Todd Stevens, the township’s director of intergovernmental relations, told the board that roughly 11,500 bills were filed in the regular session and that just under 3,600 became law. Stevens called out several bills the township tracked and summarized items the board should watch in the ensuing special session.

He identified House Bill 21 as a key change affecting housing finance corporations, saying the bill prevents a housing finance corporation acting with a local government from removing property from the originating jurisdiction’s tax rolls without input. Stevens said the township had identified two properties purchased by HFCs that could have removed up to about $85 million from its rolls absent the reforms.

Stevens reported changes to the Public Information Act, the Open Meetings Act and laws related to utility providers, vegetation management and polling infrastructure. He highlighted HB 2012 (described in the packet and by board members during the meeting) as giving counties, including Montgomery County, authority to regulate roadside vendors and certain activities on parking lots and public right of way; Montgomery County officials were reported to be drafting an ordinance for consideration before the bill’s effective date.

Stevens also summarized early-voting changes that will take effect after implementation timelines: the law sets a 12-day early-voting period with calendar adjustments that eliminate a gap between early voting and election day, and expands Sunday hours for early voting in 2027 implementation phases. He noted some proposals the township opposed (a requirement to hold continuation elections for certain districts every 10 years), which did not advance in committee this session.

On the special session called by the governor, Stevens said the initial call includes disaster and flood-related items—warning systems, flood infrastructure and evacuation routes—proposals to ban taxpayer-funded lobbying, ad valorem tax and property-tax–related measures, and other items. He said staff will continue to monitor bills on utilities, property taxes and disaster response and will return with details as the special session proceeds.

Board members asked for clarification on Senate Bill 17 (foreign land ownership) and whether it applies to residential property; Stevens said he would research the specific property types affected and report back. Stevens also noted reports in the board packet prepared by Williams Public Affairs, Schwartz Page and Harding summarizing special-purpose district legislation and other tracked bills.