Bill Amendment: MS HB1069 | 2026 | Regular Session
Bill Title: "MS Agricultural and Farmland Wind Tower Protection Act of 2026"; create.
Status: 2026-03-30 - Died In Conference [HB1069 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2026-HB1069-Senate_Committee_Amendment_No_1.html
Pending
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO 1 PROPOSED TO
House Bill No. 1069
BY: Committee
Amend by striking all after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
SECTION 1. (1) There is hereby established the Wind-Tower Agricultural and Environmental Impact Study Committee. The committee shall be composed of:
(a) The Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, as the chair of the committee;
(b) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks;
(c) The Executive Director of the Public Service Commission (PSC);
(d) One (1) representative from the Mississippi Agricultural Aviation Association (MAAA);
(e) One (1) member appointed by the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation;
(f) One (1) member from the Mississippi Delta Council;
(g) One (1) senator from the Mississippi Senate, appointed by the Lieutenant Governor; and
(h) One (1) representative from the Mississippi House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of the House.
(2) The committee shall:
(a) Study aviation incidents, wildlife-mortality data and farmland loss associated with wind-tower development; and
(b) Develop statewide placement and permitting standards, including a wildlife-buffer map modeled after regulatory framework enacted in Arkansas.
(3) Appointments to the study committee shall be made within thirty (30) days of the effective date of this act. At the first meeting, the committee shall elect from among its membership a vice chairman and any other officers determined to be necessary, and shall adopt rules for transacting business and keeping records.
(4) A majority of the members of the study committee shall constitute a quorum. The study committee shall develop and report to the Legislature its findings and recommendations on or before January 1, 2027, and repeat the reporting process annually.
(5) In the adoption of rules, resolutions and reports, and in the election of a vice chairman and any other officers determined to be necessary, an affirmative vote of a majority of the members present shall be required. All members shall be notified in writing of all meetings, such notice shall be mailed at least five (5) days before the date on which a meeting is to be held. Members of the study committee shall be reimbursed in the same manner as for attending out-of-session committee meetings.
(6) The PEER Committee shall provide the staff and other support necessary for the study committee to perform its duties.
(7) To effectuate the purposes of this act, any department, division, board, bureau, committee, institution or agency of the state, or any political subdivision thereof, shall, at the request of the chairman of the study committee, provide the facilities, assistance, information and data needed to enable the study committee to carry out its duties.
(8) (a) The PSC shall not issue any Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity for a new wind-tower facility in this state prior to one (1) year after the effective date of this act. The moratorium established in this paragraph (a) shall not apply to certificates for wind-tower facilities issued prior to the effective date of this act.
(b) The designated reviewing agencies and the PSC shall not issue any permits for construction or operation of a new wind-tower facility in this state prior to one (1) year after the effective date of this act. The moratorium established in this paragraph (b) shall not apply to construction or operation of wind-tower facilities that commenced prior to the effective date of this act.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.
Further, amend by striking the title in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
AN ACT TO CREATE THE WIND-TOWER AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY COMMITTEE; TO PROVIDE THE COMPOSITION AND DUTIES OF THE STUDY COMMITTEE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
