For Immediate Release: Monday, July 24, 2017
Montgomery Council Introduces Legislation
to Increase the Minimum Wage and Formalize County’s
Human Trafficking Prevention Committee
Also on Tuesday, July 25: Votes to increase accessible taxicabs, allow dogs to be off leash in municipal dog parks and amend public campaign financing
ROCKVILLE, Md., July 24, 2017—On Tuesday, July 25 the Montgomery County Council is scheduled meet at 1:30 p.m. The Council will introduce legislation that would increase the County’s minimum wage to $15 by 2020 for many workers. The Council also will introduce a bill that would establish a Human Trafficking Prevention Committee. In addition, votes are scheduled for: Expedited Bill 20-17, which would increase the number of wheelchair accessible taxicabs in the County; Bill 21-17, which would allow dogs to run free in municipal dog parks; and Expedited Bill 25-17, which would amend the County’s Public Campaign Financing Law. The Council also will release Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) Report 2017-12, Federal Grant Administration in Montgomery County.
The Council will introduce Bill 28-17, Human Rights and Civil Liberties – County Minimum Wage – Amount – Annual Adjustment, during the Council’s regular weekly meeting at approximately 2:10 p.m. in the Third Floor Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. Councilmember Elrich is the lead sponsor. Councilmembers Leventhal, Riemer, Hucker and Navarro are co-sponsors. Bill 28-17 would increase the County’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by July 1, 2020 for employees who work for an employer with 26 or more employees. Employers with 25 or fewer employees would reach $15 by July 1, 2022 with some exceptions. The current minimum wage in the County is $11.50 per hour and there are no requirements in law for further increases. Bill 28-17 would require the Chief Administrative Officer to adjust the County minimum wage rate each year, and require the Office of Legislative Oversight to conduct an annual analysis of the impact of the County minimum wage. In January the Council enacted a minimum wage bill that was subsequently vetoed by the County Executive. The staff report can be viewed at:
http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&event_id=5034&meta_id=141980 .
Bill 27-17, Human Rights and Civil Liberties – Human Trafficking Prevention Committee – Established, also will be introduced on Tuesday. Council President Berliner is the lead sponsor, at the request of the County Executive. Currently the County has a Human Trafficking Task Force dedicated to preventing human trafficking in the County; however, it does not have the power to advise the Executive or the Council. The Human Trafficking Prevention Committee would work with the Commission for Women to raise and spend money on human trafficking issues. The staff report can be viewed at:
http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&event_id=5034&meta_id=141978 .
The Council is scheduled to vote, at approximately 2:15 p.m., on three bills. Expedited Bill 20-17, Taxicabs – Licenses, would increase the number of wheelchair accessible taxicabs in the County. Council President Berliner is the lead sponsor. In 2015 the Council enacted a bill that substantially revised the County’s regulation of the taxicab industry; however, many of the approved licenses required in the law were never issued because the vehicles were not placed in service. Bill 20-17 addresses this problem. The staff report can be viewed at:
http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&event_id=5034&meta_id=141984 .
In addition, the Council is scheduled to vote on Bill 21-17, Animal Control – Municipal Dog Exercise Area, which would allow a dog to be off leash, if it is in an area that a municipality has identified as a dog exercise area, and would amend the definition of at-large animals. Councilmember Katz is the lead sponsor. Council President Berliner and Councilmembers Rice and Elrich are co-sponsors. The staff report can be viewed at:
http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&event_id=5034&meta_id=141986 .
The Council also is scheduled to vote on Expedited Bill 25-17, Elections – Public Campaign Financing – Amendments, which proposes amendments to the County’s public campaign financing system. Councilmembers Navarro, Katz, Riemer and Elrich are the lead sponsors. Expedited Bill 25-17 would:
The Council established the first public campaign financing system in Maryland in 2014. The law designates the Maryland State Board of Elections to certify candidates and generally administer the public campaign financing system. The staff report can be found at:
http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&event_id=5034&meta_id=141988 .
The Council will release (OLO) Report 2017-12, Federal Grant Administration in Montgomery County. The Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee, which is chaired by Councilmember Navarro and includes Councilmembers Katz and Riemer, is scheduled to review this report on Sept. 14. OLO Report 2017-12 responds to the Council’s request to review the process by which the County makes decisions to pursue federal grants and how grant applications are developed. OLO found that in FY16 the County spent $98.3 million in federal grant dollars across 15 Executive Branch departments. After the Council votes to release the report on July 25, the report will be available at:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/olo/ .
County Cable Montgomery (CCM) televises all Council meetings live. The channel can be viewed on Cable Channels 996 (high definition) and 6 (standard definition) on Comcast; Channels 1056 (HD) and 6 (SD) on RCN; and Channel 30 on Verizon. The meeting will be rebroadcast starting at 9 p.m. on Friday, July 28.
The Council meeting also will be available live via streaming through the Council web site at http://tinyurl.com/z9982v8 .
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Release ID: 17-237