Education Enhancement Fund; revise date of issuance and distribution of procurement cards or digital solutions for classroom supplies.

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To: Education
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) DeBar

SENATE BILL NO. 2072

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 31-7-9 AND 37-61-33, MISSISSIPPI 1
CODE OF 1972, TO CHANGE THE DEADLINE, FROM AUGUST 1 TO JULY 15, 2
FOR THE ISSUANCE OF PROCUREMENT CARDS OR CREDENTIALS FOR A DIGITAL 3
SOLUTION TO TEACHERS AND NECESSARY SUPPORT PERSONNEL AT THE 4
BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR FOR THE PURCHASE OF INSTRUCTIONAL 5
SUPPLIES USING EDUCATIONAL ENHANCEMENT FUNDS; AND FOR RELATED 6
PURPOSES. 7
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 8
SECTION 1. Section 31-7-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 9
amended as follows: 10
31-7-9. (1) (a) The Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet 11
Management shall adopt purchasing regulations governing the 12
purchase by any agency of any commodity or commodities and 13
establishing standards and specifications for a commodity or 14
commodities and the maximum fair prices of a commodity or 15
commodities, subject to the approval of the Public Procurement 16
Review Board. It shall have the power to amend, add to or 17
eliminate purchasing regulations. The adoption of, amendment, 18
addition to or elimination of purchasing regulations shall be 19
based upon a determination by the Office of Purchasing, Travel and 20
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Fleet Management with the approval of the Public Procurement 21
Review Board, that such action is reasonable and practicable and 22
advantageous to promote efficiency and economy in the purchase of 23
commodities by the agencies of the state. Upon the adoption of 24
any purchasing regulation, or an amendment, addition or 25
elimination therein, copies of same shall be furnished to the 26
State Auditor and to all agencies affected thereby. Thereafter, 27
and except as otherwise may be provided in subsection (2) of this 28
section, no agency of the state shall purchase any commodities 29
covered by existing purchasing regulations unless such commodities 30
be in conformity with the standards and specifications set forth 31
in the purchasing regulations and unless the price thereof does 32
not exceed the maximum fair price established by such purchasing 33
regulations. The Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet 34
Management shall furnish to any county or municipality or other 35
local public agency of the state requesting same, copies of 36
purchasing regulations adopted by the Office of Purchasing, Travel 37
and Fleet Management and any amendments, changes or eliminations 38
of same that may be made from time to time. 39
(b) The Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet 40
Management may adopt purchasing regulations governing the use of 41
credit cards, procurement cards and purchasing club membership 42
cards to be used by state agencies, governing authorities of 43
counties and municipalities, school districts and the Chickasawhay 44
Natural Gas District. Use of the cards shall be in strict 45
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compliance with the regulations promulgated by the office. Any 46
amounts due on the cards shall incur interest charges as set forth 47
in Section 31-7-305 and shall not be considered debt. 48
(c) Pursuant to the provision of Section 37-61-33(2), 49
the Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management of the 50
Department of Finance and Administration is authorized to issue 51
procurement cards or credentials for a digital solution to all 52
public school district classroom teachers, charter school 53
teachers, full- or part-time gifted or special education teachers 54
and other necessary direct support personnel at the beginning of 55
the school year, but no later than * * * July 15 of each year, for 56
the purchase of instructional supplies using Educational 57
Enhancement Funds. The cards will be issued in equal amounts per 58
teacher determined by the total number of qualifying personnel and 59
the then current state appropriation for classroom instructional 60
supplies under the Education Enhancement Fund. All purchases 61
shall be in accordance with state law and teachers are responsible 62
for verification of capital asset requirements when pooling monies 63
to purchase equipment. The cards will expire on a predetermined 64
date at the end of each school year, but not before April 1 of 65
each year. All unexpended amounts will be carried forward, to be 66
combined with the following year's instructional supply fund 67
allocation, and reallocated for the following year. The 68
Department of Finance and Administration is authorized to loan any 69
start-up funds at the beginning of the school year to fund this 70
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procurement system for instructional supplies with loan repayment 71
being made from sales tax receipts earmarked for the Education 72
Enhancement Fund. 73
(d) In a sale of goods or services, the seller shall 74
not impose a surcharge on a buyer who uses a state-issued credit 75
card, procurement card, travel card, or fuel card. The Department 76
of Finance and Administration shall have exclusive jurisdiction to 77
enforce and adopt rules relating to this paragraph. Any rules 78
adopted under this paragraph shall be consistent with federal laws 79
and regulations governing credit card transactions described by 80
this paragraph. This paragraph does not create a cause of action 81
against an individual for a violation of this paragraph. 82
(2) The Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management 83
shall adopt, subject to the approval of the Public Procurement 84
Review Board, purchasing regulations governing the purchase of 85
