For Immediate Release: Friday, November 3, 2017
Campaign Financing is Focus
of Committee Meeting on
Thursday, Nov. 2 at 9:30 a.m.
Also on Nov. 2: A discussion of public engagement technology,
performance review for County’s MC311 informational services,
and results of Bethesda Parking Demand Study
ROCKVILLE, Md., November 1, 2017—The Montgomery County Council’s Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Committee will meet on Thursday, November 2 at 9:30 a.m. to review Expedited Bill 31-17, Elections – Public Campaign Financing – Contributions – Amendments, which would increase the amount of money an unmarried candidate running for Council or Executive can donate or loan to his or her campaign to match the amount permitted for a candidate who is married.
The GO Committee is chaired by Councilmember Navarro and includes Councilmember Katz and Council Vice President Riemer. The Committee will meet in the Seventh Floor Council Hearing Room.
Under existing County law, married candidates can contribute $6,000 to their own campaigns, and their spouses can also contribute $6,000, amounting to a total contribution of $12,000. Unmarried candidates can only donate $6,000 to their own campaign. Bill 31-17 would level the playing field by increasing the amount that unmarried candidates can donate or loan to their own campaign to $12,000.
The staff report can be viewed at:
http://tinyurl.com/y8vzucgk
The GO Committee also will hold a discussion on public engagement technologies, to review options and resources required to expand the Council's use of technology to reach community members in a way that is convenient and user-friendly while maintaining broadcast standards and closed captioning.
The staff report can be viewed at:
http://tinyurl.com/y8y8xmma
The GO Committee will close out its meeting with a discussion about MC311, the County’s non-emergency phone line for government services and information. Committee Chair Navarro expressed concerns regarding the MC311 Customer Service Center to the Public Information Office and the Office of Management and Budget. The Committee will discuss the apparent degradation of performance of MC311 in 2017 and receive an update on staffing issues.
The staff report can be viewed here:
http://tinyurl.com/y83cjuzd
The Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment (T&E) and Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED) Committees will meet at 2 p.m. in the Seventh Floor Council Hearing Room to receive a briefing on the Bethesda Parking Demand Study. The study was one of the studies that are periodically conducted by the County’s Department of Transportation to determine if and where additional parking capacity should be provided in the future.
The T&E Committee is chaired by Council President Berliner and includes Councilmembers Floreen and Hucker. The PHED Committee is chaired by Councilmember Floreen and includes Councilmember Leventhal and Council Vice President Riemer.
The staff report can be viewed at:
http://tinyurl.com/y9cgano9
The Committee meetings will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM). 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 meetings also will be available live via streaming through the Council website at http://tinyurl.com/z9982v8 .