NASBP Focal Point – May 26, 2026

Federal Report

Federal: Last week, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee (T&I) passed, H.R. 870, the Build America 250 Act by a vote of 62-2. H.R. 870 restores the Highway Trust Fund by establishing a new structure fee for electric and hybrid vehicles, ensuring all users 

of the nation’s roads and bridges contribute to their maintenance and upkeep. H.R. 870 also focuses on work zone safety to help protect workers while they deliver transportation enhancements in hazardous conditions. H.R. 870 will soon be voted on in the House. Among those key provisions of note are the following: authorizes roughly $580 billion in funding for fiscal years 2027-2031, with $474.4 billion dedicated to Highway Trust Fund (HTF); introduces a new annual registration fee for electric vehicles/hybrids to mitigate the HTF insolvency issue; includes $50 billion for bridge construction; provides $376 billion in funding for the the Federal Highway Administration; includes $87.6 billion in funding for the Federal Transit Administration; appropriates $5.7 billion in funding for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; dedicates $5 billion in funding for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; and directs $64.7 billion for the Federal Railroad Administration, including $31.1 billion for Amtrak.

H.R. 1399 (Amodei-R-NV-2nd): Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) to remove the burdensome requirement that trade associations must obtain prior authorization from its members in order to solicit their designated company employees for a PAC contribution. The bill also eliminates the FECA requirement that prevents a member company of providing authorization to only a single trade association for a PAC solicitation per calendar year. NASBP has joined the Prior Approval Repeal Coalition in support of this important legislative effort as it did in 2018.

Joint PAC Events: In conjunction with the American Subcontractors Association’s (ASA) Legislative fly-in, NASBP and ASA will host several PAC events on the evening of Tuesday, June 9. Confirmed members of Congress to attend and who support H.R. 1285, the Water Infrastructure Subcontractor Taxpayer Protection Act, and serve on the House T&I Committee are Reps. Pete Stauber (R-MN-8^th), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1st) Rob Bresnahan (R-PA-8^th) and Donald Norcross (D-NJ-1^st). Also scheduled to appear is Senator Tom Cotton (R-AK) who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, which often has jurisdictional authority over federal procurement matters included in the annual defense spending bill.

State Report

NASBP will continue to monitor state activity throughout the remainder of the year. As we go to press, there are currently 19 states in session. Please contact NASBP if you are aware of legislation and/or proposed regulations in your state that may impact the surety industry.

SC S.831 (SCDOT) Omnibus transportation bill aims to modernize the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) through sweeping administrative, financial, and operational reforms, which include authorizing new forms of public-private partnerships (p3s) for highway and transit projects. All bids for contracts in excess of $100,000 must be accompanied by certified bid bonds, and all work awarded under the contracts must be covered by performance and payment bonds for one hundred percent of the contract value. S.831 was signed by the governor on May 18.

VT H.944 (Transportation Committee) Amends 19 V.S.A. § 10 by waiving and/or increasing statutory bond threshold requirements for VTDOT projects from $100,000 to $250,000. NASBP sent a letter to the House and Senate Transportation Committees in opposition to the bill. H.944 passed the House 84-46. H.944 was amended in the Senate but the House refused to concur. The House and Senate have appointed conferees to seek an agreement. H.944 is a comprehensive spending bill that establishes Vermont’s Transportation Program for FY2027 and enacts a range of changes to transportation-related laws such as updates to state highway and bridge standards, inspection, and an extension of public-private partnership (P3) authority for transportation projects to 2029.

If you are aware of any bills impacting the industry, please reach out to Larry LeClair, NASBP’s Director of Government Relations, and let us know.