MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2025 Regular Session
To: Appropriations A
By: Representative Steverson
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 MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY; TO INCREASE THE MAXIMUM OF GRANT FUNDS THAT MAY BE PROVIDED TO A COMMUNITY UNDER THE PROGRAM DURING A YEAR; TO PROVIDE THAT THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY MAY PROVIDE THE MISSISSIPPI MAIN STREET ASSOCIATION WITH NO MORE THAN TWO PERCENT OF THE AMOUNT OF FUNDS DEPOSITED INTO THE MISSISSIPPI MAIN STREET REVITALIZATION GRANT FUND FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES IN CARRYING OUT ITS DUTIES UNDER THE MISSISSIPPI MAIN STREET REVITALIZATION GRANT PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. 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 Mississippi * * *Development Authority Department of
Archives and History 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 2. 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 chapter; or
(v) Business improvement districts that otherwise meet the requirements of this chapter.
(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 a grant the prior year shall
receive priority for a grant the following year. The Legislature shall review
the submitted list and determine the projects for which to award grants to
eligible recipients through the Mississippi * * * Department of Archives
and History. 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 Mississippi * * * Department of Archives
and History shall provide grant funds to the eligible recipients under this
section on a reimbursement basis, not to exceed * * * Seven
Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($750,000.00) 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, or eligible recipients within a
municipality, 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, or eligible recipients within a
municipality, 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) Any eligible recipient that is awarded a grant pursuant to this section for a project involving a historic property must comply with all applicable laws relating to the property, as well as applicable regulations of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, or other department or agency relating to such property.
(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 Mississippi * * * Department of Archives
and History 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 Mississippi * * * Department of Archives
and History, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purposes provided
in this section.
(11) To carry out this
chapter, the Mississippi * * *Development Authority Department of Archives and History
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 Mississippi * * * Department of Archives
and History 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 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.