House Bill 1754

AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF DEFRAYING CERTAIN INFRASTRUCTURE EXPENSES OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2025.

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

SECTION 1. The following sum, or so much of it as may be necessary, is appropriated out of any money in the State Treasury to the credit of the 2022 Capacity Project Fund not otherwise appropriated, to the Mississippi Department of Transportation for the purposes provided in the MDOT Three-Year Plan, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2025...........................................

............................................. $ 294,000,000.00.

SECTION 2. The following sum, or so much of it as may be necessary, is appropriated out of any money in the State Treasury to the credit of the Strategic Multi-Modal Investments Fund not otherwise appropriated, to the Mississippi Department of Transportation for the purposes described in Senate Bill No. 2559, 2023 Regular Session, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2025 $ 10,000,000.00

SECTION 3. It is the intention of the Legislature that the Mississippi Department of Transportation shall expend such funds appropriated in this act as necessary to conduct project planning. Such project planning shall apply to all preliminary engineering, right-of-way acquisition and construction projects of the department and, at a minimum, shall consist of policies for the oversight and management of project cost which:

(a) Establish a reasonable cost estimate for each project. For purposes of this provision, projects include preliminary engineering, right-of-way acquisition and construction;

(b) Capture and retain the initial project cost estimates for comparison with final actual expenditures;

(c) Require that any changes to a cost estimate for a project will be reviewed and approved by district or central office personnel. Such personnel shall be responsible for signing any revision, and providing a narrative description of the reasons for approving a revision;

(d) Capture the cost of consultants, engineers, attorneys, contract appraisers and other technical and professional contractors used in preliminary engineering, right-of-way acquisition and construction projects.

SECTION 4. The money appropriated by this act shall be paid by the State Treasurer out of any money in the State Treasury to the credit of the proper funds as set forth in this act not otherwise appropriated, upon warrants issued by the State Fiscal Officer; and the State Fiscal Officer shall issue his or her warrants upon requisitions signed by the proper person, officer or officers, in the manner provided by law.

SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.