Appropriation; Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, Department of.
HB 15 is the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks appropriation bill for Fiscal Year 2026. It provides operating funds for the department, including the Bureau of Parks and Recreation, the Museum of Natural Science, wildlife and fisheries programs, and law enforcement functions. The bill appropriates $19.6 million in general funds and $75.7 million in special funds, with additional dedicated amounts from gasoline and petroleum excise taxes, the Education Enhancement Fund, the Pearl River Timber Fund, the Capital Expense Fund, and other special sources.
The bill also sets detailed spending conditions and policy directives for how the department may use those funds. It authorizes 514 permanent and 51 time-limited positions, including five new sworn law enforcement headcounts, and includes limits and earmarks for personal services, uniforms, vehicle purchases, cadet training, chronic wasting disease response, youth education, park security, special projects, and capital improvements. It also includes performance targets for licensing, fisheries stocking, wildlife management, park usage, museum programming, and law enforcement activity, and it reauthorizes prior-year capital funds for parks improvements and museum renovations.
HB 15 primarily affects state budget law by appropriating and directing the use of public funds for the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks for FY 2026. It does not create broad new regulatory programs, but it does impose binding spending restrictions, reporting requirements, headcount limits, and earmarks that govern how the agency may operate. The bill also references and works within existing Mississippi Code provisions governing gasoline tax distributions, personnel administration, vehicle use, procurement preferences, and park and wildlife management.
The bill appears to have broad legislative support. It passed the House 93-5 and the Senate 35-6, indicating strong bipartisan approval with only limited opposition. The absence of committee transcript material suggests there was no recorded major controversy in the available discussion, and the vote totals indicate the measure was generally viewed as a routine but important agency funding bill.
The main points of potential contention are the size and allocation of the appropriation, especially the balance between general funds and special funds, and the bill’s many earmarks and restrictions on how money may be spent. Specific items that could draw scrutiny include funding for law enforcement rank and cadet programs, limits on vehicle purchases, the allocation for Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund projects, and directives preventing closure of wildlife management areas or state parks without legislative approval. Some attention may also focus on the bill’s use of dedicated revenues, such as fuel taxes and timber-related funds, for agency operations and capital projects.