MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1998 Regular Session

To: Fees and Salaries of Public Officers

By: Representative Livingston

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 43-1-13, 45-3-11, 49-1-19 AND 23-15-871, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PERMIT DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES EMPLOYEES, MEMBERS OF THE HIGHWAY SAFETY PATROL AND EMPLOYEES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE, FISHERIES AND PARKS TO BECOME CANDIDATES FOR POLITICAL OFFICE; TO REQUIRE SUCH PERSONS TO TAKE A LEAVE OF ABSENCE TO BECOME A CANDIDATE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 43-1-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

43-1-13. It shall be unlawful for a commissioner * * * to take an active part in any political campaign. Other employees of the state or county human services departments may be candidates for political office but must take a leave of absence to do so; however, it shall be unlawful for any such employee to take an active part in any political campaign other than his own. For violation of this provision the offending party shall be removed from office and in addition thereto, upon conviction, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, subject to a fine of not more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00).

SECTION 2. Section 45-3-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

45-3-11. A member of the patrol may be a candidate for political office but must take a leave of absence to do so; however, no member of the patrol shall, while in such position, * * * take part in or contribute any money or other things of value, directly or indirectly, to any political campaign other than his own or to any candidate for public office other than himself. Anyone violating this provision shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon final conviction shall be punished as provided by law, and shall be dismissed from the patrol.

It shall be unlawful for any person to solicit or attempt to solicit any money or thing of value from any employee of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol for political purposes. Any person violating this provision shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon final conviction shall be punished as provided by law.

SECTION 3. Section 49-1-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-1-19. (1) Neither any member of the commission nor the director * * * shall be active in any manner for or on behalf of his own candidacy or the candidacy of any candidate for any public office during his term of office or employment with the department. An administrative officer, employee, supervisor or conservation officer may be a candidate for political office but must take a leave of absence to do so; however, no such person shall be active in any manner for or on behalf of the candidacy of any other person for public office during his term of employment with the department. Violation of this subsection shall constitute a Class II violation and upon conviction thereof the violator shall be punished as provided in Section 49-7-143 for each offense. A conviction shall render vacant the office or position of the violator.

(2) While retaining the right to vote as he may please and to express privately his opinions on all political subjects, no state director of conservation or conservation officer shall use his official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election or affecting the results thereof, nor for the purpose of coercing the political action of any person or body.

SECTION 4. Section 23-15-871, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

23-15-871. It shall be unlawful for any corporation or any officer or employee thereof, or any member of a firm, or trustee or any member of any association, or any other employer, to direct or coerce, directly or indirectly, any employee to vote or not to vote for any particular person or group of persons in any election, or to discharge or to threaten to discharge any such employee, or to increase or decrease the salary or wages of an employee, or otherwise promote or demote him, because of his vote or failure to vote for any particular candidate or group of candidates; and likewise it shall be unlawful for any employer, or employee having the authority to employ or discharge other employees, to make any statement public or private, or to give out or circulate any report or statement, calculated to intimidate or coerce or otherwise influence any employee as to his vote, and when any such statement has obtained circulation, it shall be the duty of the employer to publicly repudiate it, in the absence of which repudiation the employer shall be deemed by way of ratification to have made it himself. Nor shall any employee be requested, directed or permitted to canvass for or against any candidate or render any other services for or against any candidate or group of candidates, during any of the hours within which the salary of the employee as an employee is being paid or agreed to be paid; nor shall any such employee be allowed any vacation or leave of absence at the expense of the employer to render any service or services for or against any candidate or group of candidates, or to take any active part in any election campaign whatsoever; nor shall any employee at the expense, in whole or in part, of any employer take any part whatever in any election campaign, except the necessary time to cast his vote. The prohibitions of this section shall apply to all state, state district, county and county district officers, and to any board or commission and the members thereof by whatever name designated and whether elective or appointive, and to each and every one of those employed by them or any of them. However, any employee of the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, who qualifies as a candidate for public office may take personal leave, as provided in Section 25-3-93, during his campaign for election to the office. And no state, state district, county or county district officer, or any employee of any of them who directly or indirectly has the control, or in any way the power of control, or who asserts or pretends that he has such power, over the expenditure of any public funds in this state, whatever the purpose or object of said expenditure may be, shall state, suggest or intimate, publicly or privately, or in any manner or form, that any such expenditure shall in any way depend upon or be influenced by the vote of any person, group of persons, or community or group of communities, whether for or against any candidate or group of candidates at any election. This section and every part of it shall apply also to all federal officers, agents, employees, boards and commissions by whatever name known and to each and every one of those employed by them or any of them, as to any interference by them or any of them, contrary to the provisions of this chapter, in the elections of this state.

SECTION 5. The Attorney General of the State of Mississippi shall submit this act, immediately upon approval by the Governor, or upon approval by the Legislature subsequent to a veto, to the Attorney General of the United States or to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in accordance with the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.

SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the date it is effectuated under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.