HB 1501 Mississippi House · 2025 Regular Session

Economic development project; revise certain definition of and allow counties and municipalities to enter into agreement with qualified business enterprises.

HB 1501 allows Mississippi counties and municipalities to partner with qualifying businesses on economic development projects using revenue generated *directly from those projects*. It revises the definition of "economic development project" to include initiatives covered under the Mississippi Flexible Tax Incentive Act and permits local governments to reimburse businesses for qualified project costs (like site preparation, construction, or infrastructure) using only funds from the project itself - such as taxes or fees collected from the development. The bill caps total reimbursements at $10 million per project and requires agreements to include project deadlines and benchmarks to protect public interests. This bill passed the House in February 2025 but died in the Senate committee calendar later that month.
Tags: Economic Development
Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Feb 2025
House Passage
Feb 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 13, 2025 Last action Mar 12, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

As Introduced Current version · 6 edits
MODERATE
This bill expands Mississippi's economic development funding options by allowing local governments to fund or reimburse qualified business projects using only project-generated revenues. The changes clarify definitions, extend agreement terms to 20 years, and add a $10 million cumulative funding cap per project.
Scope change
The bill now explicitly includes 'qualified projects' from the Mississippi Flexible Tax Incentive Act alongside traditional economic development projects, broadening eligibility for funding.
SCOPE

Expanded definition of economic development projects to include qualified projects under the Mississippi Flexible Tax Incentive Act, allowing more businesses to access local funding.

REQUIREMENT

Changed maximum agreement period from 10 years to 20 years for local government funding agreements with businesses.

Added requirement that cooperative agreements between multiple local governments must be evidenced by written contractual agreement.

FISCAL

Added $10 million cumulative cap on costs that can be paid or reimbursed to a single qualified business enterprise under any agreement.

DEFINITION

Added new definition for 'Project revenues' to include all monies and income derived from a project or related facilities.

Clarified 'Project' definition to include development, redevelopment, construction, and conservation of real property improvements for commercial, industrial, entertainment, recreational, or public use purposes.

Floor votes · House Feb 12, 2025

How they voted

1130
Passed · 6 other
Total votes 119
Feb 12, 2025
D Democratic39
38 Yea 1
97% Yea
I Independent2
2 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican78
73 Yea 5
93% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
7
Key actions
3
Committee
4
Feb 27, 2025
Upper · Passed
Title Suff Do Pass As Amended
upper
Feb 17, 2025
Committee
Referred To Economic and Workforce Development
upper
Feb 13, 2025
Introduced
Transmitted To Senate
lower
Feb 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
Feb 4, 2025
Lower · Passed
Title Suff Do Pass
lower
Jan 20, 2025
Committee
Referred To Ways and Means
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Jody Steverson
Jody Steverson
RRepublican
MS
4