Senate Bill 2505

AN ACT TO CREATE THE MISSISSIPPI AIRPORT CRITICAL NEEDS GRANT PROGRAM; TO PROVIDE THAT THE MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE SHALL DEPOSIT $10,000,000.00 INTO THE MISSISSIPPI AIRPORT CRITICAL NEEDS GRANT PROGRAM FUND; TO PROVIDE THAT SUCH FUNDS SHALL BE ADMINISTERED BY THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION; TO PROSCRIBE CERTAIN CONDITIONS FOR ALLOCATIONS FROM THE FUND; TO PROVIDE THAT THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SHALL PROMULGATE RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Mississippi Critical Needs Airport Grant Program."

SECTION 2. (1) There shall be deposited Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00) into a special fund at the Mississippi Department of Transportation for the Mississippi Airport Critical Needs Grants Program. Funds in the Mississippi Airport Critical Needs Grant Program are separate and apart from the Multi-Modal Transportation Improvement Fund and the Strategic Multi-Modal Investments Fund administered by the Mississippi Department of Transportation. This shall be a one-time grant program. Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any unspent funds shall remain in the Mississippi Airport Critical Needs Grant Program until they are exhausted for a period not to exceed three (3) years.

(2) Eligible airports under the Mississippi Airport Critical Needs Grant Program shall be all public-use airports in the state that are on the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration.

(3) Eligible projects under the Mississippi Airport Critical Needs Grant Program shall include any project to develop, construct, enlarge, improve, equip, operate, regulate and protect airports and air navigation facilities, including any structures, mechanisms, lights, beacons, markers, communication systems or other instrumentalities, or devices used or useful as an aid, or constituting an advantage or convenience, to the safe take-off, navigation and landing of aircrafts, or the safe and efficient operation or maintenance of an airport, and any combination of any or all such facilities, that the airport has certified is critical to its ability to provide or continue to provide safe and efficient air navigation facilities.

(4) Mississippi Airport Critical Needs Grant Program funds cannot be used to fund more than ten percent (10%) of a project's cost. The Mississippi Airport Critical Needs Grant Program funds may be used to match other federal, state or local funds requested to cover the cost of the project. There shall be no cap on the amount of funds that can be requested and awarded to each airport. There shall be no limit as to the number of projects that can be requested from the Mississippi Airport Critical Needs Program.

(5) The Mississippi Department of Transportation shall promulgate all rules and regulations for the Mississippi Airport Critical Needs Program. Applicants for the Mississippi Airport Critical Needs Program shall not need to meet the requirements of the current Multi-Modal Transportation Improvement Fund and the Strategic Multi-Modal Investments Fund.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.