Mississippi House unanimously approves bill to keep lottery-directed road funding past 2028
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Summary
The House passed House Bill 325 to remove a sunset on lottery allocations that direct the first $80 million annually to transportation projects, a move supporters say will allow MDOT to continue planning; the vote was 121-0.
The Mississippi House on 2026-01-17 voted unanimously to pass House Bill 325, a measure to remove the sunset on the 2018 lottery allocation that directs the first $80,000,000 each year to transportation projects. Representative Morgan, chairman of the transportation committee, urged colleagues that the change "keeps planning going" for the Mississippi Department of Transportation and avoids an abrupt stop when the current provision ends in 2028.
Supporters framed the bill as a continuity measure. Representative Morgan told members that the original 2018 lottery program dedicated the first $80,000,000 to two-lane road projects; he said the program has supported about 3,140 miles of two-lane road work and has generated roughly $550,000,000 to date. "If you'll go back to 2018, we passed the lottery. The first $80,000,000 goes to transportation," Morgan said on the floor.
Representative Eubanks, who identified himself as not on the transportation committee, asked whether the Education Enhancement Fund revenues could be redirected to the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS). Morgan replied that no such redirection was under consideration now and that lawmakers could revisit such choices later if desired.
On final passage, the clerk recorded an electronic vote of 121 yays and 0 nays. The House placed the bill on final passage and recorded its approval; the measure now advances to the next steps of the legislative process.
