Bonds; authorize issuance for improvements at Alcorn State University, Jackson State University and Mississippi Valley State University.

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To: Ways and Means
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representatives Hines, Johnson, Denton,
Bailey (49th), Clark, Harness, Jackson (45th)

HOUSE BILL NO. 1834

AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE ISSUANCE OF STATE GENERAL OBLIGATION 1
BONDS FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING FUNDS FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, 2
AND REPAIR, RENOVATION AND UPGRADING OF AND IMPROVEMENTS TO CAMPUS 3
BUILDINGS, FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE, AT JACKSON STATE 4
UNIVERSITY, ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY AND MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 5
UNIVERSITY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 7
SECTION 1. (1) As used in this act, the following words 8
shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly 9
requires otherwise: 10
(a) "State" means the State of Mississippi. 11
(b) "Commission" means the State Bond Commission. 12
(2) The principal of and interest on the bonds authorized 13
under this act shall be payable in the manner provided in this 14
subsection. Such bonds shall bear such date or dates, be in such 15
denomination or denominations, bear interest at such rate or rates 16
(not to exceed the limits set forth in Section 75-17-101, 17
Mississippi Code of 1972), be payable at such place or places 18
within or without the State of Mississippi, shall mature 19
absolutely at such time or times not to exceed twenty-five (25) 20
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years from date of issue, be redeemable before maturity at such 21
time or times and upon such terms, with or without premium, shall 22
bear such registration privileges, and shall be substantially in 23
such form, all as shall be determined by resolution of the 24
commission. 25
(3) The bonds authorized by this act shall be signed by the 26
chairman of the commission, or by his facsimile signature, and the 27
official seal of the commission shall be affixed thereto, attested 28
by the secretary of the commission. The interest coupons, if any, 29
to be attached to such bonds may be executed by the facsimile 30
signatures of such officers. Whenever any such bonds shall have 31
been signed by the officials designated to sign the bonds who were 32
in office at the time of such signing but who may have ceased to 33
be such officers before the sale and delivery of such bonds, or 34
who may not have been in office on the date such bonds may bear, 35
the signatures of such officers upon such bonds and coupons shall 36
nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all purposes and have the 37
same effect as if the person so officially signing such bonds had 38
remained in office until their delivery to the purchaser, or had 39
been in office on the date such bonds may bear. However, 40
notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, such bonds may be 41
issued as provided in the Registered Bond Act of the State of 42
Mississippi. 43
(4) All bonds and interest coupons issued under the 44
provisions of this act have all the qualities and incidents of 45
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negotiable instruments under the provisions of the Uniform 46
Commercial Code, and in exercising the powers granted by this act, 47
the commission shall not be required to and need not comply with 48
the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code. 49
(5) The commission shall act as issuing agent for the bonds 50
authorized under this act, prescribe the form of the bonds, 51
determine the appropriate method for sale of the bonds, advertise 52
for and accept bids or negotiate the sale of the bonds, issue and 53
sell the bonds so authorized to be sold, pay all fees and costs 54
incurred in such issuance and sale, and do any and all other 55
things necessary and advisable in connection with the issuance and 56
sale of such bonds. The commission is authorized and empowered to 57
pay the costs that are incident to the sale, issuance and delivery 58
of the bonds authorized under this act from the proceeds derived 59
from the sale of such bonds. The commission may sell such bonds 60
on sealed bids at public sale or may negotiate the sale of the 61
bonds for such price as it may determine to be for the best 62
interest of the State of Mississippi. All interest accruing on 63
such bonds so issued shall be payable semiannually or annually. 64
If such bonds are sold by sealed bids at public sale, notice 65
of the sale shall be published at least one time, not less than 66
ten (10) days before the date of sale, and shall be so published 67
in one or more newspapers published or having a general 68
