Transcript Highlights:

• You have given us funding in the past in previous bonding bills through geo bonds and cash.
• You have given us funding in the past in previous bonding bills through geo bonds and cash.
• You have given us funding in the past in previous bonding bills through geo bonds and cash.
• bill bonding bills previous bonding bill bonding bills through<00:32:03.600> um<00:32:03.919>
• through um geo bonds and uh and cash. through um geo bonds and uh and cash.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• And our first panel is the Climate Bond, Proposition 4 Expenditure Plan.
• And we reserve an allocation of 375,000 for statewide bond costs.
• Across all Proposition 4 bond allocations, a portion of statewide bond costs were reserved.
• Again, what we are already observing is that entwinedness... between our authorized and the FERC authorized
• Issue number one: DGS and the climate bond.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• the overall bonding limitation that we have, whether that's GEO or trunk highway bonding within the
• the overall bonding limitation that we have, whether that's GEO or trunk highway bonding within the
• We've talked about that authority.
• This is related to $100 million in new bond authorization for state road construction.
• related to $100 million in new bond related to $100 million in new bond authorization<01:50:05.840

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We authorize an authority with language to come back and balance that back out.
• We did put restrictions on the bonding.
• There was bonding that was done for $200 million at 1.5%.
• authority.
• And so the Senate Finance Committee gave them authority to use some of that.

Transcript Highlights:

• Krager, the bonding that you have, did you say it was $3 billion bonding authority? >> Mr.
• Krager, the bonding that you have, did you say it was $3 billion bonding authority? >> Mr.
• Krager, the bonding that you have, did you say it was $3 billion bonding authority? >> Mr.
• bonding authority? bonding authority?
• bonding authority. bonding authority.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And again, as you know better than me, additional bond authorizations will create budgetary pressure.
• So increasing bonding authorization is not something I was ready to recommend.
• <00:28:17.840> authorizations<00:28:18.559> will um additional bond authorizations
• will um additional bond authorizations will create<00:28:19.360> pressure<00:28:20.159> budgetary
• So, um increasing bonding authorization<00:28:35.760> is<00:28:36.080> not<00:28:36.320

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Just to be clear, we're not changing any of those authorities.
• He's authorized you? Could present Senator Reese's SB 325. He's authorized you. Mr.
• Does it require them to be bonded at? No, they're allowed to be considered to be bonded out.
• Does it require them to be bonded at? And does it require them?
• Does it require them to be bonded out? No, they're allowed to be considered to be bonded out.

Summary: The Criminal Justice Committee met on May 12 and took up a series of bills, mostly on juvenile justice, gaming-related background checks, bail/electronic bonds, and corrections policy. Early in the meeting, the committee reported favorably SB 258 on juvenile traffic violations, SB 321 on electronic bonds, SB 134 on limiting certain child sexual abuse material offenses for juveniles under 17 in specific circumstances, HB 75 on promotional play for racetracks as amended, and SB 422 on unsupervised probation for certain fourth-offense impaired driving cases. Later, the committee also advanced SB 440 on the Renaissance District board membership, SB 393 on explosives regulation, SB 487 on charitable gaming rental arrangements, SB 339 and SB 288 on criminal background check procedures in the gaming and related regulatory systems, and SB 325 on excluding certain persons from sports wagering. A major portion of the hearing focused on SB 201, which would change juvenile homicide sentencing procedures, including first- and second-degree murder cases, and how reviewing courts consider parole eligibility and prior death sentences converted to life. Supporters said the bill aligns sentencing with existing Supreme Court precedent and gives courts clearer guidance; opponents from children’s rights and civil liberties groups argued it weakens the “rarest and uncommon” safeguard for juvenile life-without-parole sentences and could expand harsh sentencing beyond constitutional limits. After debate and testimony, the committee adopted an amendment and reported SB 201 favorably by a 7-3 vote, with Representatives Adams, Knox, Moore, and others voting no. The committee also heard SB 523 on clemency and sentencing considerations for defendants who are victims of domestic abuse, human trafficking, or sexual assault. Survivors’ advocates and domestic violence organizations supported the bill’s overall purpose but objected to the mandatory pre-sentence investigation language, warning it could introduce biased information and harm survivors; the Board of Pardons and Parole said its staff and trauma-informed victim assistance coordinators are trained to handle these cases. The committee adopted an amendment narrowing the bill and then reported SB 523 favorably. Finally, SB 320 on DNA detection and crime lab reporting was advanced without opposition, and SB 470 on pregnant women in custody passed after testimony from the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association and discussion of pregnancy testing, bonding options, and prohibiting shackling during delivery and postpartum periods.

