AN ACT TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 1, CHAPTER 489, LAWS OF 2025, WHICH SETS FORTH THE AGENCIES THAT ADMINISTER CERTAIN GRANT FUNDS SUBJECT TO A REPORTING REQUIREMENT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION, FOR POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; TO AMEND SECTION 2, CHAPTER 489, LAWS OF 2025, TO ENUMERATE WHICH ENTITIES ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT UNDER THIS SECTION; TO AMEND SECTION 4, CHAPTER 509, LAWS OF 2024, AS AMENDED BY SECTION 3, CHAPTER 489, LAWS OF 2025, TO DIRECT CERTAIN AGENCIES TO NOTIFY THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION IF A SUBGRANTEE HAS NOT MADE A REIMBURSEMENT REQUEST IN TWO CONSECUTIVE REPORTING PERIODS; TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION TO TRANSFER CERTAIN AVAILABLE FUNDS TO THE ARPA-MDOT MAINTENANCE PROJECT FUND; TO DIRECT THE STATE FISCAL OFFICER, ON OR AFTER SEPTEMBER 30, 2026, TO DETERMINE THE AMOUNT OF FUNDS THAT ARE AVAILABLE OR UNEXPENDED UNDER CERTAIN PROGRAMS; TO DIRECT THE TRANSFER OF AVAILABLE OR UNEXPENDED FUNDS TO CERTAIN FUNDS WITHIN THE STATE TREASURY; TO AUTHORIZE THE STATE FISCAL OFFICER TO CLASSIFY AND TRANSFER THE REMAINING BALANCE, IF ANY, OF THE CORONAVIRUS STATE FISCAL RECOVERY FUND TO ASSIGN REMAINING FUNDS TO ELIGIBLE USES AT THE DIRECTION OF THE GOVERNOR IN ORDER TO FULLY EXPEND ALL CORONAVIRUS STATE FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS BY DECEMBER 31, 2026; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION TO REPORT ON CERTAIN TRANSFERS AND REMAINING FUNDS; TO PROVIDE THAT IN CARRYING OUT CERTAIN RESPONSIBILITIES FOR ANY CONTRACT UNDER THE PURVIEW OF THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT REVIEW BOARD, THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION SHALL BE EXEMPT FROM ANY REQUIREMENT THAT THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT REVIEW BOARD APPROVE ANY PERSONAL OR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACTS OR PRE-APPROVE ANY SOLICITATION OF SUCH CONTRACTS; TO CREATE NEW SECTION 65-1-141.4, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CREATE A SPECIAL FUND WITHIN THE STATE TREASURY TO BE DESIGNATED AS THE ARPA-MDOT PROJECT LOST REVENUE FUND; TO CREATE A SPECIAL FUND WITHIN THE STATE TREASURY TO BE DESIGNATED AS THE ARPA-DFA-OFFICE OF INSURANCE LOST REVENUE FUND; TO AMEND SECTION 37-106-64, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT FUNDS IN THE SKILLED NURSING HOME AND HOSPITAL NURSES RETENTION LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM SHALL BE AVAILABLE UNTIL A CERTAIN DATE; TO AMEND SECTION 37-153-63, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT FUNDS PROVIDED BY THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT (ARPA) WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND RETENTION ACT SHALL BE AVAILABLE UNTIL A CERTAIN DATE; TO REQUIRE EACH GRANT RECIPIENT TO CERTIFY THAT IF THE PROJECT IS NOT COMPLETED BY A CERTAIN DATE THAT THE GRANT RECIPIENT WILL COMPLETE THE PROJECT THROUGH OTHER FUNDS; TO AMEND SECTION 37-153-217, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT FUNDS PROVIDED BY THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT (ARPA) NURSE/ALLIED HEALTH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND RETENTION ACT SHALL BE AVAILABLE UNTIL A CERTAIN DATE; TO REQUIRE EACH GRANT RECIPIENT TO CERTIFY THAT IF THE PROJECT IS NOT COMPLETED BY A CERTAIN DATE THAT THE GRANT RECIPIENT WILL COMPLETE THE PROJECT THROUGH OTHER FUNDS; TO