MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2024 Regular Session
To: Appropriations B; Appropriations A
By: Representatives Bounds, Read, Anderson (122nd), Clark, Eure, Hale, Jackson (45th), Paden, Pigott
AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MARINE RESOURCES FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2025.
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 appropriated out of any money in the State General Fund not otherwise appropriated, for the support and maintenance of the Department of Marine Resources for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2025...........................................
............................................ $ 3,388,239.00.
SECTION 2. The following sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated out of any money in any special fund in the State Treasury to the credit of the Department of Marine Resources for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2025 $ 170,843,519.00.
Of the funds appropriated in this section, Three Million Fifty Thousand Dollars ($3,050,000.00) is derived from the state excise taxes upon gasoline, oil and other petroleum products.
SECTION 3. Of the funds appropriated under the provisions of this act, the following positions are authorized:
AUTHORIZED HEADCOUNT:
Permanent: 106
Time-Limited: 65
With the funds herein appropriated, it shall be the agency's responsibility to make certain that funds required for Personal Services for Fiscal Year 2026 do not exceed Fiscal Year 2025 funds appropriated for that purpose unless programs or positions are added to the agency's Fiscal Year 2025 budget by the Mississippi Legislature. The Legislature shall determine the agency's personal services appropriation, which the State Personnel Board shall publish. In accordance with applicable laws, if an agency determines that its personal services amount is insufficient, the agency must contact the State Personnel Board. Any adjustment to the personal services amount must be approved by the State Personnel Director and the State Fiscal Officer after consultation with the Legislative Budget Office. Any adjustment shall be reported to the Legislative Budget Office and the House and Senate Appropriations Chairmen. The agency's personal services appropriation may consist of restricted funds for approved vacancies for Fiscal Year 2025 that may not be utilized for active Fiscal Year 2024 headcount. It shall be the agency's responsibility to ensure that the funds provided for vacancies are used to increase headcount and not for promotions, title changes, in-range salary adjustments, or any other mechanism for increasing salaries for current employees. If the State Personnel Board determines that an agency has used provided vacancy funds for any of the mechanisms previously listed, the State Personnel Board shall not process any additional salary actions for the agency in the current fiscal year, except for new hires determined by the State Personnel Board to be essential for the agency. It is the Legislature's intention that no employee salary falls below the minimum salary established by the Mississippi 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 2025 do not exceed the data provided by the Legislative Budget Office. If the agency's projected cost for Fiscal Year 2025 exceeds the annualized costs, no salary actions shall be processed by the State Personnel Board except for new hires 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 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 the 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.
SECTION 4. It is the intention of the Legislature that the Department of Marine Resources shall maintain complete accounting and personnel records related to the expenditure of all funds appropriated under this act and that such records shall be in the same format and level of detail as maintained for Fiscal Year 2024. It is further the intention of the Legislature that the agency's budget request for Fiscal Year 2026 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 2025 budget request process.
SECTION 5. Each Marine Conservation Officer and Supervisor shall be furnished an allowance for uniforms not to exceed Six Hundred Dollars ($600.00) per annum.
SECTION 6. In addition to all other sums heretofore 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 Tidelands Fund No. 3345200000 to the Department of Marine Resources for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the tidelands projects for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2025 ... $ 12,455,247.00.
This amount is allocated as follows:
Total Public Access Projects.................. $ 4,951,275.00
Total Management Projects..................... $ 4,951,275.00
Bond Repayment ............................... $ 1,552,697.00
Prior Year Projects........................... $ 1,000,000.00
Each political subdivision receiving funds authorized in this section shall be held responsible for complying with Section 29-15-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, and shall be subject to an audit by the State Auditor and shall submit detailed reports beginning June 30, and every six (6) months thereafter for the duration of the project to the Department of Marine Resources on how funds authorized in this section were expended.
It is the intention of the Legislature that any political subdivision seeking to qualify for tidelands funds for the subsequent fiscal year shall submit a proposal to the Department of Marine Resources no later than July 1, 2024. All proposals submitted will be reviewed and evaluated by the Department of Marine Resources in accordance to department plans and procedures. Multiphased projects, multiyear projects, proposed projects with high dollar value and projects that have a record of stacking funds shall be considered as low priority projects when evaluated.
It is the intention of the Legislature that if the amount of the Tidelands funds appropriated in this act exceed the actual amount of tidelands funds available, the available funds shall be allocated on a pro rata basis between projects listed in this section.
SECTION 7. It is the intention of the Legislature that the department shall place any special trust funds appropriated to the department in a special trust fund and the interest earned on the principal shall be credited to the special trust fund. Monies in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall be retained in the special trust fund for use in the next succeeding fiscal year. The department may use the interest earned on the fund to pay reasonable costs for administering the fund and related projects.
SECTION 8. It is the intention of the Legislature that the Department of Marine Resources has the authorization to move tidelands funds between approved projects upon request from entity and proper completion of Form TTF-6 documentation.
