Fishing; residents who are 65 or older not required to pay fee at any state park or wildlife management area.

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To: Wildlife, Fisheries and
Parks; Appropriations A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Boyd (19th)

HOUSE BILL NO. 691

AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT RESIDENTS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI 1
WHO ARE SIXTY-FIVE YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED TO 2
PAY ANY FEE OR CHARGE FOR ENTRY OR FOR FISHING AT ANY STATE PARK 3
OR WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA; TO AMEND SECTION 55-3-33, MISSISSIPPI 4
CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING PROVISION; AND FOR 5
RELATED PURPOSES. 6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 7
SECTION 1. Any resident of the State of Mississippi who is 8
sixty-five (65) years of age or older shall not be required to pay 9
any fee or charge for entry or for fishing at any state park or 10
wildlife management area. 11
SECTION 2. Section 55-3-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 12
amended as follows: 13
55-3-33. (1) The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, 14
Fisheries and Parks may: 15
(a) Take charge and have full jurisdiction and control 16
over all state parks, which parks shall be operated for the 17
purpose of providing outdoor recreational activities and enjoyment 18
for the citizens of the State of Mississippi and for the purpose 19
of attracting visitors to the state. 20
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(b) Set up a uniform accounting procedure for the state 21
parks and prescribe the manner in which books, records and 22
accounts shall be kept, which procedure shall account for all 23
monies taken in and expended by the various parks and shall 24
provide for periodic audits of such books. 25
(c) Accept gifts, bequests of money or other property, 26
real or personal, to be used for the purpose of advancing the 27
recreation and conservation interests in state parks. The 28
department is authorized, subject to approval by the State 29
Legislature, to purchase property, real or personal, to be used 30
for state park purposes. 31
(d) Contract with the State Transportation Commission, 32
any municipality or board of supervisors of the state for 33
locating, constructing and maintaining roads and other 34
improvements in state parks and for payment of a part of the costs 35
thereof; however, no county or municipality more than twenty-five 36
(25) miles distant from a state park may contract for, or do, or 37
pay for any such work for a state park other than the 38
International Gardens of Mississippi. Any county or municipality 39
authorized to assist financially under the provisions of Sections 40
55-3-31 through 55-3-51 is authorized, in the discretion of its 41
respective governing authority, to set aside, appropriate and 42
expend monies from the General Fund for the purpose of defraying 43
such expense after a mandatory election is held on the question 44
within the county or municipality. 45
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(e) Designate employees as peace officers with power to 46
make arrests for infraction of the rules and regulations of the 47
department. Such officers are authorized to carry weapons and to 48
enforce the laws of the State of Mississippi within the confines 49
of a state park. 50
(f) Except as otherwise provided in Section 1 of this 51
act, enforce and delegate the responsibility to enforce all 52
reasonable rules and regulations governing the occupancy and use 53
of lands and waters in state parks under its jurisdiction, supply 54
recreational and conservation facilities and charge fees for the 55
use of same; review all rates and charges for facilities and 56
accommodations furnished at the various state parks annually, 57
making such charges as are justified; and establish fees for 58
entrance to state parks. 59
(g) To periodically establish a discounted fee or fees 60
for the entry and use of selected state parks and recreational 61
facilities. The discounted fee or fees shall only be used for the 62
purpose or purposes of marketing and promotion to increase the 63
patronage and revenue of those selected parks and facilities. The 64
discounted fee or fees shall not be considered a donation of state 65
property. 66
Each park shall retain from revenues generated therein, a sum 67
sufficient to pay necessary expenses of operation, but in no event 68
to be less than seventy-five percent (75%) of such revenues. 69
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(2) The department shall have the authority to lease to any 70
entity, sell and convey or otherwise transfer to any county or 71
municipality, or close any state park or historical site within 72
its jurisdiction which received a general fund subsidy in fiscal 73
year 1985 in excess of Two Dollars ($2.00) per visitor to such 74
state park or historical site; provided, however, that this 75
authority shall not include the authority to sell, lease or convey 76
any park that was not in operation under the jurisdiction of the 77
department for a full fiscal year prior to fiscal year 1986. 78
(3) The department may execute agreements with 79
rails-to-trails and recreational districts by which the department 80
will assume responsibility for the operation and maintenance of 81
trails developed under Sections 55-25-1 through 55-25-15. 82
(4) (a) The department may contract with the electric 83
public utility with a certificate of public convenience and 84
necessity to serve the area where a state park is located for the 85
transfer of ownership of the electrical infrastructure in the 86
state park to that electric public utility. 87
(b) If the electric public utility enters into an 88
agreement for the operation and maintenance of electrical 89
facilities in a state park, the electric public utility may 90
perform any upgrades to the electrical infrastructure of the park 91
that are necessary for the electrical infrastructure to be in 92
compliance with the electric public utility standards. The 93
electric public utility may assess the costs of the upgrades to 94
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ST: Fishing; residents who are 65 or older not
required to pay fee at any state park or
wildlife management area.
the department upon the terms and conditions agreed to by the 95
department and the electric public utility. 96
(c) The department may contract with the electric 97
public utility with the certificate of public convenience and 98
necessity to serve the area for the erection, construction, 99
maintenance, operation and control of electric distribution 100
substations, electric transmission lines, electrical 101
appurtenances, electrical appliances or electrical equipment 102
necessary or useful in the operation or distribution of electric 103
power or energy in the state park. 104
(d) Any agreement entered into by the department and an 105
electric public utility under this subsection is exempt from the 106
public purchasing requirements under Section 31-7-13. 107
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 108
and after July 1, 2026. 109