What does it mean for a Mississippi commission to be 'assigned to' the Secretary of State 'for administrative purposes only'?

Plain-English summary

Mississippi has a number of state commissions and boards that are not their own free-standing agencies. They are "attached" to a larger department or constitutional office for administrative purposes. The Mississippi Commission on the Holocaust is one example. Section 39-29-1 says the Commission is "assigned to the Office of the Secretary of State for administrative purposes only."

Secretary of State Michael Watson asked the AG five linked questions about that arrangement, all aimed at the same point: what does "administrative purposes only" actually require the SOS to do?

The AG's answers boil down to a clear framework:

1. What "administrative purposes only" means. The SOS provides management and organizational support, the kind of administrative help any group of unpaid commission members needs to function (meeting logistics, recordkeeping, scheduling, basic correspondence support). Black's Law Dictionary defines administrative as work involving "the work of managing a company or organization." That is the SOS's role.

2. Specific role of SOS. Same answer. Provide the administrative assistance the commission needs to carry out its statutory duties.

3. Monetary obligation absent appropriation. None. Section 39-29-1(1) does not specify any dollar amount the SOS must spend. Without a line-item appropriation, there is no minimum.

4. Authority of SOS over the commission. None. The SOS is not a member, employee, or executive director of the commission. The SOS supports it administratively but has no power over its decisions.

5. Responsibilities of SOS. Same as #1.

In short: the SOS is the back-office host for the commission. The commission decides what it does. The SOS makes sure it can do business.

What this means for you

If you're a member of a state commission "assigned for administrative purposes"

The host office must give you administrative help to function. That includes meeting space, basic recordkeeping, correspondence support, and similar logistics. What the host office does not do:

• Set your agenda.
• Decide your priorities.
• Hire your staff (you have no staff if the legislature did not authorize any).
• Direct your work.

If the host office is providing inadequate administrative support, the right response is to communicate the specific needs in writing. The opinion itself recommends that the SOS and the Commission "work . . . together to determine the specific administrative assistance needed."

If you're the staff of a host office (Secretary of State, etc.)

You have an obligation to provide reasonable administrative support to attached commissions. But you do not have a duty to spend a specific dollar amount unless the legislature appropriated one. Practical guidance:

• Treat the attached commission's needs as part of your office's overall administrative load.
• Document what you provide, especially when funding is tight.
• Coordinate with the commission to identify what they need (meeting logistics, FOI compliance support, document retention) versus what they would like (additional staff, dedicated funding, larger-scale programs).
• Push the commission and your own legislative liaison to seek a specific appropriation if the workload is straining your resources.

If you're a Mississippi legislator

This opinion is a clean explanation of why "for administrative purposes only" is sometimes a hollow promise. The legislature created a commission, gave it duties (in § 39-29-1(3): inventorying memorials, coordinating events, preparing reports), and assigned it to the SOS for administrative help. But the legislature did not appropriate funds for the work, did not authorize a paid director, and did not specify what level of support the SOS owes.

If a commission's mission is real, the better legislative practice is to either:

• Make it a stand-alone agency with its own line-item appropriation.
• Authorize specific dedicated staff within the host office and fund them.
• Specify minimum administrative support requirements (e.g., minimum number of staff hours, minimum meeting frequency, etc.).

Without those, the commission's effectiveness depends on the host office's goodwill and available capacity.

If you're the Holocaust Commission itself or an advocacy organization

The opinion confirms the legal arrangement but also signals that the Commission has limited tools for compelling additional support from the SOS. The realistic strategy is:

• Build a working relationship with SOS staff.
• Document specific support needed and when.
• Lobby the legislature for a dedicated line-item appropriation.
• Recognize that you can "receive gifts, grants and donations from any public or private sources" under § 39-29-1(4) and use those resources to supplement what the state provides.

