Transcript Highlights:

• zone, a work zone uh a designated school zone, a work zone where<00:37:41.680><c> only</c><00:37:41.839
• </c><00:48:52.640><c> authority</c> 82 expands the revenue bonding authority 82 expands the revenue bonding
• Um and regional transit capital bonds.
• Who knows, maybe there'll be money in a bonding bill for that.
• Uh bonding capacity to supercharge it.

Transcript Highlights:

• . ...our housing unit to pay for those bonds.
• That was a process that even NDSU and Bruce's team, they sort of shifted to working with their own bond
• of a CFO while you're in a bonding process can impact that funding.
• Enterprise resource planning, ERP, obviously, is the vital tool for managing our business processes,
• We're also looking back now at our enterprise systems and vendor-supported platforms.

Committee: Joint Higher Education Institutions Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• Local bonds are one of the most important sources of funding for the construction and preservation of
• Local bonds are one of the most important sources of funding for the construction and preservation of
• Right now, the high threshold to pass a bond makes them rare and limited to only a few jurisdictions.
• Gracia la Castillo-Crinz, here on behalf of Home and Enterprise Community Partners, in strong support
• It exempted the financial disclosure requirements for local tiered tax and bond measures from the 75-

Summary: The Assembly Elections Committee met on April 30, 2025, beginning as a subcommittee until a quorum was established. The committee first approved six bills on consent, including AB 950, AB 953, AB 1214, and three committee bills. It then heard several measures dealing with election administration, ballot transparency, and campaign finance, with most authors accepting committee amendments and several bills being held on call for absent members. AB 930 by Assembly Member Ward would extend the deadline for counting timely postmarked vote-by-mail ballots from three to seven days after Election Day and update recount procedures, including online posting of recount results and clearer rules for recount requests. The bill was supported by county election officials and passed out of committee with a due-pass recommendation, though it was initially held on call. AB 459 by Assembly Member DeMaio proposed allowing electronic signatures for initiatives, referenda, and recalls; the Secretary of State and labor groups opposed it over security, implementation, and cost concerns, and the committee ultimately rejected the bill after reconsideration. AB 699 by Assembly Member Stephanie would change how local tiered tax and bond measures are described on ballots by allowing more detail to be placed in the voter guide; housing, school, and local government groups supported it, while taxpayer and realtor groups opposed it as reducing ballot transparency. AB 1188, presented on behalf of Assembly Member Ortega, would list the top three funders supporting and opposing statewide initiatives and referenda directly on the ballot; transparency advocates and labor supported it, while county election officials and business groups raised concerns about ballot length and processing costs. Both AB 699 and AB 1188 passed out of committee with amendments and were held on call. The committee also heard AB 827 by Assembly Member Berman, which would standardize and extend the deadline for curing vote-by-mail signature problems, add a link to cure forms in ballot-tracking notifications, and make other changes to improve ballot curing. It drew no opposition in the hearing and passed with a due-pass recommendation. AB 351 by Assembly Member McKenna would raise the Levine Act contribution threshold for local officials to $1,500 and add CPI adjustments; supporters said it would reduce administrative burdens and reflect modern campaign finance realities, while good-government groups and the League of Women Voters opposed it as weakening anti-corruption protections. The committee initially failed AB 351, then granted reconsideration, but the transcript ends before a final disposition is clearly completed. Finally, AB 1079 by Assembly Member Farías would eliminate the automatic appellate stay in California Voting Rights Act and Fair Maps Act cases; it was supported as a way to prevent delayed remedies in voting rights cases, opposed by the City of Santa Monica over impacts on ongoing litigation, and passed with amendments. After taking up the held items, the committee recorded final votes on the bills, including passage of AB 930, AB 699, AB 1188, AB 827, and AB 1079, and rejection of AB 459.

Transcript Highlights:

• Securitization allows for reduced costs to ratepayers because it provides a bond financing mechanism
• By comparison, long-term 30-year municipal bonds currently yielding about 5%.
• , you'd bring Fiona Ma over and ask her, what's the market for bonds today if we do this, right?
• , you'd bring Fiona Ma over and ask her, what's the market for bonds today if we do this, right?
• Fiona Ma over and ask her, what's the market for, you know, for bonds today if we do this, right?

