MS 2020-07-D-Glaskox-June-26-2020-Election-Commissioners-Association-of-Mississippi-as-a-Pu 2020-06-26

Is Mississippi's voluntary statewide association of election commissioners subject to the Open Meetings Act?

Short answer: No. The AG concluded that the Election Commissioners Association of Mississippi is a voluntary association of individual election commissioners, not an entity created by statute or executive order, and not supported by or expending public funds. It therefore does not meet the § 25-41-3 definition of a 'public body' and is not subject to Mississippi's Open Meetings Act.

Disclaimer: This is an official Mississippi Attorney General opinion. AG opinions are persuasive authority but not binding precedent. This summary is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed Mississippi attorney for advice on your specific situation.

Plain-English summary

The Election Commissioners Association of Mississippi (ECAM) is a statewide membership organization for individual county election commissioners. Chairman Glaskox of the Jackson County Election Commission asked the AG whether ECAM itself is a "public body" under Mississippi's Open Meetings Act, Miss. Code Ann. § 25-41-3. If yes, ECAM's meetings would have to be open to the public, with the notice and recordkeeping rules that come with that designation.

The AG said no. Section 25-41-3(a) defines "public body" as an executive or administrative entity (board, commission, authority, council, department, agency, bureau, or other policymaking entity) of the state or a political subdivision, "whether the entity be created by statute or executive order, which is supported wholly or in part by public funds or expends public funds." The AG, citing a 1994 opinion to Cochran addressing the same question, found that ECAM does not meet the test on three independent grounds: it was not created by statute or executive order; it does not receive public funds; and it does not expend public funds. ECAM is a voluntary association whose members happen to be public officials.

By contrast, the underlying county election commissions, the actual government entities the members serve on, are unambiguously public bodies and subject to the Open Meetings Act. The opinion left that distinction explicit.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2020. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Background and statutory framework

Mississippi's Open Meetings Act (Sunshine Law) is codified at Miss. Code Ann. §§ 25-41-1 et seq. The Act requires "public body" meetings to be open, noticed, and minuted. The threshold question in any sunshine analysis is whether the entity meeting is a "public body" within the statutory definition. Section 25-41-3(a) lays out the test:

"Public body" means any executive or administrative board, commission, authority, council, department, agency, bureau or any other policymaking entity, or committee thereof, of the State of Mississippi, or any political subdivision or municipal corporation of the state, whether the entity be created by statute or executive order, which is supported wholly or in part by public funds or expends public funds, and any standing, interim or special committee of the Mississippi Legislature.

Three elements emerge: (1) the entity must be an executive, administrative, or policymaking body of the state or a political subdivision; (2) the entity must be created by statute or executive order; (3) the entity must be supported by or expend public funds. The 1994 opinion to Cochran applied this test to ECAM and concluded ECAM did not meet it. The 2020 Glaskox opinion reaffirmed that conclusion.

ECAM's voluntary-association status is the dispositive fact. Mississippi has many voluntary associations of public officials, the County Supervisors Association, the Mississippi Municipal League, the Mississippi Sheriffs' Association, and so on. These groups typically operate as nonprofit corporations under private law, fund themselves through dues and conference fees, and serve their members through training, advocacy, and networking. None of them is a "public body" under § 25-41-3, even though their meetings are attended by people who collectively hold all the relevant public offices in the state.

The Glaskox opinion does not address an arguably harder question: what happens when ECAM members, sitting in their public offices, take coordinated action that ECAM advocated for? That coordination is not regulated by the Open Meetings Act unless it occurs at a meeting of one of the underlying public bodies. So an ECAM meeting where the assembled commissioners reach a joint understanding does not become a "public body" meeting because the commissioners hold public office. The relevant transparency obligation attaches to the next meeting of each individual county election commission, not to the gathering at ECAM.

Common questions

Q: If ECAM is not a public body, can it still meet in private?
A: Yes. ECAM operates under whatever private rules its bylaws create. The Open Meetings Act does not reach it.

Q: Could the legislature change ECAM's status?
A: Yes. If the legislature created ECAM by statute, funded it with public dollars, or vested policymaking authority in it, ECAM could become a public body under § 25-41-3. The current voluntary-association structure keeps it outside the statute.

Q: What about a county election commission's actions when they parallel ECAM positions?
A: Each county election commission is a public body. Its meetings, where it formally adopts positions or rules, are subject to the Open Meetings Act regardless of whether the position originated at an ECAM gathering.

Q: Are similar associations covered or not covered?
A: The same analysis applies to similar voluntary-association entities. The Mississippi Association of Supervisors, the Mississippi Tax Commission Association, and similar groups generally fall outside the public-body definition for the same three reasons: not created by statute, not publicly funded, not expending public funds.

Q: Does ECAM owe public records to anyone who asks?
A: The Mississippi Public Records Act (§ 25-61-1 et seq.) applies to "public bodies" too. The AG's analysis under § 25-41-3 would extend in parallel under the Public Records Act. ECAM, as a voluntary private association, is not subject to public records production for its association records.

Citations and references

Statutes:
- Miss. Code Ann. § 25-41-3 (Definitions for the Open Meetings Act)

Prior AG opinions:
- MS AG Op., Cochran (February 24, 1994)

Source

Original opinion text

June 26, 2020

Honorable Danny Glaskox
Chairman, Jackson County Election Commission
4111 Amonett Street
Pascagoula, Mississippi 39567

Re: Election Commissioners Association of Mississippi as a "Public Body"

Dear Commissioner Glaskox:

The Office of the Attorney General is in receipt of your request for the issuance of an official opinion.

Question Presented

Is the Election Commissioners Association of Mississippi ("ECAM") a "public body" as defined by Miss. Code Ann. Section 25-41-3?

Brief Response

ECAM is not a "public body" within the meaning of Section 25-41-3.

Applicable Law and Discussion

Section 25-41-3 provides, in relevant part:

For purposes of this chapter, the following words shall have the meaning ascribed herein, to wit:

(a) "Public body" means any executive or administrative board, commission, authority, council, department, agency, bureau or any other policymaking entity, or committee thereof, of the State of Mississippi, or any political subdivision or municipal corporation of the state, whether the entity be created by statute or executive order, which is supported wholly or in part by public funds or expends public funds, and any standing, interim or special committee of the Mississippi Legislature. ...

While individual county election commissions are clearly public bodies as defined by Section 25-41-3(a), ECAM is a voluntary association of individual election commissioners. See, MS AG Op., Cochran (February 24, 1994). It is not an entity created by statute or executive order, is not supported by public funds and does not expend public funds. It is, therefore, the opinion of this office that ECAM is not a public body within the meaning of Section 25-41-3.

If we may be of any further assistance to you in the future, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: /s/ Phil Carter
Phil Carter
Special Assistant Attorney General