If you're a state administrative law researcher

This opinion is one of a series interpreting the "for administrative purposes only" formula. The 2022 Watson opinion (cited in this one) addressed the same arrangement for the Mississippi Civil Rights Education Commission. The 2023 opinion explicitly applies the same framework to the Holocaust Commission, indicating the AG views this as a settled doctrine. Expect the same answer for any future commission organized this way.

Common questions

Q: What does "for administrative purposes only" mean as a legal phrase?
A: It is shorthand for: the host office provides administrative support but has no substantive authority over the attached body. The attached body retains its independent statutory powers. The host office handles back-office work.

Q: Does the SOS have to spend money on the Commission?
A: Only if the legislature appropriated specific funds for that purpose. Section 39-29-1(1) does not impose a dollar minimum. The SOS spends what its overall budget can absorb to provide reasonable administrative help.

Q: Can the SOS refuse to help the Commission?
A: The statute uses obligatory language ("assigned to the Office of the Secretary of State for administrative purposes"), so the SOS cannot refuse to provide any support. But the level and form of support is not fixed.

Q: Can the Commission hire its own staff?
A: Not under § 39-29-1. The opinion notes that the Commission, like the Civil Rights Education Commission, is not authorized to employ its own staff.

Q: Can the Commission accept private donations and use them to hire staff?
A: The Commission can "receive gifts, grants and donations from any public or private sources" under § 39-29-1(4). Whether it can use those funds to hire staff is a separate question not addressed here. Private donations do not generally override the absence of staff-hiring authority. Practically, donated funds support events, exhibits, and operational costs.

Q: Who supervises the SOS in performing this role?
A: The SOS is an independently elected constitutional officer. The legislature can constrain budget and statutory duties, but the SOS is not subject to direction by the Commission, the Governor, or the AG on how to operate the office.

Background and statutory framework

Section 39-29-1 establishes the Mississippi Commission on the Holocaust. Subsection (1) does the administrative attachment to the SOS. Subsection (2) lists the membership: two ex officio members, seventeen public members appointed by the Governor, Speaker of the House, and Lieutenant Governor.

Subsection (3) gives the Commission its substantive duties:

• Inventorying Holocaust memorials, exhibits, and resources.
• Coordinating events memorializing the Holocaust.
• Preparing reports for the Governor and Legislature.

Subsection (4) lets the Commission receive gifts, grants, and donations.

The "assigned for administrative purposes only" formula is used for many Mississippi commissions and boards. The AG has consistently read it the same way: the host office supports, the commission decides. Where this gets practically difficult is in the funding gap. Many of these commissions are mission-rich but resource-poor. The AG's role is to identify the legal framework, not to fix the resource problem; that requires legislative action.

Citations and references

Statutes:
- Miss. Code Ann. § 39-29-1 (Mississippi Commission on the Holocaust)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 39-29-1(1) (administrative attachment to SOS)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 39-29-1(2) (membership)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 39-29-1(3) (powers and duties)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 39-29-1(4) (gifts, grants, donations)

Prior AG opinions referenced:
- MS AG Op., Watson (Sept. 26, 2022), addressing the parallel arrangement for the Mississippi Civil Rights Education Commission
- MS AG Op., Delahousey (Sept. 24, 2004), boards and commissions have only authority specifically granted by statute or necessarily implied

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/M.Watson-March-13-2023-Mississippi-Commission-on-the-Holocaust.pdf

Original opinion text

March 13, 2023

The Honorable Michael Watson
Secretary of State
Post Office Box 136
Jackson, Mississippi 39205

Re: Mississippi Commission on the Holocaust

Dear Secretary Watson:

The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.

Questions Presented

1. What constitutes "administrative purposes only" as contemplated in Mississippi Code Annotated Section 39-29-1?

2. What is the specific role of the Office of the Secretary of State under Section 39-29-1(1)?

3. In the absence of a specific appropriation, what monetary obligations, if any, are imposed upon the Office of the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 39-29-1(1)?

