Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 21 - Law And Justice › Part 201 - Rules of the Mississippi Ethics Commission › Chapter 3 - Lobbying Appeals › Rule 21-201-3.2 - Pre-hearing phase

Current through June 25, 2024
The executive director of the Ethics Commission shall
				  schedule a hearing upon receipt of a sworn application of a lobbyist or
				  lobbyists client from the Secretary of States Office. The executive director
				  shall fix a time and place for a hearing and shall serve upon the parties
				  written notice specifying the civil penalties that have been assessed against
				  the lobbyist or lobbyist's client and notice of the time and place of the
				  hearing at least twenty (20) calendar days prior to the hearing date. The
				  hearing shall be set for a date which is at least fourteen (14) days prior to
				  the anticipated date of a regular monthly meeting of the Ethics Commission. The
				  notice may be served by mailing a copy thereof by certified mail, postage
				  prepaid, to the last known business address of the lobbyist or lobbyist's
				  client.
The Ethics Commission shall through its executive director,
				  or his or her designee, issue subpoenas for attendance of witnesses and the
				  production of books and papers at such hearing. The lobbyist or lobbyist's
				  client shall receive notice, included with the written notice of the hearing
				  date, to provide a list of witnesses and/or books and papers to be presented
				  during the hearing and if the Ethics Commission is being requested to issue
				  subpoenas for same. The lobbyist or lobbyists client shall bear the cost of all
				  witnesses and books and papers required by the lobbyist or lobbyists
				  client.
The Secretary of State, or his designee, shall be notified to
				  present that office's position on the assessment of the civil penalties, to
				  provide a list of witnesses and/or the production of books and papers
				  supporting that office's position and if the Ethics Commission is being
				  requested to issue subpoenas for same. The Secretary of States Office shall
				  bear the cost of all witnesses and books and papers required by that
				  office.
The Ethics Commission's subpoenas shall be enforced by any
				  court of competent jurisdiction of this state in the manner provided for the
				  enforcement of attendance and testimony of witnesses in civil cases in the
				  courts of this state. The Commission hereby appoints the executive director or
				  his designee chosen from a list preapproved by the Commission as hearing
				  officer to conduct the hearing and administer oaths as may be necessary for the
				  proper conduct of the hearing. The hearing officer shall rule on all procedural
				  matters during the hearing and shall be responsible for order and decorum. The
				  Ethics Commission shall determine what portion of the cost for a hearing
				  officer the Secretary of States Office or the lobbyist or lobbyist's client
				  shall bear.
The executive director of the Ethics Commission, or his or
				  her designee, shall organize a pre-hearing conference to be attended by the
				  hearing officer; the lobbyist or lobbyists client, and/or their attorneys; and
				  the Secretary of State, or his designee.
Section
				  5-8-17,
				  Miss. Code of 1972.