SB 2540 Mississippi Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Mississippi Health Care Industry Zone Act; extend repealers on act and related tax incentives.

SB 2540 extends tax incentives for health care businesses under Mississippi's Health Care Industry Zone Act by delaying the expiration of key provisions until July 1, 2026. It directly affects qualified health care facilities that meet job creation or capital investment thresholds (e.g., 25 new jobs or $10 million in investment after 2012). The bill removes automatic expiration clauses ("reverters") from tax exemptions, including sales tax breaks on construction materials, property tax abatements, and fee-in-lieu payments. These changes ensure existing incentives remain available for facilities already certified under the program.

Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2025

Senate Passage

Feb 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 7, 2025 Last action Mar 4, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Committee Substitute → Current version · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill title was updated to reflect that it has passed the Senate, moving from a 'Committee Substitute' version to the 'As Passed the Senate' version. This indicates the bill has advanced in the legislative process but does not represent a substantive policy change to the bill's content.

TECHNICAL

The bill's title was changed from 'Committee Substitute' to 'As Passed the Senate', reflecting its current legislative status rather than altering the bill's substantive provisions.

As Introduced → Committee Substitute · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends Mississippi tax incentive laws related to the Health Care Industry Zone Act, extending the repealer date from 2029 to 2026 to allow for potential future amendments. It also updates the definition of 'qualified businesses' to include new categories like data centers, telecommunications, and controlled environment agriculture, while explicitly excluding medical cannabis establishments from receiving tax incentives. The bill extends the deadline for counties to grant tax exemptions from June 30, 2025, to July 1, 2026, and clarifies fee-in-lieu agreements for various economic development projects.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of eligible businesses for tax incentives to include data centers, telecommunications enterprises, and controlled environment agriculture, while simultaneously narrowing eligibility by explicitly excluding medical cannabis establishments from all tax incentive programs.

TIMELINE

Extended the repealer date for the Mississippi Health Care Industry Zone Act from July 1, 2029, to July 1, 2026, allowing legislators to potentially amend or update the program before it expires.

Extended the deadline for county boards to grant tax exemptions from June 30, 2025, to July 1, 2026, giving local governments additional time to process applications.

ELIGIBILITY

Added new categories of businesses eligible for tax incentives including data centers, telecommunications enterprises, and controlled environment agriculture facilities meeting Mississippi Development Authority criteria.

Explicitly excluded medical cannabis establishments from all tax incentives, including ad valorem tax exemptions, sales tax exemptions, and fee-in-lieu agreements.

REQUIREMENT

Updated fee-in-lieu agreement requirements to allow for different apportionment methods for projects designated under specific Mississippi Major Economic Impact Authority categories.

DEFINITION

Added specific definitions for 'telecommunications enterprises' and 'controlled environment agriculture enterprises' to clarify which businesses qualify for tax incentives.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 6, 2025

How they voted

50–1

Passed

Total votes 51

Feb 6, 2025

D Democratic16

15 Yea 1 Nay

93% Yea

R Republican35

35 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 14, 2025

Committee

Referred To Ways and Means;Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency

lower

Feb 7, 2025

Introduced

Transmitted To House

upper

Feb 6, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed

upper

Jan 30, 2025

Upper · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass Comm Sub

upper

Jan 20, 2025

Committee

Referred To Finance

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors