The Capital Budget

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].