Anderson, 102880 MSAGO, 19801028

• Case Date: October 28, 1980
• Court: South Carolina

Honorable Reuben V. Anderson No. 19801028 Mississippi Attorney General Opinions October 28, 1980          Honorable Reuben V. Anderson          County Court Judge          Hinds County Court House          Jackson, Mississippi 39201          Dear Judge Anderson:          Attorney General Bill Allain is in receipt of your inquiry, and has assigned it to me for research and reply. In your letter, you inquire as follows:

“Pursuant to our conversation, would you be kind enough to give me the Attorney General's opinion as to whether or not there is a conflict in my serving as a member of the Board of Trustees of Hinds General Hospital and also being a duly elected County Judge for Hinds County.”

         We also are informed that you were appointed as a member of the Board of Trustees of Hinds General Hospital prior to taking the bench as County Court Judge of Hinds County, Mississippi.          The pivotal issue of your inquiry necessitates a review of State statutes under which the Board of Trustees of Hinds General Hospital functions, and an inquiry into the applicability of Article 1, Sections1 and 2 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890.          The Board of Trustees of Hinds General Hospital is governed by Sections 41-13-15 through 41-13-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, wherein Section 41-13-35 defines the general powers and duties of the trustees, and provides, inter alia:

“The board of trustees of any hospital provided for in Sections 41-13-27 to 41-13-31 shall have full authority to appoint the administrator, superintendent, or other chief officer of the hospital and to delegate reasonable authority to such officer for the operation and maintenance of the hospital ... and authority to promulgate and employ suitable staff and hospital rules and regulations, to employ such personnel as may be necessary to properly maintain and operate such hospital, and to establish salaries and other employment benefits ... sue in the name of the board of trustees, on behalf of the hospital, to collect any sum or sums owing it ... Each member of the board of trustees for such hospital shall be under a bond ... to faithfully perform the duties of his office.”

         An administrative agency's powers are three, and they correspond to the traditional three branches of government, a predictable development since governmental action is possible only through these three avenues, or a blend thereof, and the administrative agency is a governmental entity. Agencies can...