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To: Accountability,
Efficiency, Transparency
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Senator(s) Boyd, Rhodes, McMahan
SENATE BILL NO. 2402
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 5-8-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
REMOVE THE GRACE PERIOD FOR LOBBYISTS TO REGISTER WITH THE 2
SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICE AFTER THE LOBBYIST HAS ENGAGED IN 3
LOBBYING ACTIVITIES; TO AMEND SECTION 5-8-17, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 4
1972, TO CREATE "THE AMY ACT," WHICH ALLOWS THE SECRETARY OF STATE 5
TO PENALIZES LOBBYISTS WHO FAIL TO FILE THEIR REGISTRATION 6
STATEMENT(S) AND FEE(S) PRIOR TO ENGAGING IN LOBBYING ACTIVITIES 7
IN THIS STATE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 8
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 9
SECTION 1. Section 5-8-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 10
amended as follows: 11
5-8-5. (1) Except as otherwise provided in Section 5-8-7 of 12
this chapter and in addition to reports required by Sections 5-8-9 13
and 5-8-11 of this chapter, every lobbyist and every lobbyist's 14
client shall file a registration statement with the Secretary of 15
State * * * prior to becoming a lobbyist, becoming a lobbyist's 16
client or beginning to lobby for a new client. The filing of 17
every registration statement shall be accompanied by the payment 18
of a registration fee of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) to the 19
Secretary of State. The lobbyist shall file the registration 20
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statement and pay the fees to the Secretary of State for each 21
lobbyist's client whom the lobbyist represents. 22
(2) The registration statement shall include the following: 23
(a) The name, address, occupation and telephone number 24
of the lobbyist; 25
(b) The name, address, telephone number and principal 26
place of business of the lobbyist's client; 27
(c) The kind of business of the lobbyist's client; 28
(d) The full name of the person or persons who control 29
the lobbyist's client, the partners, if any, and officers of the 30
lobbyist's client; 31
(e) The full name, address and telephone number of each 32
lobbyist employed by or representing the lobbyist's client; and 33
(f) A statement or statements by the lobbyist and 34
lobbyist's client indicating the specific nature of the issues 35
being advocated for or against on behalf of the lobbyist's client, 36
with sufficient detail so that the precise nature of the 37
lobbyist's advocacy is evident from the statement itself. 38
(3) Registration shall be valid for one (1) calendar year, 39
commencing January 1 and ending December 31 of each year. If the 40
lobbyist or lobbyist's client shall register after January 1, the 41
registration shall be effective upon actual receipt by the 42
Secretary of State and shall cease on December 31 of each year. 43
(4) A lobbyist or lobbyist's client may terminate his 44
registration by filing an expenditure report required under this 45
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chapter. Such report shall include information through the last 46
day of lobbying activity. The termination report must indicate 47
that the lobbyist intends to use the report as the final 48
accounting of lobbying activity. 49
(5) The Secretary of State shall prescribe and make 50
available to every lobbyist and lobbyist's client appropriate 51
forms for filing registration statements as required by Sections 52
5-8-1 through 5-8-19 of this chapter. 53
SECTION 2. Section 5-8-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 54
amended as follows: 55
5-8-17. (1) In addition to any other penalty permitted by 56
law, the Secretary of State shall require any person who fails to 57
file a report as required under Sections 5-8-1 through 5-8-19 of 58
this chapter, or who shall file a report which fails to comply 59
with the material particulars of Sections 5-8-1 through 5-8-19 of 60
this chapter or any rules, regulations or procedures implemented 61
pursuant to Sections 5-8-1 through 5-8-19 of this chapter, to be 62
assessed a civil penalty as follows: 63
(a) Within five (5) calendar days after any deadline 64
for filing a report pursuant to Sections 5-8-1 through 5-8-19 of 65
this chapter, the Secretary of State shall compile a list of those 66
lobbyists and lobbyists' clients who have failed to file a 67
required report. The Secretary of State shall provide each 68
lobbyist or lobbyist's client who has failed to file such a report 69
notice of such failure by certified mail. 70
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(b) Beginning with the tenth calendar day after which 71
any report shall be due, the Secretary of State shall assess the 72
delinquent lobbyist and delinquent lobbyist's client a civil 73
penalty of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) per day and part of any day 74
until a valid report is delivered to the Secretary of State, up to 75
a maximum of ten (10) days. However, in the discretion of the 76
Secretary of State, the assessing of such fine may be waived if 77
the Secretary of State shall determine that unforeseeable 78
mitigating circumstances, such as the health of the lobbyist, 79
shall interfere with timely filing of a required report. 80
(c) Filing of the required report and payment of the 81
fine within ten (10) calendar days of notice by the Secretary of 82
State that a required statement has not been filed constitutes 83
compliance with Sections 5-8-1 through 5-8-19 of this chapter. 84
(d) Payment of the fine without filing the required 85
report does not in any way excuse or exempt any person required to 86
file from the filing requirements of Sections 5-8-1 through 5-8-19 87
of this chapter. 88
(2) (a) Upon the sworn application of a lobbyist or 89
