Bill Text: MS SB2627 | 2026 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: DFA Administrative Rule regarding card and electronic payments; bring forward code sections within.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Failed) 2026-02-03 - Died In Committee [SB2627 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2026-SB2627-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2026 Regular Session
To: Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency
By: Senator(s) Suber
Senate Bill 2627
AN ACT TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 7-7-1, 7-7-9, 25-53-151, AND 27-104-33, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH ARE WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATIVE RULE REGARDING PAYMENTS BY CREDIT CARD, CHARGE CARD, DEBIT CARD OR OTHER ELECTRONIC PAYMENT OF AMOUNTS OWED TO STATE AGENCIES, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 7-7-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
7-7-1. (1) As used in this chapter, the terms "State Auditor" and "Auditor" mean the Auditor of Public Accounts.
(2) As used in this chapter, the term "State Fiscal Officer" means the official created in Section 27-104-5, acting through the Bureau of Budget and Fiscal Management.
(3) "Agency" means any state board, commission, committee, council, department or unit thereof created by the Constitution or statutes if such board, commission, committee, council, department, unit or the head thereof is authorized to appoint subordinate staff by the Constitution or statute, except a legislative or judicial board, commission, committee, council, department or unit thereof.
(4) For the purposes of Sections 7-7-1 through 7-7-65, the term "public funds" shall mean all funds which are received, collected by, or available for the support of or expenditure by any state department, institution or agency, whether such funds be derived from taxes or from fees collected by such state department, institution or agency or from some other source, and which should be included in the entity of the state under generally accepted accounting principles, although such funds may not be required by law to be deposited in the State Treasury.
Funds such as endowment funds and research funds, special building and plant funds, funds of a proprietary function, and the like shall be excluded from the meaning of the term, unless specifically required by law to be handled through the State Treasury or unless deemed necessary by the State Fiscal Officer to be included.
All funds of state departments, institutions and agencies within the contemplation of this section that are not required by law to be deposited in the State Treasury, or are not declared to be exempt from the provisions of Sections 7-7-1 through 7-7-65 by the State Fiscal Officer shall be reported to the State Fiscal Officer in reports of revenues, expenditures, assets, liabilities, encumbrances, fund balances and other financial statements, at such times and in the form required by the State Fiscal Officer.
It is hereby declared to be the intent of this section to provide that all "public funds" necessary to present a complete and comprehensive statement of the fiscal operations of the state government shall be handled through the State Fiscal Officer, whether through State Fiscal Officer receipt warrants and disbursement warrants, as is generally provided, or through the method of reporting, as required herein.
SECTION 2. Section 7-7-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
7-7-9. The Mississippi General Accounting Office shall maintain a complete system of general accounting to comprehend the financial transactions of every state department, division, officer, board, commission, institution or other agency owned or controlled by the state, except those agencies specifically exempted in Section 7-7-1, whether at the seat of government or not and whether the funds upon which they operate are channeled through the State Treasury or not, either through regular procedures having to do with the issuance of the State Fiscal Officer receipt warrants and disbursement warrants or through controls maintained through reports filed periodically as required by the State Fiscal Officer in accordance with the reporting provisions contained in said Section 7-7-1.
All transactions in public funds, as defined in Section 7-7-1, shall either be handled directly through the State Fiscal Officer and the State Treasury, or shall be reported to the State Fiscal Officer at the times and in the form prescribed by the State Fiscal Officer and the Legislative Budget Office, so that a complete and comprehensive system of accounts of the fiscal activities of all state governmental agencies shall be made available at all times in the General Accounting Office.
SECTION 3. Section 25-53-151, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
25-53-151. (1) There is established in the State Treasury the "Electronic Government Services Fund," into which shall be deposited specific funds appropriated by the Legislature for developing and providing electronic government services within the State of Mississippi. Any funds in the Electronic Government Services Fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, but shall be available for expenditure in the subsequent fiscal year. The funds in the Electronic Government Fund shall be available for expenditure pursuant to specific appropriation by the Legislature beginning in fiscal year 2002, to the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services.
