Committees will review bills that would provide a child tax credit supplement for income eligible families, update eligibility requirements to receive the County’s supplement to the homeowners property tax credit, establish a property tax credit for public school employees and increase licensing requirements for bodywork establishments; briefings will also be held on the boards, committees and commissions system, safety-net health insurance programs and the implementation of H.R. 1
The Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Committee will meet on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 9:30 a.m. to receive an update on the boards, committees and commissions (BCC) system. In addition, the committee will review Bill 46-26, Taxation – Child Tax Credit – Supplemental Grant, Bill 47-26, Homeowners Property Tax Credit – County Supplement, Amendments, and Bill 48-26, Property Tax Credit – Public School Employees.
The members of the GO Committee include Chair Kate Stewart and Councilmembers Shebra Evans and Sidney Katz.
The joint Health and Human Services (HHS) and Public Safety (PS) Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. to review Bill 34-26, Health and Sanitation – Bodywork Establishments – Amendments.
The members of the HHS Committee include Chair Laurie-Anne Sayles and Councilmembers Andrew Friedson and Dawn Luedtke.
The members of the PS Committee include Chair Katz and Councilmembers Luedtke and Kristin Mink.
The HHS Committee will meet at 2 p.m. to receive an update on programs providing health care for County residents without health insurance. The committee also will receive an update on the implementation of House Resolution 1.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Boards, Committees and Commissions (BCC) System Updates
Update: The GO Committee will receive an update on the BCC system from representatives of the County Executive’s Office. County Code mandates the evaluation of the BCC system as well as individual advisory bodies. The GO Committee previously received a briefing about the Committee Evaluation and Review Board Final Report at a meeting held in Feb. 2026, which included recommendations to streamline and clarify oversight of these advisory bodies. The committee will receive a briefing about measures that the County Executive’s Office is planning to take to improve the BCC system as a whole.
Bill 46-26, Taxation – Child Tax Credit – Supplemental Grant
Review: The GO Committee will review Bill 46-26, Taxation – Child Tax Credit – Supplemental Grant, which would provide grants from the County to recipients of Maryland’s income tax credit for certain dependent children.
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The Maryland General Assembly passed House Bill 363, Income Tax – Local Child Tax Credit, Authorization, which became effective in June 2026 and authorizes the County to create its own child tax credit. Bill 46-26 would establish a grant of up to $500 per qualified child as a supplement to the state’s child tax credit and establish eligibility criteria to receive the grant.
The sponsors of Bill 46-26 are Councilmembers Stewart and Evans. Council President Natali Fani-González, Councilmember Andrew Friedson, Council Vice President Marilyn Balcombe and Councilmembers Katz, Evan Glass and Luedtke are cosponsors of Bill 46-26.
Bill 47-26, Homeowners Property Tax Credit – County Supplement, Amendments
Review: The GO Committee will review Bill 47-26, Homeowners Property Tax Credit – County Supplement, Amendments, which would alter eligibility requirements to receive the County’s supplement to the homeowners property tax credit and alter the calculation of the amount of the County’s supplement to the homeowners property tax credit.
Maryland provides a Homeowner Tax Credit (HOTC) to real property owners applying to $300,000 of their principal residences when the owner has a combined income of less than $60,000 and a net worth of less than $200,000. State law authorizes, and the County provides, a local supplement to the Homeowners Property Tax Credit Program. Bill 47-26 seeks to update the eligibility requirements for the homeowners property tax credit by expanding the credit to those homeowners whose combined gross income is $106,800 or less, an increase from the $75,000 limit imposed by existing law. The bill would also alter the calculation of the amount of the County’s supplement for the bill’s newly eligible income tier between $75,000 and $106,800 by adding two additional steps to the allowable percentage of combined gross income subtracted from the total real property tax on a dwelling. The reduction for combined gross income between $75,000 and $90,000 is 25 percent and 50 percent for combined gross income above $90,000.
The lead sponsors of Bill 47-26 are Councilmembers Stewart, Friedson, Katz and Evans. Council President Fani-González, Council Vice President Balcombe and Councilmembers Luedtke and Mink are cosponsors.
Bill 48-26, Property Tax Credit – Public School Employees
Review: The GO Committee will review Bill 48-26, Property Tax Credit – Public School Employees, which would establish a property tax credit for certain public school employees in the County, set the amount and duration of the property tax credit and set eligibility criteria to qualify for the property tax credit.
In 2024, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation that authorized the County to enact a property tax credit for public school employees, which allows the County to apply a tax credit towards a primary residence owned by an employee of the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) system. The purpose of Bill 48-26 is to respond to the housing affordability issues facing residents and MCPS employees by providing a tax credit to incentivize homeownership and help reduce property taxes for certain public school employees.
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The lead sponsor of Bill 48-26 is Councilmember Stewart. Councilmembers Evans, Katz, Friedson, Luedtke, Mink and Sayles are cosponsors of Bill 48-26.
Bill 34-26, Health and Sanitation – Bodywork Establishments, Amendments
Review: The joint PS and HHS Committee will review Bill 34-26, Health and Sanitation – Bodywork Establishments, Amendments. The legislation would require applicants for a bodyworks establishment license to disclose all corporate officers and business managers to the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The department would be prohibited from issuing a license if a corporate officer or business manager has been convicted of, pleaded guilty or otherwise been found responsible for human trafficking or related offenses. Applicants would also be ineligible if those individuals previously owned or managed a bodyworks establishment which had its license revoked. The legislation aims to prevent human trafficking at bodyworks establishments and spas and stop those involved in related criminal activity from opening new establishments in Montgomery County.
The lead sponsor of Bill 34-26 is Councilmember Luedtke. Council President Fani-González, Vice President Balcombe and Councilmembers Stewart, Katz, Friedson, Evans, Mink, Jawando and Sayles are cosponsors.
Health Care for the Uninsured Programs
Update: The HHS Committee will receive an update on the County’s health care safety-net programs that serve County residents without access to health insurance. These programs include Care for Kids, Montgomery Cares and the Montgomery Perinatal Program. The Care for Kids program provides primary care, specialty care and specialty dental care for uninsured children through a system that includes school-based health centers, Kaiser Permanente and contractual health care providers. The Montgomery Cares Program provides primary care, specialty care, certain pharmaceuticals and limited behavioral health and dental care services through a network of clinics and providers. The Montgomery Perinatal Program provides home visiting services for all low-income and uninsured pregnant women living in the County. All participants receive nurse or community health worker home visiting and case management services.
Update – H.R. 1 (House Resolution 1) Implementation
Update: The HHS Committee will receive an update on H.R. 1, the federal budget reconciliation legislation signed into law in July 2025. The legislation enacted significant changes to federal health and social service programs, creating additional barriers for residents seeking to access essential services. The update will focus primarily on changes that became effective on Oct. 1. The changes restrict Medicaid eligibility for certain lawfully present noncitizens. In Montgomery County, these changes are expected to increase the number of uninsured or intermittently insured residents and place additional pressure on the County’s health and human services safety net, including hospitals, community-based providers and other essential service systems. Additional detail is available in the Council staff report.
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.
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