unmarked vehicles to be used by the Bureau of Narcotics and 86
Department of Public Safety in official investigations pursuant to 87
Section 25-1-87. Such regulations shall ensure that purchases of 88
such vehicles shall be at a fair price and shall take into 89
consideration the peculiar needs of the Bureau of Narcotics and 90
Department of Public Safety in undercover operations. 91
(3) The Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management 92
shall adopt, subject to the approval of the Public Procurement 93
Review Board, regulations governing the certification process for 94
certified purchasing offices, including the Mississippi Purchasing 95
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Certification Program, which shall be required of all purchasing 96
agents at state agencies. Such regulations shall require entities 97
desiring to be classified as certified purchasing offices to 98
submit applications and applicable documents on an annual basis, 99
and in the case of a state agency purchasing office, to have one 100
hundred percent (100%) participation and completion by purchasing 101
agents in the Mississippi Purchasing Certification Program, at 102
which time the Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management 103
may provide the governing entity with a certification valid for 104
one (1) year from the date of issuance. The Office of Purchasing, 105
Travel and Fleet Management shall set a fee in an amount that 106
recovers its costs to administer the Mississippi Purchasing 107
Certification Program, which shall be assessed to the 108
participating state agencies. 109
(4) The Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management 110
shall adopt purchasing regulations authorizing rural water 111
associations to purchase at the state contract price afforded to 112
agencies and governing authorities under this chapter. 113
SECTION 2. Section 37-61-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 114
amended as follows: 115
37-61-33. (1) There is created within the State Treasury a 116
special fund to be designated the "Education Enhancement Fund" 117
into which shall be deposited all the revenues collected pursuant 118
to Sections 27-65-75(5), (7) and (8), 27-67-31(a) and (b) and 119
Section 2 of this act. 120
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(2) Of the amount deposited into the Education Enhancement 121
Fund, Sixteen Million Dollars ($16,000,000.00) shall be 122
appropriated each fiscal year to the State Department of Education 123
to be distributed to all school districts. Such money shall be 124
distributed to all school districts in the proportion that the net 125
enrollment of each school district bears to the net enrollment of 126
all school districts within the state for the following purposes: 127
(a) Purchasing, erecting, repairing, equipping, 128
remodeling and enlarging school buildings and related facilities, 129
including gymnasiums, auditoriums, lunchrooms, vocational training 130
buildings, libraries, teachers' homes, school barns, 131
transportation vehicles (which shall include new and used 132
transportation vehicles) and garages for transportation vehicles, 133
and purchasing land therefor; 134
(b) Establishing and equipping school athletic fields 135
and necessary facilities connected therewith, and purchasing land 136
therefor; 137
(c) Providing necessary water, light, heating, 138
air-conditioning and sewerage facilities for school buildings, and 139
purchasing land therefor; 140
(d) As a pledge to pay all or a portion of the debt 141
service on debt issued by the school district under Sections 142
37-59-1 through 37-59-45, 37-59-101 through 37-59-115, 37-7-351 143
through 37-7-359, 37-41-89 through 37-41-99, 37-7-301, 37-7-302 144
and 37-41-81, or debt issued by boards of supervisors for 145
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agricultural high schools pursuant to Section 37-27-65, if such 146
pledge is accomplished pursuant to a written contract or 147
resolution approved and spread upon the minutes of an official 148
meeting of the district's school board or board of supervisors. 149
The annual grant to such district in any subsequent year during 150
the term of the resolution or contract shall not be reduced below 151
an amount equal to the district's grant amount for the year in 152
which the contract or resolution was adopted. The intent of this 153
provision is to allow school districts to irrevocably pledge a 154
certain, constant stream of revenue as security for long-term 155
obligations issued under the code sections enumerated in this 156
paragraph or as otherwise allowed by law. It is the intent of the 157
Legislature that the provisions of this paragraph shall be 158
cumulative and supplemental to any existing funding programs or 159
other authority conferred upon school districts or school boards. 160
Debt of a district secured by a pledge of sales tax revenue 161
pursuant to this paragraph shall not be subject to any debt 162
limitation contained in the foregoing enumerated code sections; 163
and 164
(e) Any other purpose for which the total funding 165
formula funds as determined by Sections 37-151-200 through 166
37-151-215 are not sufficient. 167
(3) The remainder of the money deposited into the Education 168
Enhancement Fund shall be appropriated as follows: 169
(a) To the State Department of Education as follows: 170
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(i) Sixteen and sixty-one one-hundredths percent 171
(16.61%) to the cost of the total funding formula determined under 172
Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215; of the funds generated by 173
the percentage set forth in this section for the support of the 174
adequate education program, one and one hundred seventy-eight 175
one-thousandths percent (1.178%) of the funds shall be 176
appropriated to be used by the State Department of Education for 177
the purchase of textbooks to be loaned under Sections 37-43-1 178
