HB 555 Mississippi House · 2025 Regular Session

Public procurement laws; exempt certain purchases and contracts for landmark buildings from for certain time.

HB 555 exempts the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration from standard public procurement rules when purchasing renovations, repairs, or improvements for the State Capitol building and other historic sites that hold dual designation as both a National Historic Landmark and a Mississippi Landmark. This means the department can bypass competitive bidding requirements and Public Procurement Review Board approval for these specific projects. The exemption is temporary, set to expire on June 30, 2028. The bill directly affects the department’s purchasing process for these designated historic properties.
Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Feb 2025
House Passage
Feb 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 11, 2025 Last action Mar 4, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

As Introduced Current version · 8 edits
MODERATE
This bill amends Mississippi's public purchasing laws to create new exemptions for purchasing construction and renovation services for historically significant buildings (those designated as both National Historic Landmarks and Mississippi Landmarks). It also establishes a Public Procurement Review Board to oversee certain procurement activities and adds various new exemptions for specific government purchases. The changes aim to streamline procurement processes for historical preservation projects while maintaining oversight for other government purchases.
Scope change
The bill expands the scope of procurement exemptions to include specific historical buildings and sites, and creates a new oversight body (Public Procurement Review Board) that did not previously exist in this form.
ELIGIBILITY

Creates a new exemption allowing the Department of Finance and Administration to bypass standard public purchasing requirements when purchasing renovation, repair, restoration, or improvement services for buildings designated as both National Historic Landmarks and Mississippi Landmarks.

TIMELINE

Sets a sunset date of June 30, 2028 for the historical building procurement exemption, meaning this special purchasing authority will expire on that date unless renewed by legislation.

REQUIREMENT

Establishes a new Public Procurement Review Board composed of five appointed members (three by Governor, two by Lieutenant Governor) to approve purchasing regulations, review contracts, and oversee procurement processes for state agencies.

Requires reverse auctions to be the primary method for receiving bids on purchases over $75,000, with exceptions that must be approved by the Public Procurement Review Board.

Adds numerous new exemptions from competitive bidding requirements for specific purchases including prison industry products, multichannel interactive video systems, certain school district purchases, and disaster cleanup services.

Modifies emergency purchase procedures to require that emergency purchases must be for purposes meeting needs created by the emergency situation, with documentation required after the emergency purchase.

DEFINITION

Provides detailed definitions for 'minority business' for set-aside procurement programs, specifying criteria for Asian, Black, Hispanic, and Native American ownership.

ENFORCEMENT

Establishes penalties for attempting to circumvent competitive bidding requirements, including fines of $500-$1,000 or imprisonment for 30 days for splitting invoices to avoid bidding thresholds.

Floor votes · House Feb 10, 2025

How they voted

9321
Passed · 5 other
Total votes 119
Feb 10, 2025
D Democratic39
18 Yea 18 Nay 3
46% Nay
I Independent2
2 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican78
73 Yea 3 Nay 2
93% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
8
Key actions
2
Committee
3
Feb 14, 2025
Committee
Referred To Public Property
upper
Feb 11, 2025
Introduced
Transmitted To Senate
lower
Feb 10, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
Feb 4, 2025
Lower · Passed
Title Suff Do Pass
lower
Jan 15, 2025
Committee
Referred To Public Property;Appropriations A
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
RRepublican
MS
120