HB 1601 Summary

• Appropriates $4,463,984.00 from the State General Fund and $10,216,280.00 from special funds to the Mississippi Authority for Educational Television for fiscal year 2023 (July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023).

• Authorizes 86 permanent full-time positions and 9 time-limited full-time positions for the agency.

• Restricts salary increases and position escalations to only those funded through new or additional appropriations above the current level.

• Allocates $2,000,000.00 for tower maintenance and upgrades, $700,000.00 for digitalization of 49 years of educational content, and $350,000.00 for a documentary about Medgar Evers from the Education Enhancement Fund.

• Establishes performance targets for fiscal year 2023 including 150 locally produced TV programs, 1,092 radio programs, 2,000 students served by Digital Education Network, and 99.95% on-air reliability.