Transcript Highlights:

• Members, House Bill 4138 is the General Appropriations Act, also known as the feed bill.
• The bill makes various fiscal year 2027 general fund and other fund appropriations for the operations
• The bill makes various fiscal year 2027 general fund and other fund appropriations for the operations
• In total, the budget package appropriates approximately $17,960 million from the general fund in fiscal
• and appropriations that are specified in the General Appropriations Act.

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:05:04.639> um Aid Behavioral Health generally um Aid Behavioral Health generally um central
• fund appropriations.
• dollars in base general fund Appropriations<00:06:48.720> now<00:06:48.960> I<00:06:49.080
• the 23 and 24 legislature appropriated the 23 and 24 legislature appropriated that<00:14:05.240>
• <00:20:24.600> you since it's a direct appropriation you since it's a direct appropriation

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• In years past, that shortfall in the general fund has been covered through this program, Special Appropriations
• And 2028 appropriations.
• DA or Attorney General items.
• in special appropriations.
• It's entirely General Fund funded.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• for the general fund.
• It was from the general fund.
• And for now it says from the general fund there is appropriated an unknown amount for the purposes of
• Generally, these funds were appropriated for the biennium, but all of the funds were available that first
• generally kind of go up. over time, they generally kind of go up.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• You grab a generator.
• You grab a generator.
• This transfer appropriation is a reimbursement for services generated by general revenue-supported agencies
• It includes general revenue reductions of $5,005 in expense and equipment appropriations.
• appropriations.

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Members before you is Senate Bill 2500E, the general appropriations bill.
• House Bill 5003E, a bill to be entitled an act implementing the 2026-27 General Appropriations Act.
• House Bill 5003E, a bill to be entitled an act implementing the 2026-27 General Appropriations Act.
• House Bill 5003E, a bill to be entitled an act implementing the 2026-27 General Appropriations Act.
• House Bill 5003E, a bill to be entitled an act implementing the 2026-27 General Appropriations Act.

Summary: The Senate convened in special session, opened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and observed a moment of silence for Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Mateer. The Secretary then read the special session proclamation, which limited the session to budget-related matters including the General Appropriations Act, implementing bill, collective bargaining/state employee issues, retirement, law enforcement radio system funding, health, higher education, K-12 education, government administration, corrections, judges, documentary stamp tax distributions, petroleum cleanup, fuel taxes, and taxation. Chair Hooper outlined the process for handling Senate and House budget bills and conference posture. The Senate took up and passed several Senate bills, including SB 2506E on fuel taxes, SB 2508E on the state agency law enforcement radio system, SB 2512E on judges, and SB 2514E on K-12 education, each by 32-0. The chamber then received House bills and, for each, adopted delete-all amendments to place the Senate language onto the House vehicle or delete everything to prepare for conference. Bills addressed included HB 7031E (taxation), HB 5701E (petroleum cleanup programs), HB 5203E (government administration), HB 5207E (Department of Management Services), HB 5403E (correctional facilities financing and capital improvements), HB 5501E (documentary stamp tax distributions), HB 5001E (the General Appropriations Act), HB 5003E (implementing bill), HB 5201E (collective bargaining), HB 5205E (retirement), HB 5601E (higher education), and HB 5301E (health care). Most passed 32-0, with HB 5403E passing 31-0. During debate on HB 7031E, Leader Berman urged consideration of suspending the motor fuel tax to provide immediate relief at the pump, citing high gas prices. The Senate ultimately passed the House bill as amended and then acceded to the House request for conference on the taxation package and the other House bills. The Senate also substituted HB 5001E for SB 2500E and HB 5003E for SB 2502E, and similarly substituted House bills for the related Senate conforming bills before voting to send them to conference. At the close of business, the Senate observed a moment of silence for former Senator Bill Posey. The Rules Chair announced the Special Order Calendar Group would not meet that day or the next, and the Senate adopted a motion to establish the special order calendar for the remainder of the special session by website publication and Secretary announcement. The Senate then adjourned upon the call of the President for committee meetings and other business.

Transcript Highlights:

• We are on tab four of your binder with the presentation titled "2026 General Appropriation." Act.
• Column one is going to be your appropriations from the general fund.
• So again, the formula does not generate funds; it only distributes existing legislative appropriations
• . generate funds; it only distributes existing legislative appropriations.
• the general fund.