lobbyist's client against whom a civil penalty has been assessed 90
pursuant to subsection (1), the Secretary of State shall forward 91
the application to the Mississippi Ethics Commission. The 92
commission shall fix a time and place for a hearing and shall 93
cause a written notice specifying the civil penalties that have 94
been assessed against the lobbyist or lobbyist's client and notice 95
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of the time and place of the hearing to be served upon the 96
lobbyist or lobbyist's client at least twenty (20) calendar days 97
prior to the hearing date. Such notice may be served by mailing a 98
copy thereof by certified mail, postage prepaid, to the last known 99
business address of the lobbyist or lobbyist's client. 100
(b) The commission is authorized to issue subpoenas for 101
the attendance of witnesses and the production of books and papers 102
at such hearing. Process issued by the commission shall extend to 103
all parts of the state and shall be served by any person 104
designated by the commission for such service. 105
(c) The lobbyist or lobbyist's client shall have the 106
right to appear either personally or by counsel, or both, to 107
produce witnesses or evidence in his behalf, to cross-examine 108
witnesses and to have subpoenas issued by the commission. 109
(d) A hearing officer shall be appointed by the 110
commission to conduct the hearing. At the hearing, the hearing 111
officer shall administer oaths as may be necessary for the proper 112
conduct of the hearing. All hearings shall be conducted by the 113
commission, who shall not be bound by strict rules of procedure or 114
by the laws of evidence in the conduct of the proceedings, but the 115
determination shall be based upon sufficient evidence to sustain 116
it. 117
(e) Where, in any proceeding before the commission, any 118
witness fails or refuses to attend upon a subpoena issued by the 119
commission, refuses to testify, or refuses to produce any books 120
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and papers the production of which is called for by a subpoena, 121
the attendance of such witness, the giving of his testimony or the 122
production of the books and papers shall be enforced by any court 123
of competent jurisdiction of this state in the manner provided for 124
the enforcement of attendance and testimony of witnesses in civil 125
cases in the courts of this state. 126
(f) Within fifteen (15) calendar days after conclusion 127
of the hearing, the commission shall reduce its decision to 128
writing and forward an attested true copy thereof to the last 129
known business address of the lobbyist or lobbyist's client by way 130
of United States first-class, certified mail, postage prepaid. 131
(3) (a) The right to appeal from the decision of the 132
commission in an administrative hearing concerning the assessment 133
of civil penalties authorized pursuant to this section is hereby 134
granted. Such appeal shall be to the Circuit Court of Hinds 135
County and shall include a verbatim transcript of the testimony at 136
the hearing. The appeal shall be taken within thirty (30) 137
calendar days after notice of the decision of the commission 138
following an administrative hearing. The appeal shall be 139
perfected upon filing notice of the appeal and by the prepayment 140
of all costs, including the cost of the preparation of the record 141
of the proceedings by the commission, and the filing of a bond in 142
the sum of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00), conditioned that if the 143
decision of the commission be affirmed by the court, the lobbyist 144
or lobbyist's client will pay the costs of the appeal and the 145
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action in court. If the decision is reversed by the court, the 146
Secretary of State will pay the costs of the appeal and the action 147
in court. 148
(b) If there is an appeal, such appeal shall act as a 149
supersedeas. The court shall dispose of the appeal and enter its 150
decision promptly. The hearing on the appeal may be tried in 151
vacation, in the court's discretion. The scope of review of the 152
court shall be limited to a review of the record made before the 153
commission to determine if the action of the commission is 154
unlawful for the reason that it was (i) not supported by 155
substantial evidence, (ii) arbitrary or capricious, (iii) beyond 156
the power of the commission to make, or (iv) in violation of some 157
statutory or constitutional right of the appellant. The decision 158
of the court may be appealed to the Supreme Court in the manner 159
provided by law. 160
(4) If, after forty-five (45) calendar days of the date of 161
the administrative hearing procedure set forth in subsection (2), 162
the lobbyist or lobbyist's client shall not file a valid report as 163
required by law, the commission shall notify the Attorney General 164
of the delinquency. The Attorney General shall investigate said 165
offense in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. 166
(5) (a) In addition to any other penalty permitted by law, 167
the Secretary of State shall require any person serving as or 168
representing himself or herself as a lobbyist, who fails to timely 169
file a registration statement(s) and payment(s) with the Secretary 170
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ST: The Amy Act; remove grace period for
lobbyist registering with the SOS office after
lobbying.
of State's office as required under Section 5-8-5, prior to 171
engaging in lobbying activities, as defined is Section 5-8-3(k), 172
within this state, to be subject to the same civil penalties and 173
remedies as provided in subsections (1) through (4) of this 174
section. 175
(b) This subsection (5) shall be known and may be cited 176
as, "The Amy Act." 177
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 178
and after July 1, 2026. 179