Transcript Highlights:

• authoring the bill. authoring the bill.
• <00:37:54.680> Chair form the author would like. Chair form the author would like.
• The our bond council that we are working The our bond council that we are working with,<00:39:37.240>
• It would give our bond lot TIF 1-8.
• Well, we do want to comfort the bond Well, we do want to comfort the bond council,<00:40:13.160>

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• the bond bill worked and the importance of reading the bond bill.
• June 30, 2027, authorizing the issuance of general obligation bonds of the state, appropriating funds
• from the Transportation Trust Fund, authorizing the issuance of revenue bonds of the Delaware Transportation
• Authority, appropriating special funds of the Delaware Transportation Authority, appropriating... ..
• I think that it's a great bond bill.

Keywords: 1064, all

Transcript Highlights:

• bond issuance.
• bond issuance.
• bond issuance.
• <00:02:17.680> Bond consider them when authorizing Bond consider them when authorizing Bond
• <00:09:17.360> board board I should say the authority board board I should say the authority

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The committee reconvened for decision-making on measures previously heard on February 6, 2025. Senate Bill 1513 was deferred indefinitely based on the testimony and issues raised. Senate Bill 786 was also deferred indefinitely and set aside for interim work on a proposed SD1 that could address the concerns discussed and incorporate ongoing federal changes. Senate Bill 1031 was amended and advanced as a Senate WAP 1; the amended version would allow the legislature to adopt non-binding advisory referendum questions only for general obligation bond proposals, require 30 days’ notice, require the legislature to consider the results, and require a written explanation if the final legislative action opposes the majority vote. The committee also set a far-future effective date and noted that any further review should examine opposition concerns and the fiscal, administrative, and legal implications of the proposal. The measure passed on a yes vote from the vice chair and supporting members, with one member excused. In the joint Government Operations and Water and Land hearing, Senate Bill 411, relating to capital improvement projects for boating and ocean recreation, drew support from the Department of Boating and Ocean Recreation and several written supporters, while Budget and Finance opposed it and the Deputy Attorney General warned it could be challenged because it implied funding without an appropriation. The chair recommended moving the bill with amendments and a defective date, and both committees adopted the recommendation to pass SB 411 with amendments. Senate Bill 1103, relating to community districts, generated substantial discussion and was ultimately recommended for deferral. Testimony raised constitutional and special fund concerns, while the Hawaii Community Development Authority supported the concept but suggested major changes, including clearer governance language, a dedicated staff position, and funding. Members debated whether elected boards would undermine county planning authority and whether the concept was more suitable for Oahu or the Neighbor Islands. Senate Bill 1308, relating to plans, was presented as an administration bill and supported by DAGS. The bill would remove outdated filing requirements, update fee schedules, give DAGS more discretion over plan format, and update drawing scales. A member asked whether it could help replace survey monuments lost in the Lahaina wildfire cleanup; DAGS said it would not directly replace monuments but could help with future mapping and surveying. The chair indicated the committee would note the monument issue in the report and work on technical cleanup language, with the measure moving forward subject to those amendments.

Transcript Highlights:

• Kind of like I think maybe a question for the bill author and others: why do it this way?
• The bond is here? Yes. Okay, thank you. A magistrate.
• Not pertaining to this bill, but both defendants were out on bond for murder and capital murder.
• In 2019, there were only 600 defendants on bond that were required to wear an ankle monitor—600.
• to revoke the bond.

