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1.8.11 Relevant Mississippi Ethics Laws

JSU employees shall not be interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract with the University other than their employment contract.  Therefore, a JSU employee may not be a contractor or vendor with JSU, other than his contract of employment, or have a material financial interest in a business which is a contractor or vendor with the University.  An employee has a material financial interest in a contract if a personal and pecuniary interest, direct or indirect, accrues to the public servant or relative, either individually or in combination with each other.  It is not considered a material financial interest where ownership in a company benefiting from a contract is extremely small and not influential, as set forth in Miss. Code Ann. §§ 25-4-103 and 25-4-105

No person may intentionally use or disclose information gained because of his official position or employment as a public servant in any way that could result in pecuniary benefit for himself, any relative, or any other person, if the information has not been communicated to the public or is not public information.

Any contract made in violation of state ethics law may be declared void and the contractor or subcontractor shall retain or receive only the reasonable value, with no increment for profit or commission, of the property or the services furnished prior to the date of receiving notice that the contract has been voided.  Any person violating a state ethics law shall be punished as provided for in Miss. Code Ann. §§ 25-4-109 and 25-4-111.

Executive directors and heads of state agencies, including presidents and trustees of state-supported colleges, who are paid from state funds must file a statement of economic interest as required by Miss. Code Ann. §§ 25-4-25 and 25-4-27.