When a Mississippi bill stages two amendments with different effective dates, do the other unrelated subsections also wait?

Subject

Effective Dates in 2023 Senate Bill 2353

Recipient

The Honorable Michael Watson, Mississippi Secretary of State

Plain-English summary

SB 2353 amended the poll-manager compensation statute, Section 23-15-227(1), in two stages. The first amendment, in effect July 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023, set a $75 base poll-manager payment with a discretionary additional amount up to $125. The second amendment, effective January 1, 2024, set a $125 base with a discretionary additional amount up to $75. Other subsections of SB 2353 (subsections 1(2) through 1(5)) addressed mileage allowances for carrying election materials, payment from the county treasury, payment in full for the day, and Secretary of State rulemaking authority for polling-place safety during a public health risk.

The Secretary of State asked whether the January 1, 2024 effective date applied only to the second amendment of subsection 1(1), or whether it also delayed subsections 1(2) through (5). The AG read the bill as plainly limiting the January 1 date to the second amendment of subsection 1(1). Section 4 of the act stated, "This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2023." The AG concluded that general effective date governed everything except the part the bill specifically delayed, so subsections 1(2) through (5) took effect July 1, 2023.

What this means for you

Circuit clerks and county election commissioners

The opinion holds that the only part of SB 2353 carrying the January 1, 2024 effective date was the second amendment of subsection 1(1) (the $125 base / up to $75 discretionary structure). The first amendment ($75 base / up to $125 discretionary) ran July 1 through December 31, 2023, and subsections 1(2) through (5) (mileage for carrying materials, payment from the county treasury, payment in full for the day, and the Secretary of State's safety rulemaking) all took effect July 1, 2023.

Poll managers

Under the opinion, the first compensation structure applied to elections worked from July 1 through December 31, 2023, and the second structure applied from January 1, 2024. The mileage allowance for carrying election materials and the other subsections took effect July 1, 2023.

Statutory drafters and legislators

The opinion reads the staggered effective dates by their terms: a date attached to a specific amendment applies to that amendment, and the act's general effective date in Section 4 governs the rest unless the bill says otherwise.

Citizens

The opinion resolves a timing question about when SB 2353's changes took effect. Under its reading, the higher base poll-manager pay ($125) took effect January 1, 2024, while the rest of the bill took effect July 1, 2023.

Background and statutory framework

Section 23-15-227(1) governs poll-manager compensation. SB 2353 staggered two changes to the dollar figures in subsection 1(1):

1. Effective July 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023: $75 base, up to $125 additional at the board of supervisors' discretion.
2. Effective from and after January 1, 2024: $125 base, up to $75 additional at the board's discretion.

Subsections 1(2) through (5) addressed mileage for carrying election materials, payment from the county treasury, payment in full for the services rendered for the day, and the Secretary of State's rulemaking to ensure safety at voting precincts during a COVID-19 or other declared public health risk. Section 4 of the bill set the act's general effective date as July 1, 2023.

The Mississippi Supreme Court's plain-meaning rule for statutory interpretation (Hall v. State, 241 So. 3d 629, 631 (Miss. 2018)) controls: where the language is clear and unambiguous, the court applies its plain meaning. The AG read the January 1, 2024 date as bracketed to the specific amendment it labeled.

Citations

• Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-227(1) (poll manager compensation)
• 2023 Mississippi Senate Bill 2353 (amendments to Section 23-15-227)
• Hall v. State, 241 So. 3d 629, 631 (Miss. 2018) (plain-meaning rule for statutory interpretation)

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/M.Watson-July-7-2023-Effective-Dates-in-2023-Mississippi-Senate-Bill-No.-2353.pdf

Original opinion text

July 7, 2023
The Honorable Michael Watson
Mississippi Secretary of State
401 Mississippi Street
Jackson, Mississippi 39205
Re:

Effective Dates in 2023 Mississippi Senate Bill No. 2353

Dear Secretary Watson:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.

Background
2023 Mississippi Senate Bill No. 2353 ("S.B. 2353") includes two amendments to Mississippi
Code Annotated Section 23-15-227(1). The first amendment has an effective date of July 1, 2023
to December 31, 2023. The second amendment has an effective date of January 1, 2024. The act
itself took effect July 1, 2023.
Question Presented
Does the January 1, 2024 effective date in Section 1(1) of S.B. 2353 apply only to the second
amendment to Section 1(1) or does it also apply to Sections 1(2), (3), (4), and (5)?

Brief Response
The January 1, 2024 effective date in the second amendment set forth in S.B. 2353 Section 1(1)
applies only to that amendment. The rest of the act, including Sections 1(2), (3), (4), and (5), took
effect July 1, 2023.
Applicable Law and Discussion
"For statutory interpretation, the initial inquiry is whether the statute at issue is ambiguous." Hall
v. State, 241 So. 3d 629, 631 (Miss. 2018) (internal citations omitted). "If the words of a statute
are clear and unambiguous, the Court applies the plain meaning of the statute . . . ." Id. (internal
citations omitted). S.B. 2353 provides, in pertinent part:

SECTION 1. Section 23-15-227, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
23-15-227. (1) [Effective July 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023]. The poll managers
shall be each entitled to Seventy-five Dollars ($75.00) for each election; however,
the board of supervisors may, in its discretion, pay the poll managers an additional
amount not to exceed * * * One Hundred Twenty-Five Dollars ($125.00) per
election.

• • • [Effective from and after January 1, 2024]. The poll managers shall be each
      entitled to One Hundred Twenty-five Dollars ($125.00) for each election; however,
      the board of supervisors may, in its discretion, pay the poll managers an additional
      amount not to exceed Seventy-five ($75.00) per election.
      ( * * 2) The poll manager who shall carry to the place of voting, away from the
      courthouse, the official ballots, ballot boxes, pollbooks and other necessities, shall
      be allowed * * * up to Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) for each voting precinct for so
      doing. The poll manager who acts as returning officer shall be allowed * * * up to
      Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) for each voting precinct for that service. If a person
      who performs the duties described in this subsection uses a privately owned motor
      vehicle to perform them, he or she shall receive for each mile actually and
      necessarily traveled in excess of ten (10) miles, the mileage reimbursement rate
      allowable to federal employees for the use of a privately owned vehicle while on
      official travel.
      ( * * 3) The compensation authorized in this section shall be allowed by the board
      of supervisors, and shall be payable out of the county treasury * * .
      ( * * 4) The compensation provided in this section shall constitute payment in full
      for the services rendered by the persons named for any election, whether there be
      one (1) election or issue voted upon, or more than one (1) election or issue voted
      upon at the same time.
      ( * * *5) The Secretary of State shall promulgate rules and regulations as are
      necessary to ensure the safety of poll managers, election commissioners, electors
      and their families at the voting precincts during a COVID-19 public health risk or
      other public health risk declared by the Governor where the appearance of such
      persons may result in exposure to such risk or the exposure of other persons to such
      risk.
      ...
      SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2023.
      The plain text of S.B. 2353 indicates that the January 1, 2024 effective date included in the second
      amendment of Section 1(1) applies only to that amendment and does not apply to any other portion
      of S.B. 2353. Accordingly, the rest of S.B. 2353, including Sections 1(2), (3), (4), and (5), took
      effect July 1, 2023 pursuant to Section 4.

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/ Abigail C. Overby
Abigail C. Overby
Special Assistant Attorney General