The Montgomery County Council will meet on Tuesday, October 21 to receive its semi-annual update as the Board of Health, covering topics such as respiratory virus season and public health initiatives.
During the meeting, the Council is also expected to vote on legislation establishing a Community Choice Aggregator plan, which would allow the County to procure electricity for residents and businesses with a focus on cost savings and renewable energy options.
Per the news release: “The Montgomery County Council will meet on Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 9:15 a.m. and the meeting will begin with a proclamation presentation, presented by Councilmember Sidney Katz with County Executive Marc Elrich, to recognize Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Council Sitting as the Board of Health
Briefing: Sitting as the Board of Health, the Council will receive its semi-annual update on public health issues in the County from Montgomery County Health Officer Dr. Kisha Davis and representatives of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The presentation will include information about respiratory virus season, Healthy Aging Month and National Recovery Month. Additional details are available in the Council staff report.
Consent Calendar
Each item on the Council’s Consent Calendar can be found on the Council agenda for Tuesday, Oct. 21, which is available on the Council website.
Public Hearings
Unless otherwise noted, the Council will hold the following hybrid public hearings at 1:30 p.m. Residents can visit the Council website to learn about the multiple ways to provide testimony.
Legislative Session
Introduction: Lead sponsors, Councilmembers Evan Glass and Katz, will introduce Expedited Bill 32-25, Employees’ Retirement System – Survivor Benefits – Death During Line of Duty, which would increase death benefits to spouses of Group G members whose deaths are service connected; and generally amend the law regarding the employees’ retirement system, including pension benefits and other benefits available to survivors upon service-connected deaths. Also known as the HERO Act, the purpose of Bill 32-35 is to maintain existing survivor benefit options for spouses and children of career firefighters (Group G members) who are killed in the line of duty, while adding an option for the spouse to receive a pension as if the member had at least 20 years of credited service. The bill also would ensure that benefits are received expeditiously following a line of duty death and reaffirm the County’s commitment to honoring the critical work of the County’s first responders and public safety officials.
A public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 18.
Introduction: Lead sponsors, Councilmembers Katz, Dawn Luedtke and Kristin Mink, will introduce Bill 33-25, Police, Community Policing – Data – Annual Report Deadline, which would amend the statutory deadline for the Annual Police Statistical Data Report from Feb. 1 to April 1 of each year. The purpose of Bill 33-25 is to provide the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) with adequate time to compile, verify, and standardize data to ensure greater accuracy, consistency and alignment between initial and final publication.
The Council previously enacted
Bill 45-20, which established reporting requirements for the Annual Police Statistical Data Report. Currently, the County Code requires MCPD to publish an annual report containing specific statistical data for submission to the County Executive and County Council by Feb. 1.
A public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 18.
Vote expected: The Council is expected to vote on Expedited Bill 27-25, Environmental Sustainability – Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) – Established, which would amend the law regarding environmental sustainability in electricity supply to establish a CCA plan and set forth certain requirements of the CCA’s operations. In 2021, the Maryland General Assembly authorized Montgomery County to establish a CCA pilot program, which allows the County to procure electricity on behalf of residents and businesses from an alternative supplier while still receiving service from an existing utility provider.
Bill 27-25 would establish a CCA within the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and designate the director of DEP as the responsible entity for its operations and functions. The bill would require the CCA to have the capacity to serve as the electricity supplier for all residential and small commercial electric customers in the County and provide its customers with a percentage of renewable content that exceeds the amount required by the state’s renewable energy portfolio standards. The bill would also require the CCA to prioritize sustainability, cost efficiency, stability and predictability in the provision of electricity. The bill would exempt the purchase of electric supply from the County’s procurement laws and require the CCA to transmit to the Council a copy of its aggregation plan or any aggregation plan changes prior to filing them with the Public Service Commission.
The lead sponsor of Expedited Bill 27-25 is Council President Kate Stewart. Councilmembers Glass, Andrew Friedson, Laurie-Anne Sayles, Council Vice President Will Jawando, and Councilmembers Marilyn Balcombe, Luedtke, Mink, Katz, and Natali Fani-González are cosponsors of Expedited Bill 27-25.
The Transportation and Environment (TE) Committee recommends enactment with amendments. The committee amendment aligns the bill with state law by clarifying that the community choice aggregator is not an electricity supplier. An additional amendment clarifies the reference to the Public Utilities Article of the Maryland Code as it relates to the Community Choice Aggregator’s requirements to achieve renewable energy performance standards.”
