Secretary of State Michael Watson says that strengthening Mississippi’s notoriously lax campaign-finance laws will be his top legislative priority this year. 

Attempts to tighten Mississippi’s campaign spending laws have sputtered in recent legislative sessions. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have been reluctant to consider any reform. But Watson, a Republican who helps administer the state’s elections, said recent criminal corruption allegations against local officials have renewed his push. 

“This is not just a political issue,” Watson said. “This is a crime-fighting issue.” 

A federal grand jury last year indicted two county sheriffs in the Mississippi Delta on charges of corruption linked to an alleged drug-trafficking scheme. The two have pleaded not guilty, though court documents allege that undercover law enforcement agents bribed the officials through campaign donations. 

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Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens and former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba are also fighting federal bribery charges, where law enforcement agents accuse them of accepting bribes in the form of campaign donations. They have pleaded not guilty. 

Watson’s proposal would require local and state candidates to file reports online, cap cash donations to political candidates at $1,000 and transfer enforcement authority from the Mississippi Ethics Commission to both the Secretary of State’s office and the Attorney General’s office.

If a candidate does not have reliable access to the internet or is unable to operate a computer, they can send a facsimile copy or a letter of their report to the Secretary of State’s office, who will then upload the report online. 

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The secretary of state said he has worked with Sen. Jeremy England, a Republican from Vancleave, and Attorney General Lynn Fitch in crafting a bill. 

MaryAsa Lee, a spokesperson for Fitch, told Mississippi Today in a statement that the Attorney General’s Office was proud to work with Watson and legislative leaders on the bill, and Mississippians deserve to control their own elections. 

“Together, we have created a package of reforms that will close the loopholes that allow outside, special-interest dark money to flow into Mississippi elections,” Lee said. “We are hopeful that this year the Legislature will make these reforms.”

Mississippi’s current law has a confusing, conflicting enforcement system that gives some responsibilities to the secretary of state’s office, the attorney general’s office and the Ethics Commission. 

The new proposal would task Watson’s office with investigating violations and Fitch’s office with prosecuting them if a crime has occurred. The only time the Ethics Commission would step in is if the secretary of state’s office was involved in alleged violations. 

England is the author of the legislation, and the lieutenant governor’s office has referred the measure to the Senate Elections Committee, which England leads. 

The Jackson County lawmaker said he’s hopeful the Legislature will pass the measure because it’s important for the state’s elections to be as “transparent as possible.”