Transcript Highlights:

• As you can see in that first row of numbers, it includes the 2025-2026 net general fund appropriation
• > the net general fund appropriation or the net general fund appropriation or the beginning<00
• <00:09:45.360> fund uh 2025 2026 net general fund uh 2025 2026 net general fund appropriation
• The state can appropriate additional general fund to help offset cost.
• net general fund appropriation for those selected institutions, multiplied that by 4.5% to determine

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The committee met for its fifth and final Interim Joint Budget Review Subcommittee on Education meeting, but did not initially have a quorum and approved the minutes later when enough members were present. The Council on Postsecondary Education, represented by President Aaron Thompson and Vice President Bill Payne, opened with condolences for the UPS crash victims and then presented higher education budget recommendations for the 2026-2028 biennium. Thompson emphasized the return on investment from state support for higher education, citing gains in retention, enrollment, persistence, graduation, reduced time to degree, lower student debt, and expanded dual credit participation, while noting that affordability and access remain priorities. Payne outlined CPE’s operating funds request, including $43.3 million in the first year and $86.6 million in the second year for inflation adjustments, plus $30 million and $45 million for performance funding. He said the inflation request would apply across the board to institutions to offset rising costs, and that the KSU land grant match would not need additional funding because the state has already met the matching requirement. He also explained that state support for educating students has not kept pace with inflation over time, creating pressure on institutional budgets and tuition, though tuition increases have been held to historic lows in recent years. A major portion of the discussion focused on the performance funding model and how it affects smaller institutions. CPE proposed two approaches to address institutions that have received little or no performance funding, especially Kentucky State University and Morehead State University. The first approach would create a $20 million minimum distribution pool, providing $1.95 million to each university and $4.4 million to KCTCS, with the goal of giving smaller and rural institutions a base level of support. The second approach would provide direct appropriations totaling a little over $5.6 million to Kentucky State, Morehead State, and five community colleges that have not been receiving performance funding. Members, especially Representative Tipton and Senator West, questioned how the model had treated small schools over time, and CPE officials explained that the original small school adjustment was not large enough to prevent KSU and Morehead from effectively being left out of the distribution. No votes were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, related on line 53, there's appropriation from the general fund for the Office of the Attorney General
• That will increase expenditures from DPS general fund appropriation.
• <00:17:54.800> This DPS general fund appropriation. This DPS general fund appropriation.
• Those would be the change of the general fund appropriations related to capital security and state patrol
• And then on line 53, that would be the appropriation to the Attorney General for enforcement of that

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 1924, appropriation, Attorney General. House Bill 1924, appropriation, Attorney General.
• Senator Blunt: And do you consider that appropriately a responsibility of the general fund, or do you
• Senator Blount: And do you consider that appropriately a responsibility of the general fund, or do you
• Senator Blount: And do you consider that appropriately a responsibility of the general fund, or do you
• This is the general bill and I forgot to tell the body that the appropriations for the money that will

Keywords: MS Senate Floor - 12 March, 2026; 10:00 AM, 925, all

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum present, opened with prayer and the pledge, and then dispensed with the reading of the journal, committee reports, and bill titles. The chamber also recognized several guests and groups, including the doctor of the day, visitors from Quebec, the Sumrall High School boys soccer team, Starkville public safety officials, and the Hattiesburg High School choral arts program. A resolution honoring the long-standing partnership between Quebec and Mississippi was read and adopted, and Ms. Nathalie Rivard of Quebec addressed the Senate about historical ties and economic cooperation between Quebec and Mississippi. The Senate then moved through a series of procedural actions on the calendar, including multiple motions to table reconsideration on medical cannabis and ARPA-related bills, and several motions to not concur and invite conference on workforce and budget measures. Among those were Senate Bill 2294, the Mississippi Future Innovators Act, Senate Bill 2288 on workforce training, Senate Bill 2401 on workforce development, Senate Bill 2189 on budget transfers, Senate Bill 2895 on ARPA funds, and Senate Bill 2917 on appropriations transfers. These motions were adopted, sending the measures to conference or otherwise advancing them as noted. A major portion of the meeting focused on appropriations bills. House Bill 1935, the Education Department appropriation, was explained in detail and adopted after a strike-all amendment; the bill includes funding for the student formula, teacher and assistant pay raises, special education supplements, school attendance officers, testing contracts, early learning coaches, and CTE instructor raises, with offsets from reduced or eliminated line items such as school safety platforms and certain vendor programs. The Senate also adopted strike-all amendments and passed House Bills 1936 and 1937 for Mississippi Public Broadcasting and the Library Commission, and then moved on to House Bill 1933 for the Bureau of Building. The Senate recessed until 2:30 p.m. and announced an appropriations meeting shortly after recess, while leadership noted that many supplemental appropriations bills would be considered later with attention to whether they contained reverse repealers and would go to conference or final passage.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is appropriation only.
• There's no general revenue attached to this appropriation and direction to spend general revenue, so
• it is appropriation only.
• This is appropriation. This is appropriation only. This is appropriation only.
• in the appropriation.

