Mississippi Bill Prohibits Commissioner Campaign Contributions From Regulated Entities
JACKSON, Miss. //BestWire// - The Mississippi Legislature is considering restricting campaign contributions to insurance commissioner candidates from regulated companies through a bill that the sitting commissioner said comes up short.
Mike ChaneySenate Bill 2918 would make it unlawful for any regulated entity to offer campaign contributions to the commissioner, a commissioner candidate or any employee at the Mississippi Insurance Department. It would also make it illegal for a commissioner, candidate or any MID employee to accept campaign contributions.
If enacted, violating these laws would result in a fine of no more than $5,000 and at least one year in jail, according to the bill’s text. Officials and MID employees would also lose their positions.
Throughout his tenure, Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney has championed making his role an appointed position instead of an elected role. He has previously told BestWire this would eliminate any potential challenges presented by contributions from entities the commissioner oversees and take politics out of the job (BestWire, Sept. 26, 2024).
While Chaney opposes these types of campaign contributions, he said SB 2918 as written is ambiguous and “not the right solution.” In an emailed statement, Chaney pointed to section five of the legislation, which lays out how a "covered person" is defined.
This section describes covered people as “any person who is an owner, agent or legal representative of any and all” insurance companies and entities regulated by the MID. The bill also considers any person “interested” as an owner, agent or legal representative, as well as those acting at their request or direction.
Chaney doubled down on his call to see the commissioner role switched to an appointed position that is confirmed by the state Senate.
"Hopefully, this would eliminate campaign contributions from regulated industries for electing commissioners," Chaney said in an email.
During its 2025 session, the Mississippi legislature considered legislation that would have made this change, but the bill did not make it out of committee (BestWire, Jan. 31, 2025).
(By Steve Hallo, senior associate editor, BestWire: Steve.Hallo@ambest.com)