H.B. 2500 Summary

• Authorizes issuance of $3,073,991,000 in general obligation bonds to finance projects under various appropriations acts passed during the 2020 regular legislative session.

• Authorizes issuance of up to $2,100,000,000 in instruments of indebtedness combined for working capital financing and access to the Federal Reserve's Municipal Liquidity Facility under section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act.

• Declares that authorized bond issuances will cause the State's debt limit (set at 18.5% of average general fund revenues) to be exceeded due to the COVID-19 pandemic emergency.

• Provides detailed findings regarding the debt limit calculation, outstanding bonds, and proposed bond issuance schedules from fiscal year 2020-2021 through 2022-2023.

• Requires a two-thirds vote concurrence from each house of the legislature to exceed the constitutional debt limit, consistent with the governor's emergency declaration related to the COVID-19 pandemic.