Summary: The committee first received a report on the executive protection detail, which was filed without questions. Members were then given a long advance list of House and Senate bills ready for consideration, followed by several amendment requests from agencies. The committee adopted amendments for the Auditor of State to increase special deputy expense allowance, the Administrative Office of the Courts for court interpreters and substitute court reporters, and several other items including local sales tax refunds, county property tax redistribution, and local law enforcement funding. It also held one amendment on House Bill 1034 and moved a Northwest Arkansas Community College cash fund increase tied to tornado-related campus repairs. The committee then considered a series of member amendments and appropriation items, including increases for the Public Defender Commission and deputy prosecuting attorneys to cover higher bar license fees, and a $12 million federal appropriation-only item. A lengthy discussion followed on a proposal from Senator Wallace and Representative Tosh to fund a pilot program for prison cell-phone detection/jamming technology at two correctional facilities. Sponsors and Department of Corrections officials said the system would target illegal contraband phones, would be procured through an RFP, and would be a two-year pilot; members raised questions about legality, cost, scope, data, and whether the department should use existing budget authority. The committee ultimately advanced the item by motion. The committee also took up an amendment from Senator Caldwell for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, seeking a $4 million appropriation increase. Testimony emphasized that the division’s extension offices and research functions are underfunded, that salaries are not competitive, and that the request would help with staffing and flexibility; other members questioned why the division needed more appropriation authority when it already had room under current limits and noted that the request exceeded the higher education board’s recommendation. The amendment was adopted after extended debate. Finally, the committee began acting on governor’s letters, adopting amendments for a $150 million increase to the homestead property tax credit, a $23,000 reallocation for the Insurance Department’s conference costs, $100,000 for property appraisal review work, $1.5 million for career and technical education professional development, $300,000 for DFA regulatory federal spending, $5 million for Inspector General fraud investigations, a consolidation of appraiser/abstractor/home inspector appropriations, deletion of a completed Fort Chaffee readiness center appropriation, and a revised reappropriation for corrections capital projects that would add special language restricting use of the $73.7 million prison-expansion reappropriation. The committee also heard a summary of a supplemental appropriations package involving fund transfers for pregnancy resource centers, senior centers, assistance grants, used tires, and UAMS pregnancy/stroke programs.

Transcript Highlights:

• So far, your appropriations uh for the general fund from the general obligation would be 137 million.
• you reduced the original appropriation you reduced the original appropriation that<00:08:26.960>
• <00:09:17.600> general<00:09:17.920> fund appropriations uh for the general fund appropriations
• uh for the general fund from<00:09:18.320> the<00:09:18.560> general<00:09:18.720>
• <00:10:33.040> fund they're to reduce the general fund they're to reduce the general fund

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So we aren't constrained by any appropriations.
• Chairman, and John, that revenue will be generated.
• I'm the chief deputy attorney general.
• It would have been nice if we or if the appropriators in the Senate division that does our appropriations
• That is already taken care of by the appropriations.

