Mississippi Indigent Care Support Fund; create and authorize additional distinctive license tag fee to be deposited into.
Summary
House Bill 889 creates a new special fund in the State Treasury called the Mississippi Indigent Burn Care Support Fund. The fund is intended to support the Mississippi Department of Health in carrying out duties related to burn care and to reimburse uncompensated care for Mississippians treated by out-of-state burn centers affiliated with Level I trauma centers in Mississippi’s trauma care system. The bill also authorizes the fund to receive gifts, donations, bequests, appropriations, and other grants from public or private sources.
To finance the new fund, the bill amends the state’s special/distinctive license tag fee statute to add a $2 surcharge to each distinctive or special license tag or plate beginning with registration years on or after July 1, 2025. Those proceeds would be deposited into the new burn care support fund. The bill preserves existing special-tag surcharges already dedicated to other funds and excludes certain categories of tags from the added fee. The act would take effect July 1, 2025.
Impact
HB889 would amend Mississippi Code Section 27-19-44.4 to create a third dedicated surcharge on distinctive or special license plates and direct the revenue to a newly created special fund. It would also establish a nonlapsing treasury fund outside the General Fund, giving the Legislature ongoing authority to appropriate those monies to the Department of Health for burn-care-related responsibilities and uncompensated care reimbursement. The bill would therefore expand the state’s dedicated funding structure for burn treatment and indigent care without changing general tax rates, but by imposing a targeted fee on special license plate holders.
Sentiment
The available record shows no committee transcript, recorded vote, or other debate, so there is no documented floor or committee sentiment to measure. Based on the bill’s structure and caption, the measure appears to be framed as a health-care support initiative funded through a narrow user fee rather than a broad tax increase. The absence of recorded opposition or amendments in the provided materials suggests the bill was presented in a straightforward, policy-driven manner, but no formal support or resistance can be confirmed from the available history.
Contention
The main policy issue inherent in the bill is whether it is appropriate to fund indigent burn care through an added fee on distinctive or special license tags, which affects vehicle owners who choose those plates rather than the general public. Another possible point of contention is the use of a dedicated special fund and the Legislature’s discretion over appropriations, including whether the revenue source will be sufficient and whether out-of-state burn center reimbursements should be supported through this mechanism. No specific objections, supporters, or negotiated changes are documented in the materials provided.