Governor Tate Reeves releases FY 2023 Executive Budget Recommendations

“My Fiscal Year 2023 Executive Budget Recommendation affirms my commitment to free enterprise, quality education and healthcare, and the elimination of the individual income tax,” said Governor Reeves. “As we approach the upcoming regular session, my administration is ready to hit the ground running to continue serving Mississippians. I promise that we will stop at nothing to make Mississippi the best state in the country to live, work, and raise a family.”

In 2020, Mississippi saw $1.9 billion in new capital investment, more than double the previous 10 year’s average of $900 million per year. Mississippi also ended Fiscal Year 2021 $1 billion over revenue estimates.

Governor Reeves called the EBR a “roadmap” to also influence public policy in the state.

“This document serves not only as a guide for our budget, but our broader agenda as we work to rebuild from the disruption we’ve faced. We find ourselves in a critical point of American history. We must defend our traditional American values, and defend Mississippi workers from those forces that seek to disrupt and divide us. As we fight unconstitutional federal mandates in the courts, we are also fighting key battles that get at the core of who we are: Are we going to fight back against the violent crime that has gone unchecked? Are we going to allow the lie that many children are inherently racist by birth to be taught in our classrooms? Are we going to protect the integrity of our elections? Are we going to help American workers thrive or surrender our prosperity to our global enemies? As the year progresses, we must tackle the important financial and foundational issues before us. We must spend taxpayer dollars prudently. And we must also fight for our way of life—before it is too late.”

Among Governor Reeves’ top priorities for Fiscal Year 2023 include:

• Increasing Skills Training
  • Reeves proposes utilizing $130 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to bolster Accelerate Mississippi’s efforts. This funding would increase training opportunities through a competitive proposal process with community colleges and four-year institutions for in high demand career paths, such as healthcare, cyber, advanced manufacturing, engineering, lineman/fiber installation, and commercial trucking.
• Fighting Back Against Critical Race Theory
  • Reeves again proposes a $3 million investment in a Patriotic Education Fund from capital expense funds. Schools and non-profits should be able to apply to fund teaching and extracurricular programs that educate the next generation in the incredible accomplishments of the American Way.
• Broadband Expansion
  • Reeves includes $200 million in ARPA funds for broadband expansion efforts that will assist Mississippians who are currently either not served or underserved by providers.
• Investing in Infrastructure
  • Reeves recommends the state invest $50 million in capital expense funds towards a Site Development Grant program that will be administered by the Mississippi Development Authority. He also proposes allocating $100 million in ARPA funds towards the implementation of a Water and Sewer Grant program to review, select, and fund projects that will have a long-term impact in upgrading this critical infrastructure. His budget proposes $1.2 billion in initiatives that will use the remaining ARPA funds.
• Eliminating the Income Tax and Implementing State Budget Caps
  • Reeves proposes allocating $1 billion of excess revenue towards eliminating the state individual income tax. This will completely eliminate the 4% bracket in Fiscal Year 2023. This will also eliminate a significant portion of the 5% bracket starting in Calendar Year 2023. To effectively eliminate the individual income tax in a way that protects the state’s fiscal and financial health, we must implement budget caps. He proposes only increasing the state’s general fund budget by no more than 1.5% each fiscal year. Additionally, 50% of the excess revenue shall go towards the elimination of Mississippi’s individual income tax, with the goal of eliminating it completely in 5 years.
• Improving Education and Raising Teacher Pay
  • Reeves proposes allocating $71 million for teacher pay raises. It includes an immediate $1,300 across-the-board teacher pay raise for Mississippi’s teachers and is followed by a $1,000 raise per year in Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025. This much needed and well deserved $3,300 pay raise will result in Mississippi going from 37th nationally to 21st and 4th in the southeast.
• Recruiting and Empowering Police Officers
  • Reeves includes an additional $5.5 million for the Department of Public Safety to double the size of its Capitol Police Force to 150 officers to assist in law enforcement efforts in Jackson. These additional officers will provide much needed support to help keep our Capital City safe. He also includes an additional $5 million to attract displaced officers to law enforcement positions within Mississippi.
• Ensuring Election Integrity
  • Reeves proposes requiring the county registrar or county election commission to distribute confirmation notices to each person on a voter roll in the State of Mississippi. The county registrar or county election commission shall remove anyone who fails to do one of the following: 1. Respond to the confirmation notice; 2. Update voter registration information; 3. Vote at least once during a period of four (4) consecutive years, which period shall include two (2) general federal elections.
• Downtown Revitalization
  • Reeves proposes $50 million in ARPA funds for downtown revitalization projects across the state.
• Tourism
  • Reeves proposes allocating $52 million dollars of ARPA funds over four years to the
    Mississippi Development Authority for additional tourism investment.
• Corrections System Improvements
  • Reeves proposes adding employees for Walnut Grove and Marshall County Correctional Facilities. It also shifts $20.2 million from the private prison account to fund both of these facilities. I also propose allocating an additional $9.3 million for correctional officers to ensure we have adequate staffing at both facilities.

Governor Reeves total proposed state support funding for FY 2023 is $6.492 billion, a decrease of 1.7% from FY 2022. Total spending including one time funds and federal dollars coming into the state shown in the EBR is over $8 billion.

The full Fiscal Year 2023 Executive Budget Recommendation can be found below.