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 November 10, 1995.
May an individual elected county coroner become a partner in an ambulance service which contracts with the county?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 local governmental entities are not addressed by this opinion.
The pertinent conflict of interest laws to be considered here are:
Code Section 25-4-103 (g)(i), (h), (k)(i)(ii) and (p)(i)(ii)(iii) states:
"(g) 'Governmental' means the state and all political entities thereof; both collectively and separately, including but not limited to:
(i) Counties.
(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.
(k) 'Material financial interest' means a personal and pecuniary interest, direct or indirect, accruing to a public servant or spouse, either individually or in combination with each other. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the following shall not be deemed to be a material financial interest with respect to a business with which a public servant may be associated:
(i) Ownership of any interest of less than ten percent (10%) in a business where the aggregate annual net income to the public servant therefrom is less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00);
(ii) Ownership of any interest of less than two percent (2%) in a business where the aggregate annual net income to the public servant therefrom is less than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00).
(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(3)(a) and (4)(d) states:"(3) No public servant shall:
(a) Be a contractor, subcontractor or vendor with the governmental entity of which he is a member, officer, employee or agent, other than in his contract of employment, or have a material financial interest in any business which is a contractor, subcontractor or vendor with the governmental entity of which he is a member, officer, employee or agent.(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, a public servant or his relative:
(d) May be a contractor, subcontractor or vendor with any authority of the governmental entity of which he is a member, officer, employee or agent or have a material financial interest in a business which is a contractor, subcontractor or vendor with any authority of the governmental entity of which he is a member, officer, employee or agent: (i) where such goods or services involved are reasonably available from two (2) or fewer commercial sources, provided such transactions comply with the public purchases laws; or (ii) where the contractual relationship involves the further research, development, testing, promotion or merchandising of an intellectual property created by the public servant."Pertinent facts and circumstances provided by the requestor, absent identifying data, are set forth as follows and considered part of this opinion.
Per our telephone conversation yesterday, please accept this as our request for a written opinion regarding the following issue:Whether an ambulance service, which has employed or taken as a partner the county coroner, may contract with that county?
Based solely on the facts and circumstances presented in the requestor's letter, the Commission's opinion is that an ambulance service may not contract with a county when that county's coroner has a material financial interest as an employee or partner in the ambulance service as to do so would cause the coroner to be in violation of the above cited Code Section 25-4-105(3)(a).
It is the Commission's understanding that three (3) bids
were received to provide this ambulance service. Therefore, the exception
found in the above cited Code Section 25-4-1 05(4)(d)(i) would not apply.
Ronald E. Crowe Executive Director