SECTION 9. It is the intention of the Legislature for the Department of Marine Resources and the Department of Environmental Quality to continue with any agency partnerships, including grant agreements, that provide environmental projects to restore Mississippi’s natural resources in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
SECTION 10. 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 11. Of the funds appropriated in Section 2, Eighty-seven Million Five Hundred Sixty Thousand Seven Hundred Five Dollars ($87,560,705.00) is provided for the funding of the following Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) projects for FY 2025:
(a) To assist the City of Pascagoula with the
Live Oak Corridor Drainage to Remedy Flooding..... $ 2,000,000.00
(b) To assist the City of Gulfport with the
North Gulfport Wastewater Treatment Plant UV
Disinfection ................................... $ 1,200,000.00
(c) To assist the Hancock County Utility
Authority with the Stennis Space Center Wastewater
Conveyance Project ............................. $ 10,588,400.00
(d) To assist the City of Long Beach with
the Small Craft Harbor Eastern Bulkhead
Improvements ................................... $ 2,693,000.00
(e) To assist the City of Pass Christian
with the West Breakwater Wall Hurricane
Mitigation Improvements ........................ $ 2,590,000.00
(f) To assist the Department of Marine
Resources with Oyster Spat...................... $ 2,000,000.00
(g) To assist the Institute for Marine Mammal
Studies with Monitoring and Evaluation of Sea
Turtle Nesting in Mississippi .................. $ 997,142.00
(h) To assist the University of Southern
Mississippi with the Mississippi Coastal Fishery
Resource Assessment ............................ $ 505,437.00
(i) To assist the Hancock County Port and
Harbor Commission with Bank Mitigation .......... $ 1,749,220.00
(j) To assist the University of Southern
Mississippi with Oak Island Oyster Company in the
Development and Testing of an Off Bottom Oyster
Structure ...................................... $ 1,195,571.00
(k) To assist Jackson County with Coastal
Roadway Hurricane Protection ................... $ 750,000.00
(l) To assist the Institute for Marine
Mammal Studies with Monitoring/Gauging Habitat
Suitability for Dolphins and Turtles............. $ 1,496,817.00
(m) To assist the Kiln Utility District
with Jourdan River Shores Sewer Improvements
Phase II ....................................... $ 2,255,600.00
(n) To assist Harrison County with Sand
Beach Outfall Coordination...................... $ 1,600,000.00
(o) To assist the City of Ocean Springs
With Sewer Rehabilitation ...................... $ 1,960,000.00
(p) To assist the Department of Marine
Resources with Oyster Cultch ................... $ 1,000,000.00
(q) To assist the City of Pass Christian
with Highway 90 Hurricane Mitigation
Improvements ................................... $ 2,540,000.00
(r) To assist Coastal Mississippi with
the promotion of the Seafood Industry and their
Economic Contributions to the State ............. $ 500,000.00
(s) To assist the City of Diamondhead
With Drainage, Flood Prevention and Water Quality
Improvements Phase II........................... $ 1,999,839.00
(t) To assist Jackson County with East Beach
Outfalls/Shoreline Protection .................. $ 1,710,000.00
(u) To assist the City of Gautier with
Hickory Hills/Lagrange Water Quality and
Stormwater Improvements ........................ $ 2,973,981.00
(v) To assist the City of Biloxi with Keegan
Bayou Restoration .............................. $ 2,520,000.00
(w) To assist the Department of Marine
Resources with the Coffee Creek Outfall
Pavilion ....................................... $ 650,000.00
(x) To assist the City of Long Beach with
Small Craft Harbor Southern Quay Bulkhead
Improvements ................................... $ 2,554,000.00
(y) To assist the Department of Marine
Resources with Bonnet Carre Spillway
Mitigation ..................................... $ 1,475,000.00
(z) To assist the City of D‘Iberville with
the Working Waterfront and Seafood Harbor
Project........................................ $ 500,000.00
(aa) To assist the University of Southern
Mississippi with the Ocean Enterprise Project.... $ 1,847,409.00
(bb) To assist the Department of Marine
Resources with the Coffee Creek Outfall ......... $ 71,906.00
(cc) To assist the Department of Marine
Resources with the Coffee Creek water quality.... $ 76,074.00
(dd) To assist Jackson County Board of
Supervisors with the Front Beach Erosion
Control ....................................... $ 640,243.00
(ee) To assist the Department of Marine
Resources with GOMESA project management,
development and mitigation...................... $ 1,304,315.00
(ff) To assist the Department of Marine
Resources with artificial reef construction...... $ 443,351.00
(gg) To assist the Department of Environmental
Quality with water quality...................... $ 866,683.00
(hh) To assist the Department of Marine
Resources with Bonnet Carre Response ............ $ 27,134.00
(ii) To assist Jackson County with a
Watershed Development Plan...................... $ 28,088.00
(jj) To assist the City of Pass Christian
With Sanitary Sewer Pump Station Repairs ........ $ 967,575.00
(kk) To assist Hancock County with Atlantic
Street Sewer Improvements ...................... $ 669,725.00
(ll) To assist the City of Long Beach with
Small Craft Harbor SE Bulkhead Improvements ..... $ 2,188,000.00
(mm) To assist the Kiln Utility District
with the Jordan River Shores Sewer Force Main
Relocation ..................................... $ 189,828.00
(nn) To assist the City of Biloxi with
the Point Cadet Living Shoreline ............... $ 756,537.00
(oo) To assist the Department of Marine
