This Advisory Opinion concerns the following issue as formulated from facts and/or circumstances furnished by a requestor The opinion is based solely on the facts and circumstances as stated below and was approved by the Commission on December 1, 1995.

May a state community college pay a state legislator $500.00 compensation for announcing over a public address system at its home athletic events?

         The Mississippi Ethics Commission is restricted to interpreting and issuing opinions on Sections 25-4-101 through 25-4-119, 1972 Mississippi Code Annotated and Article IV, Section 109, Mississippi Constitution of 1890. Therefore, Mississippi laws outside the jurisdiction of the Commission and internal rules and regulations of the governmental entities are not addressed by this opinion.

         The pertinent conflict of interest laws to be considered here are:

         Constitutional Section 109 states:

"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."

Code Section 25-4-103(f)(i)(ii), (g)(v), (h) and (p)(i)(ii)(iii) states:

"(f) 'Contract' means:

(i) Any agreement to which the government is a party; or

(ii) Any agreement on behalf of the government which involves the payment of public funds.

(g) 'Governmental' means the state and all political entities thereof, both collectively and separately, including but not limited to:

(v) Any department, agency, board, commission, institution, instrumentality, or legislative or administrative body of the state, counties or municipalities

created by statute, ordinance or executive order including all units that expend public funds.

(h) 'Governmental entity' means the state, a county, a municipality or any other separate political subdivision authorized by law to exercise a part of the sovereign power of the state.

(p) 'Public servant' means:

(i) Any elected or appointed official of the government;

(ii) Any officer, director, commissioner, supervisor, chief head, agent or employee of the government or any agency thereof or of any public entity created by or under the laws of the State of Mississippi or created by an agency or governmental entity thereof any of which is funded by public funds or which expends, authorizes or recommends the use of public funds; or

(iii) Any individual who receives a salary, per diem or expenses paid in whole or in part out of funds authorized to be expended by the government."

         Code Section 25-4-105(2) states:

"(2) No public servant shall be interested, directly or indirectly, during the term for which he shall have been chosen, or within one (1) year after the expiration of such term, 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.

         Pertinent facts and circumstances provided by the requestor, absent identifying data, are set forth as follows and considered part of this opinion.

A State Legislator provided the play-by-play announcing over the public address system at our five (5) home football games during the football season. This was his first year to serve the College in this capacity. Can the College pay the Legislator the usual $500.00 compensation for this service?

         The Commission formally adopts Advisory Opinion No. 88-69-E in response to this request and by attachment incorporates it into this opinion.

         Based solely on the facts and circumstances presented by the requestor, the Commission's opinion is that the community college's compensation of a state legislator is prohibited by the above cited Constitutional Section 109 and Code Section 25-4-105(2).
 
 
 

Ronald E. Crowe Executive Director