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House approves 'Make Mississippi Resilient and Strong' mitigation fund, relies on insurer premium‑tax rebates
Summary
The House passed a mitigation program bill to fund property resilience projects via insurance‑industry premium‑tax rebates, aiming for about $10 million a year and up to $15,000 per applicant. Lawmakers asked about applicant limits, first‑come/first‑served rules, and how the fund will be capitalized. Final vote recorded.
The House approved a bill creating the "Make Mississippi Resilient and Strong" mitigation program to fund property resilience and mitigation projects statewide. The bill establishes a funding mechanism that uses an insurance premium‑tax rebate model: insurers remit into the fund and receive a rebate on their premium tax, and the fund pays mitigation grants to eligible residential or commercial applicants.
Sponsors told the House the program is expected to generate roughly $10 million annually when fully implemented. The bill caps per‑applicant support at $15,000 per year for residential or commercial properties. Members questioned whether the program limits the number of applicants and how the first year’s funding would be ramped up; sponsors said the program is first‑come, first‑served and initial funding may be lower until the rebate mechanism ramps up.
Representative Evans asked whether there would be a limit on the number of applicants; the sponsor answered there was not a per‑applicant count limit — only the annual cap on total fund dollars. Representative Hill confirmed program design allows insurers to remit to the fund and receive premium‑tax credits; sponsors said individual insurers would contribute and the fund would be administered by the designated agency.
The bill passed on the floor; final roll call recorded 114 yeas and 2 nays.
Ending: Sponsors said the program is intended to reduce homeowner and business losses by incentivizing resilience measures; implementation details, including exact fund administration and application timing, will follow as the agency and insurers stand up the program.
