House Bill 1127 Summary

• Establishes the Strengthen Mississippi Homes Program within the Mississippi Windstorm Underwriters Association to provide grants for retrofitting residential and commercial properties to resist hurricane, tornado, and catastrophic windstorm damage.

• Creates the Strengthen Mississippi Homes Fund and requires all property and casualty insurance companies doing business in Mississippi to contribute annually in proportion to gross premiums, with total contributions capped at $1,500,000 per fiscal year.

• Transfers $5,000,000 from the Mississippi Surplus Lines Association to the Strengthen Mississippi Homes Fund upon the act's effective date.

• Authorizes property owners with homestead exemptions to apply for grants to retrofit insurable property, and allows them to hire any licensed contractor; makes grant application documents confidential under the Public Records Act but requires grant amounts and recipient names to be publicly disclosed.

• Brings forward existing windstorm mitigation provisions related to insurance discounts, building codes, hurricane damage mitigation programs, and fire protection funding for potential amendment.