AMEND SECTION 37-185-21, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT FUNDS IN THE INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT PROGRAM SHALL BE AVAILABLE UNTIL A CERTAIN DATE; TO REQUIRE EACH GRANT RECIPIENT TO CERTIFY THAT IF THE PROJECT IS NOT COMPLETED BY A CERTAIN DATE THAT THE GRANT RECIPIENT WILL COMPLETE THE PROJECT THROUGH OTHER FUNDS; TO EXTEND THE DATE OF REPEAL ON THIS SECTION; TO AMEND SECTION 37-185-31, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT FUNDS IN THE MISSISSIPPI ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT PROGRAM SHALL BE AVAILABLE UNTIL A CERTAIN DATE; TO REQUIRE EACH GRANT RECIPIENT TO CERTIFY THAT IF THE PROJECT IS NOT COMPLETED BY A CERTAIN DATE THAT THE GRANT RECIPIENT WILL COMPLETE THE PROJECT THROUGH OTHER FUNDS; TO EXTEND THE DATE OF REPEAL ON THIS SECTION; TO AMEND SECTION 41-3-16.1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT FUNDS IN THE ARPA RURAL WATER ASSOCIATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT PROGRAM SHALL BE AVAILABLE UNTIL A CERTAIN DATE; TO REQUIRE EACH GRANT RECIPIENT TO CERTIFY THAT IF THE PROJECT IS NOT COMPLETED BY A CERTAIN DATE THAT THE GRANT RECIPIENT WILL COMPLETE THE PROJECT THROUGH OTHER FUNDS; TO EXTEND THE DATE OF REPEAL ON A SUBSECTION WITHIN THIS SECTION; TO AMEND SECTION 41-9-371, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT FUNDS IN THE MISSISSIPPI HOSPITAL SUSTAINABILITY GRANT PROGRAM SHALL BE AVAILABLE UNTIL A CERTAIN DATE; TO AMEND SECTION 41-139-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT FUNDS IN THE COVID-19 MISSISSIPPI LOCAL PROVIDER INNOVATION GRANT PROGRAM SHALL BE AVAILABLE UNTIL A CERTAIN DATE; TO AMEND SECTION 41-14-31, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT FUNDS IN THE COVID-19 HOSPITAL EXPANDED CAPACITY PROGRAM SHALL BE AVAILABLE UNTIL A CERTAIN DATE; TO EXTEND THE DATE OF REPEAL ON THIS SECTION; TO AMEND SECTION 49-2-131, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT FUNDS IN THE MISSISSIPPI MUNICIPALITY AND COUNTY WATER INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT PROGRAM SHALL BE AVAILABLE UNTIL A CERTAIN DATE; TO REQUIRE EACH GRANT RECIPIENT TO CERTIFY THAT IF THE PROJECT IS NOT COMPLETED BY A CERTAIN DATE THAT THE GRANT RECIPIENT WILL COMPLETE THE PROJECT THROUGH OTHER FUNDS; TO EXTEND THE DATE OF REPEAL ON A SUBSECTION WITHIN THIS SECTION; TO AMEND SECTIONS 57-123-7 AND 57-123-53, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN FUNDS PROVIDED TO DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANIZATIONS SHALL BE AVAILABLE UNTIL A CERTAIN DATE; TO REQUIRE EACH GRANT RECIPIENT TO CERTIFY THAT IF THE PROJECT IS NOT COMPLETED BY A CERTAIN DATE THAT THE GRANT RECIPIENT WILL COMPLETE THE PROJECT THROUGH OTHER FUNDS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
SB 2895 is an ARPA cleanup and reallocation bill that updates Mississippi’s existing federal-relief grant programs and related reporting rules. It brings forward and amends prior law to require agencies administering specified grant programs to report expended, remaining, and unrequested reimbursement amounts to the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), and it expands the list of entities subject to those reporting requirements. The bill also adds notice requirements when subgrantees miss two consecutive monthly reports or reimbursement requests, and it authorizes DFA and the State Treasurer to treat those funds as available and transfer them to the ARPA-MDOT Maintenance Project Fund.
