Montgomery County Council Committee Meetings on Feb. 3, 2025
For Immediate Release: Friday, January 31, 2025
Committees will receive briefings about the Police Accountability Board and complaint data tracking; review petitions for right-of-way abandonment, legislation to establish a parking permit rate for specialized service providers and legislation to prohibit plastic carryout bags
The Public Safety (PS) Committee will meet on Monday, Feb. 3 at 9:30 a.m. to receive briefings about the Police Accountability Board (PAB) and complaint data tracking. The PS Committee meeting will be conducted in the Davidson Memorial Hearing Room , which is located on the second floor of the Council Office Building. The Council will temporarily hold a limited number of committee meetings in this location to complete public use space renovations in the Council Office Building.
The members of the PS Committee include Chair Sidney Katz and Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke and Kristin Mink.
The Transportation and Environment (TE) Committee will review a petition for abandonment of a portion of Old Georgetown Road in Rockville and a portion of a public right of way on Broad Street in Bethesda. In addition, the committee will review Bill 24-24, Taxation – Paper Carryout Bags and Prohibition on Plastic Carryout Bags (also known as the Bring Your Own Bag Bill) and Expedited Bill 29-24, Transportation – Parking Permit for Specialized Service Providers – Established. The TE Committee meeting will be held in the seventh-floor hearing room.
The members of the TE Committee include Chair Evan Glass, Councilmember Marilyn Balcombe and Council President Kate Stewart.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
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Police Accountability Board (PAB) and Complaint Data Tracking
Briefing: The PS Committee will receive a briefing on the PAB and complaint data tracking. The Maryland Police Accountability Act of 2021 repealed and replaced the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights (LEOBR). The law required each county and Baltimore City to establish a PAB and an Administrative Charging Committee (ACC). In 2022, the County created its PAB and ACC. These are two distinct entities that provide separate but complementary accountability and oversight for policing in Montgomery County.
The five member ACC provides civilian oversight for police officer discipline when a complaint involves a community member. Once the ACC has reviewed the complaint, it recommends whether to administratively charge the officer and the level of disciplinary action. The PAB provides broad oversight, policy improvement and ensures public input in accountability processes. Among its duties, the PAB appoints civilian members to the ACC and trial boards, receives complaints of police misconduct filed by the public, reviews outcomes of disciplinary matters on a quarterly basis, and advises the Montgomery County Executive and Council on policing matters.
Review: The TE Committee will review a petition for abandonment of a portion of Old Georgetown Road in Rockville. The applicant, SSL Investment Partners II LP, intends to build steps from their property at 11565 Old Georgetown Road into the abandonment area to connect to the sidewalk on Old Georgetown Road. The property is being developed for an assisted care facility that will contain ground floor retail. Currently, the steep topography does not allow for an at-grade sidewalk connection between the retail frontage and the sidewalk.
Review: The TE Committee will review a petition for abandonment of approximately 4,500 square feet located along the western property line of 6401 Broad Street in Bethesda. The applicants, Corey A. Salsberg and Sandra L. Salsberg, are seeking possession of this property to properly maintain the area for the foreseeable future. The abandonment area currently serves as a gravel driveway, retaining wall and green space adjacent to the applicant’s property at 6401 Broad Street.
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Review: The TE Committee will review Expedited Bill 29-24, Transportation – Parking Permit for Specialized Service Providers – Established, which would establish a parking permit rate for specialized service providers and authorize the Montgomery County Department of Transportation to review eligibility criteria and administer certain parking permits in the Silver Spring area. The purpose of Bill 29-24 is to create a discounted parking permit for childcare providers and organizations that provide social services to the unhoused population in the Silver Spring Central Business District area.
The lead sponsor of Bill 29-24 is Council President Stewart. Councilmembers Luedtke, Katz, Mink, Sayles, Balcombe, Albornoz, Fani-González and Friedson and Council Vice President Will Jawando are cosponsors.
Review: The TE Committee will review Bill 24-24, Taxation – Paper Carryout Bags and Prohibition on Plastic Carryout Bags (also known as the Bring Your Own Bag Bill), which would prohibit plastic carryout bags provided by a retail establishment with certain exceptions and require a tax on paper carryout bags at the point of sale with certain exceptions. Additionally, Bill 24-24 would exempt recipients of food assistance programs from the carryout bag tax, remove a certain threshold for when taxes must be remitted to the County, modify the reporting requirements for remittance of the carryout bag tax and clarify that certain conduct by a retailer is prohibited.
The purpose of Bill 24-24 is to advance protections for environmental and human health by prohibiting carryout plastic bags in the County. The bill seeks to promote a culture that encourages individuals to bring their own bag, and as a result, the bill would reduce plastic waste in the County’s waterways and support a cleaner, healthier future.
The lead sponsor of Bill 24-24 is Council President Stewart. Councilmembers Sayles, Glass and Fani-González and Council Vide President Jawando are cosponsors of Bill 24-24.
The Committee meeting schedule may change from time to time. View the current Council and Committee agendas, Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Council review on the Council website .
Council and committee meetings are streamed live on the Council’s web page via YouTube and on Facebook Live and can be watched on County Cable Montgomery on Xfinity/RCN 6 HD 996/1056, Fios 30, and on the CCM live stream .
Release ID: 25-028
Media Contact: Sonya Healy 240-777-7926, Benjamin Sky Brandt 240-777-7884
For updates and link to press release, see here: http://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID=46507