SB 3089 Mississippi Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Appropriation; Emergency Management Agency.

SB 3089 appropriates $5.8 million from the State General Fund and $28.7 million from a special fund to support the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) for fiscal year 2027, including establishing a Disaster Relief Reserve Fund. The bill requires $19.1 million of these funds to be used exclusively for personnel costs - salaries, wages, and fringe benefits - for up to 183 authorized positions (122 permanent and 61 time-limited), with strict rules to prevent overspending. It prohibits using general funds to replace federal or special funds for salaries and mandates that "Vacancy Funding" must fill vacant positions, not provide raises for current employees. MEMA directly benefits as the recipient of these funds to carry out disaster response and relief programs.

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Apr 2026

Introduced Feb 23, 2026 Signed Apr 8, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

As Passed the upper → Current version · 7 edits

MODERATE

The bill was updated from its Senate passage version to the version sent to the Governor, primarily involving significant increases in funding amounts and the addition of two new sections. The total appropriation rose from approximately $28.7 million to over $30.7 million, with specific increases in the NG911 program budget and the creation of a new $125 million fund for local government disaster recovery loans. Additionally, the bill was amended to correct a date regarding vacancy funding adjustments and to standardize formatting for legal citations.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded by adding two new sections: Section 21, which appropriates $125 million for a new disaster recovery loan fund, and Section 22, which establishes the expenditure process for the newly added funds.

FISCAL

The total appropriation amount increased from $28,691,171.00 to $30,698,171.00, reflecting higher budget allocations for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

A new Section 21 was added, appropriating $125,000,000.00 to the 2026 Local Governments Disaster Recovery Emergency Loan Fund to support administrative expenses, grants, and loans.

The NG911 program funding was increased from $743,000.00 to $2,750,000.00, and a restriction was added prohibiting the use of these funds to purchase vehicles.

The NG911 CMRS Grant Fund allocation source was updated to reference Senate Bill 2835 from the 2025 Regular Session instead of a generic code section.

REQUIREMENT

A new Section 22 was added to define the legal process for spending the funds in the new Section 21, requiring warrants issued by the State Fiscal Officer.

TECHNICAL

The deadline for adjusting vacancy funding was changed from February 1, 2026, to March 1, 2026, likely to align with the start of the fiscal year.

The effective date for the new Section 21 was set to the date of passage, while the rest of the act remains effective July 1, 2026.

As Introduced → As Passed the upper · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was updated from its original introduction to its final passage by the Senate, resulting in significant structural and content changes. The text was reorganized to clearly separate the appropriation of funds for the Emergency Management Agency's internal operations from the funds designated for disaster relief programs. Additionally, new sections were added to define specific performance targets for the agency and establish authority for transferring funds between budget categories.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include a detailed list of specific disasters (such as Hurricane Katrina and various severe weather events) that the relief funds are intended to address. It also added new requirements for the agency to report performance metrics and submit budget requests in a specific format.

FISCAL

The bill now explicitly separates the total appropriation into two distinct categories: $19,068,081 for the agency's internal 'Personal Services' (salaries and benefits) and $585,056 for administrative expenses related to disaster assistance programs.

A new section appropriates $367,684,867 from various special funds to cover the state and federal share of costs for disaster assistance programs, including public assistance and mitigation efforts.

REQUIREMENT

The bill now includes a comprehensive list of specific disasters (e.g., Hurricane Katrina, 2021 Winter Storm, 2025 Severe Weather) that the relief funds are intended to address.

New sections require the agency to maintain specific performance targets, such as training 1,000 attendees, creating 115 community plans, and achieving 100% population notification during emergencies.

The agency is granted new authority to transfer up to $500,000 between different budget categories to improve cash flow management, subject to written justification.

TECHNICAL

The formatting of the bill was significantly altered to replace a multi-page, line-numbered layout with a cleaner, single-document structure that groups related funding and operational details together.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 19, 2026 · House Mar 12, 2026

How they voted

50–0

Passed · 2 other

Total votes 52

Feb 19, 2026

D Democratic18

17 Yea 1

94% Yea

R Republican34

33 Yea 1

97% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 8, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by Governor

executive

Mar 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference Report Adopted

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Report Filed

lower

Mar 29, 2026

Committee

Recommitted For Further Conf

lower

Mar 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Report Filed

lower

Mar 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed As Amended

lower

Mar 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Amended

lower

Mar 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass As Amended

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Committee

Referred To Appropriations C;Appropriations A

lower

Feb 23, 2026

Introduced

Transmitted To House

upper

Feb 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass

upper

Feb 17, 2026

Committee

Referred To Appropriations

upper

1 primary · 6 co-sponsors