Jackson Free Press

The state auditor would be able to request wiretap authority to investigate public corruption if House Bill 944, which passed through the House Judiciary-A Committee today, becomes law.

The bill would also prohibit school district personnel from engaging in political activity and would require "superintendents and school board members to remain neutral by not engaging in political activities on school property and by not publicly supporting or opposing any political party."

Rep. Mark Baker, R-Brandon, authored and introduced the bill to the House Judiciary-A Committee, which he chairs. The bill would also authorize Mississippi Supreme Court justices and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation to intercept "wire or oral communications if there is probable cause" to believe that doing so will produce evidence of violating the Mississippi Public Corruption Act.

Attorney General Jim Hood has asked for wiretap authority to investigate crimes through his office in previous legislative sessions but has not been granted the authority.

Hood issued a statement today decrying the bill, which he said would grant the state auditor unprecedented authority to request wiretaps, investigate certain cases, hire outside counsel and impanel grand juries.

The attorney general said in his statement that the state auditor is not permitted by state law and court rule to attend grand jury proceedings and said the bill was "politicians playing partisan games with the people's money and time."

In his 2016 legislative priorities, Hood asked the Legislature to grant his office wiretapping authority to human trafficking and white collar crime cases. Currently, the attorney general's office only has wiretap authority for drug cases.

The attorney general's full statement is below:

“The bill sponsored by the chairman of House Judiciary-A is nothing more than petty partisan politics. My staff never had the opportunity to testify in committee against a proposal that may circumvent state law and violate the separation of powers.

“For the nearly 200 years of our state’s existence, the Attorney General has served as the state’s chief legal officer. While serving in that role, I have repeatedly requested that the Legislature grant my office wiretap authority, only to see those bills die session after session. Now, in this brazen political stunt, this bill takes identical language from my draft legislation and gives that authority to the auditor, who has no experience as a prosecutor and is not permitted by state law and court rule to attend grand jury proceedings."

“It is my hope that the full House will reject this bill and will see the proposal for what it is: Politicians playing partisan games with the people’s money and time.”