Technology Innovation Fund; authorize deposit of certain fees collected by the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services into.

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To: State Affairs;
Appropriations A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Zuber

HOUSE BILL NO. 1123

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 25-53-29 AND 25-53-263, MISSISSIPPI 1
CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT FEES COLLECTED BY THE MISSISSIPPI 2
DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES FOR CERTAIN SERVICES 3
SHALL BE DEPOSITED INTO THE TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION FUND; AND FOR 4
RELATED PURPOSES. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 6
SECTION 1. Section 25-53-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 7
amended as follows: 8
25-53-29. (1) For the purposes of this section the term 9
"bureau" shall mean the "Mississippi Department of Information 10
Technology Services." The authority shall have the following 11
powers and responsibilities to carry out the establishment of 12
policy and provide for long-range planning and consulting: 13
(a) Provide a high level of technical expertise for 14
agencies, institutions, political subdivisions and other 15
governmental entities as follows: planning; consulting; project 16
management; systems and performance review; system definition; 17
design; application programming; training; development and 18
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documentation; implementation; maintenance; and other tasks as may 19
be required, within the resources available to the bureau. 20
(b) Publish written planning guides, policies and 21
procedures for use by agencies and institutions in planning future 22
information technology. The bureau may require agencies and 23
institutions to submit data, including periodic electronic 24
equipment inventory listings, information on agency staffing, 25
systems under study, planned applications for the future, and 26
other information needed for the purposes of preparing the state 27
master plan. The bureau may require agencies and institutions to 28
submit any additional data required for purposes of preparing the 29
state master plan. 30
(c) Inspect agency facilities and equipment, interview 31
agency employees and review records at any time deemed necessary 32
by the bureau for the purpose of identifying cost-effective 33
applications of electronic information technology. Upon 34
conclusion of any inspection, the bureau shall issue a management 35
letter containing cost estimates and recommendations to the agency 36
head and governing board concerning applications identified that 37
would result in staff reductions, other monetary savings and 38
improved delivery of public services. 39
(d) Conduct classroom and on-site training for end 40
users for applications and systems developed by the bureau. 41
(e) Provide consulting services to agencies and 42
institutions or Mississippi governmental subdivisions requesting 43
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technical assistance in information technology. The bureau may 44
submit proposals and enter into contracts to provide services to 45
agencies and institutions or governmental subdivisions for such 46
purposes. 47
(2) The bureau shall annually issue a three-year master plan 48
in writing to the Governor, available on request to any member of 49
the Legislature, including recommended statewide strategies and 50
goals for the effective and efficient use of information 51
technology in state government. The report shall also include 52
recommended information policy actions and other recommendations 53
for consideration by the Governor and members of the Legislature. 54
(3) The bureau shall make an annual report in writing to the 55
Governor, available on request to any member of the Legislature, 56
to include a full and detailed account of the work of the 57
authority for the preceding year. The report shall contain 58
recommendations to agencies and institutions resulting from 59
inspections or consulting contracts. The report shall also 60
contain a summary of the master plan, progress made, and 61
legislative and policy recommendations for consideration by the 62
Governor and members of the Legislature. 63
(4) The bureau may charge fees to agencies and institutions 64
for services rendered to them. The bureau may charge fees to 65
vendors to recover the cost of providing procurement services and 66
the delivery of procurement awards to public bodies. The amounts 67
of such fees shall be set by the authority upon recommendation of 68
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the Executive Director of the ITS, and all such fees collected 69
shall be paid into the fund established for carrying out the 70
purposes of this section. However, the one percent (1%) fee 71
collected by the bureau on IaaS (infrastructure as a service), 72
PaaS (platform as a service), SaaS (software as a service) and 73
cloud-related professional services provided to state agencies 74
through the bureau's cooperative agreements with vendors shall be 75
paid into the Technology Innovation Fund created in Section 76
25-53-263. 77
(5) The bureau may, from time to time, at the discretion of 78
the Executive Director of ITS, contract with firms or qualified 79
individuals to be used to augment the bureau's professional staff 80
in order to assure timely completion and implementation of 81
assigned tasks, provided that funds are available in the fund 82
established for carrying out the purposes of this section. Such 83
individuals may be employees of any agency, bureau or institution 84
provided that these individuals or firms meet the requirements of 85
other individuals or firms doing business with the state through 86
the ITS. Individuals who are employees of an agency or 87
institution may contract with the ITS only with the concurrence of 88
the agency or institution for whom they are employed. 89
From and after July 1, 2018, the expenses of this agency 90
shall be defrayed by appropriation from the State General Fund. 91
In addition, in order to receive the maximum use and benefit from 92
information technology, expenses for the provision of statewide 93
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shared services that facilitate cost-effective information 94
