Mississippi home mitigation bill creating retrofit grants heads to governor
Senate Bill 2409, which would create the Strengthen Mississippi Homes Program, heads to Gov. Tate Reeves after both chambers approved the measure Wednesday, Mississippi Today reported. The bill would offer grants of up to $10,000 to help homeowners retrofit properties against hurricane, tornado, hail and other windstorm damage, the report said.
The grants would help homeowners upgrade roofs to the FORTIFIED standards set by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, Mississippi Today reported. Alabama officials released a study last year showing a significant reduction in losses for mitigated homes versus others after Hurricane Sally in 2020, and advocates say mitigation can also lower insurance costs, the report said.
The Mississippi Department of Insurance would administer the program and fund grants through fees collected from insurance agents, Mississippi Today reported. The department’s appropriation bill being considered by the governor would allow spending of up to $15 million for the program from those fees, the report said. Single-family primary residences anywhere in the state would be eligible, and homes must carry windstorm insurance and, if in a flood zone, flood insurance, the report said.
State officials first developed a mitigation program in 2007 after Hurricane Katrina, but the Legislature did not fund it until a 2024 pilot, which lawmakers declined to renew in 2025, Mississippi Today reported. Lawmakers disputed whether the Insurance Department or a separate nonprofit should run the program, and the report said distrust traced to a 2016 funding scandal involving a different state agency.
Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney thanked lawmakers for creating the program and said his office is committed to “improve long-term resilience for Mississippi homeowners,” Chaney said in a statement Wednesday, Mississippi Today reported. Sen. Scott DeLano, R-Biloxi, who led the Legislature’s work on the issue, commended Chaney on the Senate floor Wednesday, and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said the measure would end “hurricane roulette,” the report said. The bill also would create an advisory committee with three Senate appointees, three House appointees and the executive director of the Mississippi Windstorm Underwriters Association to meet with the Insurance Department three times a year, Mississippi Today reported.
Source: Original Article