Committee: House Utilities and Energy

Summary: The Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy heard two bills focused on electricity affordability and utility costs. AB 745 would restructure the California Climate Credit by shifting it from lump-sum bill credits to direct reductions in volumetric electricity rates, with the credit timed to summer months when bills are highest. The author and supporting witnesses argued this would better help households during extreme heat and could lower summer rates significantly; supporters also urged consideration of applying the gas climate credit and targeting low-income customers. There was no formal opposition, and the bill passed unanimously, 18-0, to the floor. The committee then took up AB 825, a broader affordability package addressing wildfire mitigation costs, transmission financing, and permitting delays. The bill proposes securitization and removing the first $15 billion of undergrounding capital from utility rate base returns, stronger oversight of wildfire mitigation plans, a public transmission financing program using state and IBank resources, and a task force to review ratepayer-funded programs. Supporters said the bill could produce major long-term savings and improve financing for transmission; opponents and some neutral witnesses raised concerns about liability, wildfire fund participation, impacts on utility credit ratings, and whether the changes could slow undergrounding or destabilize utility finances. After extensive discussion, the committee passed AB 825 to the floor on a 13-0 vote, with several members not voting or reserving their votes.

Transcript Highlights:

• The amendment revises the continuation of surcharges necessary to comply with existing bond covenants
• So this amendment that we just took sunsets the extension of the surcharge if the revenues are bonded
• That we just took sunsets the extension of the surcharge if the revenues are bonded by 2029.
• ... ...assessing the compatibility of allowable residential uses within a residential zoning district
• Thank you, and using that example, there's no zoning or ordinance or any kind of requirements that the

Transcript Highlights:

• Permission for one final follow-up related to bonding. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
• or for bond obligations that they may have.
• Whether they be municipalities or counties, to fall out from their bond obligations.
• You know, of bonds.
• We do know that it's going to have an impact on our bonds.

Summary: The Committee on Appropriations took up SJR 2-F, a proposed constitutional amendment to reduce property taxes by lowering assessment caps on non-homestead property, expanding homestead exemptions over time, and allowing local governments to increase exemptions further. The sponsor argued the measure would provide broad property tax relief while requiring revenues to be directed to core services such as public safety, education, infrastructure, and natural resource projects, with a trust fund intended to help local governments transition. Senators raised concerns about the lack of a fiscal score, the effect on counties, cities, school districts, and special districts, and whether the proposal would shift costs to fees or other taxes. Several amendments were debated. Senator Polsky’s amendment to explicitly authorize user fees and non-ad valorem assessments to offset lost property tax revenue failed. Senator Avila’s amendment broadening permissible uses of ad valorem revenue to include county constitutional officers and other expenditures approved by local governing bodies was adopted after debate over whether the bill would otherwise underfund essential functions. Senator Smith’s sunset amendment, which would have made the constitutional changes expire after five years, failed. Senator Smith’s amendment to allow tourism development tax revenue to support public safety and education also failed. Senator Graal’s amendment removing the constitutional trust fund language was adopted, with supporters arguing the Constitution should not promise an unfunded account. Additional late-file amendments were considered. Senator Berman’s proposal to change the ballot title to more neutrally describe the measure as affecting property taxes and local community service reductions failed. Senator Trumbull’s amendment removing school board ad valorem taxes from the proposal was adopted, preserving school taxes. Senator Smith’s amendment narrowing the non-homestead assessment cap reduction to small businesses only failed. The committee then returned to the bill as amended and continued questioning the sponsor about eligibility, fiscal impacts, and whether the proposal could lead to local governments offsetting lost revenue through special assessments or other charges.

Transcript Highlights:

• We ought to have free enterprise. We ought to have freedom.
• So it's not like if she could get arrested, she's required to be on bond.
• They would have to be on bond until the...
• They would have to be on bond until the sentencing aspect of it.
• The bond people can come off of your bond if you want to.

Bills: SB210 , SB292 , HB360 , HB233 , HB66 , HB356 , HB164 , HB238 , HB209 , SB223 , HB307 , SB210 , SB292 , HB360 , HB233 , HB66 , HB356 , HB164 , HB238 , HB209 , SB223 , HB307

Committee: House Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• Correct me if I'm wrong, is the bond like a $25,000 bond? It's very low.
• A big operator probably is paying, it has a $250,000 bond.
• I've gotten letters from landowners who were victims of the surveillance zones, containment zones, telling
• We got rid of the surveillance zones and containment zones in the last revision.
• EDAP bonds and the agency does not plan to issue new EDAP bonds during the 26-27 biennium.

