Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 27 - TAXATION AND FINANCE (§§ 27-1-1 — 27-117-15) › Chapter 104 - STATE FISCAL AFFAIRS (§§ 27-104-1 — 27-104-373) › LINE-ITEM APPROPRIATION TRANSPARENCY ACT (§ 27-104-351) › Section 27-104-351 - Line-item appropriation transparency act; definitions; state money from pass-through funding to recipient entity permitted under certain circumstances; written itemized reports required; exceptions

(1)
This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Line-Item Appropriation Transparency Act."
(2)
As used in this section, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a)
"Local government entity" means any county, municipality, school district, public hospital or other political subdivision of the state.
(b)
"Pass-through funding" means a line-item appropriation by the Legislature to a state agency that is itemized on a separate line in a state agency's appropriation bill and that is intended to be passed through the state agency to one or more:
(i)
Local government entities;
(ii)
Private organizations, including not-for-profit organizations; or
(iii)
Persons in the form of a loan or grant.
"Pass-through funding" may be general funds, dedicated credits, or any combination of state funding sources, and may be ongoing or one-time.
(c)
"Recipient entity" means a local government entity or private entity, including a nonprofit entity, that receives money by way of pass-through funding from a state agency.
(d)
"State agency" shall have the same meaning as provided in Section
27-103-103
, and shall include any other subagency or board under the supervision of that state agency.
(e)
"State money" means funds in the State General Fund and all state-support special funds which are in the Budget Contingency Fund, Capital Expense Fund, Working-Cash Stabilization Reserve Fund, Education Enhancement Fund, Healthcare Expendable Fund, Tobacco Control Program Fund, BP Settlement Fund, Gulf Coast Restoration Fund and any other special funds that are determined by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee to be a state-support special fund. "State money" does not include contributions or donations received by a state agency.
(f)
"Department" means the Department of Finance and Administration.
(3)
A state agency may not provide a recipient entity state money from pass-through funding unless:
(a)
The state agency enters into a written agreement with the recipient entity, which details the criteria and reporting requirements as provided in this section; and
(b)
The written agreement described in paragraph (a) of this subsection requires the recipient entity to provide to the state agency the following:
(i)
A written description and an itemized report detailing the expenditure of state money or the intended expenditure of any state money that has not been spent. Such report shall be submitted at least quarterly on dates determined by the department; and
(ii)
A final written itemized report when all the state money is spent.
Disbursements shall only be made after the written agreement described in paragraph (a) of this subsection has been signed and shall be contingent upon the recipient entity complying with the quarterly reporting requirements required by paragraph (b) of this subsection.
(4)
On or before June 30 of each year or a date determined by the department, a state agency shall provide to the department a copy of the written agreements, written descriptions, and reports of itemized expenditures required under subsection (3) of this section.
(5)
The department is responsible for obtaining the written agreements, written descriptions, and itemized reports required by subsection (3) of this section from state agencies. The department is further responsible for consolidating and presenting a report on the previous fiscal year's pass-through expenditures and providing it to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee by October 1 of each year.
(6)
The department shall create all of the following documents which shall be in such form and contain such information as the department prescribes:
(a)
Written agreement as described in subsection (3)(a) of this section;
(b)
Written description and itemized report as described in subsection (3)(b) of this section; and
(c)
Final itemized report as described in subsection (3)(b) of this section.
A state agency shall utilize these documents when complying with the criteria set forth in this act.
(7)
Notwithstanding subsection (3) of this section, a state agency is not required to comply with this section to the extent that the pass-through funding is issued:
(a)
Under a competitive award process;
(b)
In accordance with a formula enacted in statute;
(c)
In accordance with a state program under parameters in statute or rule that guides the distribution of the pass-through funding;
(d)
Under the authority of this act; or
(e)
In accordance with an appropriations act of the Legislature that specifically provides an exemption from the provisions of this section.
(8)
Unless a recipient entity is required to comply with Section
31-7-1
et seq. because it is an agency or public body, the fact that it is a recipient entity does not create such an obligation.
Amended by Laws, 2024, ch. 484, HB 4130,§ 115, eff. 7/1/2024.
Amended by Laws, 2022, ch. 376, HB 1222,§ 1, eff. 3/24/2022.
Added by Laws, 2021, ch. 417, SB 2824,§ 1, eff. 7/1/2021.