(1) In addition to all power and authority vested in the attorney general of the state of Mississippi by its constitution and statutes and all common law power and authority which may be invested in or exercised by such attorney general as such, the attorney general of the state of Mississippi and his assistants and representatives are hereby authorized upon request made of him to, in his discretion, render such services as the attorney general may deem necessary to assist in advising and in representing, either or both, all officers or employees of any county district, county, or municipality of the state of Mississippi, or of the state of Mississippi, or of any board, agency, or commission thereof, as the case may be, or any circuit clerk or county registrar, should they or any of them be investigated or called as a witness by the federal civil rights commission, be sued in an action at law or in equity, be prosecuted or cited to show cause or charged with contempt, civil or criminal, or proceeded against in any manner, either or all, in any state or federal court by the United States government, by any agency, officer, department, or representative of the United States government, or by any other person, either or all, as a result of the discharge by any of said Mississippi county district, county, municipal, or state of Mississippi officers or employees, boards, agencies, or commissions and the members thereof, or by the said circuit clerk or county registrar of their official duties under the constitution and other laws of the state of Mississippi, or growing out of such official action or nonaction, as the case may be.

The foregoing authority vested in the attorney general as above set out shall not apply to or with respect to any suit, action, hearing, or controversy which may arise between two (2) or more of the aforesaid officers or employees, circuit clerks or county registrars, such commissions, boards, or agencies or members thereof, or said county districts, counties, or municipalities of the state of Mississippi, or between them or by any of them and an agency or officer of the state of Mississippi which, under existing laws of the state of Mississippi, the attorney general is otherwise authorized or required to represent.

(2) Any request made of the attorney general for the assistance above referred to shall be made in writing and, if by an individual, shall be signed by him or her. If by a board or commission or agency as such, there shall be entered upon its minutes an order making such request, and the request from and on behalf of said board, commission, or agency to the attorney general for said assistance shall be accompanied by a certified copy of said order.