Bills: SB1 , SB 1

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• So and talk about our bonding request.
• So in bonds which the RFA must pay back.
• </c> light of that, we do have a bonding light of that, we do have a bonding request<00:29:40.240><c>
• Senate File 3584 then is passed and on its way to Higher Education, as amended. bond uh bonding dollars
• to not get bond uh bonding dollars to not get wrapped<01:49:31.520><c> up</c><01:49:31.679><c> in</c

Committee: Senate Agriculture, Veterans, Broadband, and Rural Development

Transcript Highlights:

• happens to specifically the building or improvements to that building before we get to the loan and bond
• that dollar through a formulary, and that's to Partially make up for an inability to have access to bonding
• capacity through their whatever district they're zoned in.
• There was a discussion about forcing inclusion in local Bonding initiatives.
• I believe last year we had a piece Of legislation that changed the zoning process if you're a charter

Bills: HB2210 , HB2398 , HB2959 , HB3006 , HB3026 , HB3151 , HB3315 , HB3372 , HB3467 , HB3590 , HB4268 , HB4359 , HB4427

Committee: Senate Education

Keywords: youth apprenticeship, career education, workforce development, high school programs, mentorship, vocational training, state oversight, credential of value, education, labor market, government reporting, school abuse reporting, child abuse, neglect, mandatory reporting, student safety, school employee misconduct, administrator reporting, superintendent, law enforcement notification

Transcript Highlights:

• The other part of that is the debt service on bonds. Thank you. Yes, ma'am. Chair: Thanks...
• bonds.
• Well, that established the Chronic Wasting Disease management zone. Okay. All right.
• out on bond because he's killed somebody.
• But if I have knowledge of an individual who's already out on bond, I arrest them again.

Transcript Highlights:

• identification cards to essential utility workers, granting those workers easier access to evacuation zones
• Bill 1001 establishes a system that will facilitate essential work behind the lines of evacuation zones
• Altadena was not in a high fire zone, but we now know that it is.
• And how are we going to protect the highest wildfire zones in the state so that we have the equipment
• anticipate that at some point over the next five years, this legislature will be looking at water bonds

Committee: Senate Emergency Management

Transcript Highlights:

• We've ruled out private enterprise.
• Overlay zoning district. And with that, I'm happy to answer any questions. Thank you, Kiana.
• I'm an attorney, but I'm not a zoning attorney, so I do have a zoning attorney from my firm here to help
• not in a city, you're on a county island, and it hasn't been zoned for anything in particular.
• This is fixing that fix. ...that say it needs to be zoned commercial. We don't have that anymore.

Summary: The committee first took up SB 1803, which would regulate non-accredited veterans benefits claims assistance by prohibiting unrecognized agents or attorneys from preparing or prosecuting claims, limiting compensation practices, requiring written disclosures and cancellation rights, and making violations subject to Attorney General enforcement. Supporters, including the sponsor and several veterans, said the bill would create needed guardrails against predatory actors while preserving veterans’ choice to use free or paid help. Opponents and some neutral testimony, including a VA-accredited attorney and representatives of the VFW and American Legion, argued the bill still lacked sufficient protections, raised federal preemption concerns, and should require VA accreditation instead. After debate over fees, back pay, and the availability of free services, the committee adopted an amendment and gave SB 1803 a do pass recommendation by a 5-2 vote. The committee then heard SB 1232, a strike-everything amendment dealing with outdoor advertising signs in military airport and ancillary military facility overlay zoning districts. The bill would allow signs on property with a military compatibility permit in areas otherwise treated as residential under a zoning designation, which the sponsor and property representatives said was needed to resolve an ADOT permitting loophole for a specific parcel near Luke Air Force Base and the Northern Parkway. Members questioned whether the change was narrowly tailored, whether other properties could be affected, and whether ADOT and federal highway beautification rules would be satisfied. After the amendment was adopted, the committee approved SB 1232 on a 4-3 vote, with several members saying they would reserve the right to change their votes on the floor. Finally, the committee began hearing SB 1511, which would prohibit operation of a commercial motor vehicle in Arizona unless the operator can prove lawful presence in the United States and would allow impoundment if proof is not provided. The sponsor introduced the bill with a lengthy explanation of commercial driver licensing history and concerns about non-domiciled and limited-term CDLs, contrasting them with Canadian and Mexican commercial licensing arrangements. The transcript cuts off before testimony, questions, or any action on SB 1511.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is critical since the city's water enterprise has been operating at a structural deficit for several
• , when you're being specific requirements in the general plan amendment, I'm envisioning a certain zoned
• there has to be a carved-out area, even though that specific large 10-acre, 20-acre area has been zoned
• So, but in... ...zoned as R-1, single-family homes, but in the corner somewhere it will be an easy place
• If you have a community that doesn't have the zoning to allow for this to happen, then it makes it harder

