ETV; require Legislature to reduce general fund appropriations to by 20% and eliminate funding over five years.

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To: Appropriations A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Owen

HOUSE BILL NO. 1297

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-63-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO REQUIRE THE LEGISLATURE TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF GENERAL FUNDS 2
APPROPRIATED TO THE AUTHORITY FOR EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION BY TWENTY 3
PERCENT FOR EACH OF THE NEXT FIVE FISCAL YEARS; TO PROVIDE THAT 4
FROM AND AFTER FISCAL YEAR 2032, THE LEGISLATURE SHALL NOT 5
APPROPRIATE ANY GENERAL FUNDS TO THE AUTHORITY; AND FOR RELATED 6
PURPOSES. 7
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 8
SECTION 1. Section 37-63-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 9
amended as follows: 10
37-63-11. (1) The Authority for Educational Television is 11
empowered to request and to receive such state funds for 12
educational television construction and operation as may be 13
appropriated or allocated to it, and to solicit and receive 14
contributions, matching funds, gifts, bequests and devises from 15
any source, whether federal, state, public or private. It may 16
enter into agreements with federal, state, public or private 17
agencies, departments, institutions, firms, corporations or 18
persons for the production, transmission, sale, lease or purchase 19
of educational television and educational radio programs, or any 20
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research and development projects, joint ventures pertaining to 21
content or other projects that do not duplicate communication 22
facilities or services utilized under contract by the state and 23
that the authority determines are in its best interests. The 24
authority may enter into any contracts and other agreements 25
necessary for those purposes, and in doing so, the authority may 26
agree to terms of indemnification, the law of another state or 27
jurisdiction or other necessary terms when, in the judgment of the 28
authority, that would be in its best interests. The authority may 29
delegate to its executive director its power to enter into these 30
contracts or other agreements, or to exercise any of its other 31
powers, in accordance with guidelines established by the 32
authority. All materials produced or received by the authority in 33
the exercise of its power, in the preceding provisions of this 34
subsection, that are protected by copyright or considered 35
confidential or proprietary information of third parties, shall 36
not be public records. All such materials shall not be subject to 37
release under the Public Records Act. The authority may also 38
lease antenna space on television towers which it owns. Before 39
the authority is empowered to contract for communication 40
facilities to carry television signals, it shall obtain written 41
authority to do so from the Department of Finance and 42
Administration in order to ensure that there be no duplication of 43
state communication facilities. 44
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(2) There is * * * established in the State Treasury a 45
special fund for the purpose of providing for the payment of all 46
expenses in respect to the administration of this chapter. Such 47
fund shall be administered by the authority. The State Treasurer 48
shall be the custodian of such funds and all monies and securities 49
in such fund shall be held in trust by such Treasurer and shall 50
not be the money or property of the state. The State Treasurer is 51
authorized to disburse monies from such fund only upon order of 52
the authority. The official bond of the State Treasurer shall be 53
conditioned for the faithful performance of his duty hereunder. 54
The State Treasurer shall deposit any monies paid into such fund 55
into such qualified depository banks as the authority may 56
designate and is authorized to invest any portion of the fund 57
which, in the opinion of the authority, is not needed for current 58
requirements in the same manner and subject to all provisions of 59
the law with respect to the deposit of state funds by such 60
Treasurer. All interest earned by such portion of the fund as may 61
be invested by the State Treasurer shall be collected by him and 62
placed to the credit of such fund. 63
(3) The Authority for Educational Television is empowered to 64
provide noncommercial production or reproduction services for 65
other public agencies, and may collect the costs of providing the 66
services from the public agency. These costs shall be deposited 67
into the special fund. 68
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ST: ETV; require Legislature to reduce general
fund appropriations to by 20% and eliminate
funding over five years.
(4) For each fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 2028 69
through fiscal year 2032, the Legislature shall reduce the amount of 70
general funds appropriated to the Authority for Educational 71
Television below the amount appropriated for the previous fiscal 72
year by twenty percent (20%) of the amount of general funds 73
appropriated to the authority for fiscal year 2027. From and after 74
fiscal year 2033, the Legislature shall not appropriate any general 75
funds to the authority. However, the State of Mississippi shall 76
continue to be liable for payment of the principal and interest on 77
any state general obligation bonds that provided any money to or 78
financed any projects for the authority. It is the intention of the 79
Legislature in reducing and eliminating appropriations of general 80
funds for the authority that the authority be self-supported through 81
donations, private funds and other funds secured by the authority 82
from any other source. 83
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 84
and after July 1, 2026. 85