Mississippi House passes broad slate of appropriation bills; key changes include $4 million burn‑fund cap increase and $190 million cut to transportation’s one‑

The Mississippi House of Representatives passed dozens of appropriation bills and two deficit appropriations during a floor session, approving most measures en bloc while making a few targeted changes to agency budgets.

The measures largely tracked the Joint Legislative Committee’s Legislative Budget Recommendation (LBR) and included increases for health insurance and contributions to the state retirement system (PERS). Lawmakers approved individual agency budgets and several blocks of bills by voice and roll call votes; many blocks passed unanimously, while the Educational Television Authority appropriation drew a recorded 80‑28 vote.

The most substantive, itemized changes recorded on the floor:

• Forestry Commission (House Bill 17‑26): A committee amendment removed specific cleanup language from last year’s appropriation (lines 67–70 of the prior bill) that had been used to address pay for technicians and rangers. The sponsor said the amendment was “just clean up language” and that monies for prior raises already are included in the current appropriation; no new salary increases were added. The bill was approved as explained.

• Department of Health (House Bill 17‑41): The sponsor told the chamber the budget otherwise followed the LBR but that “the only change that I made in here is we added $4,000,000 to the burn fund. It was set at a…