Bureau of Fleet Management; require to conduct annual utilization review of state-owned vehicles.

H. B. No. 1413 *HR26/R2041* ~ OFFICIAL ~ G1/2
26/HR26/R2041
PAGE 1 (ELS\KW)

To: Accountability,
Efficiency, Transparency
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Ford (54th)

HOUSE BILL NO. 1413

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 25-1-77, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
REQUIRE THE BUREAU OF FLEET MANAGEMENT TO CONDUCT AN ANNUAL 2
UTILIZATION REVIEW OF ALL STATE-OWNED VEHICLES; AND FOR RELATED 3
PURPOSES. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 5
SECTION 1. Section 25-1-77, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 6
amended as follows: 7
25-1-77. (1) There is created the Bureau of Fleet 8
Management within the Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet 9
Management, Department of Finance and Administration, for the 10
purposes of coordinating and promoting efficiency and economy in 11
the purchase, lease, rental, acquisition, use, maintenance and 12
disposal of vehicles by state agencies. The Executive Director of 13
the Department of Finance and Administration may employ a Fleet 14
Management Officer to manage the bureau and carry out its 15
purposes. The bureau may employ other suitable and competent 16
personnel as necessary. The bureau shall encourage the use of 17
fuel efficient or hybrid vehicles appropriate for the state 18
agency's intended purpose and, when feasible, the use of 19
H. B. No. 1413 *HR26/R2041* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R2041
PAGE 2 (ELS\KW)

alternative fuels or energy sources, including, but not limited 20
to, ethanol, biodiesel, natural gas or electric power. The bureau 21
shall prepare a fiscal analysis of the cost-effectiveness of using 22
alternative fuel or energy source vehicles by state agencies, and 23
submit a report of that fiscal analysis to the Legislature by 24
December 15, 2009. Not later than July 1, 2014, at least 25
seventy-five percent (75%) of all vehicles to which the bureau 26
holds title in the name of the state must have a fuel economy 27
estimate by the United States Environmental Protection Agency of 28
forty (40) miles per gallon or higher for highway driving. 29
(2) The Bureau of Fleet Management shall perform the 30
following duties: 31
(a) To hold title in the name of the State of 32
Mississippi to all vehicles currently in possession of state 33
agencies as defined in Section 25-9-107(d) and to assign vehicles 34
to such agencies for use; however, the bureau shall exempt any 35
agency or agency vehicles from the provisions of this paragraph 36
(a) if it determines that state or federal law requires that title 37
be vested only in the agency; 38
(b) To establish rules and regulations for state agency 39
use of vehicles; 40
(c) To gather information and specify proper fleet 41
management practices for state agencies; 42
(d) To acquire fleet management software and require 43
agencies to provide necessary information for the bureau to 44
H. B. No. 1413 *HR26/R2041* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R2041
PAGE 3 (ELS\KW)

properly monitor the size, use, maintenance and disposal of the 45
state's fleet of vehicles; the bureau shall communicate regularly 46
with the fleet managers of each state agency to determine 47
strengths and weaknesses of the various fleet operations; the 48
bureau shall disseminate information to the agencies so that each 49
can take advantage of any beneficial practices being incorporated 50
at other entities; the bureau shall promulgate rules and 51
regulations concerning the mileage reimbursement practices of each 52
state agency; 53
(e) To carry out responsibilities relative to budget 54
recommendations as provided in Section 27-103-129; 55
(f) To reassign vehicles in the possession of any state 56
agency if the bureau believes that another state agency can make 57
more efficient use of a vehicle * * *; 58
(g) To investigate at any time the vehicle usage 59
practices of any state agency; and 60
(h) To require each agency to submit to the bureau a 61
vehicle acquisition/use/disposal plan on an annual basis. From 62
the plans received, the bureau shall evaluate the proposed plans 63
and shall submit a recommendation to the Legislature prior to 64
January 1 of each year. 65
(3) No state department, institution or agency shall 66
purchase, rent, lease or acquire any motor vehicle, regardless of 67
the source of funds from which the motor vehicle is to be 68
purchased, except under authority granted by the Department of 69
H. B. No. 1413 *HR26/R2041* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R2041
PAGE 4 (ELS\KW)

Finance and Administration. The Bureau of Fleet Management, 70
Department of Finance and Administration, shall promulgate rules 71
and regulations governing the purchase, rental, lease or 72
acquisition of any motor vehicle by a state department, 73
institution or agency with regard to the appropriateness of the 74
vehicle to its intended use. The Bureau of Fleet Management, 75
Department of Finance and Administration, shall only grant 76
authority to purchase, rent, lease or acquire a motor vehicle 77
which is the lowest cost vehicle to carry out its intended use. 78
Before the disposal or sale of any vehicle, the Bureau of Fleet 79
Management shall make a determination that the lifetime use and 80
mileage of the vehicle has been maximized and that it would not be 81
feasible for another state agency to use the vehicle. 82
(4) The department, institution or agency shall maintain 83
proper documentation which provides the intended use of the 84
vehicle and the basis for choosing the vehicle. Such 85
documentation shall show that the department, institution or 86
agency made diligent efforts to purchase, rent, lease or acquire a 87
vehicle that is the lowest cost vehicle for its intended use. 88
Such documentation shall be updated as needed when the intended 89
use of the vehicle or any other facts concerning the vehicle are 90
changed. All such documentation shall be approved by the State 91
Fleet Officer prior to purchase, rental, lease or acquisition or 92
change in use of any vehicle and shall be maintained and made 93
available for review by the State Auditor, any other reviewing 94
H. B. No. 1413 *HR26/R2041* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R2041
PAGE 5 (ELS\KW)

