The PROOF Act requires state agencies to provide specific records to the Attorney General when requested for investigating fraud in major federal assistance programs, such as Medicaid, food stamps, unemployment benefits, and disaster relief funds. This information sharing covers data like identity verification records, payment logs, and provider billing statements directly related to active investigations. To protect privacy, the bill mandates that the Justice Department handle all transferred data under existing privacy laws, use encryption for security, and destroy the information once legal proceedings are complete. Additionally, federal agencies may only use this data for fraud-related law enforcement purposes and must submit an annual report to Congress detailing the number of requests made and resulting convictions.
The Cost Estimates Improvement Act requires the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation to include public debt servicing costs in their financial estimates, to the extent practicable. This change directly affects federal budgeting processes by ensuring that the interest payments on national debt are factored into official cost projections for new legislation. The bill amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to mandate this specific inclusion in all future estimates prepared by these two bodies.
The Badge-to-Business Act amends the Small Business Act to waive guarantee fees for express loans made to qualified career law enforcement officers starting January 1, 2027. To qualify, an officer must have completed at least ten years of service and not be facing a pending criminal investigation or administrative proceeding for misconduct related to their official duties. This fee waiver applies to both currently employed officers and those who have separated from service, provided they meet the conduct requirements at the time of application. The provision includes an exception allowing the Administrator to collect fees if the cost of guaranteeing these loans results in a net loss for the Administration in a given fiscal year.
The Data Science and Literacy Act of 2026 establishes a competitive grant program administered by the Secretary of Education to support state agencies, local school districts, tribal schools, and higher education institutions in expanding data literacy and statistics education from pre-kindergarten through postsecondary levels. Eligible recipients must use funds for activities such as developing new curricula, providing professional development for teachers, and creating partnerships with industry or community organizations to reduce access gaps for underrepresented students. The bill authorizes $10 million annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2031, requiring grantees to submit biannual reports on student outcomes disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and income status. Additionally, the legislation amends existing federal law to require the collection of demographic and background data on secondary school STEM teachers in each state every five years.
This bill increases the mandatory financial contributions from Federal Home Loan Banks to the Affordable Housing Program by extending a 15 percent net income requirement through 2025 and establishing it as the permanent rate for 2026 and beyond. The legislation directly affects the Federal Home Loan Banks, which are government-sponsored enterprises that provide funding to member banks and credit unions. A key provision ensures that these annual contributions will not fall below $100 million in any given year, regardless of the banks' net income fluctuations.
The Housing BOOM Act aims to increase the supply of affordable housing by significantly raising the state-level limit on Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and establishing new federal funding mechanisms, including a Middle Income Housing Construction Loan Fund and a Workforce Housing Block Grant Program. The bill directs billions in annual appropriations over five years to support rental construction for households earning between 60 and 120 percent of the area median income, while also increasing existing subsidies for homeless assistance, rural housing, and supportive housing for the elderly and persons with disabilities. To address tenant stability, the legislation creates a new Office of Eviction Prevention within the Department of Housing and Urban Development and authorizes grants to help convert unused government buildings and hotels into emergency shelters and affordable units. Additionally, the act establishes an Interagency Council on Housing Affordability to coordinate federal policy and requires prevailing wage standards for construction workers on federally assisted projects.
The Pacific Minerals Economic Security Act amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to regulate mineral leasing activities in waters adjacent to Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The bill prohibits the government from reducing or waiving royalty payments for these leases and requires lessees to provide initial and supplemental financial bonds to cover potential environmental cleanup and decommissioning costs. Starting in fiscal year 2027, fifty percent of all leasing revenues will be distributed to the affected territories based on their proximity to the leased areas, with funds restricted for use in coastal restoration, infrastructure development, environmental mitigation, or debt reduction. Additionally, the Secretary of the Interior must conduct a study on environmental impact mitigation methods and provide immediate notice to territorial governors when new mining plans are submitted.
The EMRTAI Authorization Act of 2026 directs the Environmental Protection Agency to create a program that investigates methods for finding and recovering critical materials from contaminated sites. This initiative allows the EPA to provide funding to states, local governments, tribes, nonprofits, and private entities to support these recovery efforts and monitor environmental cleanup. The program is limited to a total of $10 million per year, with no single recipient receiving more than $3 million, and grants are evaluated based on their potential to strengthen domestic supply chains and protect human health. The authority to run this program will end ten years after the bill is enacted.
North Dakota SB 2407 authorizes the state historical society to borrow up to $35 million from the Bank of North Dakota to fund a new military museum project, with repayment required by June 2029 using specific donation funds or a future legislative appropriation. The bill assigns final decision-making authority for the project to the capital grounds planning commission and requires the historical society to submit quarterly progress reports on construction status and finances. Additionally, it amends state code to give the historical society jurisdiction over the North Dakota heritage center building, including responsibility for museum content in collaboration with the adjutant general, while allowing alcohol service at private invited events.
North Dakota SB 2405 changes the order in which property tax benefits are applied to ensure that a five percent discount for early payment is calculated before the primary residence credit. This adjustment primarily affects homeowners and mobile home residents who qualify for both the early payment discount and the primary residence credit, as it alters how these reductions interact on their final tax bill. The bill amends state code to explicitly require that the early payment discount be applied first, while the primary residence credit is then applied to reduce any remaining property tax liability. These changes take effect for ad valorem property taxes in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025, and for mobile home taxes in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026.
