MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2022 Regular Session
To: Appropriations
By: Senator(s) Hopson, Polk, DeLano, Butler (38th), Moran, Seymour
AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO DEFRAY THE EXPENSES OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, AND FOR THE PURPOSE OF ESTABLISHING A DISASTER RELIEF RESERVE FUND AND DEFRAYING THE COSTS RELATED TO CERTAIN DISASTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. The following sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out of any funds in the State General Fund not otherwise appropriated, for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency in accordance with the provisions of Section 33-15-1 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022, and ending June 30, 2023 $ 4,682,866.00.
SECTION 2. The following sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out of any money in the special fund in the State Treasury to the credit of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency which is comprised of special source funds collected by or otherwise available to the agency, for the support and maintenance of the agency for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022, and ending June 30, 2023.................
..............................................$ 33,230,513.00.
SECTION 3. Of the funds appropriated in Sections 1 and 2 of this act, the following positions are authorized:
AUTHORIZED HEADCOUNT:
Permanent: 113
Time-Limited: 69
With the funds herein appropriated, it shall be the agency's responsibility to make certain that funds required for Personal Services for Fiscal Year 2024 do not exceed Fiscal Year 2023 funds appropriated for that purpose unless programs or positions are added to the agency's Fiscal Year 2023 budget by the Mississippi Legislature. The Legislature shall determine the agency's personal services appropriation, which shall be published by the State Personnel Board. Additionally, the State Personnel Board shall determine and publish the projected annualized payroll costs based on current employees. It shall be the responsibility of the agency head to ensure that actual personnel expenditures for Fiscal Year 2023 do not exceed the data provided by the Legislative Budget Office. If the agency's Fiscal Year 2023 projected cost exceeds the annualized costs, no salary actions shall be processed by the State Personnel Board with the exception of new hires that are determined to be essential for the agency.
Any transfers or escalations shall be made in accordance with the terms, conditions and procedures established by law or allowable under the terms set forth within this act. The State Personnel Board shall not escalate positions without written approval from the Department of Finance and Administration. The Department of Finance and Administration shall not provide written approval to escalate any funds for salaries and/or positions without proof of availability of new or additional funds above the appropriated level.
No general funds authorized to be expended herein shall be used to replace federal funds and/or other special funds which are being used for salaries authorized under the provisions of this act and which are withdrawn and no longer available.
None of the funds herein appropriated shall be used in violation of Internal Revenue Service's Publication 15-A relating to the reporting of income paid to contract employees, as interpreted by the Office of the State Auditor.
Funds have been appropriated herein for the purpose of funding Project SEC2 minimum salaries for all employees covered under the Colonel Guy Groff/Neville Kenning Variable Compensation Plan. It shall be the agency's responsibility to ensure that the funds are used to increase all employees' salaries up to the minimum level as determined by the State Personnel Board.
SECTION 4. In addition to all other sums herein appropriated, the following sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out of any money in the State General Fund not otherwise appropriated, to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency for the purpose of defraying certain administrative expenses and the state share of the cost of disaster assistance programs, including, but not being limited to, public assistance programs, individual and family grant programs, and mitigation programs, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022, and ending June 30, 2023........... $ 585,056.00.
SECTION 5. In addition to all other sums herein appropriated, the following sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out of any money in the State Treasury to the credit of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Fund Nos. 3725, 3728, 372U, 3729, 37AH, 6820174300, and 58202 for the purpose of defraying certain administrative expenses and the state and federal share of the cost of disaster assistance programs, including, but not being limited to, public assistance programs, individual and family grant programs, and mitigation programs, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022, and ending
June 30, 2023................................. $ 361,806,571.00.