through 37-43-59 to approved nonpublic schools, as described in 179
Section 37-43-1. The funds to be distributed to each nonpublic 180
school shall be in the proportion that the average daily 181
attendance of each nonpublic school bears to the total average 182
daily attendance of all nonpublic schools; 183
(ii) Seven and ninety-seven one-hundredths percent 184
(7.97%) to assist the funding of transportation operations and 185
maintenance pursuant to Section 37-19-23; and 186
(iii) Nine and sixty-one one-hundredths percent 187
(9.61%) for classroom supplies, instructional materials and 188
equipment, including computers and computer software, to be 189
distributed to all eligible teachers within the state through the 190
use of procurement cards or a digital solution capable of 191
tracking, paying and reporting purchases. Classroom supply funds 192
shall not be expended for administrative purposes. On a date to 193
be determined by the State Department of Education, but not later 194
than July 1 of each year, local school districts shall determine 195
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and submit to the State Department of Education the number of 196
teachers eligible to receive an allocation for the current year. 197
For purposes of this subparagraph, "teacher" means any employee of 198
the school board of a school district, or the Mississippi School 199
for the Arts, the Mississippi School for Math and Science, the 200
Mississippi School for the Blind, the Mississippi School for the 201
Deaf or public charter school, who is required by law to obtain a 202
teacher's license from the State Department of Education and who 203
is assigned to an instructional area of work as defined by the 204
department, and shall include any full- or part-time gifted or 205
special education teacher. It is the intent of the Legislature 206
that all classroom teachers shall utilize these funds in a manner 207
that addresses individual classroom needs and supports the overall 208
goals of the school regarding supplies, instructional materials, 209
equipment, computers or computer software under the provisions of 210
this subparagraph, including the type, quantity and quality of 211
such supplies, materials and equipment. Classroom supply funds 212
allocated under this subparagraph shall supplement, not replace, 213
other local and state funds available for the same purposes. The 214
State Board of Education shall develop and promulgate rules and 215
regulations for the administration of this subparagraph consistent 216
with the above criteria, with particular emphasis on allowing the 217
individual teachers to expend funds as they deem appropriate. The 218
local school board shall require each school to issue credentials 219
for a digital solution selected by or procurement cards provided 220
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by the Department of Finance and Administration under the 221
provisions of Section 31-7-9(1)(c) for the use of teachers and 222
necessary support personnel in making instructional supply fund 223
expenditures under this section, consistent with the regulations 224
of the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration 225
pursuant to Section 31-7-9. Such credentials or procurement cards 226
shall be provided by the State Department of Education to local 227
school districts on a date determined by the State Department of 228
Education, but not later than * * * July 15 of each year. Local 229
school districts shall issue such credentials or procurement cards 230
to classroom teachers at the beginning of the school year, but no 231
later than * * * July 15 of each year, and shall be issued in 232
equal amounts per teacher determined by the total number of 233
qualifying personnel and the current state appropriation for 234
classroom supplies with the Education Enhancement Fund. After 235
initial cards are issued under the timeline prescribed by this 236
section, the State Department of Education may issue cards to 237
districts for any classroom teacher hired after July 1 under a 238
timeline prescribed by the State Department of Education. Such 239
credentials or cards will expire on a predetermined date at the 240
end of each school year, but not before April 1 of each year; 241
(b) Twenty-two and nine one-hundredths percent (22.09%) 242
to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning 243
for the purpose of supporting institutions of higher learning; and 244
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ST: Education Enhancement Fund; revise date of
issuance and distribution of procurement cards
or digital solutions for classroom supplies.
(c) Fourteen and forty-one one-hundredths percent 245
(14.41%) to the Mississippi Community College Board for the 246
purpose of providing support to community and junior colleges. 247
(4) The amount remaining in the Education Enhancement Fund 248
after funds are distributed as provided in subsections (2) and (3) 249
of this section shall be appropriated for other educational needs. 250
(5) None of the funds appropriated pursuant to subsection 251
(3)(a) of this section shall be used to reduce the state's General 252
Fund appropriation for the categories listed in an amount below 253
the following amounts: 254
(a) For subsection (3)(a)(ii) of this section, 255
Thirty-six Million Seven Hundred Thousand Dollars 256
($36,700,000.00); 257
(b) For the aggregate of minimum program allotments in 258
the 1997 fiscal year, formerly provided for in Chapter 19, Title 259
37, Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended, excluding those funds 260
for transportation as provided for in paragraph (a) of this 261
subsection. 262
(6) Any funds appropriated from the Education Enhancement 263
Fund that are unexpended at the end of a fiscal year shall lapse 264
into the Education Enhancement Fund. 265
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 266
and after its passage. 267