MAS Weekly Legislative Recap Newsletter

Week 7 - February 20

Regular Legislative Session

The Seventh week of the 2026 Regular Legislative Session has passed.

• The deadline for making requests for appropriation and revenue bills to be drafted is Monday, February 23.

• The deadline for original floor action on appropriation and revenue bills originating in own house is Wednesday, February 25.  

Municipal Inmates in County Jail Facilities Gets Double Referred in House Chamber 

Senate Bill 2432

Senate Bill 2432: This measure revises methods that counties and municipalities use to calculate costs for housing municipal prisoners in county jails.

NOTE: This measure is double referred to Accountability, Efficiency, and Transparency Committee and House Appropriations A Committee

NOTE: Please contact your local House delegation and request that Senate Bill 2432 be voted out of both committees for a House floor vote.

House Group Purchasing Measure

Double Referred in Senate Chamber

House Bill 1525

House Bill 1525: This measure would allow the Mississippi Association of Supervisors to establish a group purchasing program for the purchase of supplies, commodities, and equipment. Participation in the proposed program will be strictly on a volunteer basis.

NOTE: This measure is double referred to Senate County Affairs Committee and Senate Accountability, Efficiency, and Transparency Committee. 

Homestead Exemption Reimbursement

Measure Passes Senate Chamber

Senate Bill 3090

Senate Bill 3090: This measure makes an appropriation for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the MS Department of Revenue and for the purpose of reimbursing the counties, county districts, and municipal separate school districts for tax losses incurred by reason of the exemption of homes from certain ad valorem taxes.

NOTE: This measure has passed the Senate Chamber and will transmit to the House Chamber for consideration. 

Additional Note: Section 7 of this measure provides $94 million for the homestead exemption reimbursement. This monetary value represents level funding from last year’s appropriation. 

NOTICE! (Currently No Action Is Taken)

Proposed Increased Tax Credit/Ad Valorem Reduction

House Bill 1944

House Bill 1944: This measure revises credits authorized for contributions to certain charitable organizations. With this measure, counties are technically reimbursed by the Department of Revenue for ad valorem credits applied, the bill effectively shifts local property tax revenue replacement to the state’s general tax collections.

As the annual cap increases to $40 million, the volume of credits applied against real property taxes could materially expand. If state revenues experience volatility, delay, or future budget constraints, counties become indirectly dependent on state appropriations for reimbursement. This introduces fiscal uncertainty into what is traditionally the most stable and locally controlled revenue source—real property ad valorem taxes. Counties lose direct revenue autonomy and instead rely on intergovernmental transfers subject to state cash flow conditions.

House Local Improvement Project Clawback Measure Dies. Senate Version Still Alive

Senate Bill 2894

Senate Bill 2894: This measure requires the return of unexpended funds and earned interest for the Local Improvement Projects measure passed in 2021.

NOTE: This measure currently resides in the House Ways and Means Committee.

Comprehensive Purchasing Measure

Passes House Chamber

House Bill 1314

House Bill 1314: On February 12^th, House Bill 1314 passed the House Chamber by a vote of 119 to 2.

House Bill 1314 significantly revises Mississippi’s public purchasing laws by raising bid thresholds, expanding procurement flexibility, and modernizing competitive processes for state agencies and local governing authorities.

Purchases not requiring a purchase requisition or purchase order increase from $2k to $5k.

Purchase only requiring two competitive bids increase from $5k to $15k.

Purchases that require posting advertisement and public bids increase from $75k to $100k.

This measure also makes reverse auction discretionary, and it contains a county group purchase provision.

NOTE: This measure resides in the Senate Accountability, Efficiency, and Transparency Committee.  

Ad Valorem Tax Notice Legislation

House Bill 1383

House Bill 1383: On February 11^th, House Bill 1383 passed the House Chamber by a vote of 121 to 0.

House Bill 1383 amends Section 27-39-203 of the Mississippi Code to require that each taxing unit annually mail individual property tax notices to taxpayers comparing the prior year’s ad valorem tax and millage rate with the projected current year tax if the same millage is applied, along with the difference between the two amounts, while maintaining existing public hearing and advertisement requirements.

NOTE: This measure currently resides in Senate Finance Committee.

