Housing authorities; enable participation in mixed-finance projects and self-insurance pooling arrangements.

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To: Housing; Finance
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Hickman, Michel, Simmons
(13th)

SENATE BILL NO. 2257

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 43-33-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
DEFINE THE TERM "MIXED-FINANCE PROJECT" FOR USE IN THE HOUSING 2
AUTHORITIES LAW; TO AMEND SECTION 43-33-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 3
1972, TO AUTHORIZE AN AUTHORITY TO PREPARE, CARRY OUT, ACQUIRE, 4
LEASE AND OPERATE HOUSING PROJECTS AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE 5
CONSTRUCTION, RECONSTRUCTION, IMPROVEMENT, ALTERATION OR REPAIR OF 6
ANY HOUSING PROJECT OR ANY PART THEREOF BY DIRECT SPONSORSHIP OF 7
THE AUTHORITY, BY THE PURCHASE OF A MORTGAGE OR BY THE MAKING OF A 8
MORTGAGE LOAN TO A NOT-FOR-PROFIT ENTITY OR CORPORATION; TO 9
AUTHORIZE AN AUTHORITY TO PARTICIPATE IN MIXED-FINANCE PROJECTS TO 10
PROVIDE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION, RECONSTRUCTION, REHABILITATION, 11
IMPROVEMENT, ALTERATION OR REPAIR OF ANY HOUSING PROJECT OR ANY 12
PART THEREOF; TO ENABLE AN AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE CERTAIN ASSISTANCE 13
TO A MIXED-FINANCE PROJECT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OR REHABILITATION 14
OF A HOUSING PROJECT; TO AUTHORIZE THE FORMATION OF A 15
SELF-INSURANCE POOLING ARRANGEMENT UNDER SECTION 11-46-17 WHEN ONE 16
OR MORE AUTHORITIES FORM PARTNERSHIPS, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANIES 17
OR OTHER ENTITIES FOR THE PURPOSE OF UNDERTAKING A MIXED-FINANCE 18
PROJECT; TO AUTHORIZE SUCH HOUSING AUTHORITY-RELATED ENTITIES TO 19
ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS FOR JOINT OR COOPERATIVE ACTION TO POOL 20
THEIR FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE RESOURCES FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES 21
RELATED TO LIABILITY OR INSURABILITY; TO AMEND SECTION 43-33-17, 22
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCLUDE MIXED-FINANCE PROJECTS AMONG 23
PROJECTS FOR WHICH TWO OR MORE AUTHORITIES MAY JOIN OR COOPERATE 24
WITH ONE ANOTHER FOR CERTAIN ACTIVITIES; TO CREATE NEW SECTION 25
43-33-52, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN 26
INDIVIDUALS WHO INCORPORATE OR JOIN AS A PARTNER OR MEMBER TO 27
DEVELOP OR MANAGE A MIXED-FINANCE PROJECT ENJOY THE SAME 28
PROTECTIONS AND IMMUNITIES PROVIDED TO HOUSING AUTHORITY 29
CORPORATIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 30
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 31
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SECTION 1. Section 43-33-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 32
amended as follows: 33
43-33-1. Sections 43-33-1 through 43-33-53 may be referred 34
to as the "Housing Authorities Law," and the following terms, 35
whenever used or referred to in said sections, shall have the 36
following respective meanings, unless a different meaning clearly 37
appears from the context: 38
(a) "Authority" or "housing authority" shall mean any 39
of the public corporations created by or pursuant to this Housing 40
Authorities Law, or any law amendatory or supplemental thereto, 41
with power to undertake housing projects for the persons of low 42
income. 43
(b) "City" shall mean any city in this state. "County" 44
shall mean any county in this state. "The city" shall mean the 45
particular city for which a particular housing authority is 46
created. "The county" shall mean the particular county for which 47
a particular housing authority is created. 48
(c) "State public body" shall mean any city, town, 49
village, county, municipal corporation, commission, district, 50
authority, or other subdivision or other public body of this 51
state. 52
(d) "Governing body" shall mean, in the case of a city, 53
the board of aldermen, commissioners, or council; in the case of a 54
county, the board of supervisors; and in the case of any other 55
state public body, the board of aldermen, council, commissioners, 56
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board or other body having charge of the fiscal affairs of such 57
state public body. 58
(e) "Mayor" shall mean the mayor of the city or the 59
officer thereof charged with the duties customarily imposed on the 60
mayor or executive head of the city. 61
(f) "Clerk" shall mean the clerk of the city or the 62
clerk of the county, as the case may be, or the officer charged 63
with the duties customarily imposed on such clerk. 64
(g) "Area of operation," in the case of a housing 65
authority of a city, shall include such city and the area within 66
