MARC KORMAN
  • Home
  • About Marc
  • Issues
    • Airplane Noise
    • Animal Welfare
    • Budget
    • Civil Rights & Civil Liberties
    • COVID-19
    • Economic Prosperity
    • Education
    • Energy & Environment
    • Healthcare
    • Pepco
    • Preserving Our Success
    • Public Safety
    • Seniors
    • Transportation
    • Questionnaires
  • Scholarship
  • Latest News
  • Contribute
  • Contact
    • Subscribe
  • Home
  • About Marc
  • Issues
    • Airplane Noise
    • Animal Welfare
    • Budget
    • Civil Rights & Civil Liberties
    • COVID-19
    • Economic Prosperity
    • Education
    • Energy & Environment
    • Healthcare
    • Pepco
    • Preserving Our Success
    • Public Safety
    • Seniors
    • Transportation
    • Questionnaires
  • Scholarship
  • Latest News
  • Contribute
  • Contact
    • Subscribe

LATEST NEWS

The Capital Budget

3/29/2016

 
If you have ever wondered what the House of Delegates is voting on, you can see our daily floor agenda here.  The floor agenda is organized by "reports" from committees and other "calendars."  Each bill is "read" on the House floor three times: First, when it is introduced and assigned to committee.  Second, when it is reported out of committee (this is called second reader) and available for discussion or amendment.  Third, when it is considered for final passage (this is called third reader).  On the same page, you can see links to the Senate agenda as well as proceedings in both chambers from prior days.
As I was finishing drafting this email, the House passed an amended version of Board of Public Works Transparency Act that I authored with Senator Rich Madaleno.  The bill now heads to the Governor's desk.  The House and Senate conference committee on the budget also released the conference report on the budget, which is the final version that the House and Senate will pass.  The operating budget does not require the Governor's signature.  More information on both of these issues will be in a future email.

Legislative News

Last week I discussed the operating budget which passed the House with just five Republican dissenting votes last week.  This week, the House is considering the capital budget which constitutes our state's investment in building projects such as schools, affordable housing, or health centers.  The capital budget authorizes the sale of bonds for specific projects.  The state has a robust process to cap the amount of debt issued to make sure it can be serviced (i.e., repaid).  The Capital Debt Affordability Committee ("CDAC") is made up of the State Treasurer, Comptroller, Budget Secretary, Transportation Secretary and a public member and recommend annually a cap on new bond issuances.  The Spending Affordability Committee ("SAC") is a legislative committee that makes numerous spending recommendations, including on the issuance of debt.

​This year, the Governor's proposed capital budget included $995 million in new bonds, in line with the recommendation of the Capital Debt Affordability Committee and below the Spending Affordability Committee's recommendation of $1.055 billion.  The legislature's capital budget altered some of the spending items but stayed at the same $995 million overall level proposed by the Governor.  You can read the House's Capital Budget Committee report here.

Some of the important items in the Capital Budget for our community include:
  • Additional Funding for School Construction: In addition to the baseline $280 million the Governor has proposed for school construction statewide, the Governor's Capital Budget included a supplemental grant of $20 million for school districts with a high rate of growth, such as Montgomery County, because of a bill we passed last year.  The legislature's Capital Budget doubles that supplemental grant to $40 million, meaning approximately $12 million more in funding for Montgomery County, the biggest beneficiary of the supplemental program.
  • Universities at Shady Grove: As introduced, the Governor's Capital Budget zeroed out funding for the Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Building at the Universities at Shady Grove.  The legislature's Capital Budget restores tens of millions of dollars for the project.
  • Montgomery College: The Capital Budget includes funding for Montgomery College's new Rockville Student Center.
  • Friendship Heights Village Center: Along with my District 16 colleagues, we secured funding for a state contribution to the Friendship Heights Village Center renovation.

Metro
As we do most Fridays, the WMATA-Metro Work Group met last week.  Our guest was Larry Lockley, Chief Safety Officer for ATU Local 689, the labor union for WMATA's workers.  We discussed many issues including safety, employee discipline, and customer service.  The WMATA-Metro Work Group will have one more meeting this session.  Here is a list of other topics we discussed during the year and those we heard from.

Community News
  • On Monday, April 4, the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Democratic Breakfast Club will hear from Congressional District 8 candidate Joel Rubin.  The club meets at7:30am at the Original Pancake House in Bethesda.
  • On Saturday, April 9, Toll Brothers will be presenting their plan for the WMAL property in Bethesda.  The meeting will take place at 10am at the North Bethesda Middle School.
  • On Monday, April 11, the White Flint Sector Plan Implementation Advisory Committee will be meeting at 7pm at the Wall Park/Kennedy Shriver Aquatic Center (5900 Executive Boulevard in Rockville).
  • Early voting begins on April 14th and runs through April 21st.  The three early voting locations closest to District 16 are the Lawton Center in the Town of Chevy Chase (4301 Willow Lane), the Potomac Community Center (11315 Falls Road), and the Executive Office Building in Rockville (101 Monroe Street).
  • The Bethesda Literary Festival will be held April 15-17 at sites around Bethesda.  More information is available at http://www.bethesda.org/bethesda/bethesda-literary-festival
  • The Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, April 26, 2016.
If you know of an upcoming community event, please email [email protected].

​District 16 Notes
  • Bethesda's Scot Marken has been named the new incoming CEO of the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes.  Congratulations to Mr. Marken!
  • District 16 Democratic Central Committeemember Michael Gruenberg was recently interviewed about his book, "Buying and Selling Information."  The video can be viewed here.
If you know of a District 16 resident who merits recognition or condolences, please email [email protected].

Comments are closed.

    Author

    Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013

    Categories

    All
    Legislative Session Update
    Monthly Update
    News Clip

    RSS Feed

By Authority of Friends of Marc Korman; Mark Brown, Treasurer
HOME
ABOUT MARC
ISSUES
SCHOLARSHIP
LATEST NEWS
CONTRIBUTE
CONTACT
sign up to receive updates