Committee: Senate Local Government

Transcript Highlights:

• the bond bill worked and the importance of reading the bond bill.
• or within a transmission zone contiguous by land to the Delmarva Power Transmission Zone and with sufficient
• or within a transmission zone contiguous by land to the DPL transmission zone with sufficient existing
• I think that it's a great bond bill.
• I think that it's a great bond bill.

Summary: The Senate received communications from the House on numerous measures, including several bills and resolutions passed with amendments, committee reports on bills such as large energy use facilities, campaign finance, voting rights, and appropriations, and a list of pre-file legislation. The chamber then moved through a long floor session with confirmations, bill readings, and roll-call votes, ultimately confirming the nomination of Morgan T. Zern to the Delaware Supreme Court by a 21-0 vote. Among the major policy items considered were property tax and school tax measures tied to the statewide reassessment. The Senate passed House Bill 460, clarifying monthly municipal permit-data reporting to New Castle County; House Bill 461, granting temporary authority for New Castle County school districts to reset school tax rates for one cycle; and House Bill 462, making the split school tax rate permanent with a lower nonresidential cap. Members discussed the fiscal effects at length, including testimony from a school district finance officer that HB 461 would allow revenue-neutral rate setting and offset the fiscal note on HB 462. The Senate also passed House Bill 365 creating a Delaware Indigenous Affairs Commission, House Bill 458 on backflow requirements for low-hazard buildings, Senate Bill 27 establishing the Office of New Americans with a sunset and interagency coordination, and Senate Bill 315 on the Delaware Technical Innovation Program. The chamber also approved Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 300, a firearms dealer regulation bill, after extensive debate over amendments, confidentiality, background checks, and the balance between public safety and burdens on lawful dealers. Several members raised constitutional and practical objections, while supporters argued the bill would reduce trafficking, straw purchases, and theft from dealers. In addition, the Senate passed House Bill 305 creating a diabetes wellness pilot program, with supporters emphasizing the state’s diabetes burden and the program’s federal funding, and House Concurrent Resolution 157, which asks the State Lottery Office to report on iLottery’s impact on small businesses. Senate Bill 325, a fire prevention/background-check bill, was laid on the table after concerns about a late House amendment and requests for more time to consult stakeholders.

Transcript Highlights:

• happens to specifically the building or improvements to that building before we get to the loan and bond
• That is to partially make up for an inability to have access to bonding or local ad valorem dollars.
• whatever district they're zoned in.
• As I mentioned, there was a discussion about forcing inclusion in local bonding initiatives.
• I believe last year we had a piece of legislation that changed a zoning process.

Bills: HB2210 , HB2398 , HB2959 , HB3006 , HB3026 , HB3151 , HB3315 , HB3372 , HB3467 , HB3590 , HB4268 , HB4359 , HB4427

Committee: Senate Education

Summary: The Senate Education Committee considered a long agenda of education-related bills, including school calendar changes, scholarship and tax credit cleanup, charter school facilities, apprenticeship expansion, testing windows, and teacher staffing rules. Several measures were framed as technical or clarifying changes, while others drew more substantial debate over accountability, eligibility, and funding. The committee also heard a bill to extend the sunset of the Oklahoma Advisory Council on Indian Education and another to allow certain military dependents to start kindergarten based on their home-country age rules. Among the more debated bills, House Bill 3590 updated the Opportunity Scholarship Fund Act by changing reporting and income-verification language; senators questioned whether the bill effectively expanded eligibility or added accountability, but the author said it was a cleanup measure and the title was struck before passage. House Bill 3151 would raise the minimum school year from 166 to 173 days beginning in 2027-28, contingent on an additional $175 million in common education funding; supporters argued Oklahoma students need more time in front of teachers, while opponents questioned the evidence and fiscal impact. House Bill 4359 moved statewide assessments to the last four weeks of the school year, with an amendment changing the window from three to four weeks, and House Bill 4427, as amended, continued limits on adjunct teachers in early grades while clarifying qualifications and timelines for existing adjuncts. The committee also advanced House Bill 2398, which would create “credentials of value” to help students and families evaluate postsecondary programs based on workforce demand and economic return, and House Bill 3372, which would create a charter school facilities fund and loan/collateral mechanisms; the latter passed on a narrower vote after questions about asset disposition and state control. Other bills passed with little or no opposition, including a 24-hour reporting requirement for school abuse to outside law enforcement, an expansion of youth apprenticeship eligibility, adoption-related maternity leave, and a pilot for teacher growth metrics and NBCT funding. Most measures were reported out favorably, with several title-stricken amendments adopted along the way.