Bills: SB535, SB664, SB1019, SB1020, SB1120, SB1537, SB1804, HB3207

Keywords: SB 535, Texas criminal procedure, rape shield, victim sexual history, past sexual behavior, sexual assault evidence, trafficking of persons, continuous trafficking, indecency with a child, continuous sexual abuse, aggravated sexual assault, indecent assault, consent defense, in camera hearing, Rule 412, Rule 609, victim protection, evidence admissibility, criminal evidence, sexual offense prosecution

Transcript Highlights:

• And our first panel is Climate Bond Proposition 4 Expenditure Plan.
• Climate Bond Proposition 4 Expenditure Plan. Good morning, Chair and members.
• And similarly, across all Proposition 4 bond allocations, a portion of statewide bond costs were reserved
• Again, what we're already observing is that entwinedness between our authorized and the FERC-authorized
• Issue number one: DGS and the climate bond.

Summary: The hearing was an informational budget session on energy agency proposals, with no votes taken. Early discussion focused on Proposition 4 climate bond implementation, including funding for demand-side grid support, offshore wind development, and transmission financing. The Department of Finance said the budget includes allocations for demand-side grid support and offshore wind, but not yet for the $325 million transmission financing piece pending a required study. The Legislative Analyst’s Office urged the Legislature to consider whether to wait on offshore wind funding, whether to keep shifting funds into demand-side grid support, and how to direct future transmission financing. Members also raised concerns about local technical assistance for offshore wind, Salton Sea priorities, and the need for more information before final decisions. The California Energy Commission and CPUC then reviewed the broader energy package. The CEC highlighted the demand-side grid support program’s growth, distributed energy backup assets, long-duration storage, hydrogen grants, and the SIRP clean energy reliability program. CPUC testimony emphasized affordability, wildfire mitigation costs, rooftop solar cost shifts, and efforts to reduce rates while maintaining reliability and clean energy goals. Members questioned CPUC staffing, delays in proceedings, coordination with the CEC and CAISO, and the impact of rate increases on customers. The agencies also discussed the AB 3264 transmission financing study, with CPUC saying work on the study had already begun and was on track for the July 1 deadline. Several trailer bill and implementation items were also discussed. The committee reviewed a proposal to extend the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program surcharge, with members split over whether it should be handled in budget trailer bill language or policy legislation; the administration said the surcharge supports a critical program serving about three-quarters of a million Californians. The committee also heard a CPUC data-sharing proposal to allow nondisclosure agreements for transmission and reliability data, which members generally supported as a technical fix. DWR explained a proposal to clarify language for the Electricity Supply Strategic Reliability Reserve so it can potentially sell three gas-fired units it owns, and the CEC presented a federal transmission grant proposal tied to grid-enhancing technologies and ratepayer cost recovery. Finally, the committee discussed California Lifeline and possible broadband pilot reforms in light of uncertainty around federal Universal Service Fund support, with CPUC saying it is exploring a statewide standalone broadband option for eligible customers.

Transcript Highlights:

• I don't know if you have any questions for the author. No. Okay.
• So I worked. with the author to work on that standalone bill.
• Questions of the author? All right.
• of funding that they are able to secure through bonding.
• We have sales into the public finance authority.

Bills: SB1468, SB1612, SB1789, SB2530, SB2571, SB2717, SB2967

Keywords: utility systems, Texas A&M, regents authority, construction, improvement, construction contracts, trust funds, property rights, mechanics lien, contractors, trustee liability, mechanic's lien, liability, attorney's fees, windstorm insurance, Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, insurance regulation, administrative penalties, coastal counties, catastrophe year

Transcript Highlights:

• Surety bonding would be one of them.
• WSDOT to accept bonding for less than 100% of the contract value.
• and payment bonds on 100% of the contract price.
• to allow surety bonds less than 100%.
• One other approach to that. justify reduce bonding.

