Jackson Free Press

In the past week, there's been a dustup over public officials' emails on Initiative 42, a brouhaha between The Clarion-Ledger and developer Andrew Mattiace about a tourism tax-rebate application, and a showdown between competing waste haulers at Jackson City Hall that suggest the Magnolia State might be in need of some sunshine.

But when it comes to enforcing the state's various statutes governing open records, Mississippi has a weird mish-mash of officials who have some responsibility for making sure clerks follow the state's public-records law and that candidates file their campaign-finance reports, but rarely take action.

So whose job is it to enforce this stuff, anyway?

Attorney General Jim Hood said that district attorneys and county attorneys can prosecute campaign-finance disclosure violations, which are misdemeanors. The secretary of state supervisors elections, but doesn't have prosecutorial power.

"The problem is the law itself—it's so vague," Hood told the Jackson Free Press.

Hood said the Legislature tried to reform campaign finance and give the law more teeth, but Gov. Haley Barbour vetoed legislation that passed out of the Democratic-controlled House and the Republican-led Senate in 2004 over Barbour's opposition to political contribution caps.

Interestingly, mud has started to fly between the candidates for Mississippi attorney general this year, which Hood's opponent, Republican Mike Hurst, raising questions about Hood's own fundraising, including reimbursements for credit card purchases, which is permitted under law. In any case, Hurst wants Hood to release his tax returns and credit-card statements; Hood has declined, and said his campaign spending is above board. Hurst said if sunshine laws aren't being followed, if he's elected, he's going to figure out why.

"My question for him is," he said, referring to Hood, "if he's doing these things, if he's not being transparent, who goes after the attorney general? I don't know the answer to that."