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Committee advances $2.7B-below-limit bond package that funds schools, CHESLA and public health equipment
Summary
The bonding subcommittee presented a bond package that stays under the state's debt limit, funds CHESLA expansion, school construction, electronic health records for inmates, AEDs for schools, and other local projects; the Finance committee advanced the package JFS.
The Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee advanced the bonding package offered as SB 85 after the subcommittee chairs summarized their work overseeing 19 state agencies.
Representative Ron Napoli and Senator Miller said the package preserves most of the governor's priorities while cutting about $8 million from the original authorization. Key elements described by the chairs include expanding CHESLA authorizations to help about 3,600 residents access graduate education supports, authorizing funding for a proposed Wyndham technical school, investments in manufacturing and aerospace workforce infrastructure, grants to support veterans memorials, electronic health records for inmates, and automated external defibrillators for schools and public events.
Representative Piscopo and other members praised the bipartisan subcommittee process. Several members questioned whether certain proposed programs were appropriate for bond financing — including a proposed graduate student loan program and electric-vehicle charging station investments — arguing they may belong in appropriation processes rather than long-term debt. The chairs and members said they reduced or refined several line items after agency hearings and maintained the package within statutory caps (82.5% used, leaving a cushion under a 90% limit).
Outcome: The committee recorded a roll-call vote to send SB 85 JFS to the floor. Sponsors said the package reflects many agency priorities and is structured to remain within debt limits, and members signaled continued floor-level negotiation on some program details.
