AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 27-104-205, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REMOVE THE REQUIREMENT THAT THE MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION BE FUNDED BY APPROPRIATIONS FROM THE STATE GENERAL FUND; TO AMEND SECTIONS 77-1-6, 77-1-15, 77-1-29, 77-1-53, 77-3-8, 77-3-87, 77-3-89, 77-3-503, 77-3-507, 77-3-509 AND 77-11-201, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DELETE THE PROVISIONS OF LAW REQUIRING CERTAIN EXPENSES OF THE MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION TO BE DEFRAYED BY APPROPRIATION FROM THE STATE GENERAL FUND; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
House Bill 712 removes the Mississippi Public Service Commission (PSC) from the state budget framework that requires certain agencies to be funded through State General Fund appropriations. The bill amends multiple sections of the Mississippi Code to delete language tying PSC operations, staff, and related regulatory programs to general-fund appropriations and to redirect fees, assessments, taxes, and other revenues associated with PSC functions into the State General Fund as authorized by law. It also removes or revises references to special funds used for PSC operations, including the PSC Regulation Fund and related utility-regulation funding provisions.
The bill reaches beyond the PSC’s core administrative funding and touches several PSC-related programs and statutes, including utility regulation, enforcement penalties, staff compensation, telecommunications relay services for hearing- and speech-impaired users, and municipal gas utility oversight. In each affected section, the bill generally replaces special-fund financing language with general-fund financing language and adds a prohibition on state agencies charging one another fees for services or resources under those provisions. The measure is effective upon passage.
HB712 would substantially alter the funding structure for the Public Service Commission and related regulatory functions by removing the statutory requirement that PSC expenses be paid from the State General Fund under the existing budget transparency framework and by revising multiple code sections that currently direct PSC revenues into special funds. It would amend statutes in Titles 27, 77, and 77-11 to shift fee, assessment, and tax receipts associated with PSC operations into the State General Fund, while preserving the underlying regulatory authority, penalty provisions, and utility tax mechanisms. The bill therefore changes how PSC-related money is collected, deposited, and appropriated, but does not eliminate the PSC’s regulatory powers or the utility and telecommunications obligations it administers.
The available voting history shows strong support in the House, with the bill passing 118-0 on February 5, 2026. No committee transcript is provided, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate to indicate organized opposition in the available materials. The unanimous vote suggests broad agreement, at least in the House, with the bill’s approach to revising PSC funding and related fiscal provisions.
The main policy issue in HB712 is fiscal structure rather than regulatory authority: whether PSC operations should continue to be financed through the existing special-fund and fee-based framework or be moved into the general-fund appropriation system. Potential points of contention include the treatment of utility taxes and fees, the transfer of revenues into the State General Fund, and the bill’s effect on dedicated funding streams for telecommunications relay services and other PSC-administered programs. Because the bill also adds language preventing state agencies from charging one another for services or resources under these sections, another possible concern is whether that restriction could affect interagency cost recovery or administrative flexibility. No specific opposing viewpoint is documented in the provided record.