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on Industry and Business reconvened to work on House Bill 1584, which would create a new pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) regulatory structure within the Insurance Department. Insurance Commissioner John Godfrey and Deputy Commissioner John Arnold explained a revised set of amendments negotiated with Representative Casper and the North Dakota Pharmacists Association. They said the bill largely kept the House policy intact but added technical corrections, narrowed some references in Chapter 19-02, created a separate PBM licensing class, set a delayed effective date for licensing, and established emergency authority so the department could begin building the new division. They also described the proposal to fund the program through existing trust fund resources, PBM license fees, and a transfer of about $1.6 million from the prescription drug transparency program fund, while allowing the department flexibility to hire needed attorneys, pharmacists, and examiners. A major point of discussion was Section 10, which would have required the Attorney General to represent and bear costs for lawsuits related to the bill. Chief Deputy Attorney General Claire Ness said the language was too broad and would go beyond normal constitutional defense work, potentially obligating her office to cover all lawsuits against the commissioner or state under the section. Representative Casper said the intent was only to avoid the Insurance Department having to seek emergency funding for litigation, and both he and department officials said they were open to removing the section or narrowing it. After further discussion, the committee agreed to remove Section 10 from the amendments. The committee then voted 4-0 to adopt the amended amendment package, and then voted 4-0 to give House Bill 1584 a do pass recommendation as amended and refer it to Appropriations. Members noted the bill was still a work in progress, but said the revised version was intended to move the PBM regulation issue forward while continuing discussion in the appropriations process.

Transcript Highlights:

• The general dedicated funds that did not get appropriated, and then what I have down is that there was
• So the appropriate amount is y'all's decision. but prior to on GRD's General Revenue Dedicated Account
• So this one says the rate of growth of consolidated general revenue appropriation.
• And I think what I would say is that the general appropriations Act provides, um, certain authority,
• E&C as well as executive compensation that are in the general appropriations act every two years that

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The general dedicated funds that did not get appropriated.
• Generally, everybody would.
• So this one says the rate of growth of consolidated general revenue appropriation. which is all general
• There's the general revenue funds, general revenue dedicated funds.
• Yeah, and I think what I would say is that the general appropriations...

Keywords: budget, House Bill 1, public education, healthcare, border security, federal funding, spending limits

Summary: The meeting primarily focused on reviewing the proposed budget for the upcoming biennium, with substantial discussions around House Bill 1 and its implications for public education, healthcare, and border security. The Comptroller presented a revenue overview indicating a total of $194.6 billion available for general purpose spending, which reflects a slight decrease compared to previous years due to fluctuating economic conditions. Members raised questions regarding spending limits and the impact of federal funding on state programs, highlighting concerns about the sustainability of funding in light of potential changes at the federal level.

Transcript Highlights:

• So then the general um general fund.
• It's 5 million appropriated from the general fund for a grant to the sheriff, but of that 5 million,
• This appropriates new money from the general fund.
• Uh this appropriates new money<01:11:28.080> from<01:11:28.239> the<01:11:28.480> general
• This appropriates new money from the general fund. I'm wondering how that affects...

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate File 1, General Government Appropriations, an act to make appropriations for the fiscal biennium
• Can I just get a general sense of where the appropriations committee was coming from?
• Can I just get a general sense of where the appropriations committee was coming from?
• Can I just get a general sense of where the appropriations committee was coming from?
• upon a match of $1 of appropriate upon a match of $1 of appropriate general<02:45:14.560> fund

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Appropriations Act, filed during the 2026 regular session relating to the General Appropriations Act
• House Bill 5203E, a bill to be entitled an act implementing the 2026-27 General Appropriations Act.
• House Bill 5203E, a bill to be entitled an act implementing the 2026-27 General Appropriations Act.
• ...2026-27 General Appropriations Act. Are there amendments? On the desk, Mr. President.
• House Bill 5203E, a bill to be entitled an act implementing the 2026-27 General Appropriations Act.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Appropriations Act, filed during the 2026 regular session relating to the General Appropriations Act
• Members before you is Senate Bill 2500E, the general appropriations bill. Thank you, Mr. President.
• Members before you, Senate Bill 2500E, the General Appropriations Bill for the 2026-27 fiscal year.
• Senate Bill 2502E, a bill to be entitled an act implementing the 2026-2027 General Appropriations Act
• House Bill 5503E, a bill to be entitled an act implementing the 2026-2027 General Appropriations Act.

Keywords: 998, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So next slide, uh, here's the overview of the budget, the FY 26 request, or general fund appropriations
• <00:02:55.920> fund<00:02:56.599> Appropriations<00:02:57.239> 10.4 or general
• fund Appropriations 10.4 or general fund Appropriations 10.4 billion<00:02:58.519> and<00:02:
• > isn't these four but as a general rule isn't these four but as a general rule isn't it<00:32
• adjustments for the various non-general adjustments for the various non-general fund<00:42:02.319

Keywords: 912, senate, all