SB 2298 Mississippi Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Construction bids; amend prequalified construction provisions.

SB 2298 amends Mississippi's construction procurement rules for projects over $75,000. It requires state agencies and local governments to use reverse auctions as the primary method for receiving bids on public construction contracts (including buildings, roads, and bridges), unless approved otherwise by the Public Procurement Review Board with a detailed justification. The bill also mandates that construction bids over $5,000 be broken down by component with detailed pricing, and specifies that bids may be submitted electronically without signatures unless required. This affects state agencies, municipalities, and school districts purchasing construction services above the $75,000 threshold. The law does not apply to public schools (including charter schools) when purchasing copyrighted materials or to individual state universities.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Feb 2025

House Passage

Mar 2025

Signed into Law

Mar 2025

Introduced Feb 10, 2025 Signed Mar 21, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

As Passed the upper → Current version · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill title was updated to reflect its current status as sent to the Governor for final approval, replacing the previous designation that it had passed the Senate. This change indicates the legislative process has moved to the final stage where the Governor will review and sign or veto the bill.

TECHNICAL

Updated bill status from 'As Passed the Senate' to 'As Sent to Governor' in the title and header, reflecting the bill's progression through the legislative process.

As Introduced → As Passed the upper · 9 edits

MAJOR

This bill significantly updates Mississippi's public procurement laws by introducing reverse auctions as the primary bidding method for purchases over $75,000, adding new prequalification procedures for large construction projects, and expanding emergency purchase exceptions. The changes aim to modernize purchasing processes while maintaining oversight through the Public Procurement Review Board and Department of Finance and Administration.

Scope change

The bill expands applicability to include reverse auctions for most state and local purchases over $75,000, adds specific prequalification requirements for construction projects over $10 million or involving Mississippi Landmarks, and creates new exceptions for various specialized purchases including prison industry products, medical cannabis, and disaster cleanup services.

REQUIREMENT

Reverse auctions are now required as the primary method for receiving bids on purchases over $75,000, with exceptions requiring Public Procurement Review Board approval for alternative methods.

New prequalification procedures for construction projects over $10 million or involving Mississippi Landmarks require bidder evaluation based on historical restoration experience and financial stability.

Enhanced transparency requirements mandate posting contract awards and executed contracts on the Department of Finance and Administration website within one working day.

Agencies using federal funds must now comply with federal procurement standards (2 CFR 200.317-200.327) for post-award requirements.

Minority business set-aside authority expanded to allow agencies to set aside up to 20% of annual expenditures for minority-owned businesses.

Construction punch list restrictions limit preliminary and final punch lists to one each, preventing contractors from submitting multiple change requests after substantial completion.

THRESHOLDS

Construction bid opening timelines extended to 15 working days for projects over $75,000, and bid specification amendment restrictions tightened to prevent last-minute changes.

EXEMPTIONS

New exemptions added for prison industry products, medical cannabis purchases, disaster cleanup services, and various specialized government contracts.

TIMELINE

New effective date set for July 1, 2025, with some provisions (medical cannabis purchases) scheduled to expire on June 30, 2026.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 7, 2025 · House Mar 12, 2025

How they voted

50–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 51

Feb 7, 2025

D Democratic16

16 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican35

34 Yea 1

97% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 21, 2025

Signed into law

Approved by Governor

executive

Mar 12, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed

lower

Mar 4, 2025

Lower · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass

lower

Feb 13, 2025

Committee

Referred To Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency

lower

Feb 10, 2025

Introduced

Transmitted To House

upper

Feb 7, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed

upper

Jan 29, 2025

Upper · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass

upper

Jan 20, 2025

Committee

Referred To Public Property

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors