House Bill 921 Summary

• Establishes the Mississippi Transit Corporation as an independent state entity allocated within the Department of Transportation to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective bus, rail, and light rail transit services statewide.

• Creates a 17-member board of directors composed of legislative leaders, the DOT executive director, airport chairperson, and appointees from six cities (Canton, Clinton, Jackson, Madison, Meridian, and Vicksburg) plus one transit user representative.

• Grants the corporation broad powers including authority to plan and operate transit services, establish fares, issue bonds and notes, levy regional transit taxes, and enter into public-private partnerships.

• Requires the corporation to hold minimum ten public board meetings annually, conduct at least two public hearings before service cuts and ten hearings before fare increases, and file annual reports and budgets to the legislature by specified deadlines.

• Creates the Mississippi Transit Corporation Study Committee to report to the 2023 legislature on federal and state funds available for transit services and recommendations for providing bus, rail, and light rail transportation to low- and moderate-income working individuals.