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MEMA urges deposit to disaster trust fund as FEMA thresholds shift, asks for $1.3M to replace federal shortfall
Summary
MEMA officials warned the committee that expected changes in FEMA public‑assistance thresholds could leave the state and counties with funding gaps and asked for $1.3 million in general funds and authority to create a state disaster trust fund to cover potential shortfalls.
Crystal Thompson (speaker 19) of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency told the subcommittee MEMA currently relies on federal grants for about 62% of operating expenses but is seeing some federal dollars pulled back. She asked the legislature not to accept a recommendation to cut MEMA’s general funds and instead to provide an additional $1.3 million to keep the agency at level funding: "We respectfully request that we not get that cut, but that we get an increase of $1,300,000 to our general funds," she said.
Thompson also urged creation of a state-managed disaster trust fund and accompanying legislation to set policy and rules for how the fund would be used. She highlighted a likely FEMA move to raise the state public‑assistance threshold from $5.5 million to about $22 million, which could leave many past declared disasters below the new threshold and cost the state an estimated $162,804,920 in lost federal reimbursement across prior events. MEMA staff described using the proposed trust fund to match local recovery needs and to provide interim county assistance while federal policy evolves.
MEMA requested deficit authority to cover immediate cash-flow gaps caused by a frozen Emergency Management Performance Grant award and asked the committee to consider a one‑time deposit policy for the trust fund. The agency also signaled it will provide follow-up materials with county-by-county impacts and a draft of the proposed fund structure.
What happens next: MEMA will coordinate with the committee to refine the trust-fund legislation and to identify any one-time deficits to support county payouts while federal grants remain uncertain.
