(1) There is created the Mississippi Windstorm Mitigation Coordinating Council for the purpose of developing and implementing a comprehensive and coordinated approach for windstorm mitigation. The council shall consist of the following:

(a) The Commissioner of Insurance, or his designee, to serve ex officio;

(b) The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Insurance Windstorm Underwriting Association, or his designee, to serve ex officio;

(c) Two (2) members who are property and casualty insurance providers appointed by the Governor, to serve at his will and pleasure;

(d) Two (2) members who are insurance producers from the Coast Area, as defined under Section 83-34-1, appointed by the Commissioner of Insurance, to serve at his will and pleasure;

(e) One (1) member from the Home Builders Association of Mississippi or the State Board of Contractors appointed by the Commissioner of Insurance, to serve at his will and pleasure;

(f) One (1) nonvoting member from the Institute for Business and Home Safety appointed by the Governor, to serve at his will and pleasure;

(g) One (1) member who is a representative of the state institutions of higher learning appointed by the Commissioner of Higher Education to serve at his will and pleasure, nonvoting;

(h) The Director of the Mississippi State Rating Bureau, or his designee, to serve ex officio, nonvoting; and

(i) The Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal, or his designee, to serve ex officio, nonvoting.

(2) The Commissioner of Insurance shall convene the first meeting of the council within ninety (90) days of July 1, 2011, and shall act as temporary chairman until the council elects from its members a chairman and vice chairman. The council shall adopt regulations consistent with this section, subject to the approval of the Commissioner of Insurance. The council may also consider the mitigation measures and initiatives referenced under Section 83-1-191 in developing and implementing a windstorm mitigation program. A meeting may be called by the chairman on his own initiative and must be called by him at the request of three (3) or more members of the council. Each member must be notified by the chairman in writing of the time and place of the meeting at least seven (7) days before the meeting. Four (4) voting members constitute a quorum. Each meeting is open to the public. An official decision of the council may be made only by a vote of a majority of those voting members in attendance at the meeting.

(3) The Mississippi Building Codes Council created under Section 17-2-3 shall serve as an advisory council to the council created under this section.

(4)

(a) There is created in the State Treasury a special fund to be designated as the “Mississippi Windstorm Mitigation Fund.” The fund shall consist of monies appropriated by act of the Legislature and monies from any other public or private source designated for deposit into the fund. Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned or investment earnings on amounts in the fund shall be deposited to the credit of the fund.

(b) Monies in the special fund may be used by the Department of Insurance, upon appropriation by the Legislature, only for the purposes of assisting the Mississippi Windstorm Mitigation Coordinating Council in developing and implementing a comprehensive and coordinated approach for windstorm mitigation including providing grants, developing education programs, providing funds for training local officials or providing any other assistance consistent with these purposes.