State Auditor of Mississippi

Last updated
State Auditor of Mississippi
Shad White.jpg
Incumbent
Shad White
since July 17, 2018
Term length Four years, renewable, no term limits
Inaugural holderJohn R. Girault
Formation1817
Website osa.state.ms.us

The state auditor of Mississippi is an elected official in the executive branch of Mississippi's state government. The duty of the state auditor is to ensure accountability in the use of funds appropriated by the state legislature by inspecting and reporting on the expenditure of the public funds. [1]

Contents

Shad White is the incumbent state auditor of Mississippi as of 2022. He assumed office on July 17, 2018. [2]

History of the office

The position of state auditor was enumerated as part of the executive branch in Mississippi's first constitution in 1817. The office was filled by the choice of the Mississippi Legislature. [3] The first auditor, John R. Girault, was elected on December 19, 1817. [4] The 1832 constitution stipulated that the auditor was to be popularly elected to serve a two-year term. [5] The 1869 Constitution extended the term to four years. [6]

The fourth Constitution of Mississippi, ratified in 1890, made the state auditor ineligible to hold consecutive terms, [7] and barred the state auditor and state treasurer from immediately succeeding each other. [8] [9] This measure was implemented as an effort to prevent collusion between the two officeholders, after a series of embezzlements and misuses of public funds during the Reconstruction era. [10] A 1966 constitutional amendment lifted the prohibitions, making the state auditor eligible to serve consecutive terms. [11] In 1986, the Constitution Committee of the Mississippi House voted to approve a proposal to limit the state auditor to a ten-year tenure, [12] but the measure was rejected by the full House after initially being passed by the state senate. [13] The 1890 constitution also required the auditor to publish a report of all expenses incurred by the legislature during its sessions, though this responsibility was transferred to a different officer in 1989. [14]

In 1993 some employees in the Department of Audit's investigative division were made law enforcement officers. Originally restricted to exercising the power of arrest only after an individual had been indicted by a court following an auditing investigation, in 2003 the officers were granted full arrest powers and thus permitted to arrest anyone for any crime they detected in the course of their duties. [15]

Hamp King, who held the office from 1964 to 1984, was the first certified public accountant to serve as state auditor. [16] Ray Mabus, who became auditor in 1984, raised the public profile of the office through a crackdown on corruption. [17] The incumbent auditor, Shad White, assumed office on July 17, 2018. [18]

Powers, duties, and structure

Under Article 5, Section 134, of the Mississippi Constitution, the state auditor is elected every four years. Candidates for the office must meet the same constitutional qualifications as candidates for the position of secretary of state; they must be at least 25 years old and have lived in the state for at least five years. [19] They are elected to a four-year term without term limits. [20]

The state auditor is responsible for auditing state agencies, county governments, school districts, and tertiary educational institutions. They also conduct data audits for public schools and monitor state agencies' inventory. They advise local governments on accounting matters in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and relevant laws, and investigate misuse of public funds. [20] The office lacks the ability to prosecute cases of criminal wrongdoing in court and, in such instances where wrongdoing is believed to have occurred, typically turns over its findings to other prosecutors. [21]

The Department of Audit has approximately 150 employees, including about 40 certified public accountants. It has four divisions: Financial and Compliance Audit Division, Investigative Division, Government Accountability Division, and the Technical Assistance Division. [22] The auditor's salary is $90,000 per year, but is set to increase to $150,000 annually in 2024. [23]

List of auditors

Source: Mississippi Official & Statistical Register [24]

Territorial auditors (1798–1817)

State auditors (1817–present)

#NameTerm of office
1John R. Girault1817–1819
2John Richards1819–1822
3 Hiram G. Runnels 1822–1830
4Thomas B. J. Hadley1830–1833
5John H. Mallory1833–1837
6A. B. Saunders1837–1842
7J. E. Matthews1842–1847
8 George T. Swann 1847–1851
9Daniel R. Russell1851–1855
10Madison McAfee1855–1859
11E. R. Burt1859–1861
12 A. B. Dilworth 1861–1862
13A. J. Gillespie1862–1865
14Thomas T. Swann1865–1869
15 Henry Musgrove 1869–1874
16William H. Gibbs1874–1876
17Sylvester Gwin1878–1886
18W. W. Stone1886–1896
19W. D. Holder1896–1900
20William Qualls Cole1900–1904
21T. M. Henry1904–1908
22Elias Jefferson Smith1908–1912
23Duncan Lafayette Thompson1912–1916
24Robert A. Wilson1916–1920
25W. J. Miller1920–1924
26George Dumah Riley1924–1928
27 Carl C. White 1928–1932
28Joe S. Price1932–1936
29 Carl Craig 1936–1940
30J. M. Causey1940–1944
31Bert J. Barnett1944–1948
32Carl Craig1948–1952
33William Donelson Neal1952–1956
34E. Boyd Golding1956–1960
35William Donelson Neal1960–1964
36 Hamp King 1964–1984
37 Ray Mabus 1984–1988
38 Pete Johnson 1988–1992
39 Steve Patterson 1992–1996
40 Phil Bryant 1996–2008
41 Stacey Pickering 2008–2018
42 Shad White 2018–present

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References

  1. ↑ "Auditor: Accountability not partisan". Clarion-Ledger . June 17, 2007. p. 61. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  2. ↑ Pettus, Emily Wagster (July 17, 2018). "Shad White takes oath as new state auditor in Mississippi". Clarion-Ledger . Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  3. ↑ Busbee 2014, pp. 73–74.
  4. ↑ Rowland 1904, p. 124.
  5. ↑ Busbee 2014, p. 87.
  6. ↑ Rowland 1904, p. 31.
  7. ↑ Krane & Shaffer 1992, pp. 49–50.
  8. ↑ MS Const. (1890) art. V, § 134.
  9. ↑ "[untitled]". The Mississippi Enterprise . October 10, 1890. p. 4. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Amendment Would Change 1890 Constitution On State Auditor". Columbian-Progress. October 27, 1966. p. 15. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Mississippi's amendments gather heavy urban votes". Hattiesburg American . November 9, 1966. p. 1. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Treasurer succession recommended". The Clarksdale Press Register . January 30, 1986. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Legislature OKs amendment to let treasurers succeed selves". The Clarion-Ledger . Associated Press. February 12, 1986. p. 3B. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  14. ↑ Winkle 2014, p. 87.
  15. ↑ Crockett 2007, p. 12.
  16. ↑ "Longtime auditor Hamp King dies". Enterprise-Journal. Associated Press. April 5, 1991. p. 1.
  17. ↑ Johnson, Hayes (July 23, 1987). "6 vie for post in low visibility state auditor race". The Clarion-Ledger. pp. 1A, 12A.
  18. ↑ Pettus, Emily Wagster (July 17, 2018). "Shad White takes oath as new state auditor in Mississippi". The Clarion-Ledger. Associated Press. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  19. ↑ Winkle 2014, p. 95.
  20. 1 2 Mississippi Official and Statistical Register 2017, p. 84.
  21. ↑ Gates, Jimmie E. (July 22, 2018). "When politics meets the road". The Clarion-Ledger. pp. 1C, 2C.
  22. ↑ "About". Mississippi Office of the State Auditor. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
  23. ↑ Pender, Geoff (April 7, 2022). "Amid vetoes, Gov. Reeves lets pay raises for elected officials pass". Mississippi Today. Nonprofit Mississippi News. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  24. ↑ Mississippi Official and Statistical Register 2017, pp. 718–719.

Works cited

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