MoCo Government

Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County’s Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS) will open registration on Sunday, March 5, for its annual limited availability whiskey lotteries that provide opportunities to purchase highly sought spirits. The lotteries are free to enter, but have residency requirements. ABS expects to release more than 1,100 bottles for purchase in the lotteries. Among the spirits that County residents will have an opportunity to purchase are a 2022 Double Eagle Very Rare, a Michter’s 20-Year Old and several rare releases from the Willett Distillery. Maryland residents selected in the lottery will have an opportunity to purchase bottles from the First Edition Heaven Hill Heritage Collection, the Final Edition (fall 2022) Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond Collection and the Old Forester Birthday Bottles (2022 edition).

The first lottery will be open to Maryland residents 21 and over. The second lottery will be open only to County residents 21 and over. Each lottery includes a wide range of spirits bottles, with some overlap. County residents will be able to enter both the State and the County lotteries.

Today, Councilmember Will Jawando will be introducing Bill 12-23, the Safety and Traffic Equity in Policing (STEP) Act, which will limit traffic stops that he says have resulted in racial disparities. According to the County Council, “the legislation would prohibit a stop for certain traffic offenses by a police officer; prohibit consent searches of a vehicle by a police officer; require the collection of data and information related to traffic stops; and exclude the limitations on traffic stops from collective bargaining.”Councilmember Kristin Mink is a cosponsor.

According to Jawando, “the goal of the STEP Act is to promote fairness and reduce racial disparities, promote safety and reduce community trauma, improve community policing relations, and further the county’s Vision Zero.” A public hearing is scheduled for June 13 and the Public Safety (PS) Committee is scheduled to review the bill on July 17.

Nominating Committee for the Montgomery College Board of Trustees

Interview: The Council is expected to interview two candidates, Rahul M. Jindal and Althea Lloyd‐White, to serve on the Nominating Committee for the Montgomery College Board of Trustees. Composition of the committee consists of two members appointed by the County Executive, one by the Montgomery College Alumni Association and two by the Council. Current Council appointees are Dr. Kenneth Jones and Ms. Althea Lloyd‐White, who is currently serving on the committee until a replacement is appointed.

Per the Office of Council President Evan Glass: Today Montgomery County Council President Evan Glass will announce legislation to create safer streets for pedestrians and cyclists on our roadways. In 2022, 19 pedestrians and bicyclists were killed and 541 people seriously injured on our County’s roads. Seven weeks into 2023, the County has already had two fatalities and 25 injuries involving pedestrians and cyclists.

You can read the bill text here. Members of the media must RSVP by 10 a.m. to Valeria Carranza at [email protected].

Per Montgomery County: Council meets to review state legislation; Committees meet for briefing about the opioid epidemic’s impact on young people, to review legislation focused on common ownership communities and forest conservation, make recommendations on multiple Fiscal Year 2023-2028 Capital Improvements Program amendments and review WSSC Water’s six-year capital budget 

The Montgomery County Council will meet on Monday, Feb. 27 at 12:30 p.m. to review state legislation and may choose to take positions on the bills. The Health and Human Services (HHS), Education and Culture (EC) and Public Safety (PS) Committees will meet at 9:30 a.m. to receive a briefing on the County’s response to the opioid crisis affecting young people in Montgomery County. The members of the HHS Committee include Chair Gabe Albornoz and Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke and Laurie-Anne Sayles. The members of the EC Committee include Chair Will Jawando and Councilmembers Albornoz and Kristin Mink. The members of the PS Committee include Chair Sidney Katz and Councilmembers Luedtke and Mink.

Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County has released the second-quarter update of its Fiscal Year 2023 Climate Work Plan, highlighting ongoing work on the County’s Climate Action Plan. In the second quarter of FY23, progress was made on more than 50 actions to help reach the goals of the plan. The Climate Action Plan (CAP), unveiled in 2021, is a strategic plan to reduce community-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80 percent by 2027 and by 100 percent by 2035. The plan seeks to reduce climate-related risks to the County’s residents, businesses and the built and natural environment.

The quarterly progress report summarizes the efforts undertaken by County departments and agencies to implement the CAP through innovative and collaborative projects in clean energy, building, transportation, carbon sequestration, climate adaptation, climate governance, public engagement and zero waste.

Per Montgomery County: In recognition of March as Women’s History Month, the Montgomery County Commission for Women, Montgomery County Libraries and Friends of the Library is holding its Sixth Annual “Girl Power Contest.” County residents, ages 5 and up, are encouraged to submit a short story, poem, drawing or entry in the medium of their choice that addresses this year’s theme. Entries must be submitted by midnight on Friday, March 31.

In 2022, the Montgomery County Council made history as voters in November elected the County’s first female-majority Council. In honor of this milestone, the following question is the theme for this year’s Girl Power Contest: We now have six women on the Montgomery County Council. What advice would you give them to make sure our community is a place where women and girls can feel safe and encouraged?