(2) There is hereby established an Electronic Government Oversight Committee to oversee the implementation of E-Government and related technology initiatives. Duties of this committee would include: (a) prioritize and make recommendations for all electronic government services, in order to cut across state and local governmental organizational structures; (b) address policy issues such as privacy, security, transaction fees and accessibility; (c) review ongoing fiscal and operational management and support of portal; (d) provide a mechanism for gathering input from citizens, businesses and government entities; (e) encourage self-service models for citizens through state websites and other electronic services; and (f) promote economic development and efficient delivery of government services by encouraging governmental and private sector entities to conduct their business and transactions using electronic media. The Electronic Government Oversight Committee shall be composed of the following: (a) the Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services, or his designee;
(b) the State Auditor, or his designee; (c) the State Treasurer, or his designee; (d) the Secretary of State, or his designee; (e) the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration, or his designee; (f) the Commissioner of Public Safety, or his designee; (g) the Commissioner of Revenue, or his designee; (h) the Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks or his designee; (i) the Executive Director of the Department of Archives and History or his/her designee. The committee shall annually elect one (1) member to serve as chairman and one (1) member to serve as vice chairman, who shall act as chairman in the absence of the chairman. The committee shall meet monthly or upon the call of the chairman, and shall make necessary reports and recommendations to the Legislature and the appropriate agencies of state government. All agencies of state government shall cooperate with the committee in providing requested information, shall work closely with and provide information to the committee and shall report to the committee at its request. The Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services shall provide administrative support for the committee. Nonlegislative members of the committee shall serve without compensation.
(3) The Electronic Government Oversight Committee shall advise and provide direction to the Department of Finance and Administration to develop a procurement portal that will enable potential vendors of goods and services to access relevant and necessary information related to the sale of the following types of goods and services to the State of Mississippi and its agencies:
(a) Commodities, as defined by Section 31-7-1;
(b) Contract personnel, as defined by Sections 25-9-107 and 25-9-120; and
(c) Computer equipment and services, as defined by Section 25-53-3.
(4) The procurement portal provided for in subsection (3) must provide potential vendors with the following:
(a) A searchable database of business procurement opportunities with the state which includes a breakdown by product or service and by the organization seeking the product or service;
(b) Listings of the published date and closing date for each business procurement opportunity;
(c) A "Frequently Asked Questions" section regarding doing business with the respective agencies;
(d) A breakdown of "Frequently Asked Questions" regarding the selection process with the respective agencies;
(e) An open-air forum for questions and answers relating to the procurement process, in general, as well as specifically relating to a single contract; and
(f) Links to individual agency websites and contacts to enable potential vendors to obtain more specific information, if necessary.
(5) The procurement portal must be linked to the Transparency Mississippi website established in accordance with Sections 27-104-151 through 27-104-163. The Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services shall develop and maintain a link to the procurement portal from the state website.
From and after July 1, 2018, the expenses of this agency shall be defrayed by appropriation from the State General Fund. In addition, in order to receive the maximum use and benefit from information technology and services, expenses for the provision of statewide shared services that facilitate cost-effective information processing and telecommunication solutions shall be defrayed by pass-through funding and shall be deposited into the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services Revolving Fund unless otherwise specified by the Legislature. These funds shall only be utilized to pay the actual costs incurred by the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services for providing these shared services to state agencies. Furthermore, state agencies shall work in full cooperation with the Board of the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services (MDITS) to identify computer equipment or services to minimize duplication, reduce costs, and improve the efficiency of providing common technology services across agency boundaries.
SECTION 4. Section 27-104-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-104-33. The State Department of Finance and Administration shall establish policies that allow the payment of various fees and other accounts receivable to state agencies, and the payment for retail merchandise sold by state agencies, by credit cards, charge cards, debit cards and other forms of electronic payment in the discretion of the department. Any fees or charges associated with the use of such electronic payments shall be assessed to the user of the electronic payment as an additional charge for processing the electronic payment, so that the user will pay the full cost of using the electronic payment.
Agencies, with the approval of the Department of Finance and Administration, may bear the full cost of processing such electronic payments if the agency can demonstrate to the department's satisfaction that they are able to assume these costs and provide the related service for the same or lesser cost. However, state agencies may bear the full cost of processing such electronic payments for retail merchandise sold by state agencies.
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.