five (5) miles of the territorial boundaries thereof. 67
(h) "Federal government" shall include the United 68
States of America, the United States Housing Authority, or any 69
other agency or instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of the 70
United States of America. 71
(i) "Slum" shall mean any area where dwellings 72
predominate which, by reason of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty 73
arrangement, or design, lack of ventilation, light or sanitary 74
facilities, or any combination of these factors, are detrimental 75
to safety, health or morals. 76
(j) "Housing project" shall mean any work or 77
undertaking: (1) to demolish, clear or remove buildings from any 78
slum area; such work or undertaking may embrace the adoption of 79
such area to public purposes, including parks or other 80
recreational or community purposes; or (2) to provide decent, safe 81
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and sanitary urban or rural dwellings, apartments, or other living 82
accommodations for persons of low income; such work or undertaking 83
may include buildings, land, equipment, facilities, and other real 84
or personal property for necessary, convenient, or desirable 85
appurtenances, streets, sewers, water service, parks, site 86
preparation, gardening, administrative, community, health, 87
recreational, welfare or other purposes; or (3) to accomplish a 88
combination of the aforegoing. The term "housing project" also 89
may be applied to the planning of the buildings and improvements, 90
the acquisition of property, the demolition of existing 91
structures, the construction, reconstruction, alteration and 92
repair of the improvements and all other work in connection 93
therewith. 94
(k) "Mixed-finance project" shall mean a project that 95
is financially assisted by private resources, which may include 96
low-income housing tax credits, in addition to an amount provided 97
under any state or federal program. "Mixed-finance project" 98
includes a project that is developed by: 99
(i) An authority or an entity affiliated with an 100
authority; 101
(ii) A partnership, limited liability company, or 102
other entity in which the authority, or an entity affiliated with 103
an authority, is a general partner, managing member, or otherwise 104
participates in the activities of the entity; or 105
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(iii) Any entity that grants to the authority the 106
right of first refusal and first option to purchase, after the 107
close of the compliance period, the qualified low-income building 108
in which the public housing units exist in accordance with Section 109
42(i)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 USC § 42(i)(7)). 110
( * * *l) "Persons of low income" shall mean persons or 111
families who lack the amount of income which is necessary (as 112
determined by the authority undertaking the housing project) to 113
enable them, without financial assistance, to live in decent, safe 114
and sanitary dwellings, without overcrowding. 115
( * * *m) "Bonds" shall mean any bonds, notes, interim 116
certificates, debentures, or other obligations issued by a housing 117
authority. 118
( * * *n) "Real property" shall include all lands, 119
including improvements and fixtures thereon, and property of any 120
nature appurtenant thereto, or used in connection therewith, and 121
every estate, interest and right, legal or equitable, therein 122
including terms for years and liens by way of judgment, mortgage 123
or otherwise and the indebtedness secured by such liens. 124
( * * *o) "Obligee of the authority" or "obligee" shall 125
include any bondholder, trustee or trustees for any bondholders, 126
or lessor demising to the authority property used in connection 127
with a housing project, or any assignee or assignees of such 128
lessor's interest or any part thereof, and the federal government 129
when it is a party to any contract with the authority. 130
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SECTION 2. Section 43-33-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 131
amended as follows: 132
43-33-11. An authority shall constitute a public body 133
corporate and politic, exercising public and essential 134
governmental functions, and having all the powers necessary or 135
convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions 136
of this article, including the following powers in addition to 137
others herein granted: 138
(a) To sue and to be sued; to have a seal and to alter 139
the same at pleasure; to have perpetual succession; to make and 140
execute contracts and other instruments necessary or convenient to 141
