“The Public Safety (PS) Committee will meet on Monday, June 15 at 1:30 p.m. to review a supplemental appropriation to relocate staff from the 4th District Police Station to the Wheaton Office Building, which is needed to facilitate the construction of a new police station, legislation which would place restrictions on ghost guns near minors and carrying of firearms in or near places of public assembly, and Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) Report 2026-7, Successful Strategies from Other Jurisdictions to Increase Police Officer Recruitment.
The members of the PS Committee include Chair Sidney Katz and Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke and Kristin Mink.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Review: The PS Committee will review a $994,000 supplemental appropriation to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Operating Budget to support the relocation of staff from 4th District Police Station to the Wheaton Office Building on Reedie Drive. The funds will also allow for modifications to the new space. The current 4th District Police Station was built in 1959 and is the oldest County police facility. The building does not meet today’s standards for police operations. The relocation follows the approval of the 4th District Police Station project in the FY 2027-2032 Capital Improvements Program (CIP), which was led by Council President Natali Fani-González and includes $45 million for the design and construction of a new combined 4th District Police Station and Park Police Headquarters.
Review: The PS Committee will review Expedited Bill 23-26, Weapons – Restrictions on Ghost Guns Near Minors and Carrying of Firearms in or Near Places of Public Assembly. Expedited Bill 23-26 would define terms related to weapons and firearms, regulate the sale or transfer of ghost guns with respect to minors, amend exceptions to a prohibition against carrying firearms in places of public assembly and amend the regulation of the operation of gun shops. The purpose of Expedited Bill 23-26 is to bring the County law into alignment with the Maryland Supreme Court’s opinion in Engage Armament so that the County law is valid and enforceable under Maryland law.
In 2021 and 2022, the Council enacted Bills 4-21 and 21-22E, which sought to regulate “ghost guns” and other firearms within 100 yards of places of public assembly and with respect to minors. The Maryland Supreme Court issued an opinion in Engage Armament, which upheld portions of Council Bills 4-21 and 21-22E, but found that other provisions of the bills exceed County authority or are preempted by state law.
The lead sponsor of Expedited Bill 23-26 is Councilmember Dawn Luedtke. Councilmember Kate Stewart, Council President Natali Fani-González, Councilmember Andrew Friedson, Council Vice President Marilyn Balcombe, and Councilmembers Katz, Shebra Evans and Evan Glass are cosponsors of Expedited Bill 23-26.
Review: The PS Committee will review OLO Report 2026-7, Successful Strategies from Other Jurisdictions to Increase Police Officer Recruitment, which examines successful police recruitment programs in other jurisdictions and identifies recruitment strategies that could be adopted in Montgomery County. The study focuses on sworn personnel, as most recruitment vacancies and challenges occur within these ranks. The analysis is limited to police departments and excludes sheriff’s offices and other local law enforcement agencies, such as school districts and transit police.”
