Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 12 - Finance and Administration › Part 9 - Office of Personal Service Contract Review Rules and Regulations › Chapter 8 - RULEMAKING AND DECLARATORY OPINIONS › Sec2 12-9-8-201 - DECLARATORY OPINIONS

Current through June 25, 2024
This section sets forth the Public Procurement Review
				  Board's rules governing the form, content, and filing of requests for
				  declaratory opinions, the procedural rights of persons in relation to the
				  written requests, and the Public Procurement Review Board's procedures
				  regarding the disposition of requests as required by Mississippi Code Annotated
				  §
									25-43-2.103.
The Public Procurement Review Board will issue declaratory
				  opinions regarding the applicability to specified facts of:
A. A statute administered or enforceable by
				the Public Procurement Review Board;
B. A rule or regulation promulgated by the
				Public Procurement Review Board; or,
C. An order issued by the Public Procurement
				Review Board.
A request must be limited to a single transaction or
				  occurrence.
When a person with substantial interest, as required by
				  Mississippi Code Annotated §
									25-43-2.103,
				  requests a declaratory opinion, the requestor must submit a printed,
				  typewritten, or legibly handwritten request.
A. Each request must be submitted on 8-1/2" x
				11" white paper.
B. The request
				may be in the form of a letter addressed to the Chair of the Public Procurement
				Review Board or in the form of a pleading as if filed with a court.
C. Each request must include the full name,
				telephone numbers, and mailing address of the requestor(s).
D. All requests shall be signed by the person
				filing the request, unless represented by an attorney, in which case the
				attorney may sign the request.
E.
				Each request must clearly state that it is a request for a declaratory
				opinion.
Any party who signs the request shall attest that the
				  request complies with the requirements set forth in these rules, including but
				  not limited to a full, complete, and accurate statement of relevant facts and
				  that there are no related proceedings pending before any agency,
				  administrative, or judicial tribunal.
Each request must contain the following:
A. A clear identification of the statute,
				rule, regulation, or order at issue;
B. The question for the declaratory opinion;
C. A clear and concise statement
				of all facts relevant to the question presented;
D. The identity of all other known persons
				involved in or impacted by the facts giving rise to the request including their
				relationship to the facts, and their name, mailing address, and telephone
				number; and,
E. A statement
				sufficient to show that the requestor has a substantial interest in the subject
				matter of the request.
The Public Procurement Review Board may, for good cause,
				  refuse to issue a declaratory opinion. The circumstances in which declaratory
				  opinions will not be issued include, but are not necessarily limited to the
				  following:
A. The matter is outside the
				primary jurisdiction of the Public Procurement Review Board;
B. There is a lack of clarity concerning the
				question presented;
C. There is
				pending or anticipated litigation, administrative action or anticipated
				administrative action, or other adjudication which may either answer the
				question presented by the request or otherwise make an answer unnecessary;
D. The statute, rule, or order on
				which a declaratory opinion is sought is clear and not in need of
				interpretation to answer the question presented by the request;
E. The facts presented in the request are not
				sufficient to answer the question presented;
F. The request fails to contain information
				required by these rules or the requestor failed to follow the procedure set
				forth in these rules;
G. The
				request seeks to resolve issues which have become moot or are abstract or
				hypothetical such that the requestor is not substantially affected by the rule,
				statute, or order on which a declaratory opinion is sought;
H. No controversy exists or is certain to
				arise which raises a question concerning the application of the statute, rule,
				or order;
I. The question
				presented by the request concerns the legal validity of a statute, rule, or
				order;
J. The request is not based
				upon facts calculated to aid in the planning of future conduct, but is,
				instead, based on past conduct in an effort to establish the effect of that
				conduct;
K. No clear answer is
				determinable;
L. The question
				presented by the request involves the application of a criminal statute or sets
				forth facts which may constitute a crime;
M. The answer to the question presented would
				require the disclosure of information which is privileged or otherwise
				protected by law from disclosure;
N. The question is currently the subject of
				an Attorney General's opinion request;
O. The question has been answered by an
				Attorney General's opinion;
P. One
				or more requestors have standing to seek an Attorney General's opinion on the
				proffered question;
Q. A similar
				request is pending before this agency, or any other agency, or a proceeding is
				pending on the same subject matter before any agency, administrative or
				judicial tribunal, or where such an opinion would constitute the unauthorized
				practice of law; or,
R. The
				question involves eligibility for a license, permit, certificate, or other
				approval by the Public Procurement Review Board or some other agency and there
				is a statutory or regulatory application process by which eligibility for said
				license, permit, or certificate or other approval may be determined.
Within forty-five (45) days after the receipt of a request
				  for a declaratory opinion which complies with the requirements of these rules,
				  the Public Procurement Review Board shall, in writing:
A. Issue an opinion declaring the
				applicability of the statute, rule, or order to the specified circumstances;
B. Agree to issue a declaratory
				opinion by a specified time but no later than ninety (90) days after receipt of
				the written request; or,
C.
				Decline to issue a declaratory opinion, stating the reasons for its action.
The forty-five (45) day period shall begin on the first
				  business day after which the request is received by the Public Procurement
				  Review Board.
Declaratory opinions and requests for declaratory opinions
				  shall be available for public inspection and copying at the expense of the
				  viewer during normal business hours. All declaratory opinion and requests shall
				  be indexed by name, subject, and date of issue. Declaratory opinions and
				  requests which contain information which is confidential or exempt from
				  disclosure under the Mississippi Public Records Act or other laws shall be
				  exempt from this requirement and shall remain confidential.