Legislation Addressing Disaster Recovery

Senate Bill 2924, Senate Bill 2632, House Bill 1645, House Bill 1646

Senate Bill 2924: On February 2^nd, Senate Bill 2924 passed the Senate Chamber by a vote of 52 to 0.

This measure makes an appropriation of $20 million for disaster relief for MEMA to aid in disaster response and recovery.

NOTE: This measure is currently double referred to the House Appropriations A Committee and the House Accountability, Efficiency, and Transparency Committee.

Senate Bill 2632: On February 12^th, Senate Bill 2632 passed the Senate Chamber by a vote of 52 to 0.

This measure brings forward MEMA code sections.

NOTE: There was a floor amendment passed that created a 2026 Local Governments Disaster Recovery Emergency Loan Program Act that will be administered by the Department of Finance and Administration.

Additional Note: This measure is now double referred to the House State Affairs and Appropriation A Committee. 

House Bill 1645: On February 12^th, House Bill 1645 passed the House Chamber by a vote of 121 to 0.

This measure establishes the “State Managed Disaster Assistance Act of 2026.”

NOTE: This measure now resides in Senate Appropriations Committee. 

House Bill 1646: On February 12^th House Bill 1646 passed the House Chamber by a vote of 120 to 0.

This measure is designed to amend MS Code 33-15-307 and 33-15-308. The amending language will increase current transfer limits regarding the disaster trust fund. The increase is from $500k to $2.5 million, and from $1 million to $5 million.

NOTE: This measure now resides in Senate Appropriations Committee. 

Measure Seeking to Improve Ambulance Patient Protection

House Bill 1657

House Bill 1657: This measure seeks to improve on an ambulance patient protection bill that passed two sessions ago. The existing law directs state-regulated health plans to honor ambulance rates established by local jurisdictions and sets payment standards for jurisdictions who have not set rates for their ambulance services by allowing for the GREATER OF billed charges OR 325% of the prevailing Medicare rate. 



HB 1657 would change the language to allow for the LESSER of billed charges or a multiple of Medicare, which the ambulance industry supports, and which would be consistent with several other states. However, the bill would also lower the multiple to 200% of Medicare, which the ambulance industry does not support. The patient would have the same co-payments and deductibles, but health plans would have to pay less for the service. 

Virtually every other state that has passed similar legislation has used a multiple of 325% of Medicare, with a few going as high as 350% or 400%. Mississippi EMS providers are supporting changing the "greater of" language to "lessor of" but are not supportive of lowering the multiple of Medicare to 200%.

NOTE: This measure has passed the House Chamber by a vote of 116 to 2 and currently resides in the Senate Insurance Committee.

OPPOSE!!

Mississippi Video Service Act

House Bill 1664

House Bill 1664: This measure creates a statewide franchise authority. The Secretary of State would serve in a ministerial role. The language within this proposed new measure preempts and strips various powers of county and municipal government, and it prohibits any franchise fee agreement negotiation above 5%.

NOTE: This measure currently resides in the Senate Energy Committee.

MAS asks that this measure be STRONGLY OPPOSED!

Comprehensive Rural Fire Truck Reform Legislation

House Bill 1392

House Bill 1392: On February 6^th, House Bill 1392 passed the House Chamber by a vote of 121 to 1.

House Bill 1392 restructures Mississippi’s fire apparatus standards and local fire-assistance funding by (1) requiring the State Fire Marshal and Mississippi State Rating Bureau to adopt Insurance Services Office (ISO) standards for fire trucks while prohibiting any “age-out” retirement rule based solely on calendar age if the apparatus is properly maintained and passes required safety and performance testing, and (2) consolidating multiple existing rural fire funding streams into a single “FIRE Grant Fund” in the State Treasury to be administered by the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA).

NOTE: This measure currently resides in the Senate Insurance Committee and the Senate Accountability, Efficiency, and Transparency Committee.

Further Note: Consolidating and moving fire funds from the State Department of Insurance to DFA could pose a significant threat to fire funds that both counties and municipalities receive.

MAS asks that this measure be STRONGLY OPPOSED!

The House and Senate will reconvene Monday.

Note: Bill numbers in bold and blue are hyperlinked to the bill.

*Copyright. All rights reserved.

Authors: Steve Gray, MAS Government Affairs Director & Deputy Director, and Derrick Surrette, MAS Executive Director.