State-Managed Disaster Act of 2026; establish.

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

By: Representatives Deweese, Hale

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 1645

AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE STATE-MANAGED DISASTER ASSISTANCE 1
PROGRAM TO ENABLE THE MISSISSIPPI EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY TO 2
ADMINISTER STATE-FUNDED EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE, AND 3
RECOVERY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 5
SECTION 1. Sections 1 through 9 of this act shall be known 6
and may be cited as the "State-Managed Disaster Act of 2026". 7
SECTION 2. The Legislature finds and declares the following: 8
the role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 9
assisting state and local governments in responding to disasters 10
is changing. Federal emergency management law and policy is being 11
reviewed and amended to increase the responsibilities of states 12
and local governments in disaster funding. It is anticipated that 13
the state and local governments will be expected to fund emergency 14
preparedness, response, and recovery at substantially higher 15
thresholds before federal aid will be available. The provisions 16
of Sections 1 through 9 of this act will enable the Mississippi 17
Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) to administer the State-Managed 18
Disaster Assistance Program. 19
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SECTION 3. All terms used in Sections 1 through 9 of this 20
act shall, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the 21
context, have the same meaning as the definitions in Title 33, 22
Chapter 15, Articles 1 through 11, with the exception of "trust 23
fund," which in Sections 1 through 9 of this act mean the 24
State-Managed Disaster Assistance Trust Fund established in this 25
act. 26
SECTION 4. (1) The director shall administer Sections 1 27
through 9 of this act and shall have the authority to adopt 28
reasonable rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of 29
this act. 30
(2) A state agency, when requested by the director, shall 31
render services and perform duties within its areas of 32
responsibility necessary to carry out the purpose of this act. 33
(3) Each project application executed between a local agency 34
and the director pursuant to the rules and regulations adopted 35
shall contain a provision under which the local agency agrees to 36
hold the state harmless from damages due to the work for which 37
funds were allocated. 38
(4) Before the convening of the Legislature each year, the 39
director shall submit a written report to the Governor and the 40
Legislature relating to the operation of the trust fund 41
established in Section 5. 42
(5) When certified by the director and approved by the 43
Governor, requests for reimbursements, advances, or final payments 44
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from local or state agencies shall be presented to the Department 45
of Finance and Administration for payment out of the trust fund. 46
SECTION 5. (1) The provisions of Sections 1 through 9 of 47
this act shall be invoked only pursuant to a state of emergency 48
declared by the Governor, or pursuant to an executive order of the 49
Governor, or administrative order of the director issued with 50
consultation with the Governor, in order to provide state or local 51
government resources and personnel or in nondeclared times for 52
administrative and training costs associated with state disaster 53
response and recovery programs. Each declaration shall cite the 54
cause for the declaration and define the area eligible for 55
assistance and the type of assistance to be provided. 56
(2) The State-Managed Disaster Assistance Trust Fund is 57
created as a special fund in the State Treasury into which shall 58
be paid any funds appropriated or otherwise made available by the 59
Legislature for disaster assistance. 60
(3) Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the State-Managed 61
Disaster Assistance Trust Fund shall be used for purposes 62
established in the Disaster Assistance Act of 1993 as well any 63
other lawful purpose deemed necessary to provide assistance in 64
accordance with Sections 1 through 9 of this act by the director 65
with the concurrence of the Governor, including, but not limited 66
to, any costs incurred by MEMA associated with the provision of 67
assistance services by the Mississippi Department of 68
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Transportation or the Mississippi National Guard may be reimbursed 69
when so tasked by the Governor to provide support. 70
(4) If funds within the trust are insufficient or otherwise 71
unavailable, and whenever the director determines that funds are 72
immediately needed in the State-Managed Disaster Assistance Trust 73
Fund to provide for disaster assistance under Sections 1 through 9 74
of this act, he or she shall notify the Executive Director of the 75
Department of Finance and Administration of this determination and 76
