Senate Bill 2289

AN ACT TO CREATE SECTION 5-8-25, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS AND TO PROHIBIT STATE AGENCIES AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS FROM LOBBYING THE LEGISLATURE OR EXPENDING PUBLIC FUNDS TO PAY CONTRACT LOBBYISTS; TO AMEND SECTION 5-8-13, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY; TO PROHIBIT STATE AGENCIES AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS FROM USING RADIO AND TELEVISION ADVERTISING TO PROMOTE AGENCY PROGRAMS, EXCEPT IN CERTAIN INSTANCES; TO PROHIBIT GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY SPONSORSHIP, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, OF CERTAIN PRIVATE CONVENTIONS AND MEETINGS; TO AMEND SECTIONS 17-3-1 AND 17-3-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 5-8-25, Mississippi Code of 1972:

5-8-25. (1) For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the meanings set out herein ascribed to them:

(a) "State agency" means any board, commission, department, and authority of the State of Mississippi, including the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, and the individual institutions of higher learning.

(b) "Public funds" means all general funds of the state or political subdivision and all other fees, local levies, or other revenues generated by the agency or political subdivision that are available for expenditure by an agency or political subdivision. However, the term "public funds" does not include gifts, donations or endowments received by an individual institution of higher learning or a community or junior college.

(c) "Lobbying" means any activity as defined as "lobbying" in Section 5-8-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, however, does not include providing technical information to legislators or legislative staff.

(d) "Contract lobbying" means any lobbying of the Mississippi Legislature performed by an independent contractor or lobbying that is performed by a contract worker of an agency or a community or junior college.

(2) (a) No state agency or political subdivision of the state, as defined by Section 11-46-1, shall expend any public funds (i) to pay any officer or any employee of that state agency or political subdivision to lobby as defined by Section 5-3-8, or (ii) to pay any person, firm or association or other collective of individuals to perform contract lobbying for the agency or political subdivision.

(b) Any contract entered into between an agency or political subdivision with a contract lobbyist shall be void and unenforceable.

(c) Any employee of a state agency or political subdivision who authorizes payment of public funds to pay a person, firm, association or other collective of individuals who engage in contract lobbying shall be subject to dismissal.

SECTION 2. Section 5-8-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

5-8-13. (1) A lobbyist shall not contract to receive or accept compensation dependent upon the success or failure of a legislative or executive action.

(2) A lobbyist or lobbyist's client shall not knowingly or willfully make or cause to be made a false statement or misrepresentation of facts to an executive, legislative or public official or public employee, or to the public in general with the intent to affect the outcome of a legislative or executive action.

(3) A lobbyist or lobbyist's client shall not cause a legislative or executive action for the purpose of obtaining employment to lobby in support of or in opposition to the legislative or executive action.

(4) An executive, legislative or public official or public employee shall not be a lobbyist * * *.

(5) A lobbyist must disclose anything of value given in whole or in part to any executive, legislative or public official or public employee.

SECTION 3. (1) No state agency or political subdivision of the state, as defined in Section 11-46-1, shall expend public funds for the purpose of advertising any program of the agency on radio or television. For purposes of this section, "advertising" shall mean the purchase of promotional time the purpose of which is to promote agency programs and activities. Any contract entered into between an agency and a radio or television broadcaster, or any agent hired by the agency, to buy radio or television time for advertising shall be void and unenforceable.

(2) The Department of Finance and Administration shall not issue any warrant to pay for any radio or television advertising described herein.

(3) The provisions of this section shall not apply in cases wherein the agency has received grants from the United States government, the terms of which require that the grant recipient use radio or television advertising to assist in accomplishing the purposes of the grant. Any agency wishing to procure advertising for such purposes must comply with the provisions of Section 25-9-120. Any agency using federal funds to procure radio or television advertising shall, upon requesting the issuance of a warrant through the Department of Finance and Administration to pay for such services, provide the Department of Finance and Administration with all necessary documentation supporting the purchase, including any federal requirement that the agency use radio or television advertising, and all procedures followed to comply with a competitive procurement.

(4) This section shall not be applicable to any agency that obtains public service announcements from radio and television broadcasters at no cost to the agency and shall not apply to agency use of services offered by the Mississippi Authority for Educational Television.

(5) This section does not apply to advertisements generated in the course of a governmental response to a duly declared state of emergency, a natural or man-made disaster, a government-issued warning, or to a statutorily prescribed program, including, but not limited to, voter-identification or consumer-protection programs.

(6) For purposes of this section, the term "advertising" shall include state agency purchases of promotional space or time with appropriated funds from newspapers, radio and television advertising, billboards, pamphlets, brochures, flyers, professional publications, magazines, yellow pages and telephone directories, Internet or other similar media, the purpose of which is to promote a program or other activity of an agency. "Advertising" does not include classified advertisements purchased in newspapers or other media announcing employment opportunities or the placement of legal notices in newspapers of general circulation.

SECTION 4. No general funds of any state agency or political subdivision of the state, as defined in Section 11-46-1, may be used to sponsor, fund, in whole or in part, or to obtain attendance at a meeting, conference, convention or training seminar that is sponsored by a lobbyist or lobbyist's client as defined in Section 5-8-3.

SECTION 5. Section 17-3-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

17-3-1. The board of supervisors of any county in Mississippi, and the mayor and board of aldermen or board of commissioners of any municipality in the State of Mississippi, may * * *~~in their discretion,~~ not set aside, appropriate and expend * * * ~~moneys~~ monies, not to exceed one (1) mill of their respective valuation and assessment for the purpose of advertising and bringing into favorable notice the opportunities, possibilities and resources of such municipality or county, except as authorized in Section 3 of this act.

SECTION 6. Section 17-3-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

17-3-3. Advertising * * *~~pursuant to~~ prohibited under Section 17-3-1 shall include newspaper and magazine advertising and literature, publicity, expositions, public entertainment or other form of advertising or publicity, which in the judgment of such board or boards will be helpful toward advancing the moral, financial and other interests of such municipality or county; however, such advertising shall not include advertisements in publications sponsored by political parties, political committees or affiliated organizations, as such terms are defined in Section 23-15-801.

SECTION 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2018.