Mr. Kenn Cockrell
Chief Executive Officer
Hinds County Human Resource Agency
Post Office Box 22657
Jackson, Mississippi 39225-2657
 

Re: Separation of Powers

Dear Mr. Cockrell:

Attorney General Mike Moore has received your request for an official opinion from this office and has assigned it to me for research and reply. Your letter poses the following two questions:
 

1. May a member of the Mississippi Legislature serve on the board of directors of a human resource agency when said human resource agency receives state and/or federal 'pass-through' funds from a state agency?

The separation of powers doctrine set forth in Sections 1 and 2 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 prohibits one person from serving simultaneously in two branches of government. Section 1 divides government into three separate branches: (1) executive, (2) legislative and (3) judicial. Section 2 states:
 

No person or collection of persons, being one or belonging to one of these departments, shall exercise any power properly belonging to either of the others. The acceptance of an office in either of said departments shall, of itself, and at once, vacate any and all offices held by the person so accepting in either of the other departments.

A member of the Mississippi Legislature clearly serves within the legislative branch of government. Section 33, Mississippi Constitution of 1890. Further, we have previously opined in MS AG Op., Raff (June 5, 1984), a copy of which is enclosed, that human resource agencies created pursuant to Sections 17-15-1 et. seq., Miss. Code Ann. (1972, as amended), are governmental entities which are within the executive branch of government. Therefore, we are of the opinion that serving both as a member of the Mississippi Legislature and as a director on the board of a human resource agency violates the constitutional prohibition against a person in one branch of government exercising any power belonging to any other branch of government.
 

2. May a member of the Mississippi Legislature who sits on the Legislature's Human Services Committee (or subcommittee) serve on the board of directors of a community action agency, human resource agency, or any other organization that receives state and/or federal funds from the Mississippi Department of Human Services?

That portion of your question directed to a human resource agency is answered by our response to your first inquiry. That portion of your question directed to a community action agency is answered, in part, by the enclosed opinion.
 

[S]ince community action agencies are "private, non-profit, non-government bodies", the separation of powers doctrine would have no application.

MS AG Op., Raff (June 5, 1984).

Without additional information, this office cannot offer an opinion on the application of the separation of powers doctrine to service by a member of the legislature on the board of directors of "any other organization".

However, as to both the community action agency and the "any other organization", we would direct your attention to the state's conflict of interest laws. Sections 25-4-101, et. seq., Miss Code. Ann. (1972, as amended). These statutes spring from Article IV, Section 109 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 which provides:
 

No public officer or member of the legislature shall be interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract with the state, or any district, county, city, or town thereof, authorized by any law passed or order made by any board of which he may be or may have been a member, during the term for which he shall have been chosen, or within one year after the expiration of such term.

This office defers questions regarding conflicts of interests to the Mississippi Ethics Commission. Therefore, we have forward a copy of your letter to the Commission for their opinion.

If we may be of further service to you, please let us know.

Very truly yours,

MIKE MOORE, ATTORNEY GENERAL

Charlene R. Pierce
Special Assistant Attorney General

Enclosure