MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2024 Regular Session
To: Tourism
By: Senator(s) McCaughn, Jordan, Butler
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 57-78-3 AND 57-78-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO TRANSFER THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI MAIN STREET REVITALIZATION GRANT PROGRAM FROM THE MISSISSIPPI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY TO THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION; TO EXPAND GRANT PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY; TO ALLOW APPLICANTS WHO DID NOT RECEIVE A GRANT THE PRIOR YEAR TO TAKE PRIORITY FOR GRANTS GRANTED THE FOLLOWING YEAR; TO AMEND THE EASEMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTEES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 57-78-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
57-78-1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Mississippi Main Street Revitalization Grant Program Act."
SECTION 2. Section 57-78-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-78-3. The Mississippi Main
Street Revitalization Grant Program Act will authorize the Legislature, as well
as the * * * Department of Finance and Administration through appropriations
by the Legislature, to make grants available to * * *
eligible recipients for projects leading to the revitalization of Mississippi's
downtowns or communities.
SECTION 3. Section 57-78-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-78-5. (1) For the purposes of this section:
(a) "Eligible recipient" means a:
(i) Main Street
Designated Community, or local Main Street program that has achieved and maintained
Designated Community Status by the Mississippi Main Street Association (MMSA),
that is a good-standing member of the MMSA, has obtained Section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt
status or Section 501(c)(6) tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service * * *;
(ii) Main Street * * * Network Community * * *;
(iii) Main Street Associate Community;
(iv) Cities located in Mississippi that otherwise meet the requirements of this act; or
(v) Business improvement districts that otherwise meet the requirements of this act.
* * *
( * * *b) "Matching funds" means cash
funds that are either in the applicant's possession or proposed by a match partner
and clearly identified in a support letter and are reserved for the proposed project.
No state funds may be included in determining the amount of the match.
( * * *c) " * * *Administrator" means the Mississippi
Main Street Association.
(2) The * * * administrator shall accept applications
from eligible recipients, prioritize their applications and submit a list of suggested
recipients to the Legislature no later than December of each year. Applicants
who did not receive an award the prior year shall receive priority for a grant
the following year. * * * Beginning with the 2024 Regular Session of the Legislature, and each Regular
Session thereafter, The Legislature shall review the submitted list
and determine the projects for which to award grants to eligible recipients through
the * * * Department of Finance and Administration in an appropriation
bill. The * * *
administrator will consider projects in relation to the following criteria:
(a) The demonstration of local financial need;
(b) Projects that demonstrate high local impact;
(c) Projects that produce a high level of public benefit;
(d) Projects that demonstrate best practices in
preservation;
(e) Projects that will have local administration and implementation capacity;
(f) The distribution of geographic size and location of the project;
(g) Projects that will be completed on time; and
(h) * * * Projects
that are according to the Main Street Approach and Guiding Principles or a comparable
community plan.
(3) The * * * Department
of Finance and Administration shall provide grant funds to the * * * eligible
recipients under this section on a reimbursement basis, not to exceed Five Hundred
Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) per community each year, and grantees shall not receive
compensation for their required twenty percent (20%) of local match funds,
which must cover at least twenty percent (20%) of the total project cost. * * * Municipalities
with a population of over ten thousand (10,000) are required to possess local matching
funds to cover at least twenty percent (20%) of the total project cost. Municipalities
with a population of less than ten thousand (10,000), shall be required to have
a local cash match of ten percent (10%) for the first One Hundred Thousand Dollars
($100,000.00) requested, then will be required to have a local cash match of twenty
percent (20%) for any amount over One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00).
(4) Eligible costs for the expenditure of grant funds include the acquisition of land and any improvements thereon, preservation of historic downtown structures and sites, and initiatives that will produce a revitalization to the economy of the historic downtown areas.
