This section sets forth the Personal Service Contract Review
Board's rules governing the form, content, and filing of requests for
declaratory opinions, the procedural rights of persons in relation to the
written requests, and the Personal Service Contract Review Board's procedures
regarding the disposition of requests as required by Mississippi Code Annotated
§
25-43-2.103
(1972, as amended).
The Personal Service Contract Review Board will issue
declaratory opinions regarding the applicability to specified facts of:
A. A statute administered or enforceable by
the Personal Service Contract Review Board;
B. A rule or regulation promulgated by the
Personal Service Contract Review Board; or,
C. An order issued by the Personal Service
Contract Review Board.
A request must be limited to a single transaction or
occurrence.
When a person with substantial interest, as required by
Mississippi Code Annotated §
25-43-2.103
(1972, as amended), requests a declaratory opinion, the requestor must submit a
printed, typewritten, or legibly handwritten request.
A. Each request must be submitted on 8-1/2" x
11" white paper.
B. The request
may be in the form of a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Personal
Service Contract Review Board or in the form of a pleading as if filed with a
court.
C. Each request must
include the full name, telephone numbers, and mailing address of the
requestor(s).
D. All requests
shall be signed by the person filing the request, unless represented by an
attorney, in which case the attorney may sign the request.
E. Each request must clearly state that it is
a request for a declaratory opinion.
Any party who signs the request shall attest that the
request complies with the requirements set forth in these rules, including but
not limited to a full, complete, and accurate statement of relevant facts and
that there are no related proceedings pending before any agency,
administrative, or judicial tribunal.
Each request must contain the following:
A. A clear identification of the statute,
rule, regulation, or order at issue;
B. The question for the declaratory opinion;
C. A clear and concise statement
of all facts relevant to the question presented;
D. The identity of all other known persons
involved in or impacted by the facts giving rise to the request including their
relationship to the facts, and their name, mailing address, and telephone
number; and,
E. A statement
sufficient to show that the requestor has a substantial interest in the subject
matter of the request.
The Personal Service Contract Review Board may, for good
cause, refuse to issue a declaratory opinion. The circumstances in which
declaratory opinions will not be issued include, but are not necessarily
limited to the following:
A. The
matter is outside the primary jurisdiction of the Personal Service Contract
Review Board;
B. There is a lack
of clarity concerning the question presented;
C. There is pending or anticipated
litigation, administrative action or anticipated administrative action, or
other adjudication which may either answer the question presented by the
request or otherwise make an answer unnecessary;
D. The statute, rule, or order on which a
declaratory opinion is sought is clear and not in need of interpretation to
answer the question presented by the request;
E. The facts presented in the request are not
sufficient to answer the question presented;
F. The request fails to contain information
required by these rules or the requestor failed to follow the procedure set
forth in these rules;
G. The
request seeks to resolve issues which have become moot or are abstract or
hypothetical such that the requestor is not substantially affected by the rule,
statute, or order on which a declaratory opinion is sought;
H. No controversy exists or is certain to
arise which raises a question concerning the application of the statute, rule,
or order;
I. The question
presented by the request concerns the legal validity of a statute, rule, or
order;
J. The request is not based
upon facts calculated to aid in the planning of future conduct, but is,
instead, based on past conduct in an effort to establish the effect of that
conduct;
K. No clear answer is
determinable;
L. The question
presented by the request involves the application of a criminal statute or sets
forth facts which may constitute a crime;
M. The answer to the question presented would
require the disclosure of information which is privileged or otherwise
protected by law from disclosure;
N. The question is currently the subject of
an Attorney General's opinion request;
O. The question has been answered by an
Attorney General's opinion;
P. One
or more requestors have standing to seek an Attorney General's opinion on the
proffered question;
Q. A similar
request is pending before this agency, or any other agency, or a proceeding is
pending on the same subject matter before any agency, administrative or
judicial tribunal, or where such an opinion would constitute the unauthorized
practice of law; or,
R. The
question involves eligibility for a license, permit, certificate, or other
approval by the Personal Service Contract Review Board or some other agency and
there is a statutory or regulatory application process by which eligibility for
said license, permit, or certificate or other approval may be determined.
Within forty-five (45) days after the receipt of a request
for a declaratory opinion which complies with the requirements of these rules,
the Personal Service Contract Review Board shall, in writing:
A. Issue an opinion declaring the
applicability of the statute, rule, or order to the specified circumstances;
B. Agree to issue a declaratory
opinion by a specified time but no later than ninety (90) days after receipt of
the written request; or,
C.
Decline to issue a declaratory opinion, stating the reasons for its action.
The forty-five (45) day period shall begin on the first
business day after which the request is received by the Personal Service
Contract Review Board.
Declaratory opinions and requests for declaratory opinions
shall be available for public inspection and copying at the expense of the
viewer during normal business hours. All declaratory opinion and requests shall
be indexed by name, subject, and date of issue. Declaratory opinions and
requests which contain information which is confidential or exempt from
disclosure under the Mississippi Public Records Act or other laws shall be
exempt from this requirement and shall remain confidential.
