Mississippi has the worst regulations of political financing of any state, according to a 2015 study from the Center of Public Integrity.

The Magnolia State fared better in other transparency and accountability metrics, but ranked 33rd overall.

The Mississippi secretary of state controls public access to campaign finance information and has some — very limited — oversight of political candidates and lobbyists.

Four people are running this year to replace outgoing Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann. Three responded to a request for comment on several transparency and accountability issues.

Each said they support transparency and accountability reforms — to varying degrees.

Here's what they said.

'No cup of coffee' laws

Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee and other states bar lobbyists from giving gifts to lawmakers and public officials — even a cup of coffee.

Mississippi has no gift limits for lawmakers and public officials.

A recent Clarion Ledger investigation found public universities in Mississippi shower lawmakers with gifts such as tickets to sports games. Universities spent more than $2 million on lobbying legislators and public officials over the past four years.

Johnny DuPree, the former mayor of Hattiesburg, is one of two Democrats running. He said he was open to reform, but would not go so far as to ban lobbyists from giving public officials a cup of coffee.

Sam Britton, the public service commissioner for Mississippi's Southern District, is one of two Republicans running. Britton said he supports restrictions on gifts to lawmakers.

"If money flows, influence follows that," Britton said, but he said he wouldn't support a "no cup of coffee" rule. "That might be taking it a bit too far."

Sen. Michael Watson, R-Pascagoula, is the other Republican candidate. Watson suggested increasing the frequency of lobbyist reports.

Currently, lobbyists submit their reports at the end of the year, months after the legislative session ends.

Watson said that more frequent reporting — especially during the session — would allow the public to see whether lobbyist gifts are actively influencing how a lawmaker votes.

Searchable campaign finance reports

All the candidates said they supported having all political candidates upload their campaign finance reports electronically, allowing the public to search for donors. All surrounding states have such searchable disclosure.

"I think you need to be as transparent as you can," DuPree said.

Currently, candidates can voluntarily file electronic versions of their campaign finance reports that are searchable, but few do. Most reports online are scanned documents, making it difficult to search or quantify the total contributions a person or corporation is making.

Watson suggested putting together a research group that would convert old scanned campaign finance documents into a searchable database.

"As long as people have access to information to hold elected officials accountable, I think that's the key," he said.

A voluntary searchable campaign finance site was implemented under Hosemann, who unsuccessfully pushed for electronic filing to be mandatory.

Individual and corporate campaign contributions

Mississippi is one of 11 states that has no limit on campaign contributions from individuals, according to a report, and is one of only seven states that allow corporations to donate to campaigns.

As long as the donations are being properly reported, Britton and Watson said they don't have a problem with the current system.

DuPree offered an alternative to limiting donations from individuals or banning contributions from corporations — put a cap on the total amount of money a political candidate can raise.

"I think the cost of running for office has gotten out of hand," DuPree said.

Candidates are spending more time raising money and buying TV ads, he said, and less time working on the important issues.

"You've got people raising millions of dollars and the average person can't compete with that," DuPree said.

DuPree, Watson and Britton said they all support strong enforcement of the state's transparency and accountability laws.

Britton said his views on transparency were shaped by the Kemper County power plant debacle — a $7.5 billion bust currently under investigation by the feds. He said the Public Service Commission pushed to make documents from the case public.

"I believe as much as you can have things open, the better off you are," Britton said.

Watson referenced the importance for "sunlight" in politics.

"We need an engaged citizenry that's paying attention to our elected officials," he said.

The Clarion Ledger attempted to contact the second Democratic candidate for secretary of state, Maryra Hodges Hunt, who does not appear to have a campaign site.

More:Universities spend $2M lobbying public officials

More:Reform coming: last campaign finance reports filed under old, lax rules

More:Mississippi elections: How much campaign cash did candidates raise in May?

Contact Giacomo "Jack" Bologna at 601-961-7282 or gbologna@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @gbolognaCL.