HB 1891 Mississippi House · 2026 Regular Session

Appropriation; Environmental Quality, Department of.

HB 1891 appropriates $21.38 million from general funds and $252.06 million from special funds to support Mississippi's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for fiscal year 2027. It directly affects DEQ employees and operations by setting strict annual limits on salary and staffing costs, including a cap of 210 permanent and 170 time-limited staff positions. The bill requires the DEQ to maintain strict budget compliance, prohibiting spending that exceeds allocated "Personal Services" funds (covering salaries, wages, and benefits) without approval, and mandates that vacancy funding must only fill unfilled positions - not increase current employees' pay.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Apr 2026

Introduced Feb 20, 2026 Signed Apr 6, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

As Passed the lower → Current version · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to increase total appropriations for the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) by approximately $350,000, primarily to cover higher personal service costs and vacancy funding. A significant new provision was added to prohibit the DEQ from creating rules for a State Water Alteration Program that would apply to permanent, intermittent, and ephemeral waters or certain wetlands, effectively blocking a specific regulatory expansion. Additionally, the deadline for adjusting vacancy funding was shifted from February 1 to March 1, 2026.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed regarding water regulation by explicitly preventing the DEQ from establishing a water alteration program for specific water types and wetlands.

FISCAL

Total appropriations for DEQ were increased from $21,383,775 to $21,417,453 for personal services and from $252,063,752 to $252,129,128 for total funds, reflecting higher budgeted costs.

The authorized headcount for permanent positions under the DEQ was increased from 210 to 215.

REQUIREMENT

A new restriction prevents the DEQ from promulgating rules for a State Water Alteration Program that would apply to permanent, intermittent, and ephemeral waters, as well as certain wetlands.

TIMELINE

The date for proportionally adjusting available vacancy funding based on filled headcounts was changed from February 1, 2026, to March 1, 2026.

As Introduced → As Passed the lower · 10 edits

MAJOR

The bill was significantly restructured to clarify funding sources and introduce strict spending limits for personnel. The House version separates the total appropriation into specific 'General Funds' and 'Special Funds' categories with a combined total of approximately $34 million. It also adds detailed performance metrics for environmental goals and includes new sections for specific programs like dam safety and water contamination remediation.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include specific funding allocations for dam safety, water contamination projects, and administrative services, while adding strict rules on how 'Personal Services' funds can be used for salaries and vacancies.

FISCAL

Added a clear breakdown of the $34 million total appropriation into $9 million from General Funds and $25 million from Special Funds, replacing the previous single-line format.

Allocated $250,000 for legal activities, $100,000 for household hazardous waste grants, $6.8 million for clean water grants, and $1 million for oil spill remediation projects.

Created a new $2 million appropriation specifically for the Dam Safety Grant Program.

Set aside $120,000 from the Project Poppy Fund and $130,000 from the Project Atlas Fund to expedite services for those specific programs.

REQUIREMENT

Introduced strict limitations on 'Personal Services' spending, explicitly prohibiting the use of vacancy funding for promotions or salary increases for current employees.

Added a requirement that any increase in personnel costs must be approved in writing by the Department of Finance and Administration to prevent budget overruns.

Established specific performance targets for the Department of Environmental Quality, such as reducing air advisories to 5% and ensuring 75% of counties meet air quality standards.

Added a clause allowing the Department of Environmental Quality to increase its headcount for Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Funds with approval from the Department of Finance and Administration.

DEFINITION

Defined 'Vacancy Funding' strictly as money to fill empty authorized positions, ensuring it cannot be used to increase salaries for existing staff.

TECHNICAL

Removed the original page numbers and formatting artifacts from the 'As Introduced' version to create a clean legislative text.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 12, 2026 · House Feb 19, 2026

How they voted

51–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 52

Mar 12, 2026

D Democratic18

18 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican34

33 Yea 1

97% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 6, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by Governor

executive

Mar 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Report Adopted

lower

Mar 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Report Filed

lower

Mar 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed As Amended

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Amended

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass As Amended

upper

Feb 27, 2026

Committee

Referred To Appropriations

upper

Feb 20, 2026

Introduced

Transmitted To Senate

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass

lower

Feb 16, 2026

Committee

Referred To Appropriations B;Appropriations A

lower

1 primary · 7 co-sponsors