circulation in the City of Jackson, Mississippi, selected by the 69
commission. 70
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The commission, when issuing any bonds under the authority of 71
this act, may provide that bonds, at the option of the State of 72
Mississippi, may be called in for payment and redemption at the 73
call price named therein and accrued interest on such date or 74
dates named therein. 75
(6) The bonds issued under the provisions of this act are 76
general obligations of the State of Mississippi, and for the 77
payment thereof the full faith and credit of the State of 78
Mississippi is irrevocably pledged. If the funds appropriated by 79
the Legislature are insufficient to pay the principal of and the 80
interest on such bonds as they become due, then the deficiency 81
shall be paid by the State Treasurer from any funds in the State 82
Treasury not otherwise appropriated. All such bonds shall contain 83
recitals on their faces substantially covering the provisions of 84
this subsection. 85
(7) Upon the issuance and sale of bonds under the provisions 86
of this act, the commission shall transfer the proceeds of any 87
such sale or sales to the special fund created in Section 2(1) of 88
this act. The proceeds of such bonds shall be disbursed from the 89
special fund under such restrictions, if any, as may be contained 90
in the resolution providing for the issuance of the bonds. 91
(8) The bonds authorized under this act may be issued 92
without any other proceedings or the happening of any other 93
conditions or things other than those proceedings, conditions and 94
things which are specified or required by this act. Any 95
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resolution providing for the issuance of bonds under the 96
provisions of this act shall become effective immediately upon its 97
adoption by the commission, and any such resolution may be adopted 98
at any regular or special meeting of the commission by a majority 99
of its members. 100
(9) The bonds authorized under the authority of this act may 101
be validated in the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District 102
of Hinds County, Mississippi, in the manner and with the force and 103
effect provided by Chapter 13, Title 31, Mississippi Code of 1972, 104
for the validation of county, municipal, school district and other 105
bonds. The notice to taxpayers required by such statutes shall be 106
published in a newspaper published or having a general circulation 107
in the City of Jackson, Mississippi. 108
(10) Any holder of bonds issued under the provisions of this 109
act or of any of the interest coupons pertaining thereto may, 110
either at law or in equity, by suit, action, mandamus or other 111
proceeding, protect and enforce any and all rights granted under 112
this act, or under such resolution, and may enforce and compel 113
performance of all duties required by this act to be performed, in 114
order to provide for the payment of bonds and interest thereon. 115
(11) All bonds issued under the provisions of this act shall 116
be legal investments for trustees and other fiduciaries, and for 117
savings banks, trust companies and insurance companies organized 118
under the laws of the State of Mississippi, and such bonds shall 119
be legal securities which may be deposited with and shall be 120
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received by all public officers and bodies of this state and all 121
municipalities and political subdivisions for the purpose of 122
securing the deposit of public funds. 123
(12) Bonds issued under the provisions of this act and 124
income therefrom shall be exempt from all taxation in the State of 125
Mississippi. 126
(13) The proceeds of the bonds issued under this act shall 127
be used solely for the purposes herein provided, including the 128
costs incident to the issuance and sale of such bonds. 129
(14) The State Treasurer is authorized, without further 130
process of law, to certify to the Department of Finance and 131
Administration the necessity for warrants, and the Department of 132
Finance and Administration is authorized and directed to issue 133
such warrants, in such amounts as may be necessary to pay when due 134
the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on, or the 135
accreted value of, all bonds issued under this act; and the State 136
Treasurer shall forward the necessary amount to the designated 137
place or places of payment of such bonds in ample time to 138
discharge such bonds, or the interest thereon, on the due dates 139
thereof. As used in this section, the "accreted value" of any 140
bond means, as of any date of computation, an amount equal to the 141
sum of (i) the stated initial value of such bond, plus (ii) the 142
interest accrued thereon from the issue date to the date of 143
computation at the rate, compounded semiannually, that is 144
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necessary to produce the approximate yield to maturity shown for 145
bonds of the same maturity. 146
(15) This act shall be deemed to be full and complete 147
authority for the exercise of the powers granted in this act that 148
relate to the issuance of bonds, but this act shall not be deemed 149
to repeal or to be in derogation of any existing law of this state 150
that relates to the issuance of bonds. 151
SECTION 2. (1) (a) (i) A special fund, to be designated 152
as the "2026 HBCU Reinvestment Bond Fund", is created within the 153
State Treasury. The fund shall be maintained by the State 154
Treasurer as a separate and special fund, separate and apart from 155
the General Fund of the state. Unexpended amounts remaining in 156
the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the 157
State General Fund, and any interest earned or investment earnings 158
on amounts in the fund shall be deposited into such fund. 159
(ii) Monies deposited into the fund shall be 160
disbursed, in the discretion of the Department of Finance and 161
Administration, as provided in this subsection. Of the initial 162
monies deposited into the fund, twenty-five percent (25%) thereof 163
shall be allocated for use at Jackson State University, 164
thirty-five percent (35%) thereof shall be allocated for use at 165
Alcorn State University, and forty percent (40%) thereof shall be 166
allocated for use at Mississippi Valley State University. Monies 167
that are subsequently deposited into to fund and derived the 168
proceeds of bonds issued under this act shall be allocated in the 169
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same percentages among Jackson State University, Alcorn State 170
University, and Mississippi Valley State University, respectively. 171
Monies disbursed from the fund shall be used for capital 172
improvements, and repair, renovation and upgrading of and 173
improvements to campus buildings, facilities and infrastructure, 174
including, but not limited to: 175
1. Deferred maintenance elimination; 176
2. STEM, research, and innovation facilities; 177
3. Residence hall modernization and 178
construction; 179
4. Campus safety and security systems; 180
5. Energy efficiency and sustainability 181
upgrades; 182
6. ADA and compliance renovations; 183
7. Athletics infrastructure directly tied to 184
student recruitment, Title IX, or facility deficiency; 185
8. Libraries, academic buildings, and 186
instructional technology; and 187
9. Water, sewer, and environmental 188
infrastructure replacements. 189
(b) Amounts deposited into such special fund shall be 190
disbursed to pay the costs of the projects described in paragraph 191
(a) of this subsection. Promptly after the commission has 192
certified, by resolution duly adopted, that the projects described 193
in paragraph (a) of this subsection shall have been completed, 194
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abandoned, or cannot be completed in a timely fashion, any amounts 195
remaining in such special fund shall be applied to pay debt 196
service on the bonds issued under this section, in accordance with 197
the proceedings authorizing the issuance of such bonds and as 198
directed by the commission. 199
(2) (a) The commission, at one time, or from time to time, 200
may declare by resolution the necessity for issuance of general 201
obligation bonds of the State of Mississippi to provide funds for 202
all costs incurred or to be incurred for the purposes described in 203
subsection (1) of this section. Upon the adoption of a resolution 204
by the Department of Finance and Administration, declaring the 205
necessity for the issuance of any part or all of the general 206
obligation bonds authorized by this section, the department shall 207
deliver a certified copy of its resolution or resolutions to the 208
commission. Upon receipt of such resolution, the commission is 209
authorized to proceed under the provisions of Section 1(5) of this 210
act. The total amount of bonds issued under this section shall 211
not exceed Five Hundred Million Dollars ($500,000,000.00). No 212
bonds shall be issued under this section after July 1, 2036. 213
(b) Any investment earnings on amounts deposited into 214
the special fund created in subsection (1) of this section shall 215
be used to pay debt service on bonds issued under this section, in 216
accordance with the proceedings authorizing issuance of such 217
bonds. 218
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ST: Bonds; authorize issuance for improvements
at Alcorn State University, Jackson State
University and Mississippi Valley State
University.
(3) The provisions of Section 1 of this act shall apply to 219
the issuance of bonds authorized under this section. 220
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 221
and after July 1, 2026. 222