Mississippi Code Title 7. Executive Department § 7-7-1

(1) As used in this chapter, the terms “State Auditor” and “Auditor” mean the Auditor of Public Accounts.

(2) As used in this chapter, the term “State Fiscal Officer” means the official created in Section 27-104-5, acting through the Bureau of Budget and Fiscal Management.

(3) “Agency” means any state board, commission, committee, council, department or unit thereof created by the Constitution or statutes if such board, commission, committee, council, department, unit or the head thereof is authorized to appoint subordinate staff by the Constitution or statute, except a legislative or judicial board, commission, committee, council, department or unit thereof.

(4) For the purposes of Sections 7-7-1 through 7-7-65, the term “public funds” shall mean all funds which are received, collected by, or available for the support of or expenditure by any state department, institution or agency, whether such funds be derived from taxes or from fees collected by such state department, institution or agency or from some other source, and which should be included in the entity of the state under generally accepted accounting principles, although such funds may not be required by law to be deposited in the State Treasury.

Funds such as endowment funds and research funds, special building and plant funds, funds of a proprietary function, and the like shall be excluded from the meaning of the term, unless specifically required by law to be handled through the State Treasury or unless deemed necessary by the State Fiscal Officer to be included.

All funds of state departments, institutions and agencies within the contemplation of this section that are not required by law to be deposited in the State Treasury, or are not declared to be exempt from the provisions of Sections 7-7-1 through 7-7-65 by the State Fiscal Officer shall be reported to the State Fiscal Officer in reports of revenues, expenditures, assets, liabilities, encumbrances, fund balances and other financial statements, at such times and in the form required by the State Fiscal Officer.

It is hereby declared to be the intent of this section to provide that all “public funds” necessary to present a complete and comprehensive statement of the fiscal operations of the state government shall be handled through the State Fiscal Officer, whether through State Fiscal Officer receipt warrants and disbursement warrants, as is generally provided, or through the method of reporting, as required herein.