(5) Grants may be awarded for prospective purchases or for acquisitions of which the applicant has closed. In the latter
case, the applicant shall demonstrate:
(a) The closing occurred no more than twelve (12) months prior to the date of application for the grant; and
(b) The subject purchase was made to help preserve and revitalize the location and economy of a historic downtown community.
(6) * * * Applicants must contact the Mississippi
Department of Archives and History as part of the application process to
determine if the property they have acquired or wish to acquire is eligible for
or already listed in the National Register of Historic Places ("historic").
Properties will be evaluated, and historic eligibility will be determined by
the Mississippi Department of Archives and History using the National Register
of Historic Places Criteria for Evaluation.
(a) All organizations that are awarded a grant for a project involving a historic property shall grant an easement on that property that will place reasonable restrictions on the use or development of the land and building(s).
(i) The Mississippi Department of Archives and History shall be the easement holder for all historic downtown properties. Any eligible historic downtown property will require an executed easement with a term limit based on the awarded grant amount. Projects receiving One Dollar ($1.00) to Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00) will require a ten-year minimum preservation easement and Two Hundred Fifty Thousand One Dollars ($250,001.00) to Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) will require a fifteen-year minimum preservation easement.
(ii) In cases where the easement is granted to a holder other than the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, all terms and conditions of the easement shall be reviewed by and found by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History to accomplish the preservation of the historic downtown property. Such other holder shall demonstrate to the Department of Finance and Administration that it has the capacity and expertise to manage and enforce the terms of the easement.
(iii) The plans and specifications for any project requiring a preservation easement shall be developed in accordance with the "Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties."
(b) Any project involving a property that the Mississippi Department of Archives and History has determined to be nonhistoric will not require an easement.
(7) Grantees must adhere to Mississippi state procedures and guidelines relating to the implementation and financing of the approved project. Grantees must also submit any and all audit and financial statements as required by the State of Mississippi.
(8) Nothing in this section
shall preclude the subsequent transfer or assignment by a state agency or other
owner or holder of any property interest acquired pursuant to this section to the
State of Mississippi, the county, city, town or municipality in which the land is
located, for the purpose of further preserving, improving or maintaining the downtown
property. The * * * Department of Finance and Administration
shall facilitate transfers and assignments of any such interests held by the department.
(9) There is created in the
State Treasury a special fund to be known as the "Mississippi Main Street Revitalization
Grant Program Fund," which shall consist of funds made available by the Legislature
in any manner, funds received as grants, endowments or gifts from the federal government,
its agencies and instrumentalities, and funds from any other source designated for
deposit into such fund. The fund shall be maintained by the State Treasurer as
a separate and special fund, separate and apart from the General Fund of the state.
Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse
into the State General Fund, and any investment earnings or interest earned on amounts
in the fund shall be deposited to the credit of the fund. Monies in the fund shall
be used by the * * * Department of Finance and Administration,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purposes provided in this section.
(10) The * * * Department
of Finance and Administration shall administer the fund and establish guidelines
for the expenditure of grant funds and reports relating to the expenditure of grant
funds. The department * * * shall provide the administrator with no more than
two percent (2%) of the amount of funds deposited into the Mississippi Main Street
Revitalization Grant Fund for administrative expenses in carrying out its duties
under this section.
(11) To carry out this act,
the * * * Department of Finance and Administration may enter into
cooperative agreements with entities in the public and private sectors, including:
(a) Colleges and universities;
(b) Historical societies;
(c) State and local agencies; and
(d) Nonprofit organizations.
(12) To develop cooperative
land-use strategies and conduct activities that facilitate the conservation of
the historic, cultural, natural and scenic resources, the * * * Department
of Finance and Administration may require that recipients seek and secure technical
assistance from the * * *
administrator, to the extent that a recipient of technical assistance is
engaged in the protection, interpretation or commemoration of historically significant
property in the area in and around the historic downtown site. The * * * administrator will provide administrative
support to * * * eligible recipients to ensure proper grant administration
and project implementation.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.