2026-09-15 · Mississippi · Legislation

Mississippi spent nineteen years getting a home-hardening program funded, restarted it in April 2026, and opened it on July 1. It pays up to $10,000 toward a FORTIFIED roof retrofit on a single-family primary residence — and a condominium's roof is not owned by any single resident.¹

The law

Senate Bill 2409, the Strengthen Mississippi Homes Act, passed both chambers around April 1, 2026 and was signed by Governor Tate Reeves, becoming Chapter 509. It renames the Comprehensive Hurricane Damage Mitigation Program created in 2007, sets grants at up to $10,000 per home for retrofits meeting the IBHS FORTIFIED roof standard, and is administered by the Mississippi Insurance Department. It is funded from the insurance industry rather than the General Fund. Effective July 1, 2026.

Eligibility as reported: single-family primary residences statewide, which must carry windstorm insurance and, if in a flood zone, flood insurance. An advisory council of three senators, three representatives and the windpool's executive director meets three times a year.

The road there

The program was created in 2007 and got its first funding in 2024 — $5 million via HB 1705. Only 28 homes were mitigated in that test phase. In July 2025 the Legislature removed the Insurance Department's spending authority in a special session and the program shut down, leaving Mississippi the only Gulf state with no active home-hardening program. Commissioner Mike Chaney blamed lawmakers; legislators said the program had failed on scale and execution.²

1. SB 2409 action history, Mississippi Legislature Bill Status System (2026 Regular Session) ↩
2. Magnolia Tribune, "Mississippi mitigation program in limbo as Coast lawmakers, insurance commissioner at odds" (Sept. 3, 2025) ↩
3. Mississippi Insurance Department, "MID To Begin Fortifying Homes on Mississippi Gulf Coast" (June 10, 2026) ↩