Bond Bills

Bond Bills

Bond bills in Maryland are a convoluted subject.  From the Department of Legislative Services:

Legislative initiatives are used to fund individual bond bill requests.  They are bond authorization bills filed by members of the General Assembly to support specific local or non-State-owned capital projects.  These projects include, but are not limited to, health facilities, historic preservation projects, museums, and sports and recreational facilities.  Legislative initiatives are not submitted as part of the Governor’s Capital Budget.  However, as they have an impact on State finances, the Department of Legislative Services reviews them in accordance with procedures established by the Governor and the General Assembly.

There is no uniformity among county delegations in how they handle bond bills.  Some counties’ Delegates meet as a delegation and vote to give the, “thumbs up” for each bill.  More often than not, the delegation does not meet, leaving it to the sponsors.

Bond bills do not get a vote in the House or Senate.  Rather, they are included in the capital budget; the projects are funded through a pot of money set aside.  The pot of money doesn’t change, no matter how many projects are submitted.  You may read each year’s bond bill funding from 2008 - 2015.