AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION OF SPECIAL FUNDS FOR THE SUPPORT OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF BANKING AND CONSUMER FINANCE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2027.
SB 3078 is the annual appropriations bill for the Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance for Fiscal Year 2027. It appropriates $12,845,602 in special funds for the department’s operations for the period beginning July 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2027. Of that amount, $9,001,454 is designated for personal services, including salaries, wages, fringe benefits, and vacancy funding, supporting 86 permanent positions and no time-limited positions.
The bill also includes detailed spending controls and administrative conditions. It requires compliance with the state’s Variable Compensation Plan, limits transfers out of the personal services category, restricts salary actions that would exceed the appropriated amount, and directs the agency to maintain detailed accounting and personnel records. It further provides that $600,000 from the DBCF Civil Money Penalty Fund be used for IT-related services, training, and support, and it preserves procurement preferences for the Mississippi Industries for the Blind when bids are equal or purchases are made without competitive bidding.
This bill does not create new regulatory authority or change the substantive banking laws; instead, it funds the Department of Banking and Consumer Finance and sets the legal spending framework for the agency’s operations in FY 2027. It affects the department’s staffing, payroll management, use of special funds, and internal budget controls, while also directing how certain funds may be spent and how records must be kept. The bill’s provisions are binding on the agency, the State Personnel Board, and the Department of Finance and Administration in administering the appropriation.
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan or at least noncontroversial support. It passed the Senate unanimously, passed the House overwhelmingly with no recorded opposition, and then the Senate concurred in the House amendment unanimously. The voting history suggests general agreement on funding the department and on the bill’s fiscal controls, with no visible floor-level resistance in the available record.
No committee testimony or debate transcripts are available, and the recorded votes show no opposition, so there is no clear evidence of substantive contention. The only potentially sensitive issues are the bill’s detailed restrictions on personnel actions, vacancy funding, and escalation of salaries or headcount, which constrain agency flexibility, but these provisions are standard in appropriations measures and do not appear to have generated dispute in the available history.