Last updated October 26, 2026. What the Mississippi Legislature appropriated to the Department of Archives and History each year, taken from the text of each year’s appropriation bill as sent to the Governor. Every amount below is copied from the bill itself. Any figure we could not confirm in a primary source is marked Missing. No amounts are estimated.
Source note: MDAH’s 2024 Annual Report does not list the agency’s own operating budget. These figures come from the official appropriation bills.
Main appropriation by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Bill | Signed by Governor | State General Fund (Sec. 1) | Special funds (Sec. 2) | Total, Sec. 1 + 2 | Authorized positions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 (July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020) | 2019 HB 1646 | Apr 18, 2019 | $9,807,382 | $10,057,181 | $19,864,563 | Permanent: 171 full-time, 7 part-time. Time-limited: 9 full-time |
| FY2021 | 2020 HB 1703 | Jul 6, 2020 | $9,268,140 | $8,582,181 | $17,850,321 | Permanent: 171 full-time, 7 part-time. Time-limited: 9 full-time |
| FY2022 | 2021 HB 1386 | Apr 14, 2021 | $9,646,364 | $9,050,033 | $18,696,397 | Permanent: 168 full-time, 5 part-time. Time-limited: 8 full-time |
| FY2023 | 2022 HB 1599 | Apr 19, 2022 | $10,964,532 | $22,613,642 | $33,578,174 | Permanent: 155. Time-limited: 8 |
| FY2024 | 2023 HB 1612 | Apr 19, 2023 | $11,890,911 | $34,133,859 | $46,024,770 | Permanent: 155. Time-limited: 10 |
| FY2025 | 2024 HB 1776 | May 10, 2024 | $12,580,718 | $26,678,000 | $39,258,718 | Permanent: 155. Time-limited: 10 |
| FY2026 | 2025 1st Extraordinary Session HB 1 | Jun 4, 2025 | $13,059,583 | $13,826,906 | $26,886,489 | Permanent: 155. Time-limited: 10 |
| FY2027 (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027) | 2026 HB 1889 | Apr 6, 2026 | $13,346,758 | $21,590,242 | $34,937,000 | Permanent: 158. Time-limited: 10 |
What these numbers show
- General Fund support rose from $9,807,382 in FY2020 to $13,346,758 in FY2027, an increase of 36.1 percent.
- Special-fund authority swings widely, from $8,582,181 (FY2021) to $34,133,859 (FY2024). Special funds include money MDAH passes on to others; for example, the FY2024 bill provides $2,000,000 of its special funds from the Mississippi Landmark Grant Fund.
- Authorized permanent positions fell from 171 full-time plus 7 part-time (FY2020) to 155 (FY2023 through FY2026), then rose to 158 in FY2027.
- In 2025 the regular-session bill (HB 1722) died in conference. MDAH’s FY2026 budget was passed in the June 2025 special session. A 2025 bill to raise FY2025 special funds (HB 939) died in committee.
What these totals do not include
The totals cover only Sections 1 and 2 of each bill. Later sections of several bills reappropriate unspent money from earlier years (for example, 2023 HB 1612 reappropriates $8,096,270 from a prior session) and set aside amounts for named projects. Capital bond money and grants passed through other agencies are in separate bills. Those amounts are not added here.
Missing
| Data | Status |
|---|---|
| Actual spending by year (versus amounts appropriated) | Missing |
| Budget for the State Records Center and records management program | Missing. The bills do not break out MDAH’s records programs. |
| Budget for the Local Government Records Office | Missing |
| Reappropriations, supplemental appropriations and capital bond funds, by year | Missing. Not yet compiled. |
| Agency operating budget in MDAH’s own annual reports | Missing. The 2024 Annual Report does not include one. |
| Appropriations before FY2020 | Not compiled |
How we checked
We used the Mississippi Legislature’s bill index for each session to find MDAH’s appropriation bill, read the “As Sent to Governor” text, and confirmed in each bill’s history that the Governor approved it. Earlier versions of these bills show different amounts. For example, 2023 HB 1612 “As Passed the House” listed $10,809,208 in General Fund money and $12,899,913 in special funds; the version sent to the Governor lists $11,890,911 and $34,133,859.