the exercise of the powers of the authority; and to make and from 142
time to time amend and repeal bylaws, rules and regulations, not 143
inconsistent with this article, to carry into effect the powers 144
and purposes of the authority. 145
(b) Within its area of operation: to prepare, carry 146
out, acquire, lease and operate housing projects; to provide for 147
the construction, reconstruction, improvement, alteration or 148
repair of any housing project or any part thereof by direct 149
sponsorship of the authority, by the purchase of a mortgage or by 150
the making of a mortgage loan to a not-for-profit entity or 151
corporation. 152
(c) To own, operate, assist or otherwise participate in 153
one or more mixed-finance projects to provide for the 154
construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, improvement, 155
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alteration or repair of any housing project or any part thereof. 156
An authority may provide capital assistance, operating assistance 157
and financing assistance to a mixed-finance project in the form of 158
a grant, loan, guaranty, collateralization or other form of 159
investment in the project, or other form of public or private 160
borrowings, for the construction or rehabilitation of a housing 161
project. 162
( * * *d) To arrange or contract for the furnishing by 163
any person or agency, public or private, of services, privileges, 164
works or facilities for, or in connection with, a housing project 165
or the occupants thereof; and (notwithstanding anything to the 166
contrary contained in this article or in any other provision of 167
law) to include in any contract let in connection with a project, 168
stipulations requiring that the contractor and any subcontractors 169
comply with requirements as to minimum wages and maximum hours of 170
labor, and comply with any conditions which the federal government 171
may have attached to its financial aid of the project. 172
( * * *e) To lease or rent any dwellings, houses, 173
accommodations, lands, buildings, structures or facilities 174
embraced in any housing project and (subject to the limitations 175
contained in this article) to establish and revise the rents or 176
charges therefor; to own, hold and improve real or personal 177
property; to purchase, lease, obtain options upon, acquire by 178
gift, grant, bequest, devise or otherwise any real or personal 179
property or any interest therein; to acquire by the exercise of 180
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the power of eminent domain any real property; to sell, lease, 181
exchange, transfer, assign, pledge or dispose of any real or 182
personal property or any interest therein; to insure or provide 183
for the insurance of any real or personal property or operations 184
of the authority against any risks or hazards; to procure or agree 185
to the procurement of insurance or guarantees from the federal 186
government of the payment of any bonds or parts thereof issued by 187
an authority, including the power to pay premiums on any such 188
insurance. 189
(f) When one or more authorities have formed 190
partnerships, limited liability companies, or other entities in 191
which an authority, or an entity affiliated with an authority, is 192
a general partner, managing member, or otherwise participates in 193
the activities of the entity for the sake of undertaking a 194
mixed-finance project, the housing authority-related entities may 195
form a self-insurance pooling arrangement under Section 11-46-17. 196
Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, such housing 197
authority-related entities may enter into an agreement or 198
agreements with each other for joint or cooperative action to pool 199
their financial and administrative resources for the purpose of 200
providing to the participating housing authority-related entities 201
risk management, insurance, reinsurance, self-insurance, or any 202
combination thereof for any and all of the areas of liability or 203
insurability, or both, for such housing authority-related 204
entities. 205
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( * * *g) To invest any funds held in reserves or 206
sinking funds, or any funds not required for immediate 207
disbursement, in property or securities in which savings banks may 208
legally invest funds subject to their control; to purchase its 209
bonds at a price not more than the principal amount thereof and 210
accrued interest, all bonds so purchased to be canceled. 211
( * * *h) Within its area of operation: to investigate 212
into living, dwelling and housing conditions and into the means 213
and methods of improving such conditions; to determine where slum 214
