SB 3094 Mississippi Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Appropriation; Gaming Commission.

This bill appropriates $9,771,233 from the state General Fund and $1,673,699 from a special fund to cover the Mississippi Gaming Commission’s operating expenses for fiscal year 2027. It specifically restricts the use of these funds - requiring all "Personal Services" money (covering staff salaries, benefits, and approved vacancies) to stay within authorized headcount levels (113 permanent positions) and prohibiting salary increases for current employees. The funds must not be used for promotions, title changes, or replacing federal funds, and any new hires must utilize designated "Vacancy Funding" rather than increasing overall salary budgets. The commission must comply with Mississippi’s Variable Compensation Plan and ensure spending aligns with the approved budget for FY2027.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Mar 2026

Introduced Feb 23, 2026 Signed Mar 25, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

As Passed the upper → Current version · 6 edits

MODERATE

The Mississippi Gaming Commission's Fiscal Year 2027 appropriation was reduced by approximately $281,717 in total, driven primarily by a significant cut to Vacancy Funding (from about $965K to about $540K). Base employee salaries and fringe benefits actually increased slightly by about $143K. A date threshold for vacancy funding adjustments was also moved from February 1 to March 1, 2026.

FISCAL

Total General Funds appropriation reduced from $9,771,233 to $9,512,053 (a decrease of about $259,180).

Special Funds appropriation reduced from $1,673,699 to $1,651,162 (a decrease of about $22,537).

Vacancy Funding was cut substantially from $964,797 to $540,306 (a decrease of about $424,491), meaning fewer unfilled positions will be funded in FY 2027.

Employee Salaries, Wages and Fringe Benefits increased from $8,901,161 to $9,043,935 (an increase of about $142,774), suggesting some shift from vacancy positions to base salary costs.

TIMELINE

The date after which filling additional headcounts triggers a proportional adjustment to available Vacancy Funding was changed from February 1, 2026 to March 1, 2026, giving the agency one additional month to fill positions before the vacancy funding pool is recalculated.

TECHNICAL

Section 9 corrected a grammatical error: 'their appropriation' changed to 'its appropriation' when referring to a single state agency.

As Introduced → Committee Substitute · 13 edits

MAJOR

The Committee Substitute version of SB 3094 increased the total appropriation for the Mississippi Gaming Commission from approximately $11.16 million to approximately $11.44 million for Fiscal Year 2027. The bill added new sections requiring performance reporting, establishing a special fund for law enforcement resources from forfeited property, and creating a special fund for investigative activities from gaming control fees. Additional provisions were added regarding the transfer of $75,000 to a gambling addiction support organization and clarifying rules about headcount reductions and fund usage.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include new funding sources and purposes beyond the original personal services appropriation, including law enforcement resources, investigative activities, and gambling addiction support services.

FISCAL

Increased total General Fund appropriation from $9,512,053.00 to $9,771,233.00 and Special Fund appropriation from $1,651,162.00 to $1,673,699.00.

Increased authorized headcount funding from $9,584,241.00 to $9,865,958.00, with higher allocations for employee salaries and vacancy funding.

REQUIREMENT

Added Section 4 requiring a portion of Section 2 funds to come from forfeited property seized by the Gaming Commission for law enforcement resources.

Added Section 5 requiring a portion of Section 2 funds to come from Gaming Control Act receipts for investigative and permitting activities.

Added Section 6 establishing preference for Mississippi Industries for the Blind when purchasing commodities or equipment.

Added Section 7 requiring complete accounting and personnel records in the same format as Fiscal Year 2026, and requiring Fiscal Year 2028 budget requests to be submitted to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

Added Section 8 requiring performance measures and reporting on Riverboat Gaming revenues, number of casinos regulated, Charitable Bingo revenues, and bingo applications/halls regulated.

Added Section 9 requiring compliance with Mississippi Code Section 27-104-25 regarding state agency indebtedness and officer liability.

Added Section 10 authorizing a $75,000 transfer to the Mississippi Council on Compulsive Gambling for crisis intervention and support services.

Added Section 11 clarifying payment procedures through the State Treasurer and State Fiscal Officer.

Added Section 12 confirming the act takes effect on July 1, 2026.

ENFORCEMENT

Added Section 3 provisions requiring State Personnel Board approval for escalated positions and preventing general funds from replacing withdrawn federal or special funds.

TECHNICAL

Added provisions regarding IRS Publication 15-A compliance for contract employee income reporting and headcount reduction discretion.

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

How they voted

49–0

Passed · 3 other

Total votes 52

Feb 19, 2026

D Democratic18

17 Yea 1

94% Yea

R Republican34

32 Yea 2

94% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 25, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by Governor

executive

Mar 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

Concurred in Amend From House

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed As Amended

lower

Mar 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Amended

lower

Mar 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass As Amended

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Committee

Referred To Appropriations B;Appropriations A

lower

Feb 23, 2026

Introduced

Transmitted To House

upper

Feb 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass Comm Sub

upper

Feb 17, 2026

Committee

Referred To Appropriations

upper

1 primary · 6 co-sponsors