Housing authorities; enable participation in mixed-finance projects and self-insurance pooling arrangements., the official text

MISSISSIPPI
LEGISLATURE

2026 Regular Session

To: Housing; Finance

By: Senator(s) Hickman, Michel, Simmons (13th)

Senate Bill 2257

(As Sent to Governor)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 43-33-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972,
TO DEFINE THE TERM "MIXED-FINANCE PROJECT" FOR USE IN THE HOUSING
AUTHORITIES LAW; TO AMEND SECTION 43-33-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO
AUTHORIZE AN AUTHORITY TO PREPARE, CARRY OUT, ACQUIRE, LEASE AND OPERATE
HOUSING PROJECTS AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION, RECONSTRUCTION,
IMPROVEMENT, ALTERATION OR REPAIR OF ANY HOUSING PROJECT OR ANY PART THEREOF BY
DIRECT SPONSORSHIP OF THE AUTHORITY, BY THE PURCHASE OF A MORTGAGE OR BY THE
MAKING OF A MORTGAGE LOAN TO A NOT-FOR-PROFIT ENTITY OR CORPORATION; TO
AUTHORIZE AN AUTHORITY TO PARTICIPATE IN MIXED-FINANCE PROJECTS TO PROVIDE FOR
THE CONSTRUCTION, RECONSTRUCTION, REHABILITATION, IMPROVEMENT, ALTERATION OR
REPAIR OF ANY HOUSING PROJECT OR ANY PART THEREOF; TO ENABLE AN AUTHORITY TO
PROVIDE CERTAIN ASSISTANCE TO A MIXED-FINANCE PROJECT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OR
REHABILITATION OF A HOUSING PROJECT; TO AUTHORIZE THE FORMATION OF A SELF-INSURANCE
POOLING ARRANGEMENT UNDER SECTION 11-46-17 WHEN ONE OR MORE AUTHORITIES FORM
PARTNERSHIPS, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANIES OR OTHER ENTITIES FOR THE PURPOSE OF
UNDERTAKING A MIXED-FINANCE PROJECT; TO AUTHORIZE SUCH HOUSING AUTHORITY-RELATED
ENTITIES TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS FOR JOINT OR COOPERATIVE ACTION TO POOL THEIR
FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE RESOURCES FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES RELATED TO
LIABILITY OR INSURABILITY; TO AMEND SECTION 43-33-17, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972,
TO INCLUDE MIXED-FINANCE PROJECTS AMONG PROJECTS FOR WHICH TWO OR MORE
AUTHORITIES MAY JOIN OR COOPERATE WITH ONE ANOTHER FOR CERTAIN ACTIVITIES; TO
CREATE NEW SECTION 43-33-52, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS WHO INCORPORATE OR JOIN AS A PARTNER OR MEMBER TO DEVELOP OR MANAGE
A MIXED-FINANCE PROJECT ENJOY THE SAME PROTECTIONS AND IMMUNITIES PROVIDED TO
HOUSING AUTHORITY CORPORATIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1.  Section
43-33-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

43-33-1.  Sections 43-33-1
through 43-33-53 may be referred to as the "Housing Authorities Law,"
and the following terms, whenever used or referred to in said sections, shall
have the following respective meanings, unless a different meaning clearly
appears from the context:

(a)  "Authority"
or "housing authority" shall mean any of the public corporations
created by or pursuant to this Housing Authorities Law, or any law amendatory
or supplemental thereto, with power to undertake housing projects for the persons
of low income.

(b)  "City"
shall mean any city in this state. "County" shall mean any county in
this state.  "The city" shall mean the particular city for which a
particular housing authority is created.  "The county" shall mean the
particular county for which a particular housing authority is created.

(c)  "State public
body" shall mean any city, town, village, county, municipal corporation,
commission, district, authority, or other subdivision or other public body of
this state.

(d)  "Governing
body" shall mean, in the case of a city, the board of aldermen,
commissioners, or council; in the case of a county, the board of supervisors;
and in the case of any other state public body, the board of aldermen, council,
commissioners, board or other body having charge of the fiscal affairs of such
state public body.

(e)  "Mayor"
shall mean the mayor of the city or the officer thereof charged with the duties
customarily imposed on the mayor or executive head of the city.

(f)  "Clerk"
shall mean the clerk of the city or the clerk of the county, as the case may
be, or the officer charged with the duties customarily imposed on such clerk.

(g)  "Area of
operation," in the case of a housing authority of a city, shall include
such city and the area within five (5) miles of the territorial boundaries
thereof.

(h)  "Federal
government" shall include the United States of America, the United States
Housing Authority, or any other agency or instrumentality, corporate or
otherwise, of the United States of America.

