SB 2058 Mississippi Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Mississippi Gulf Coast Region Utility Act; expand provisions concerning promulgation of rules and regulations.

SB 2058 clarifies and expands the authority of county and regional utility authorities in Mississippi's Gulf Coast region to regulate water, wastewater, and stormwater systems. It requires all new systems to obtain county certification before construction or permitting, prohibits competing providers from entering areas served by licensed utilities without consent, and establishes penalties including $500 daily fines for violations. The bill directly affects municipalities, utility companies, and developers by strengthening county oversight and enforcing a "right of first refusal" for existing service areas. Key provisions include mandatory performance standards, certification requirements for systems, and allowing counties to pursue legal action to stop unauthorized service.
Bill status died 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 8, 2026 Last action Feb 12, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

As Introduced Current version · 4 edits
MODERATE
This bill was amended to clarify and expand the powers of county authorities and regional utility authorities regarding water, wastewater, and stormwater services. The changes primarily focus on strengthening enforcement mechanisms, clarifying service restrictions in certificated areas, and updating the structure of the Mississippi Code section being amended.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains focused on county and regional utility authorities in Mississippi, but the applicability of certain restrictions was clarified to apply to properties not wholly located within certificated areas, rather than all properties outside certificated areas.
REQUIREMENT

Restrictions on utility service were modified to apply only to properties not wholly located within certificated areas, rather than all properties outside certificated areas.

ENFORCEMENT

Enforcement provisions were restructured to consolidate penalties and enforcement authority under subsections (10) and (11) rather than subsection (11).

TECHNICAL

Formatting and numbering were updated to conform to committee substitute standards, including line numbers and official page markers.

DEFINITION

The introductory language was updated to remove 'TO PROVIDE A RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL FOR WATER, WASTEWATER AND STORMWATER SERVICES WITH CERTIFICATED AREAS' and replaced with 'TO PROHIBIT CERTAIN SERVICE' for clarity.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
6
Key actions
2
Committee
3
Amendments
1
Feb 12, 2026
Committee
Recommitted to Committee
upper
Feb 12, 2026
Upper · Passed
Amended
upper
Feb 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Title Suff Do Pass Comm Sub
upper
Jan 8, 2026
Committee
Referred To Energy
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Joel Carter
Joel Carter
RRepublican
MS
49