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HB 965

Local Governments Capital Improvements Revolving Loan Fund; extend repealer on MDA authority to use funds for general support.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Fred Shanks

Mississippi bill extends MDA authority to spend capital improvements loan funds on general support beyond infrastructure projects.

Died In Committee
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Bill Summary · HB 965

Legislative bill overview

HB 965 extends the authority of Mississippi's Department of Agriculture (MDA) to use funds from the Local Governments Capital Improvements Revolving Loan Fund for general support purposes, rather than limiting those funds solely to capital improvement projects. The bill delays the expiration of this expanded authority, which was set to sunset under existing law.

Why is this important

This extension affects how agricultural development funds can be deployed within Mississippi. It determines whether the MDA must restrict revolving loan fund resources strictly to capital infrastructure projects or has flexibility to apply them more broadly, which could impact rural economic development initiatives and funding availability for various agricultural programs.

Potential points of contention

  • Fund mission creep: Extending use beyond capital improvements may dilute the original purpose of a capital-focused revolving loan fund, potentially reducing long-term infrastructure investment capacity
  • Budgetary transparency: Broad "general support" authority could obscure how public funds are actually spent, making legislative oversight and fiscal accountability more difficult
  • Competing priorities: Expanding MDA discretion may redirect resources away from capital projects that local governments were originally promised access to through this mechanism

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

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