SECTION 6. The funds appropriated under the provisions of Sections 4 and 5 of this act are provided to defray certain administrative expenses and the state and federal share of the cost of disaster assistance programs, including public assistance programs, individual and family grant programs, and mitigation programs resulting from, but not being limited to, the following:
1604 Hurricane Katrina
4175 Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding - Cities of Louisville & Tupelo
- Hazard Mitigation
- Other Needs Assistance
- Mississippi Temporary Housing Program
- Pre-Disaster Response
- Emergency Preparedness Programs
4429 Feb 22-March 29, 2019 Flooding
4450 Severe Weather April 13, 2019
4470 Severe Weather October 26, 2019
4478 Severe Weather January 10-11, 2020
4528 Coronavirus Pandemic
4536 Severe Weather April 12, 2020 Easter Tornadoes
4538 Flooding Feb 10-18, 2020 (Pearl River Flood)
4248 Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding - North
Mississippi/Holly Springs
4268 Delta Flooding
4295 Pine Belt Tornado/Flooding
4314 Severe Storms, Flooding in Adams, Calhoun, Carroll, Claiborne, Holmes, Jefferson, Montgomery, Webster & Yazoo Counties
4350 Hurricane Nate
4415 Severe Storms, Flooding & Tornado in Clarke,
Covington, Forrest, Greene, Jasper, Jones, Marion, Newton, Perry & Wayne Counties
4551 Severe Weather April 22-23, 2020
3544 Hurricane Sally
3548 Hurricane Delta
4598 2021 Winter Storm
SECTION 7. None of the funds appropriated in Section 4 of this act shall be used to establish a special reserve fund in the State Treasury for disaster relief except as provided for in Section 33-15-307, Mississippi Code of 1972.
SECTION 8. It is the intention of the Legislature that the Director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency may, upon the request of a local public emergency management organization in an area which has suffered a natural disaster, supply equipment to rural water associations to enable their continued operation when the local emergency management organization determines that such private entities provide services essential to the welfare of the community.
SECTION 9. It is the intention of the Legislature that the Director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency shall provide enhanced training to local governments, supervisors, mayors, civil defense groups and municipal associations in disaster management.
SECTION 10. It is the intention of the Legislature that the agency's budget request for Fiscal Year 2024 shall be submitted to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee in a format and level of detail comparable to the format and level of detail provided during the Fiscal Year 2023 budget request process.
SECTION 11. In compliance with the "Mississippi Performance Budget and Strategic Planning Act of 1994," it is the intent of the Legislature that the funds provided herein shall be utilized in the most efficient and effective manner possible to achieve the intended mission of this agency. Based on the funding authorized, this agency shall make every effort to attain the targeted performance measures provided below:
FY2023
Performance Measures Target
Emergency Mgmt Preparedness
Percent of the Affected Population Informed 100.00
Average Time to Deliver Goods & Services
(Hrs) 24
Recovery
Number of Ongoing Projects 1,200
Number of Meetings Conducted 3,500
Average Cost per Project 20,000,000.00
Percent of Recovery Objectives Complete 100.00
Mitigation
Number of Workshops Conducted 14
Number of Ongoing Projects 140
Average Cost per Project 50,000.00
Percent Reduction in Damage Due to
Natural & Man-Made Incidents 5.00
A reporting of the degree to which the performance targets set above have been or are being achieved shall be provided in the agency's budget request submitted to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee for Fiscal Year 2024.
SECTION 12. It is the intention of the Legislature that the Executive Director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency shall have authority to transfer not more than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) from any general or special fund treasury fund and major object budget category to another special or general fund treasury fund and major object budget category accordingly under the control of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. The purpose of this authority is to more efficiently use available cash reserves. It is further the intention of the Legislature that the Executive Director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency shall submit written justification for the transfer to the Legislative Budget Office and the Department of Finance and Administration on or before the fifteenth of the month prior to the effective date of the transfer.
SECTION 13. It is the intention of the Legislature that the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency shall submit a notification and summary of all state support funding on all disasters that require general funds or state support special funds to the Legislative Budget Office.
SECTION 14. It is the intention of the Legislature that from any funds appropriated in this act, the agency shall maintain a minimum of nine (9) Area Coordinators to provide daily assistance to local jurisdictions with emergency management activities as well as to provide quicker response to incidents and/or disasters. In addition, it is the intent of the Legislature that these Area Coordinators shall reside in or within fifty (50) miles of their assigned districts.