The bill further directs the State Fiscal Officer, beginning on or after September 30, 2026, to identify available or unexpended Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund balances and move them through a series of transfers into the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund, the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Lost Revenue Fund, the ARPA-MDOT Project Lost Revenue Fund, and the ARPA-DFA-Office of Insurance Lost Revenue Fund. It also allows the remaining balance, if any, to be classified and assigned to eligible uses at the Governor’s direction so Mississippi can fully expend all Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Funds by December 31, 2026. In addition, DFA must report on these transfers and remaining balances, and for certain contracts under the Public Procurement Review Board’s purview, DFA is exempt from PPRB approval and pre-approval requirements for personal or professional services contracts tied to these responsibilities.
The bill also extends the availability dates for several existing ARPA-funded grant programs and adds a certification requirement that recipients complete projects with other funds if they are not finished by the federal deadline. Those programs include workforce and nursing retention grants, independent school and MAICU infrastructure grants, rural water infrastructure grants, hospital sustainability and expanded capacity grants, local provider innovation grants, MCWI water infrastructure grants, and tourism/destination marketing grants. It also extends or revises repeal dates for several sections and creates two new special funds in the State Treasury for lost-revenue uses tied to MDOT and the Department of Finance and Administration’s insurance-related expenses.
The overall sentiment reflected in the voting history is strongly supportive and largely noncontroversial: the Senate passed the bill 52-0, and the House passed it 114-1 as amended. That suggests broad bipartisan agreement on the need to tighten reporting, preserve federal compliance, and ensure remaining ARPA dollars are obligated and spent before the federal deadline. The bill’s structure also indicates a practical focus on moving unspent funds into transportation, insurance, and other eligible uses rather than leaving balances idle.
The main points of contention, to the extent they appear in the text, are administrative and procedural rather than policy-driven. The bill centralizes more authority in DFA and the State Fiscal Officer, including the power to transfer funds when reporting or reimbursement requirements are missed and the exemption from PPRB approval for certain contracts. It also affects a wide range of recipients—schools, colleges, hospitals, water systems, tourism organizations, and workforce programs—by imposing stricter reporting, deadline, and certification requirements, but the recorded votes suggest little public opposition to those changes.
SB 2895 amends multiple sections of Mississippi law governing ARPA-funded programs, special treasury funds, reporting obligations, and repeal dates. It creates two new special funds, the ARPA-MDOT Project Lost Revenue Fund and the ARPA-DFA-Office of Insurance Lost Revenue Fund, and directs a series of transfers of unexpended federal relief balances into those funds and related state accounts. It also extends the availability of grant funds for numerous existing programs through September 30, 2026, and in several cases extends repeal dates to 2027. Affected parties include state agencies, subgrantees, hospitals, schools, colleges, rural water associations, tourism organizations, and local governments receiving ARPA-related grants.
The bill appears to have been received favorably and with very little opposition. It passed the Senate unanimously and the House by an overwhelming margin, indicating broad agreement on the need to manage remaining ARPA funds, tighten reporting, and ensure compliance with federal deadlines. The lack of recorded committee testimony also suggests the measure was treated as a technical and fiscal administration bill rather than a controversial policy proposal.
The most notable points of contention are structural rather than ideological. The bill concentrates significant discretion in the Department of Finance and Administration and the State Fiscal Officer to determine when funds are considered available, to transfer those funds, and to assign remaining balances to eligible uses at the Governor’s direction. It also exempts DFA from Public Procurement Review Board approval requirements for certain contracts, which could raise oversight concerns. For grant recipients, the bill imposes stricter reporting and certification obligations and requires them to finish projects with other funds if ARPA deadlines are missed, but the strong vote totals suggest these provisions were not heavily disputed.