(i)  "Slum"
shall mean any area where dwellings predominate which, by reason of
dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangement, or design, lack of ventilation,
light or sanitary facilities, or any combination of these factors, are
detrimental to safety, health or morals.

(j)  "Housing
project" shall mean any work or undertaking:  (1) to demolish, clear or
remove buildings from any slum area; such work or undertaking may embrace the
adoption of such area to public purposes, including parks or other recreational
or community purposes; or (2) to provide decent, safe and sanitary urban or
rural dwellings, apartments, or other living accommodations for persons of low
income; such work or undertaking may include buildings, land, equipment,
facilities, and other real or personal property for necessary, convenient, or
desirable appurtenances, streets, sewers, water service, parks, site
preparation, gardening, administrative, community, health, recreational,
welfare or other purposes; or (3) to accomplish a combination of the aforegoing.
The term "housing project" also may be applied to the planning of the
buildings and improvements, the acquisition of property, the demolition of
existing structures, the construction, reconstruction, alteration and repair of
the improvements and all other work in connection therewith.

(k)  "Mixed-finance
project" shall mean a project that is financially assisted by private
resources, which may include low-income housing tax credits, in addition to an
amount provided under any state or federal program.  "Mixed-finance
project" includes a project that is developed by:

(i)  An
authority or an entity affiliated with an authority;

(ii)  A
partnership, limited liability company, or other entity in which the authority,
or an entity affiliated with an authority, is a general partner, managing
member, or otherwise participates in the activities of the entity; or

(iii)  Any
entity that grants to the authority the right of first refusal and first option
to purchase, after the close of the compliance period, the qualified low-income
building in which the public housing units exist in accordance with Section
42(i)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 USC § 42(i)(7)).

( * * *kl)  "Persons of low income"
shall mean persons or families who lack the amount of income which is necessary
(as determined by the authority undertaking the housing project) to enable
them, without financial assistance, to live in decent, safe and sanitary
dwellings, without overcrowding.

( * * *lm)  "Bonds" shall mean any bonds,
notes, interim certificates, debentures, or other obligations issued by a
housing authority.

( * * *mn)  "Real property" shall
include all lands, including improvements and fixtures thereon, and property of
any nature appurtenant thereto, or used in connection therewith, and every
estate, interest and right, legal or equitable, therein including terms for
years and liens by way of judgment, mortgage or otherwise and the indebtedness
secured by such liens.

( * * *no)  "Obligee of the
authority" or "obligee" shall include any bondholder, trustee or
trustees for any bondholders, or lessor demising to the authority property used
in connection with a housing project, or any assignee or assignees of such
lessor's interest or any part thereof, and the federal government when it is a
party to any contract with the authority.

SECTION 2.  Section
43-33-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

43-33-11.  An authority
shall constitute a public body corporate and politic, exercising public and
essential governmental functions, and having all the powers necessary or
convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this
article, including the following powers in addition to others herein granted:

(a)  To sue and to be
sued; to have a seal and to alter the same at pleasure; to have perpetual
succession; to make and execute contracts and other instruments necessary or
convenient to the exercise of the powers of the authority; and to make and from
time to time amend and repeal bylaws, rules and regulations, not inconsistent
with this article, to carry into effect the powers and purposes of the
authority.

(b)  Within its area of
operation:  to prepare, carry out, acquire, lease and operate housing projects;
to provide for the construction, reconstruction, improvement, alteration or
repair of any housing project or any part thereof by direct sponsorship of
the authority, by the purchase of a mortgage or by the making of a mortgage
loan to a not-for-profit entity or corporation.

(c)  To own,
operate, assist or otherwise participate in one or more mixed-finance projects
to provide for the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, improvement,
alteration or repair of any housing project or any part thereof.  An authority
may provide capital assistance, operating assistance and financing assistance
to a mixed-finance project in the form of a grant, loan, guaranty,
collateralization or other form of investment in the project, or other form of
public or private borrowings, for the construction or rehabilitation of a
housing project.

( * * *cd)  To arrange or contract for the
furnishing by any person or agency, public or private, of services, privileges,
works or facilities for, or in connection with, a housing project or the
occupants thereof; and (notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in
this article or in any other provision of law) to include in any contract let
in connection with a project, stipulations requiring that the contractor and
any subcontractors comply with requirements as to minimum wages and maximum
hours of labor, and comply with any conditions which the federal government may
have attached to its financial aid of the project.

