MS| Bulletin 2026-4 from the Mississippi Department of Insurance announces implementation of House Bill 939, which repeals the Rural Fire Truck Acquisition Assistance Program, the Rural Fire Truck Matching Assistance Fund, and the Supplementary Rural Fire Truck Acquisition Assistance Program effective July 1, 2026, requiring all grant funds under these programs to be issued and received by counties or municipalities by June 30, 2026. It sets a May 15, 2026 deadline for submission of all documents related to pending applications and specifies that any initial applications not submitted before April 16, 2026 will not be accepted. In place of the repealed programs, HB 939 creates the FIRE Grant Program, administered by the Department of Finance and Administration, to provide grants for fire safety, improving or maintaining community fire ratings, firefighter recruitment and retention, countywide fire program start-up costs, and, based on need, purchase of fire trucks and equipment. The bulletin also provides that, with the cessation of the old programs, several prior MID bulletins (95-7, 97-4, 99-5, 2001-1, 2003-4, 2004-1, 2004-4, and 2005-5) are withdrawn and repealed as of July 1, 2026.
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