MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2026 Regular Session

To: Appropriations

By: Senator(s) Hopson

Senate Bill 2190

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 27–103–203, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCREASE THE MINIMUM BALANCE REQUIREMENT OF THE WORKING CASH-STABILIZATION RESERVE FUND FROM 10% OF THE TOTAL GENERAL FUND APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR TO 15%; TO DELETE OUTDATED PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE AYERS SETTLEMENT FUND; TO AMEND SECTION 27-103-213, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCREASE THE LIMIT ON THE DIVERSION OF THE UNENCUMBERED GENERAL FUND BALANCE TO THE WORKING CASH-STABILIZATION RESERVE FUND FROM 10% OF THE GENERAL FUND APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR THAT THE UNENCUMBERED GENERAL FUND CASH BALANCE REPRESENTS TO 15%; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 27-103-211, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

     SECTION 1.  Section 27-103-203, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     27-103-203.  (1)  There is created in the State Treasury a special fund, separate and apart from any other fund, to be designated the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund.

     (2)  The Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund shall not be considered as a surplus or available funds when adopting a balanced budget as required by law.  The State Treasurer shall invest all sums in the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund not needed for the purposes provided for in this section in certificates of deposit, repurchase agreements and other securities as authorized in Section 27-105-33(d) or Section 7-9-103, as the State Treasurer may determine to yield the highest market rate available. * * *  If the Ayers Settlement Fund is created under Section 37‑101‑27(5), the first Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00) of interest earned on those sums each fiscal year shall be deposited into that fund until a total of Seventy Million Dollars ($70,000,000.00) has been deposited into the fund.  The interest * * *, or the remaining interest if the Ayers Settlement Fund is created, that is earned on those sums shall be deposited in the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund until the balance of principal and interest in the fund reaches * * * ten percent (10%) fifteen percent (15%) of the total General Fund appropriations for the current fiscal year, and all interest earned in excess of amounts necessary to maintain the * * * ten percent (10%) fifteen percent (15%) fund balance requirement shall be deposited by the State Treasurer into the State General Fund.

     (3)  The Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund * * *, except for Fifteen Million Dollars ($15,000,000.00) and the amount of the interest and income earned on the principal of the Ayers Endowment Trust created by Section 37‑101‑27, shall be used by the State Treasurer for cash flow needs throughout the year when the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration certifies that in his opinion there will be cash flow deficiencies in the State General Fund.  No borrowing of monies from other special funds for such purposes as authorized by Section 31-17-101 et seq., shall be made as long as an unencumbered balance * * * in excess of Fifteen Million Dollars ($15,000,000.00) and the interest and income earned on the principal of the Ayers Endowment Trust created by Section 37‑101‑27 remains in the fund.  The State Treasurer shall reimburse the fund for all sums borrowed for those purposes from General Fund revenues collected during the fiscal year in which those funds are used.  The State Treasurer shall immediately notify the Legislative Budget Office and the State Department of Finance and Administration of each transfer into and out of the fund. * * *  Fifteen Million Dollars ($15,000,000.00) in the Working Cash‑Stabilization Reserve Fund shall remain available for exclusive use of the Ayers Endowment Trust created by Section 37‑101‑27.  If the Ayers Settlement Fund is created under Section 37‑101‑27(5), beginning when a total of Fifty‑five Million Dollars ($55,000,000.00) has been deposited into the fund, for each annual deposit of interest to that fund under subsection (2) of this section, the Ayers Endowment Trust created under Section 37‑101‑27(1) shall be reduced by an equal amount annually until the Ayers Endowment Trust reaches Zero Dollars ($0.00), at which time any requirements concerning the Ayers Endowment Trust in this section shall be null and void.

     (4)  The Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund, except for Forty Million Dollars ($40,000,000.00), shall also be used for the purpose of covering any projected deficits that may occur in the General Fund at the end of a fiscal year as a result of revenue shortfalls.  If the Governor determines that a deficit in revenues from all sources may occur, it shall be the duty of the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration to transfer such funds as necessary to the General Fund to alleviate the deficit in accordance with Sections 27-104-13 and 31-17-123; however, not more than Fifty Million Dollars ($50,000,000.00) may be transferred from the fund for that purpose in any one (1) fiscal year.

     (5)  The Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund also shall be used to provide funds for the Disaster Assistance Trust Fund when those funds are immediately needed to provide for disaster assistance under Sections 33-15-301 through 33-15-317.  Any transfer of funds from the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund to the Disaster Assistance Trust Fund shall be made in accordance with the provisions of subsection (5) of Section 33-15-307.

     (6)  The Department of Finance and Administration shall immediately send notice of any transfers made, or other action taken under authority of this section, to the Legislative Budget Office.

     (7)  Funds deposited in the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund shall be used only for the purposes specified in this section, and as long as the provisions of this section remain in effect, no other expenditure, appropriation or transfer of funds in the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund shall be made except by act of the Legislature making specific reference to the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund as the source of those funds.

     (8)  Any funds appropriated from the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund that are unexpended at the end of a fiscal year shall lapse into the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund.

     SECTION 2.  Section 27-103-213, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     27-103-213.  (1)  The unencumbered cash balance in the General Fund in the State Treasury at the close of each fiscal year shall be distributed to the Municipal Revolving Fund, the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund and the Capital Expense Fund in the manner provided in this section.

     (2)  (a)  At the end of each fiscal year, the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration and the State Treasurer shall determine the extent of the unencumbered cash balance existing in the General Fund in the State Treasury.

          (b)  As used in this section, the term "unencumbered cash balance" or "unencumbered General Fund cash balance" means the amount in the State General Fund after deducting all appropriations and other expenditures.  However, if the Legislature has authorized additional or deficit appropriations or transfers from the State General Fund for that fiscal year, those amounts shall be subtracted from the unencumbered cash balance in the General Fund before determining the amount available for distribution.  The unencumbered General Fund cash balance shall not be determined until after August 31 of each year, and it shall not be made until the State Treasurer has received a certificate in writing from the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration, with notification to the Legislative Budget Office, showing the amount of the unencumbered General Fund cash balance.

     (3)  If any unencumbered General Fund cash balance is available for distribution under this section, the distribution of those funds shall be made by the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration in the following order:

          (a)  To the Municipal Revolving Fund, an amount equal to Seven Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($750,000.00); however, if the amount of the unencumbered General Fund cash balance is less than Seven Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($750,000.00), then the total amount of the unencumbered General Fund cash balance shall be distributed to the Municipal Revolving Fund.

          (b)  To the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund, up to fifty percent (50%) of the amount of the unencumbered General Fund cash balance after the distributions are made under paragraph (a), not to exceed * * * ten percent (10%) the amount needed to bring the balance of the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund to fifteen percent (15%) of the General Fund appropriations for the fiscal year that the unencumbered General Fund cash balance represents.  For the purposes of this paragraph (b), the appropriations for the fiscal year shall be the total amount contained in the actual appropriation bills passed by the Legislature.

          (c)  To the Capital Expense Fund, any remaining amount of the unencumbered General Fund cash balance after the distributions are made under paragraphs (a) and (b).

     SECTION 3.  Section 27-103-211, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

     27-103-211.  The total sum appropriated by the Legislature from the State General Fund for any fiscal year shall not exceed ninety-eight percent (98%) of the general fund revenue estimate for that fiscal year developed by the Department of Revenue and the University Research Center and adopted by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.  The unencumbered balances in general funds that will be available and on hand at the close of the fiscal year shall not include projected amounts required to be deposited into the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund under Section 27-103-203.

     SECTION 4.  This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.