areas exist or where there is a shortage of decent, safe and 215
sanitary dwelling accommodations for persons of low income; to 216
make studies and recommendations relating to the problem of 217
clearing, replanning and reconstructing of slum areas, and the 218
problem of providing dwelling accommodations for persons of low 219
income, and to cooperate with the city, the county, the state or 220
any political subdivision thereof in action taken in connection 221
with such problems; and to engage in research, studies and 222
experimentation on the subject of housing. 223
( * * *i) Acting through one or more commissioners or 224
other person or persons designated by the authority: to conduct 225
examinations and investigations and to hear testimony and take 226
proof under oath at public or private hearings on any matter 227
material to its information; to administer oaths, issue subpoenas 228
requiring the attendance of witnesses or the production of books 229
and papers and to issue commissions for the examination of 230
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witnesses who are outside of the state or unable to attend before 231
the authority, or excused from attendance; to make available to 232
appropriate agencies (including those charged with the duty of 233
abating or requiring the correction of nuisances or like 234
conditions, or of demolishing unsafe or unsanitary structures 235
within its area of operation) its findings and recommendations 236
with regard to any building or property where conditions exist 237
which are dangerous to the public health, morals, safety or 238
welfare. 239
( * * *j) To make payments to public bodies in the 240
state in such amounts as it finds desirable, notwithstanding any 241
statutory limitation on the amount of such payments. 242
( * * *k) To establish and operate a nonprofit 243
corporation for housing and community development purposes. 244
( * * *l) To exercise all or any part or combination of 245
powers herein granted. 246
No provisions of law with respect to the acquisition, 247
operation or disposition of property by other public bodies shall 248
be applicable to an authority unless the Legislature shall 249
specifically so state. 250
SECTION 3. Section 43-33-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 251
amended as follows: 252
43-33-17. Any two (2) or more authorities may join or 253
cooperate with one another in the exercise, either jointly or 254
otherwise, of any or all of their powers for the purpose of 255
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financing (including the issuance of bonds, notes or other 256
obligations and giving security therefor), planning, undertaking, 257
owning, constructing, operating or contracting with respect to a 258
housing project or projects or a mixed-finance project located 259
within the area of operation of any one * * * or more of said 260
authorities. For such purpose an authority may by resolution 261
prescribe and authorize any other housing authority or 262
authorities, so joining or cooperating with it, to act on its 263
behalf with respect to any or all of such powers. Any authorities 264
joining or cooperating with one another may by resolutions appoint 265
from among the commissioners of such authorities an executive 266
committee with full power to act on behalf of such authorities 267
with respect to any or all of their powers, as prescribed by 268
resolutions of such authorities. 269
SECTION 4. The following shall be codified as Section 270
43-33-52, Mississippi Code of 1972: 271
43-33-52. The individual commissioners, directors, 272
supervisory employees, and supervisory agents of a housing 273
authority, whether such housing authority is formed under this 274
chapter or by private act, while acting in the scope of their 275
authority, including those entities that a housing authority or 276
entity affiliated with a housing authority may form, incorporate, 277
or join as a partner or member to develop or manage a 278
mixed-finance project, and the directors, supervisory employees, 279
and supervisory agents of such entities, while acting in the scope 280
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ST: Housing authorities; enable participation
in mixed-finance projects and self-insurance
pooling arrangements.
of their authority for the development or management of the 281
mixed-finance project, enjoy the same protections and immunities 282
that are presently provided for housing authority corporations 283
under the laws of this state, and any protections and immunities 284
that may be provided to housing authorities in the future under 285
the laws of this state. 286
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from 287
and after July 1, 2026. 288