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SB 2606

Educational Facilities Revolving Loan Fund Program; provide for DFA to receive payments on approved loans from.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Dennis DeBar and 1 co-sponsor

Transfers enforcement of Educational Facilities Revolving Loan Fund loans to the Department of Finance and Administration and redefines Education Enhancement Fund allocations.

Died In Conference
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Bill Summary · SB 2606

Summary — SB 2606 (2025) — Educational Facilities Revolving Loan Fund / Education Enhancement Fund

Status: Died in Conference (March 31, 2025)
Introduced: Feb 25, 2025 by Sen. Elgie R. Sims, Jr. — Passed Senate; amended in House; House amendments adopted; final action: Died in Conference.

Main purpose

The amended version of SB 2606 would (1) transfer responsibility for receiving and enforcing repayments of outstanding loans made under the former Educational Facilities Revolving Loan Fund to the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), and (2) revise and prescribe allocations and uses for the Education Enhancement Fund (EEF).

Key provisions

Section 1 — Loan repayments and enforcement
- Any public school district with an unpaid loan from the former Educational Facilities Revolving Loan Fund must continue to repay principal (and interest where applicable) under the original loan terms, but payments are to be made to the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA).
- DFA must deposit all such repayments into the Education Enhancement Fund.
- DFA is authorized to exercise the enforcement actions that the State Department of Education (SDE) formerly could use under the repealed/former Section 37-47-24 against districts in arrears.

Section 2 — Education Enhancement Fund (amendment to Miss. Code §37-61-33)
- Establishes the EEF as the depository for certain tax revenues (including revenues cited from Sections 27-65-75 and 27-67-31) and loan repayments under Section 1.
- Directs that $16,000,000 annually be appropriated from the EEF to the State Department of Education for distribution to all school districts, pro rata based on net enrollment, for capital and related facility needs (construction, repair, equipment, transportation vehicles, athletic fields, utilities, land, etc.). Districts may pledge these funds to secure certain long-term debt as authorized.
- Specifies the remainder of the EEF be allocated among education purposes, including:
- 16.61% to the total funding formula (with 1.178% of that reserved for textbooks to be loaned to approved nonpublic schools),
- 7.97% for transportation operations and maintenance,
- 9.61% for classroom supplies, instructional materials, equipment (including computers and software) to be distributed to eligible teachers via procurement cards or a digital purchasing solution. These classroom-supply funds must supplement, not replace, existing funds and may not be used for administrative costs.
- Directs rulemaking and local implementation details (teacher eligibility, credentials/procurement cards administered by DFA under specified statutes). (Text truncated in recorded version; some administrative details not fully provided.)

Who is affected

  • Public school districts holding outstanding Educational Facilities Revolving Loan Fund loans (payment recipient and enforcement role shifts to DFA).
  • Department of Finance and Administration (new operational and enforcement responsibilities; recipient of repayments).
  • State Department of Education (recipient/administrator of EEF distributions and rulemaking responsibilities).
  • All public school districts and teachers statewide (beneficiaries of EEF distributions; classroom supply allocations).
  • Approved nonpublic schools (eligible for textbook loan program funding).

Procedural/timeline notes

  • Introduced in the Senate (Feb 25, 2025), passed the Senate, transmitted to the House, amended by the House (committee amendment replaced original appropriations text), and returned for concurrence. Conferees were named; however, the General Assembly declined to concur and the measure ultimately died in conference on March 31, 2025. No effective date was included in the excerpted amendment text.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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