agency and the Legislature. The Bureau of Fleet Management shall 95
immediately notify the department head of any agency that has a 96
vehicle found to be in violation of the bureau's rules and 97
regulations. At the same time, the bureau shall notify the 98
Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Lieutenant 99
Governor of its findings regarding any such vehicle. If the 100
violation is not rectified within five (5) days of the notice, 101
then the bureau may seize the vehicle and dispose of it as the 102
bureau deems to be in the best interest of the State of 103
Mississippi. 104
(5) On or before September 1 of each year, the Bureau of 105
Fleet Management shall prepare and deliver to the Senate and House 106
Appropriations Committees and the Joint Legislative Budget 107
Committee a report containing any irregularities that it finds 108
concerning purchases of state-owned vehicles. 109
(6) The Bureau of Fleet Management shall conduct an annual 110
utilization review of all state-owned vehicles and prepared a 111
report of its findings. 112
(a) The bureau shall adopt rules and regulations 113
requiring agencies to report information needed to prepare this 114
utilization, including, but not limited to, a uniform format for 115
agency reporting, reporting deadlines, reporting the information 116
listed in paragraph (b) of this subsection, and other pertinent 117
information requested by the bureau to conduct this annual 118
utilization review. 119
H. B. No. 1413 *HR26/R2041* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R2041
PAGE 6 (ELS\KW)

(b) The report created by the bureau shall include, but 120
not be limited to: 121
(i) An annual mileage report for each vehicle, 122
year, make and model of each vehicle, vehicle type and vehicle 123
purpose. 124
(ii) Each agency's total utilization rate of all 125
assigned vehicles, as defined by the number of vehicles which has 126
annual mileage above the mileage in paragraph (c) of this 127
subsection divided by the total number of vehicles assigned to the 128
agency. 129
(iii) A recommendation by the bureau on disposing 130
or reallocating underutilized vehicles to other agencies which can 131
use the vehicle above the underutilization rate. 132
(iv) A list of all state-owned underutilized 133
vehicles, as well as vehicles with a total annual mileage under 134
the underutilization rate in paragraph (c) of this subsection, 135
and, if provided by the agency, the agency's narrative 136
justification for the vehicle. 137
(c) State-owned vehicles driven less than thirteen 138
thousand (13,000) miles a year shall be deemed underutilized, 139
unless justified by the agency as provided in this paragraph (c). 140
(i) The justification shall be made in writing by 141
the agency and provide a detailed narrative describing why the 142
vehicle should not be deemed underutilized. This justification 143
H. B. No. 1413 *HR26/R2041* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R2041
PAGE 7 (ELS\KW)

shall take into account whether the vehicle is used for a specific 144
purpose or if it is a specially made vehicle. 145
(ii) The justification from the agency shall be 146
submitted annually to the bureau by a date chosen by the bureau. 147
(d) On or before September 1 of each year, the bureau 148
shall prepare and deliver the results of the utilization review to 149
the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House 150
and the Chairs of the Public Property Committees of the House and 151
Senate. 152
( * * *7) The Department of Public Safety and the Department 153
of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks may retain any vehicle seized 154
pursuant to the forfeiture laws of this state, and the total 155
number of vehicles assigned to each such agency shall not be 156
reduced by the number of seized vehicles which the agency retains. 157
( * * *8) The Bureau of Fleet Management, upon request, 158
shall grant an exemption from the provisions of this section for 159
only any vehicle assigned to a sworn officer of the Department of 160
Public Safety or of the Agricultural and Livestock Theft Bureau of 161
the Department of Agriculture and Commerce and used in undercover 162
operations when the bureau determines that compliance could 163
jeopardize the life, health or safety of the sworn officer. 164
( * * *9) The provisions of this section shall not apply to 165
any state institution of higher learning. 166
( * * *10) When making requests for authority to purchase, 167
rent, lease or acquire vehicles as provided in subsection (3) of 168
H. B. No. 1413 *HR26/R2041* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R2041
PAGE 8 (ELS\KW)
ST: Bureau of Fleet Management; require to
conduct annual utilization review of state-owned
vehicles.
this section, agencies shall submit the lowest cost vehicle 169
possible to carry out its intended use. Any such request shall be 170
in writing from the agency head, certifying the vehicle requested 171
is the lowest cost option available and acknowledging that any 172
request contrary to this provision shall subject the agency head 173
to penalties as provided in Sections 25-1-91, 31-7-55 and 31-7-57, 174
where applicable. The Bureau of Fleet Management shall only 175
approve the lowest cost vehicle, which in its estimation, will 176
carry out the intended use. No agency may purchase any vehicle 177
that the Bureau of Fleet Management has disapproved as being a 178
higher cost option. 179
( * * *11) No requests authorized under subsections (3) 180
and * * * (10) of this section shall be approved by the Bureau of 181
Fleet Management if the requesting agency has not properly 182
maintained in the fleet/asset reporting system all information 183
required by the Bureau of Fleet Management. Agencies shall 184
correct any inadequacies or discrepancies in the system noted by 185
the Bureau of Fleet Management before the bureau may approve any 186
requests. 187
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 188
and after July 1, 2026. 189