Appropriation; Department of Employment Security for funding Paramedics Recruitment and Retention Scholarship Grant Program.

HB 1216 appropriated $1.5 million from the State General Fund to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security (as fiscal agent for the Office of Workforce Development) to fund the Paramedics Recruitment and Retention Scholarship Grant Program. The program was intended to provide scholarships for individuals pursuing paramedic careers, directly benefiting prospective paramedics in Mississippi seeking education and training. The funding would have covered the 2025-2026 fiscal year (July 1, 2025-June 30, 2026), with the Department of Employment Security managing the disbursement. The bill died in committee on February 26, 2025, and did not become law.