Council to introduce Community Policing Act and Housing Impact Fairness Act on Oct. 15

For Immediate Release: Monday, October 14, 2019

Also on Oct. 15: Vote scheduled to improve oversight of County’s internal audit and contracting processes bill and a presentation by the Council of Government’s report on the future of housing

The Council will meet on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 9:30 a.m. Individuals interested in attending a Council meeting should confirm the information on the day of the meeting by visiting the Council’s web page or by calling the Council’s Legislative Information Office at 240-777-7832. All meetings are held in the Council Office Building (100 Maryland Ave., Rockville, Md) in the third floor hearing room, unless otherwise noted.

The Council is scheduled to introduce the following bills:

Bill 33-19, Police - Community Policing Act 
The Council will introduce Bill 33-19. Council President Nancy Navarro and Councilmember Craig Rice are the lead sponsors. Councilmembers Tom Hucker and Gabe Albornoz are cosponsors. Bill 33-19 would create the following community policing guidelines and reporting requirements for the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD):

• Community policing guidelines:

• Officers must strive to regularly initiate/engage in positive nonenforcement activities with communities.
• MCPD must ensure cultural competency throughout the department.
• MCPD must increase community outreach initiatives and officers should attend community events on behalf of the department.
• MCPD must provide adequate training in de-escalation tactics.

Reporting requirements:

• MCPD would provide the following information to the Executive and Council for the prior calendar year by Feb. 1 of each year:

• number of officers in general, and within that, the number of “racial minority officers” female officers, and officers who reside within the County;
• number of recruiting events MCPD either sponsored or participated in within the County;
• number of instances of use of force that resulted in hospitalization, when the injury occurred as a direct result of an officer’s actions;
• number of civilian complaints about use of force by an officer
• number of officers suspended with and without pay; and
• description of MCPD’s community policing efforts, including:
  • community policing programs;
  • participation in town hall meetings; and
  • efforts to engage with schools, recreation centers, community centers and senior centers.

The goal of this legislation is to encourage greater transparency and accountability in law enforcement. A public hearing on Bill 33-19 is scheduled for Jan. 21, 2020 at 7:30 p.m.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

#TransparentAndAccountablePolicing is being used for this item on social media.

Bill 34-19, Taxation - Development Impact Taxes - Affordable Housing - Housing Impact Fairness Act
The Council will introduce Bill 34-19, the Housing Impact Fairness Act. Councilmember Evan Glass is the lead sponsor. Councilmember Will Jawando is a cosponsor. Bill 34-19 would do the following:

• alter the applicability of the development impact tax for transportation improvements;
• alter the applicability of the development impact tax for public school improvements;
• establish an excise tax on certain demolitions and renovations of single-family homes;
• specify the use of certain tax revenues for affordable housing initiatives; and
• generally amend the law concerning taxation.

The goal of this legislation is to close a loophole so that all new residential construction in Montgomery County fairly contributes to the jurisdiction’s infrastructure needs. Councilmember Glass estimates that this tax will raise $100 million over the next decade. A public hearing on the Housing Impact Fairness Act is scheduled for Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

#HousingSchoolsFairness is being used for this item on social media.

The Council is scheduled to vote on the following bill:

Bill 11-19, Administration - Internal Audit - Inspector General - Amendments
The Council is scheduled to vote on Bill 11-19, which would improve oversight of County’s internal audit and contracting processes. Bill 11-19 would do the following: require the Office of Internal Audit to prepare an annual work plan for approval of the Chief Administrative Officer and submit the work plan to the Council for comment; require the Office to submit an annual report to the Inspector General (IG); require the IG to conduct a risk analysis of the County’s internal controls and processes, and based on the risk analysis, conduct a systematic rotating group by group review of the internal accounting and contracting processes and controls used by each department and principal office in the Executive Branch. The Council’s Audit Committee, which includes Council President Nancy Navarro, Councilmember Andrew Friedson and Council Vice President Sidney Katz, is the lead sponsor. The goal of this bill is to improve the legislative oversight of the County’s internal accounting and contracting processes.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

#TransparencyinGovt is being used for this bill on social media.

Council of Government’s report “The Future of Housing in Washington, A Regional Initiative to Create Housing Opportunities, Improve Transportation, and Support Economic Growth” and recommended regional housing targets
The Council will receive a presentation by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) on their report “The Future of Housing in Greater Washington, A Regional Initiative to Create Housing Opportunities, Improve Transportation, and Support Economic Growth," and MWCOG regional housing targets. The full report can be found in the Council staff report below.

Over the last year, MWCOG analyzed and reviewed cooperative employment and housing forecasts. Employment growth is currently outpacing housing. Insufficient housing impacts housing affordability and undercuts economic development that relies on an available workforce.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

Approval of appointment of special counsel to Montgomery County in connection with the investigation and prosecution of claims against the manufacturers and distributors of e-cigarettes: Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, LLP
The Council is scheduled to vote on the County Attorney's request to approve the appointment of special counsel to investigate and prosecute the County's claims against the manufacturers and distributors of e-cigarettes.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

The Council will also hold several public hearings starting at 1:30 p.m.:

• Expedited Bill 25-19 Contracts and Procurement - Local Business Preference Program Established. This bill would increase the number of local businesses awarded County contracts and establish a Local Business Preference Program for certain County contracts. Council President Nancy Navarro is the lead sponsor, at the request of the County Executive. The Council staff report can be viewed here.
• Bill 30-19, Human Rights and Civil Liberties - Race Discrimination - Protective Hairstyles (CROWN Act). This bill would prohibit discrimination based on certain natural hairstyles. Councilmember Will Jawando and Council President Nancy Navarro are the lead sponsors. The Council staff report can be viewed  here.
• MARC Rail Communities Sector Plan Sectional Map Amendment (H-133). This map amendment is a comprehensive rezoning application to implement the zoning recommendations contained in the MARC Rail Communities Sector Plan, which was approved by the Council on April 30. The Council staff report can be viewed here.
• Supplemental appropriation to the County Government’s FY20 Capital Budget and amendment to the FY19-24 Capital Improvements Program, Department of Transportation - $3,050,000 for Snouffer School Road. The supplemental appropriation is to address utility delays and re-sequencing of construction to accommodate utilities on Snouffer School Road. The Council staff report can be viewed here.

The Council meeting 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 Council meeting also will be available live via streaming through the Council web site at: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/ondemand/index.html.

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Release ID: 19-331
Media Contact: Sonya Healy 240-777-7926, Juan Jovel 240-777-7931