Resources with MS Reef Fish Monitoring and
Assessment ..................................... $ 47,657.00
(pp) To assist Hancock County Utility
Authority with Oak Harbor Sewer Improvements..... $ 2,804,082.00
(qq) To assist Hancock County Port and Harbor
Commission with Port Bienville Conservation
Management ..................................... $ 261,643.00
(rr) To assist the City of Gautier with Water
Quality and Infrastructure Sanitary Sewer ....... $ 38,899.00
(ss) To assist the City of Pascagoula with
Buena Vista Area Drainage ...................... $ 490,712.00
(tt) To assist the City of Pass Christian
with Gravity Sewer System Improvements Phase I... $ 1,650,669.00
(uu) To assist the City of Pascagoula with
Point Park Pier Repair/Improvements ............. $ 322,651.00
(vv) To assist the Department of Marine
Resources with the Railroad Corner Beneficial Use
Site .......................................... $ 57,606.00
(ww) To assist the University of Southern
Mississippi with collection of Fishery-Dependent
information on Blue Crabs ...................... $ 32,254.00
(xx) To assist the National Oceans and
Applications Research Center with the Cat Island
Baseline Inventory of Seagrass Habitat .......... $ 9,679.00
(yy) To assist the National Oceans and
Applications Research Center with the Inventory
Of Wetlands Habitats ........................... $ 93,436.00
(zz) To assist Mississippi State University
with the Evaluation and Monitoring of Marine Mammal
and Sea Turtles after Bonnet Carre Spillway
Opening ....................................... $ 1,073,767.00
(aaa) To assist the American Shrimp Processors
Association with the Shrimp Processors Feasibility
Study.......................................... $ 602,728.00
(bbb) To assist the Jackson County Utility
Authority with Septic System Abatements ......... $ 1,604,708.00
(ccc) To assist the University of Southern
Mississippi with the Mississippi Coastal Fishery
Resource Assessment ............................ $ 43,932.00
(ddd) To assist the Department of Marine
Resources with the Katrina Key Expansion ........ $ 430,000.00
(eee) To assist the Secretary of State with
the Broadwater Marina Restoration ............... $ 3,678,850.00
(fff) To assist the City of Pass Christian
with Sewer Pump Station Repairs................. $ 366,335.00
(ggg) To assist the City of Diamondhead
With Drainage, Flood Prevention and Water Quality
Improvements ................................... $ 1,193,447.00
(hhh) To assist the Department of Marine
Resources with the Bonnet Carre and Mid Breton
Response ....................................... $ 660,467.00
(iii) To assist the City of Ocean Springs
with the Front Beach Pub Access and Storm Water
Mitigation Improvements ........................ $ 1,992,554.00
(jjj) To assist the City of Pass Christian
with Phase II of the Gravity Sewer System
Improvements ................................... $ 4,524,487.00
(kkk) To assist the Department of Marine
Resources with the Off Bottom Oyster
Aquaculture..................................... $ 1,366,785.00
(lll) To assist the Department of Marine
Resources with the Pelican Key Beneficial Use
Site .......................................... $ 348,220.00
(mmm) To assist the Department of Marine
Resources with Phase II of the Katrina Key
Expansion ...................................... $ 400,000.00
(nnn) To assist the Jackson County Board
of Supervisors with the Pascagoula Beach Open
Channel Outfalls................................ $ 1,339,000.00
(ooo) To assist the Department of Marine
Resources with water testing for Seafood
Consumption Safety ............................. $ 45,262.00
SECTION 12. It is the intent of the Legislature that the Department of Marine Resources shall have the authority to expend funds in an amount not to exceed Seventeen Million Dollars ($17,000,000.00) from funds for the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) that may become available to the agency in fiscal year 2025 in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Department of Finance and Administration in a manner consistent with the escalation of federal funds.
SECTION 13. It is the intention of the Legislature that none of the funds provided herein shall be used to pay certain utilities for state furnished housing for any employees. Such utilities shall include electricity, natural gas, butane, propane, cable and phone services. Where actual cost cannot be determined, the agency shall be required to provide meters to be in compliance with legislative intent. Such state furnished housing shall include single-family and multi-family residences but shall not include any dormitory residences. Allowances for such utilities shall be prohibited.
SECTION 14. It is the intention of the Legislature that the funds herein appropriated shall be expended in compliance with Section 27-104-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, that no state agency shall incur obligations or indebtedness in excess of their appropriation and that the responsible officers, either personally or upon their official bonds, shall be held responsible for actions contrary to this provision.
SECTION 15. With the funds appropriated herein, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources is authorized to make payments for expenses incurred during prior fiscal years for an amount not to exceed One Hundred Forty-four Thousand Six Hundred Fifty-eight Dollars and Fifty-Three Cents ($144,658.53).
SECTION 16. The money herein appropriated shall be paid by the State Treasurer out of any money in the State Treasury to the credit of 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 17. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024, and shall stand repealed June 30, 2024.