SB 2028 Mississippi Senate · 2025 First Extraordinary Session

Appropriation; Agriculture and Commerce, Department of.

SB 2028 appropriates $9.59 million from general funds and $19.95 million from special sources (including fees and museum admissions) to cover the fiscal year 2026 operating expenses of Mississippi's Department of Agriculture and Commerce. The bill specifically allocates $15.21 million for "Personal Services" (salaries, wages, and benefits) for 235 authorized positions (222 permanent, 13 time-limited), with strict rules preventing fund diversion for non-salary purposes or exceeding budgeted amounts. It also authorizes three new positions (two inspectors and a Trade Mart assistant manager) and includes $1.1 million for the Beaver Control Program. The bill mandates compliance with state personnel rules and IRS reporting requirements for contractor payments.

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

May 2025

Committee Review

May 2025

Senate Passage

May 2025

House Passage

May 2025

Signed into Law

Jun 2025

Introduced May 28, 2025 Signed Jun 17, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

As Passed the upper → Current version · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill was amended to transition from 'As Passed the Senate' to 'As Sent to Governor,' indicating it has passed both legislative chambers and is now awaiting the Governor's signature. The changes are primarily formatting corrections, such as fixing inconsistent quotation marks, removing unnecessary line breaks in financial figures, and standardizing text formatting throughout the document.

TECHNICAL

Fixed formatting inconsistencies including inconsistent quotation marks around terms like 'Personal Services' and 'Vacancy Funding', removed unnecessary line breaks in dollar amounts, and corrected spacing in section headers.

Changed the bill title from 'As Passed the Senate' to 'As Sent to Governor' to reflect its current legislative status after passing both chambers.

Corrected minor spacing and formatting issues in financial tables and section descriptions without altering any monetary amounts or policy provisions.

As Introduced → As Passed the upper · 19 edits

MAJOR

This bill was amended to clarify funding sources, add new specific appropriations for programs like the Beaver Control Program and Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Pilot, and establish detailed performance measures for the Department of Agriculture and Commerce. The changes also added new sections regarding capital improvements, grant acceptance, and reporting requirements to improve fiscal oversight and program effectiveness.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include specific appropriations for previously unfunded or underfunded programs and added detailed performance metrics for agency operations.

FISCAL

Added Section 4 appropriating $1,100,000 for the Beaver Control Program, with $650,000 from Mississippi Department of Transportation fees and $200,000 from State Forestry Commission.

Added Section 5 appropriating $600,000 from the Fruit and Vegetable Revolving Fund for department expenses.

Added Section 6 providing $74,805 for the Mississippi Egg Marketing Board.

Added Section 10 appropriating up to $30,000 for the Mississippi Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Pilot Program for senior citizens.

Added Section 11 providing $400,000 in matching funds for the Mississippi Healthy Food and Families Program.

Added Section 14 appropriating $1,100,000 from grain warehouse and grain dealer bond proceeds for claimant payments.

Added Section 15 providing $750,000 for Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum operational expenditures and improvements.

Added Section 18 providing $250,000 for Regulatory program operational expenditures.

Added Section 19 providing $675,000 from the Capital Expense Fund for Kirk Fordice Equine Center infrastructure repairs.

Added Section 20 providing $50,000 from the Capital Expense Fund for Mississippi State Fairgrounds lighting and repairs.

Added Section 21 providing $685,350 for State Fairgrounds repairs and renovation with reporting requirements.

Modified total appropriation structure to separate General Funds ($8,145,574) from Special Funds ($7,068,062) totaling $15,213,636 for Personal Services.

REQUIREMENT

Added Section 7 establishing detailed performance measures for the department including inspection targets, attendance goals, and revenue generation metrics.

Added Section 9 requiring establishment of budgeted enterprise funds for for-profit museum activities following accounting principles.

Added Section 16 authorizing the department to accept grants and donations up to $1,000,000 for operational costs with notification requirements for escalations.

Added Section 17 requiring peanut inspections to coincide with statewide annual peanut harvest.

Added Section 12 establishing preference for Mississippi Industries for the Blind in purchasing commodities or equipment.

DEFINITION

Added Section 3 clarifying definitions for Personal Services, Vacancy Funding, and authorized headcount limits with State Personnel Board oversight.

TECHNICAL

Removed original page numbering and formatting artifacts from the 'As Introduced' version.

Floor votes · Senate May 28, 2025 · House May 28, 2025

How they voted

40–10

Passed · 9 other

Total votes 59

May 28, 2025

D Democratic20

7 Yea 10 Nay 3

50% Nay

R Republican39

33 Yea 6

84% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jun 17, 2025

Signed into law

Approved by Governor

executive

May 28, 2025

Committee

Referred To Appropriations A

lower

May 28, 2025

Introduced

Transmitted To House

upper

May 28, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed

upper

May 28, 2025

Upper · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass

upper

May 28, 2025

Committee

Referred To Appropriations

upper

1 primary · 4 co-sponsors