( * * *de)  To lease or rent any dwellings,
houses, accommodations, lands, buildings, structures or facilities embraced in
any housing project and (subject to the limitations contained in this article)
to establish and revise the rents or charges therefor; to own, hold and improve
real or personal property; to purchase, lease, obtain options upon, acquire by
gift, grant, bequest, devise or otherwise any real or personal property or any
interest therein; to acquire by the exercise of the power of eminent domain any
real property; to sell, lease, exchange, transfer, assign, pledge or dispose of
any real or personal property or any interest therein; to insure or provide for
the insurance of any real or personal property or operations of the authority
against any risks or hazards; to procure or agree to the procurement of
insurance or guarantees from the federal government of the payment of any bonds
or parts thereof issued by an authority, including the power to pay premiums on
any such insurance.

(f)  When one or
more authorities have formed partnerships, limited liability companies, or other
entities in which an authority, or an entity affiliated with an authority, is a
general partner, managing member, or otherwise participates in the activities
of the entity for the sake of undertaking a mixed-finance project, the housing
authority-related entities may form a self-insurance pooling arrangement under
Section 11-46-17.  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, such housing
authority-related entities may enter into an agreement or agreements with each
other for joint or cooperative action to pool their financial and
administrative resources for the purpose of providing to the participating
housing authority-related entities risk management, insurance, reinsurance,
self-insurance, or any combination thereof for any and all of the areas of
liability or insurability, or both, for such housing authority-related
entities.

( * * *eg)  To invest any funds held in
reserves or sinking funds, or any funds not required for immediate
disbursement, in property or securities in which savings banks may legally
invest funds subject to their control; to purchase its bonds at a price not
more than the principal amount thereof and accrued interest, all bonds so
purchased to be canceled.

( * * *fh)  Within its area of operation:  to
investigate into living, dwelling and housing conditions and into the means and
methods of improving such conditions; to determine where slum areas exist or
where there is a shortage of decent, safe and sanitary dwelling accommodations
for persons of low income; to make studies and recommendations relating to the
problem of clearing, replanning and reconstructing of slum areas, and the
problem of providing dwelling accommodations for persons of low income, and to
cooperate with the city, the county, the state or any political subdivision
thereof in action taken in connection with such problems; and to engage in
research, studies and experimentation on the subject of housing.

( * * *gi)  Acting through one or more
commissioners or other person or persons designated by the authority:  to
conduct examinations and investigations and to hear testimony and take proof
under oath at public or private hearings on any matter material to its
information; to administer oaths, issue subpoenas requiring the attendance of
witnesses or the production of books and papers and to issue commissions for
the examination of witnesses who are outside of the state or unable to attend
before the authority, or excused from attendance; to make available to
appropriate agencies (including those charged with the duty of abating or
requiring the correction of nuisances or like conditions, or of demolishing
unsafe or unsanitary structures within its area of operation) its findings and
recommendations with regard to any building or property where conditions exist
which are dangerous to the public health, morals, safety or welfare.

( * * *hj)  To make payments to public bodies
in the state in such amounts as it finds desirable, notwithstanding any
statutory limitation on the amount of such payments.

( * * *ik)  To establish and operate a
nonprofit corporation for housing and community development purposes.

( * * *jl)  To exercise all or any part or
combination of powers herein granted.

No provisions of law with
respect to the acquisition, operation or disposition of property by other
public bodies shall be applicable to an authority unless the Legislature shall
specifically so state.

SECTION 3.  Section
43-33-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

43-33-17.  Any two (2) or
more authorities may join or cooperate with one another in the exercise, either
jointly or otherwise, of any or all of their powers for the purpose of
financing (including the issuance of bonds, notes or other obligations and
giving security therefor), planning, undertaking, owning, constructing,
operating or contracting with respect to a housing project or projects or a
mixed-finance project located within the area of operation of any one * * * (1) or more of said authorities.  For such
purpose an authority may by resolution prescribe and authorize any other
housing authority or authorities, so joining or cooperating with it, to act on
its behalf with respect to any or all of such powers.  Any authorities joining
or cooperating with one another may by resolutions appoint from among the
commissioners of such authorities an executive committee with full power to act
on behalf of such authorities with respect to any or all of their powers, as
prescribed by resolutions of such authorities.

SECTION 4.  The
following shall be codified as Section 43-33-52, Mississippi Code of 1972:

43-33-52.  The
individual commissioners, directors, supervisory employees, and supervisory
agents of a housing authority, whether such housing authority is formed under
this chapter or by private act, while acting in the scope of their authority,
including those entities that a housing authority or entity affiliated with a
housing authority may form, incorporate, or join as a partner or member to
develop or manage a mixed-finance project, and the directors, supervisory
employees, and supervisory agents of such entities, while acting in the scope
of their authority for the development or management of the mixed-finance
project, enjoy the same protections and immunities that are presently provided
for housing authority corporations under the laws of this state, and any
protections and immunities that may be provided to housing authorities in the
future under the laws of this state.

SECTION 5.  This act
shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.