2013 Mississippi Code
Title 25 - PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES; PUBLIC RECORDS
Chapter 4 - ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT
Article 1 - MISSISSIPPI ETHICS COMMISSION
§ 25-4-28 - Disclosure of holdings of certain blind trusts not required under certain circumstances

(1) A public official or public employee who has an interest in a blind trust which meets the standards set forth in this section is not required to disclose the holdings of the blind trust, if those holdings are acquired by the trustee after the trust complies with subsection (2).

(2) A blind trust shall comply with the following conditions:

(a) The trustee of a blind trust shall be:

(i) A bank, trust or brokerage company authorized to exercise fiduciary powers, an individual who is an employee of any such bank, trust or brokerage company, a law firm or an attorney;

(ii) A disinterested party other than the public official or employee's spouse, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, parent-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, aunt, uncle, first cousin, or the spouse of any such person;

(iii) Someone who is not a public official or public employee; and

(iv) Someone who has not been appointed to a public entity by the public official or public employee, or by a public official or public employee supervised by the filer.

(b) The trustee shall be given complete discretion to manage the trust, including, but not limited to, the power to dispose of and acquire trust holdings without consulting or notifying the filer.

(c) The trustee is prohibited from disclosing to the filer any information concerning the replacement holdings except for information required under this subsection or the minimum tax information which lists only the totals of taxable items from the trust and does not describe the source of individual items of income.

(d) A copy of the trust agreement shall be filed with the commission within five (5) business days after execution, including an identification of the holdings placed in trust, a statement detailing the date of its creation, and the name and address of the trustee.

(e) The trustee annually shall file with the commission a signed statement, under penalty of perjury, stating that he or she has not revealed any information to the filer other than as permitted under this section and that, to the best of the trustee's knowledge, the trust is in compliance with this section.

(f) The trustee and the public official or public employee shall not communicate about the blind trust, directly or indirectly, except in writing, and a copy of all such written communications shall be transmitted to the commission.

(g) The blind trust may be revocable or irrevocable. If the trust is revoked during the period of the public official's or public employee's tenure in office, then the public official or public employee, within ten (10) business days, shall file a statement in accordance with Section 25-4-25 disclosing all of the assets of the trust at the time of its revocation.

(h) A public official or public employee who had a blind trust prior to the effective date of this section shall amend the terms of such trust if any of its terms fail to comply with this section. A public official or public employee who had a preexisting blind trust shall also comply with the disclosure requirements of paragraph (d). Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the disclosure of assets held in a preexisting blind trust except for the assets placed into the trust at the time of its creation.