processing and telecommunication solutions shall be defrayed by 95
pass-through funding and shall be deposited into the Mississippi 96
Department of Information Technology Services Revolving Fund 97
unless otherwise specified by the Legislature. These funds shall 98
only be utilized to pay the actual costs incurred by the ITS for 99
providing these shared services to state agencies. Furthermore, 100
state agencies shall work in full cooperation with the ITS to 101
identify information technology to minimize duplication, reduce 102
costs, and improve the efficiency of providing common technology 103
services across agency boundaries. 104
SECTION 2. Section 25-53-263, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 105
amended as follows: 106
25-53-263. (1) The purpose of Sections 25-53-251 through 107
25-53-263 is to establish a Technology Innovation Fund, hereafter 108
referred to as "Fund," to facilitate the development and 109
deployment of innovative technological solutions that enhance the 110
efficiency, transparency and responsiveness of government 111
services. The fund is intended to support collaborative efforts 112
between government agencies, educational institutions, private 113
sector partners and nonprofit organizations in the implementation 114
of digital solutions that drive public sector modernization. 115
(2) (a) There is * * * established the Technology 116
Innovation Fund, which shall be administered by the Mississippi 117
Department of Information Technology Services (ITS) under the 118
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authority of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the State of 119
Mississippi. 120
(b) The fund shall provide financial support for 121
projects that utilize technology to address critical needs, 122
improve service delivery, and foster collaboration between public 123
and private entities. 124
(3) The objectives of the fund shall include, but are not 125
limited to, the following: 126
(a) Promote the development of digital solutions that 127
improve government service delivery and operational efficiency; 128
(b) Foster cross-agency and intergovernmental 129
collaboration in the adoption of shared technologies and best 130
practices; 131
(c) Encourage public-private partnerships in the 132
development and deployment of innovative technologies; 133
(d) Facilitate research, prototyping, and piloting of 134
emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, 135
data analytics, and cloud computing; 136
(e) Ensure equitable access to technological 137
innovations that can benefit underserved communities and regions; 138
and 139
(f) Enhance cybersecurity and protect the integrity of 140
state digital infrastructure. 141
(4) (a) The following entities shall be eligible to apply 142
for funding under Sections 25-53-251 through 25-53-263: 143
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(i) State and local government agencies; 144
(ii) Public and private educational institutions; 145
(iii) Nonprofit organizations engaged in 146
technology-driven public service initiatives; and 147
(iv) Private sector entities, in partnership with 148
public sector agencies, for collaborative projects. 149
(b) Applications for funding must demonstrate how the 150
proposed project will contribute to the digital transformation of 151
government services and the achievement of the objectives outlined 152
in Section 25-53-255. 153
(5) (a) The CIO of the Mississippi Department of 154
Information Technology Services shall establish criteria for the 155
evaluation of proposals and the allocation of funds, prioritizing 156
projects that: 157
(i) Provide measurable benefits to the public and 158
improve government operations; 159
(ii) Demonstrate potential for scalability and 160
sustainability; 161
(iii) Foster partnerships across government, 162
private, and nonprofit sectors; and 163
(iv) Address urgent challenges in service 164
delivery, efficiency, and cybersecurity. 165
(b) The fund may allocate grants, matching funds, or 166
loans to eligible projects, as deemed appropriate by the CIO. 167
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(6) (a) Each recipient of funding from the Technology 168
Innovation Fund shall be required to provide periodic reports to 169
the CIO detailing the progress, outcomes, and financial 170
expenditures associated with the funded project. 171
(b) The CIO shall submit an annual report to the 172
Governor and Legislature detailing the use of the Technology 173
Innovation Fund, including descriptions of funded projects, their 174
outcomes, and recommendations for future innovations. 175
(7) (a) The fund shall be initially capitalized with an 176
appropriation of monies from the General Fund, with additional 177
funding to be secured from: 178
(i) Public-private partnerships; 179
(ii) Federal grants or matching programs; 180
(iii) Revenues from technological licensing or 181
commercialization resulting from funded projects; * * * 182
(iv) Donations or contributions from private or 183
philanthropic organizations * * *; 184
(v) The fees collected by ITS on IaaS 185
(infrastructure as a service), PaaS (platform as a service), SaaS 186
(software as a service) and cloud-related professional services 187
provided to state agencies through the department's cooperative 188
agreements with vendors; and 189
(vi) Any other funds made available for the 190
purposes provided in this section. 191
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ST: Technology Innovation Fund; authorize
deposit of certain fees collected by the
Mississippi Department of Information Technology
Services into.
(b) The fund may also establish a revolving loan 192
mechanism to replenish available resources through repayments from 193
successful projects. 194
(c) Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end 195
of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and 196
any interest earned on amounts in the fund shall be deposited to 197
the credit of the fund. 198
(8) The CIO of the Mississippi Department of Information 199
Technology Services (ITS) is authorized to promulgate any rules 200
and regulations necessary for the implementation and 201
administration of Sections 25-53-251 through 25-53-263. 202
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 203
and after July 1, 2026. 204