may requisition the amount of funds. Any funds appropriated or 77
otherwise made available by the Legislature not to exceed the 78
limit set forth in Section 6 of this act. At the same time the 79
requisition is made, the director shall notify the Lieutenant 80
Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 81
respective Chairmen of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the 82
Senate Finance Committee, the House Appropriations Committee and 83
the House Ways and Means Committee of the determination of the 84
need for the funds and the amount that has been requisitioned. 85
Upon receipt of such a requisition from the director, the 86
Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration 87
shall ascertain if the amount requisitioned is available may 88
transfer that amount to the trust fund. 89
(5) When requesting funds for the State-Managed Disaster 90
Assistance Trust Fund, the director shall request the amount 91
determined necessary for assistance following the preliminary 92
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damage assessment, which shall not exceed the annual per capita 93
impact indicator. 94
(6) Unexpended state funds in the State-Managed Disaster 95
Assistance Trust Fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse 96
into the State General Fund but shall remain in the trust fund for 97
use under Sections 1 through 9 of this act for as long as the 98
funds are needed for the particular purpose for which they were 99
appropriated, deposited or transferred into the trust fund. After 100
any state funds in the trust fund are no longer needed for the 101
particular purpose for which they were appropriated, deposited or 102
transferred into the trust fund, the director may use those funds 103
for any other purpose under this act for which they currently are 104
needed and for which other funds are not available. If there is 105
no current need for such funds for any purpose under this act the 106
funds may be transferred back to the particular fund or funds in 107
the State Treasury from which they were appropriated or 108
transferred into the trust fund, upon certification of the 109
director to the Executive Director of the Department of Finance 110
and Administration that the funds are not currently needed. 111
SECTION 6. (1) The director shall make allocations from the 112
trust fund in such amounts as is determined to be necessary to 113
state agencies, excluding MEMA, for out-of-pocket expenditures 114
incurred for emergency response, preliminary damage assessments, 115
estimates, reports and training of state agency personnel. The 116
director may make allocations to any state agency or office from 117
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the trust fund or other funds available therefore in such amounts, 118
up to an aggregate of Twenty Million Dollars ($20,000,000), as are 119
necessary to administer the provisions of this act. 120
(2) Any state agency receiving funds from the State-Managed 121
Disaster Assistance Trust Fund under this section may escalate its 122
budget and expend such funds in accordance with rules and 123
regulations of the Department of Finance and Administration. 124
SECTION 7. (1) Subject to the rules and regulations 125
promulgated by the director in accordance with Sections 1 through 126
9 of this act, the director shall allocate funds from the trust 127
fund to meet the cost of any one or more projects. The completion 128
of all or part of a project before application for funds under 129
this act shall not disqualify such project or any part thereof. 130
(2) To be eligible for state funding, the governing body of 131
the local agency must declare a local emergency and forward such 132
declaration to the Governor and/or Governor's Authorized 133
Representative. 134
(3) A state or local agency shall make application to the 135
director for state financial assistance in accordance with the 136
rules and regulations promulgated in accordance with Sections 1 137
through 9 of this act. 138
SECTION 8. Work performed by contract with a state or local 139
agency shall be subject to the provisions of Title 31, Chapter 5, 140
and Title 31, Chapter 7, Mississippi Code of 1972. Neither the 141
state or any officer or employee thereof shall have any 142
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ST: State-Managed Disaster Act of 2026;
establish.
responsibility in connection with any work performed by a local 143
agency. 144
SECTION 9. (1) Under procedures prescribed by the director, 145
a state or local agency may receive an advance of funds to 146
initiate a project. 147
(2) State contributions for the repair and restoration of 148
facilities shall be reduced by an amount equal to the insurance 149
settlement received or an amount equal to the amount the local 150
agency would have recovered from an insurance settlement, if 151
necessary, adequate and reasonably available insurance had been 152
maintained. 153
SECTION 10. This act shall take effect and be in force from 154
and after July 1, 2026, and shall stand repealed on June 30, 2026. 155