House Bill 971 Summary

• Prohibits state agencies and community or junior colleges from expending public funds to pay contract lobbyists, making any such contracts void and unenforceable.

• Makes public employees who authorize expenditure of public funds for contract lobbying subject to termination.

• Exempts public employees acting in their official capacity as part of their regular employment duties from the contract lobbying prohibition, but they remain subject to existing reporting and disclosure requirements.

• Adds definitions to lobbying law including "state agency," "community or junior college," "public funds," and "contract lobbying" to the Mississippi Code.

• Removes "legislative advocacy services" from types of contracts subject to Public Procurement Review Board oversight.