Summary: The committee first heard a presentation from WSDOT on balancing uncertainty in capital program estimates and cash flow management. WSDOT explained the differences between design-bid-build and design-build delivery, its tiered risk-assessment process by project size, and how it uses base estimates, inflation, and risk modeling to set budgets. Staff said design-bid-build estimates are generally accurate within about 1% across the program, while design-build projects carry much wider uncertainty and are better communicated as ranges; they cited a P85 budget approach and noted that large, complex projects can be affected by market competition and long procurement timelines. Members asked about the Columbia River Bridge cost growth and about value engineering, and WSDOT said it uses value engineering but has limited scope to cut costs because of project requirements and policy mandates. Troy Swing also discussed cash flow, noting that a few large projects can significantly affect biennial funding needs, and said a risk pool would not reduce overall program risk but could help manage timing if paired with appropriation and cash-flow controls. The committee then received the final presentation in the WSDOT Project Delivery and Innovative Practices study from HKA Global. The consultant said WSDOT’s estimating practices are generally robust and recommended improving transparency by presenting budget authorizations as ranges or estimate classes, better tracking estimate growth over time, and adjusting advertisement timing to avoid competing lettings. The report also discussed surety bonding, suggesting the legislature consider restoring authority for reduced bonding on select large design-build projects or using phased bonding and alternative securities. On indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracting, the consultant said current job order contract rules are restrictive and recommended legislative changes to make such tools more usable, especially for smaller tasks and to help use unspent funds more flexibly. The committee also heard a follow-up presentation on transit-oriented development policy recommendations tied to HB 1491. The Urban Institute’s Yona Freemark said Washington has been a national leader on TOD but that housing construction, especially in the Puget Sound, has slowed sharply since 2022. He said rising construction costs, high financing costs, and local tax and rent conditions are making many TOD projects infeasible, and recommended that the state fill infrastructure funding gaps around stations, revisit MFTE affordability requirements, consider minimum rather than average density requirements near transit, and create a statewide system to track TOD outcomes such as affordability, gentrification, and transit access. Members questioned the study’s developer interviews, the role of rent control and crime, property tax assumptions, and parking needs; the presenter said the study included five private developers, that rent control was not part of the study scope, and that parking was included in the model assumptions. Finally, the committee began a presentation on regulating emissions from ocean-going vessels at berth. Staff and consultants described California-style at-berth rules, which require shore power or equivalent emissions controls so ships can shut off diesel auxiliary engines while docked. The study is examining vessel traffic, emissions reductions, implementation costs, labor and operational needs, and possible effects on port competitiveness and cargo diversion. No votes or formal actions were taken during the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• She initiated and authored others.
• And I came to think of it as bonding.
• um would come in and ask for bonding um would come in and ask for bonding projects<00:28:18.240>
• I recognize the author of the bill.
• We need to have some flavor to the bonding bill."

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• The Chair now lays out Senate Bill 2052, 2052. and recognizes its author, our colleague, Senator Byrd
• Any questions for the author? Very well. We'll open testimony and we'll call.
• Chapter 34 authorization agreements are like a But we call them power of attorney.
• Chairman, Senate Bill 386. of and relates to bond requirements for certain judges.
• If the loss exceeds the bond, the judge can be held personally liable for the difference.

Bills: SB387, SB1650, SB1838, SB1839, SB1923, SB1940, SB2052

Keywords: judicial bond, guardianship, probate law, county judge, statutory county court, attorney general, criminal prosecution, public order, law enforcement, jurisdiction, attorney ad litem, parent-child relationship, compensation, legal representation, government entity, probate, court proceedings, record delivery, wills, legal documentation

Transcript Highlights:

• I don't know that it has the authority to do anything with the mud.
• I don't think it overlaps and grants authority over mud other than what the authority that they already
• MUDs were bonds were sold for on bare land financing.
• There was no sort of development that had to occur to sell bonds.
• Again, just to speak to the security of those, uh, of the bonds.

