State Auditor of Mississippi
Photograph of Shad White
Incumbent
Shad White
since July 17, 2018
Term lengthFour years, renewable, no term limits
Inaugural holderJohn R. Girault
Formation1817
Websiteosa.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]

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)

  • Charles B. Howell
  • Beverly R. Grayson
  • Park Walton

State auditors (1817–present)

# NameTerm of office
1 John R. Girault1817–1819
2 John Richards1819–1822
3 Hiram G. Runnels1822–1830
4 Thomas B. J. Hadley1830–1833
5 John H. Mallory1833–1837
6 A. B. Saunders1837–1842
7 J. E. Matthews1842–1847
8 George T. Swann1847–1851
9 Daniel R. Russell1851–1855
10 Madison McAfee1855–1859
11 E. R. Burt1859–1861
12 A. B. Dilworth1861–1862
13 A. J. Gillespie1862–1865
14 Thomas T. Swann1865–1869
15 Henry Musgrove1869–1874
16 William H. Gibbs1874–1876
17 Sylvester Gwin1878–1886
18 W. W. Stone1886–1896
19 W. D. Holder1896–1900
20 William Qualls Cole1900–1904
21 T. M. Henry1904–1908
22 Elias Jefferson Smith1908–1912
23 Duncan Lafayette Thompson1912–1916
24 Robert A. Wilson1916–1920
25 W. J. Miller1920–1924
26 George Dumah Riley1924–1928
27 Carl C. White1928–1932
28 Joe S. Price1932–1936
29 Carl Craig1936–1940
30 J. M. Causey1940–1944
31 Bert J. Barnett1944–1948
32 Carl Craig1948–1952
33 William Donelson Neal1952–1956
34 E. Boyd Golding1956–1960
35 William Donelson Neal1960–1964
36 Hamp King1964–1984
37 Ray Mabus1984–1988
38 Pete Johnson1988–1992
39 Steve Patterson1992–1996
40 Phil Bryant1996–2008
41 Stacey Pickering2008–2018
42 Shad White2018–present

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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