamber of commerce use the municipal auditorium without paying a fee?
The 2020 opinion concluded that a Mississippi city did not have to charge fees to non-municipal users of a municipal auditorium, but had to recover any direct costs (utilities, cleaning) the city incu…
Can a Mississippi town shut off water service from another utility to collect on its own sewer bill?
No. Under Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-23(e), a Mississippi municipality can discontinue services for nonpayment, but only services the municipality itself provides. The Town of Flora does not own the wate…
Are National Guard Active Guard Reserve members 'active members of the U.S. Armed Forces' for Mississippi school-choice purposes?
Yes. Members of the National Guard Active Guard Reserve qualify as 'active members of the United States Armed Forces' under Section 37-15-29(5)(a). Their children may enroll in any Mississippi school …
Can the Mississippi Department of Agriculture accept donated land from a county economic development authority for grading and inspection facilities?
Yes. Section 69-7-115 allows the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce to acquire land by donation, purchase, lease, or condemnation in the State's name, subject to Department of Finance …
If a Mississippi statute lets the police mail notice for unpaid traffic fines but a Supreme Court rule requires personal service, which one wins?
The court rule controls. Mississippi Rule of Criminal Procedure 26.6(d) requires personal service of a summons before a court can issue an arrest warrant for unpaid fines. Section 63-1-53(1) authorize…
Can a Mississippi county board of supervisors give just one hour of notice for a special meeting under the Open Meetings Act, or do they have to follow the longer five-day requirement in the supervisors' statute?
No. The 2021 opinion concluded that the one-hour posting under Section 25-41-13(1) is supplemental to, not a substitute for, the five-day publication required by Section 19-3-19. Boards of supervisors…
Are first responders who die from COVID-19 contracted on duty eligible for Mississippi's $100,000 line-of-duty death benefit?
Yes. The 2021 opinion concluded that COVID-19 deaths fall within the 'covered cause of death' definition in Mississippi's first responder death-benefits statute (Section 45-2-1). The Mississippi statu…
If a Mississippi city missed the original deadline to grant an industrial replacement-equipment tax exemption, can it still grant a new application years later?
Yes, but only going forward. A Mississippi municipal authority can grant a new (subsequent) replacement-equipment tax exemption application even after the original June 1 filing deadline was missed. T…
If a Mississippi city employee's brother gets elected to the city council, can the employee still be promoted, and can a board fix a nepotism mistake with a nunc pro tunc minute entry?
No to promotion, generally. Mississippi's nepotism statute (Section 25-1-53) lets an employee keep an existing covered position when a relative becomes the appointing authority, but does not let the e…
If no probation revocation hearing happens within 21 days, must the Mississippi sheriff release the probationer?
Yes. Section 47-7-37(3) makes release mandatory if a probation revocation hearing is not held within 21 days of detention. The sheriff physically holds the probationer and must release them, even if t…
Can a Mississippi jail buy a washing machine and clothes dryer for inmate uniforms with canteen funds?
Yes. A Mississippi sheriff may use inmate canteen funds to buy a washing machine and clothes dryer for inmate uniforms, so long as the purchase is made 'for the benefit and welfare of the inmates inca…
Can a Mississippi county use public law library funds to buy metal detectors for the courthouse?
Yes. Section 19-7-31 authorizes a Mississippi county board of supervisors to use public law library funds to purchase equipment for the library, and metal detectors at the entrance of a courthouse tha…
Can a Mississippi county contract with a hospital and a private ambulance provider to subsidize ambulance services without competitive bidding?
Yes on all three counts. A Mississippi county may contract with a public hospital and the hospital's private ambulance provider for ambulance services under Section 41-55-3, may subsidize a private am…
Can Mississippi's Wildlife Commission allow commercial trade of farmed white-tailed deer between licensed breeders?
Yes. Mississippi generally bars buying or selling game animals (§ 49-7-51), but the statute carves out trade 'specifically permitted by law or regulation.' The Commission has plenary authority over wh…
Can a Mississippi justice court ask city police to serve criminal contempt warrants when constables and the sheriff have failed?
Yes, within municipal jurisdiction. Under MRCrP 3.2 and § 99-3-1, municipal police can serve justice court arrest warrants when the suspect is within city limits. But § 25-7-25 has no provision author…
Can a Mississippi tax collector seize and sell personal property over a lender's lien to collect delinquent personal property taxes?
Yes. Under § 27-41-101 a Mississippi tax collector can give notice, file a tax lien with the circuit clerk for enrollment as a judgment, and issue a warrant under § 27-41-103 directing the sheriff to …
How does a Mississippi county decide if a 501(c)(3) qualifies for property-tax exemption as a charitable society?
The board of supervisors decides. 501(c)(3) status alone does not exempt property under § 27-31-1(d). The Board must determine that the entity is actually a charitable society and that the property is…
Can a Mississippi sheriff accept an electronic bail bond, or do bail bonds count as 'court documents' that require a paper signature?
A bail bond is a 'court document' under Miss. Code Ann. § 9-1-51(e). The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act expressly does not apply to court documents executed in connection with court proceedings, …
Does a Mississippi constable get the bailiff fee on a court day if court gets cancelled before it starts?
No. Under §§ 19-19-8 and 19-25-31, a constable serving as bailiff is paid only when the court is in session. If court is cancelled before any session, the constable does not earn the bailiff fee for t…
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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.