4. What authority, if any, is the Office of the Secretary of State granted under Section 39-29-1(1)?

5. What are the responsibilities of the Office of the Secretary of State under Section 39-29-1(1)?

Brief Response

1. The Office of the Secretary of State is statutorily obligated to provide the administrative assistance necessary for the Mississippi Commission on the Holocaust to carry out its duties. Given that the statutes do not further define the specific role of the Office of the Secretary of State beyond "administrative purposes," it is the opinion of this office that the Office of the Secretary of State is charged with assisting the Mississippi Commission on the Holocaust with management of its activities and organizational tasks as determined by the needs of the Mississippi Commission on the Holocaust.

2. See the Response to your first question.

3. Section 39-29-1(1) does not specify the amount of money that the Office of the Secretary of State is obligated to spend in carrying out its administrative function for the Mississippi Commission on the Holocaust. Thus, absent a specific appropriation, there is not a specific monetary obligation imposed on the Office of the Secretary of State in order to carry out its administrative function.

4. The Office of the Secretary of State is not granted any authority over the responsibilities, duties, and obligations of the Mississippi Commission on the Holocaust. The Office of the Secretary of State simply must provide the administrative assistance necessary for the members of the Mississippi Commission on the Holocaust to carry out their statutory duties.

5. See the Response to your first question.

Applicable Law and Discussion

The Mississippi Commission on the Holocaust ("Holocaust Commission") was created pursuant to Section 39-29-1 and is "assigned to the Office of the Secretary of State for administrative purposes only." Miss. Code Ann. § 39-29-1(1). The Holocaust Commission is made up of two ex officio members and seventeen members of the public appointed by the Governor, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Lieutenant Governor. Id. at (2). As with the Mississippi Civil Rights Education Commission, "[t]he Secretary of State is not a member, an employee, or the executive director" of the Holocaust Commission. MS AG Op., Watson at *3 (Sept. 26, 2022) ("2022 Watson Opinion").

The powers and duties of the Holocaust Commission are outlined in Section 39-29-1(3) and include, among other things, inventorying "Holocaust memorials, exhibits and resources"; "coordinat[ing] events memorializing the Holocaust"; and "prepar[ing] reports for the Governor and Legislature." Id. at (3)(d), (g). Further, the Holocaust Commission has the ability to "receive gifts, grants and donations from any public or private sources." Id. at (4).

"A board or commission has only that authority which has been specifically granted to it by statute or necessarily implied therein." Watson at 3 (quoting MS AG Op., Delahousey at 1 (Sept. 24, 2004)). Like the Mississippi Civil Rights Education Commission, the Holocaust Commission is not authorized to employ its own staff. Rather, it is assigned to the Office of the Secretary of State "for administrative purposes only." Miss. Code Ann. § 39-29-1(1). As we opined in the 2022 Watson Opinion:

The term "administrative purposes" is not further defined by statute. Black's Law Dictionary defines the term "administrative" as "relating to, or involving the work of managing a company or organization; executive." Administrative, Black's Law Dictionary (11th ed., 2019). Accordingly, it is the opinion of this office that the Office of the Secretary of State is charged with assisting the Commission with management of Commission activities and organizational tasks as determined by the needs of the Commission.

Watson at *3.

Section 39-29-1(1) does not specify the amount of money that the Office of the Secretary of State is obligated to spend in carrying out its administrative function for the Mississippi Commission on the Holocaust. Furthermore, we understand that the Holocaust Commission does not receive its own appropriation nor has the Office of the Secretary of State received any specific line-item appropriations for this purpose. With respect to your third question, absent a specific appropriation, there is not a specific monetary obligation imposed on the Office of the Secretary of State in order to carry out its administrative function.

As with the 2022 Watson Opinion, "[g]iven that the statutes do not further define the specific role of the Office of the Secretary of State beyond 'administrative purposes,' we recommend working with the Commission . . . to determine the specific administrative assistance needed by the Commission and how to best provide it and potentially fund it." Watson at *3.

If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: /s/ Beebe Garrard
Beebe Garrard
Special Assistant Attorney General