Mississippi Search and Rescue Program; create.

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

By: Representative Lamar

HOUSE BILL NO. 1540

AN ACT TO BE KNOWN AS THE MISSISSIPPI SEARCH AND RESCUE 1
PROGRAM ACT; TO ESTABLISH THE MISSISSIPPI SEARCH AND RESCUE 2
PROGRAM; TO DEFINE TERMS; TO REQUIRE THE MISSISSIPPI EMERGENCY 3
MANAGEMENT AGENCY AND THE DIRECTOR OF THE AGENCY TO PERFORM 4
CERTAIN DUTIES UNDER THE PROGRAM; TO PROVIDE THAT THE PROGRAM 5
SHALL RECEIVE THE NECESSARY FUNDING FOR EQUIPMENT, TRAINING 6
FACILITIES, AND WAREHOUSES FOR EQUIPMENT AND PERSONNEL FOR THE 7
PROGRAM TO PERFORM ITS FUNCTIONS; TO CREATE A SPECIAL FUND WITH 8
THE STATE TREASURY TO BE KNOWN AS THE MISSISSIPPI SEARCH AND 9
RESCUE PROGRAM FUND; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 10
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 11
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the 12
"Mississippi Search and Rescue Program Act". 13
SECTION 2. (1) For purposes of this act, the following 14
words shall have the meanings as defined in this section unless 15
the context clearly requires otherwise: 16
(a) "Agency" means the Mississippi Emergency Management 17
Agency. 18
(b) "Fund" means the Mississippi Search and Rescue 19
Program Fund created in this act. 20
(c) "Program" means the Mississippi Search And Rescue 21
Program established in this section. 22
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SECTION 3. There is established the Mississippi Search and 23
Rescue Program. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency shall 24
be the coordinating state agency. 25
(1) Under the program, the agency: 26
(a) Shall develop, coordinate, respond to, and maintain 27
the State of Mississippi's efforts toward providing resources to 28
conduct search and rescue operations after man-made or natural 29
disasters as well as conducting other operations within the 30
boundaries of the State of Mississippi or in coordinated response 31
with other states or the federal government; 32
(b) Provide clerical, administrative and technical 33
assistance for the program; 34
(c) Develop policies and procedures to guide the 35
operation of the program; and 36
(d) Coordinate with the State Fire Academy, the 37
Mississippi Department of Public Marine Resources, the Department 38
of Public Safety and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, 39
Fisheries and Parks to fulfill the goals of the program. 40
(2) The director of the agency shall: 41
(a) Appoint a designee to assist with the 42
administrative requirements associated with the establishment and 43
maintenance of the program; and 44
(b) Employ, or designate necessary, other personnel to 45
assist in the operations of the program, including personnel 46
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ST: Mississippi Search and Rescue Program;
create.
overseeing urban search and rescue operations, planning and 47
logistics. 48
(3) The program shall be provided with the necessary funding 49
for equipment, training facilities, warehouses for equipment, and 50
personnel for the program to perform its functions. 51
SECTION 4. There is created within the State Treasury a 52
special fund to be known as the Mississippi Search and Rescue 53
Program Fund. The fund shall consist of monies received from 54
grants, gifts, state appropriations, federal funds and monies made 55
available from any other source. Monies in the fund shall be 56
disbursed by the office for the purposes of the program upon 57
appropriation by the Legislature. Unexpended amounts remaining in 58
the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the 59
State General Fund, and any investment earnings or interest earned 60
on amounts in the fund shall be deposited to the credit of the 61
fund. 62
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from 63
and after July 1, 2026. 64