Mississippi Senate Bill SB2038

Mississippi 2025 1st Special Session

• Introduced: 5/28/25
• Refer: 5/28/25
• Engrossed: 5/28/25
• Enrolled: 6/2/25
• Passed: 6/4/25

Caption

Appropriation; Tax Appeals Board.

Summary

SB 2038 is an appropriations bill that provides funding for the Mississippi Board of Tax Appeals for Fiscal Year 2026. It appropriates $666,936 from the State General Fund for the agency’s operations for the period beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2026. The bill is primarily a budget measure rather than a policy change, and it sets out how the agency’s funds may be used, including a detailed personal services budget and an authorized headcount of six permanent positions. The bill directs that $586,081 of the appropriation be used for personal services, including salaries, wages, fringe benefits, and vacancy funding. It also includes standard appropriations language governing salary administration, vacancy usage, headcount changes, transfers, escalations, recordkeeping, procurement preferences, and compliance with state fiscal controls. The act takes effect on July 1, 2025, and applies to the Board of Tax Appeals’ operations during FY 2026.

Impact

SB 2038 does not amend substantive tax law or change the Board of Tax Appeals’ jurisdiction; instead, it authorizes spending authority for the agency and imposes budgetary conditions on how those funds may be used. It reinforces existing state fiscal and personnel rules, including compliance with the Mississippi State Personnel Board’s Variable Compensation Plan, limits on salary actions and escalations, restrictions on replacing lost federal or special funds with general funds, and requirements for accounting and personnel recordkeeping. The bill also preserves the statutory preference for Mississippi Industries for the Blind in certain procurement situations and requires expenditures to comply with general state appropriation law.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been noncontroversial and broadly supported. It passed the Senate on May 28, 2025, by a vote of 37-9 and passed the House the same day by a vote of 92-0. There were no committee transcripts provided indicating significant debate, amendment disputes, or public opposition, suggesting the measure was treated as a routine agency funding bill.

Contention

No specific policy contention is reflected in the available materials. The only potentially sensitive issues are the usual appropriations constraints: how much of the budget is reserved for personal services, how vacancy funding may be used, and the limits on salary escalations or headcount changes without approval from the Department of Finance and Administration and the State Personnel Board. These provisions are standard fiscal controls and do not appear to have generated notable disagreement in the recorded votes.