Senate Bill 2444 Summary

• Extends the Mississippi Municipality and County Water Infrastructure (MCWI) Grant Program to limit submissions to two rounds only, with the second round being final, using Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Funds for water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure projects.

• Amends the ARPA Rural Water Associations Infrastructure Grant Program to include nonprofit water and sewer providers as eligible entities, with maximum grant amounts of $2.5 million for the first round and $2 million for the second round, excluding entities that previously received MCWI or prior rural water funding.

• Establishes a second round of Mississippi Main Street Association grants totaling $3 million, distributed to 8 communities over 25,000 population ($68,000 each) and 40 communities under 25,000 population ($61,400 each).

• Revises the Law Enforcement and Fire Fighters Premium Pay Program to provide $1,000 payments to eligible officers and firefighters, with provisions allowing partial payments for those who received less than $1,000 from their employer and reimbursement to governmental entities for prior ARPA-funded premium pay.

• Allows sheriffs to receive premium pay under Section 45-2-41 in addition to their base salary and any authorized supplements.