Bills: HB23

Keywords: property tax exemption, ad valorem tax, Texas Tax Code, nonprofit corporation, charitable organization, educational nonprofit, scientific nonprofit, agriculture support, youth programs, community education, county population threshold, large county, local government revenue, leasehold interest, possessory interest, county property tax, nonprofit-owned property

Transcript Highlights:

• is no. local authority that can cancel that plant or that subdivision.
• This, this, I don't know that it. has the authority to do anything with them.
• I don't think it overlaps in grants authority over a MUD other than what the authority . . . that they
• Again, just to speak to the security of those�of the� bonds.
• MUD bonds sell right now around 4 to 4.5 percent.

Bills: HB23, HB363, HB447, HB954, HB23

Keywords: third-party review, property development, local government, permits, construction inspection, regulatory authority, land development, liability, occupancy certificate, municipal utility district, petition, county clerk, water code, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, traffic impact studies, bonds, road projects, eminent domain, extraterritorial jurisdiction, county authority

Transcript Highlights:

• Almighty God, author, creator, and sustainer of all life.
• We've got some bond initiatives. Clerk will read the bond initiatives.
• Let's go with bond initiatives calendar 32.
• It authorizes the Carroll County Commissioners to issue up to 27 million in general obligation bonds.
• authorization favorable. authorization favorable.

Keywords: Senate streaming session for Friday, February 27, 2026, 960, senate, all

Summary: The Maryland Senate met on Friday, February 27, with an invocation by Reverend Howard Travers and several guest introductions, including family members, defense organization leaders, a South Asian Herald editor, Eagleton Institute fellows, and physicians from Johns Hopkins. The chamber journalized the prayer, confirmed a quorum, and then moved into bill introductions, House messages, and committee reports. Several measures were advanced without objection, including Senate Bill 338 to extend a work group report deadline on transfer of retirement system member services, Senate Bill 448 authorizing Carroll County public facilities bonds up to $27 million, Senate Bill 453 clarifying that the Arabian horse race associated with Preakness can be run at Laurel Park, Senate Bill 614 allowing Dorchester County detention officers to join the correctional officers retirement system if the county opts in, and Senate Bill 724 making a technical emergency adjustment to cost-of-living calculations for retirees because October CPI data was unavailable during a government shutdown. Each of those bills received favorable committee reports and was ordered printed for third reading after no objections or amendments were offered. Two bills were postponed for later consideration: Senate Bill 538 on Baltimore City raffles tied to organizations affiliated with professional baseball and football teams was special ordered to Wednesday of the following week, and Senate Bill 108 on water resources and wetlands enforcement was special ordered to March 3 while members worked on possible amendments. Senate Bill 56 on the Maryland Longitudinal Data System Center and third-party data sharing was also special ordered to the following Wednesday because committee discussion was ongoing. House Bill 6 and House Bill 372 were received and referred to the appropriate standing committees. The Senate also took up Executive Nominations Committee Report No. 3 and, after no nominations were separated out, confirmed the executive nominations by a vote of 41 in the affirmative. Later, the chamber heard a personal privilege statement from a Montgomery County senator about Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald schools in Maryland, highlighting preservation efforts and an upcoming Scrabble tournament fundraiser at a Rosenwald school. The Senate then confirmed a quorum, and the Majority Leader moved that the Senate stand in recess until Monday, March 2 at 8:00 p.m., which was adopted without objection.

Transcript Highlights:

• for bond and tax rate proposals, the projected tax impact of these bonds, and a full accounting of how
• the bond proceeds are spent, including what projects are funded.
• And then there's one that I know I did, but we're setting up a list at the Bond Review Board.
• That is specific to school district bonds and taxes, though this is a bit more comprehensive.
• They can compare their bond debt with their neighbors or someone across the state.

Bills: HB103

Keywords: 1185, senate, all