Transcript Highlights:

• When the PUA was first founded, it did not have a great bond rating at its inception.
• As we've had to upgrade our facilities, we do so by going to the bond market, but we have to manage our
• After the first five years, I can tell you that that bond rating went up substantially.
• First, the Water Development Board currently sets pumpage limits for BGPZ zones.
• The way I understand, these zones are set up. That the Gadewch i mi eich enwio yng Nghymru. Mr.

Bills: SB1169 , SB1285 , SB1583 , SB1611 , SB1898 , SB1976 , SB2160 , SB2161 , SB2658 , SB2661 , SB2662 , SB2692 , SB1055 , SB1359 , SB2660

Committee: Senate Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:18:56.320><c> uh</c> goes on these maps and in zones uh goes on these maps and in zones uh really
• And and these bonds are these bonds.
• </c> defunded by 25% by bonds. defunded by 25% by bonds.
• Um, but our bond to introduce next year.
• </c> year to give comfort to investors, bond year to give comfort to investors, bond investors.<00:48

Summary: The committees heard testimony on five housing-related measures. SB 2232 would create a three-year tiny home grant pilot program within HHFDC, with annual reporting to HHFDC and the Legislature; testimony was mixed, and the bill was later recommended for passage with amendments, including a full-time housing development specialist, a residential-use-only restriction for the tiny homes, and a blanked appropriation. SB 2192 would bar county down-zoning that reduces housing capacity unless equivalent capacity is added elsewhere in the county; it drew support from housing advocates and comments from planning officials, and was also recommended for passage with amendments. SB 2378 would clarify insurance requirements for single- and multifamily projects seeking expedited county permitting; engineers and housing groups supported it, while one testifier opposed it, and it was recommended for passage with a technical amendment. SB 2524 would appropriate funds to the City and County of Honolulu for housing-related departments to comply with prior acts; the Honolulu department supported it, and members asked about prior spending and funding sources. SB 2398 would require residential housing utility availability maps; the Honolulu Board of Water Supply opposed the bill as written, citing infrastructure security, accuracy, liability, and administrative burden concerns, while supporters said it would improve transparency for developers. The chair proposed amendments to make the maps broad and geographic rather than parcel-specific, remove contested-case and reliance provisions, allow disclaimer language, and change the date; the bill was then recommended for passage with amendments, with one member noting reservations. All five measures were ultimately passed out of committee with amendments, with votes recorded and some members excused.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><01:11:26.159><c> or</c> they have the necessary zoning or they have the necessary zoning or subdivision
• </c><01:15:10.960><c> or</c> potentially also had no zoning or potentially also had no zoning or subdivision
• We receive a bonding recommendation each year from the Capital Debt Affordability Advisory Committee.
• The bonding recommendation for this two-year cycle was lower than in previous cycles, not because of
• And H952, an act relating to capital construction and state bonding budget adjustments.

Transcript Highlights:

• so those are some changes at Enterprise so those are some changes at the<00:15:54.720><c> federal</c
• </c><00:52:38.760><c> Bill</c> state capital investment or bonding Bill state capital investment or bonding
• Bonding was mentioned, and the proposal from the governor is cutting transportation over 1,228 million
• <01:01:48.599><c> a</c><01:01:48.720><c> billion</c><01:01:49.079><c> dollar</c><01:01:49.640><c> bonding
• </c><01:01:50.160><c> was</c> half a billion dollar bonding was half a billion dollar bonding was mentioned

Committee: Senate Finance