SB 3102 Mississippi Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Appropriation; Tourism, Department of.

SB 3102 appropriates $28.9 million total (including $6.05 million from the General Fund and $22.86 million from special funds) for Mississippi's Department of Tourism operations during fiscal year 2027 (July 2026-June 2027). It specifically allocates $3.1 million for personnel costs (salaries, wages, and fringe benefits) to cover up to 59 authorized positions (56 permanent and 3 time-limited), strictly limiting how these funds can be used. The bill requires the department to maintain detailed financial records matching its FY2026 standards and prohibits exceeding the allocated personnel budget without new legislative approval. This is a funding measure, not a policy change, directly affecting the department’s budget and staffing operations.

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 24, 2026 Last action Mar 17, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Committee Substitute → Current version · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was updated from a Committee Substitute version to the version passed by the Senate, with several formatting and punctuation corrections. The substantive content regarding funding amounts, appropriations, and departmental responsibilities remains unchanged. The only notable substantive change is in Section 13, which now includes a repeal date of June 30, 2026, alongside the effective date of July 1, 2026.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; only formatting, punctuation, and one timeline clarification were modified.

TIMELINE

Section 13 now includes a repeal date of June 30, 2026, in addition to the effective date of July 1, 2026, clarifying when the act stands repealed.

TECHNICAL

Multiple sections were updated to replace em-dashes and special characters with standard punctuation and quotation marks for consistency and readability.

The bill title and version designation were updated from 'Committee Substitute' to 'As Passed the Senate' to reflect its legislative status.

As Introduced → Committee Substitute · 12 edits

MAJOR

The bill was amended from a zero-dollar placeholder appropriation to a fully funded budget for the Mississippi Department of Tourism for Fiscal Year 2027. The Committee Substitute adds specific dollar amounts for General and Special Funds, authorizes 59 total employees (56 permanent and 3 time-limited), and establishes new funding sources including transfers from the Mississippi Development Authority and the Mississippi Department of Transportation. Several new sections were added to detail fund allocations for specific programs like tourism advertising, heritage areas, and welcome centers.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a placeholder document to a fully operational budget authorization with specific funding sources and program allocations.

FISCAL

Section 1 funding changed from $0.00 to $6,046,716.00 in General Funds, and Section 2 funding changed from $0.00 to $22,859,897.00 in Special Funds.

New Sections 7-10 establish specific funding sources including $6M from Mississippi Development Authority, $3.3M from other sources, $800K from Mississippi Department of Transportation for welcome centers, and $4.9M for tourism advertising and promotion.

Section 11 allocates specific amounts to heritage areas ($100K each for Delta and Hills), Mississippi River Parkway Commission ($20K), and Mississippi Book Festival ($50K).

REQUIREMENT

Section 3 was modified to specify authorized headcount of 56 permanent and 3 time-limited employees, replacing the previous zero headcount authorization.

Section 4 was added to require the Department of Tourism to maintain accounting records in the same format as Fiscal Year 2026 and submit FY 2028 budget requests to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

Section 5 was added to require preference for Mississippi Industries for the Blind when purchasing commodities or equipment.

Section 6 was added to require compliance with Mississippi Code Section 27-104-25 regarding state agency indebtedness and officer responsibility.

ADDED

Section 7 was added to provide $6,046,716.00 from a transfer from the Mississippi Development Authority.

Section 8 was added to provide $3.28M in Federal and Other Special Funds from the Mississippi Development Authority.

Section 9 was added to provide $800,000 from the Mississippi Department of Transportation for welcome center operations.

Section 10 was added to provide $4,876,298 for tourism advertising and promotion, with $299,000 specifically for Tourism Grant Development Awards.

TECHNICAL

Formatting changes removed page headers and footers from the original document structure.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 19, 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

Feb 25, 2026

Committee

Referred To Appropriations A

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Introduced

Transmitted To House

upper

Feb 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed As Amended

upper

Feb 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

Amended

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass Comm Sub

upper

Feb 17, 2026

Committee

Referred To Appropriations

upper

1 primary · 6 co-sponsors