SECTION 15. It is the intention of the Legislature that whenever two (2) or more bids are received by this agency for the purchase of commodities or equipment, and whenever all things stated in such received bids are equal with respect to price, quality and service, the Mississippi Industries for the Blind shall be given preference. A similar preference shall be given to the Mississippi Industries for the Blind whenever purchases are made without competitive bids.
SECTION 16. Of the funds appropriated in Section 5 of this act, Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00), or so much thereof, shall be derived out of any money in the State Treasury to the credit of the Capital Expense Fund, as created in Section 27-103-303, Mississippi Code of 1972, and allocated in a manner as determined by the Treasurer's Office. These funds are provided as a deposit to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Disaster Trust Fund.
SECTION 17. (1) Of the funds appropriated under the provisions of Section 2 of this act, the following sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out of any money in the State Treasury to the credit of the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund not otherwise appropriated to the credit of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency................................................. $3,170,000.00.
These funds are provided for the purpose of defraying eligible expenses in connection with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) as allowable under Section 9901 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) or any guidance or regulation issued by the United States Department of the Treasury in conformity therewith.
(2) None of the funds provided under this section shall be used to pay employee premium payments.
(3) The agency shall not disburse any funds provided under this section to any recipient without first: (a) making an individualized determination that the reimbursement sought is, in the agency's independent judgment, for necessary expenditures eligible under Section 602 of the federal Social Security Act as added by Section 9901 of the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) and its implementing guidelines, guidance, rules, regulations and/or other criteria, as may be amended or supplemented from time to time, by the United States Department of the Treasury; and (b) determining that the recipient has not received and will not receive reimbursement for the expense in question from any source of funds, including insurance proceeds, other than those funds provided under Section 602 of the federal Social Security Act as added by Section 9901 of ARPA. In addition, the agency shall ensure that all funds provided under this section are disbursed in compliance with the Single Audit Act (31 USC Sections 7501-7507) and the related provisions of the Uniform Guidance, 2 CFR Section 200.303 regarding internal controls, Sections 200.330 through 200.332 regarding sub-recipient monitoring and management, and subpart F regarding audit requirements.
(4) As a condition of receiving and expending the funds provided to the agency under this section, the agency shall certify to the Department of Finance and Administration that each expenditure of the funds provided to the agency under this section complies with the guidelines, guidance, rules, regulations and/or other criteria, as may be amended from time to time, of the United States Department of the Treasury regarding the use of monies from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund established by ARPA.
(5) If the Office of Inspector General of the United States Department of the Treasury, or the Office of Inspector General of any other federal agency having oversight over the use of monies from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund established by ARPA (a) determines that the agency or recipient has expended or otherwise used any of the funds provided to the agency under this section for any purpose that is not in compliance with the guidelines, guidance, rules, regulations and/or other criteria, as may be amended from time to time, of the United States Department of the Treasury regarding the use of monies from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund established by the ARPA, and (b) the State of Mississippi is required to repay the federal government for any of those funds that the Office of the Inspector General determined were expended or otherwise used improperly by the agency or recipient, then the agency or recipient that expended or otherwise used those funds improperly shall be required to pay the amount of those funds to the State of Mississippi for repayment to the federal government.
SECTION 18. The following sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is reappropriated out of any money in the Capital Expense Fund not otherwise appropriated, for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency for the purpose of reauthorizing the expenditure of Capital Expense Funds for the purpose of defraying the expenses for vehicle purchases, as authorized in Senate Bill No. 2917, 2021 Regular Session, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022, and ending June 30, 2023 $ 75,500.00.
Notwithstanding the amount reappropriated under the provisions of this section, in no event shall the amount expended exceed the unexpended balance as of June 30, 2022.
SECTION 19. It is the intention of the Legislature that the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency is hereby authorized to pay invoices submitted by eTech Channel for reimbursement for prior fiscal year commodities in an amount not to exceed One Hundred Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($115,000.00).
SECTION 20. The expenditure of the funds appropriated by this act shall be under the direction of the Governor and shall be paid by the State Treasurer out of any money in the proper fund or funds as set forth in this act, upon warrants issued by the State Fiscal Officer; and the State Fiscal Officer shall issue his warrants upon requisitions signed by the proper person, officer or officers in the manner provided by law.
SECTION 21. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2022.