MoCo Government

Per Montgomery County: The Montgomery County Council and County Executive Marc Elrich, led by Councilmember Kate Stewart, sent a letter to the chair and members of the Maryland House Rules and Executive Nominations Committee today in support of the Melanie Diaz Sprinklers Save Lives Act (House Bill 1292), sponsored by Maryland State Delegates Lorig Charkoudian, Marvin Holmes, David Moon, Emily Shetty and Jared Solomon and Jheanelle Wilkins.

Stronger fire safety protections like these could have helped slow the devastating fire last month at a Silver Spring high-rise apartment complex that displaced over 400 residents, led to the hospitalization of 20 people, including firefighters responding to the incident, and caused the tragic death of 25-year-old Melanie Diaz and her two dogs. In 2019, the Maryland State Fire Marshal highlighted the dangers of living in high-rise buildings without sprinkler systems, which have been shown to reduce civilian fire deaths by up to 87% – but older buildings, a majority of which are in Montgomery County, are not required to have these sprinkler systems in place. 

Per Montgomery County: The Public Safety (PS) Committee will meet on Monday, March 6 at 9:30 a.m. to receive a briefing on police use of force and discuss the FY23 Capital Improvements Program (CIP) amendments for the Outdoor Firearms Training Center and the Public Safety Training Academy (PSTA) academic building complex. The members of the PS Committee include Chair Sidney Katz and Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke and Kristin Mink.

The Transportation and Environment (TE) Committee will also meet at 9:30 a.m. to discuss category change requests to the Comprehensive Water Supply and Sewerage Systems Plan, Bill 3-23, Environmental Sustainability – Montgomery County Green Bank and the FY22 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Permit (NPDES-MS4) Financial Assurance Plan. The members of the TE Committee include Chair Evan Glass and Councilmembers Marilyn Balcombe and Kate Stewart.

Per Montgomery County: Councilmembers Natali Fani-González, Andrew Friedson, Gabe Albornoz, Marilyn Balcombe, Sidney Katz, and Dawn Luedtke today announced a bold new proposal to alleviate pressures on the County’s most vulnerable renters. Like most similar jurisdictions throughout the country, Montgomery County faces a housing affordability crisis. The County has a tremendous housing challenge, with 41,000 housing units needed by 2030 to accommodate population growth and alleviate pressure on county renter households that are cost burdened. Based on a County-specific study, extensive research including from the NYU Furman Center, and the real-world experiences of other jurisdictions across the country, particularly Oregon, Minnesota, and California, the Tenant Assistance and Protection Package will provide direct assistance to the most vulnerable residents, protect against rent gouging, provide access to homeownership to build generational wealth, and increase supply of income-restricted affordable housing.

The sponsors of the Tenant Assistance and Protection Package are calling on County Executive Marc Elrich to include these funds in his recommended budget, due for submission to the Council on March 15.

Per Montgomery County: On Tuesday, March 7, Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando, Councilmember Kristin Mink, County Executive Marc Elrich, and community organizations will hold a press conference discussing the introduction of the Housing Opportunity, Mobility, and Equity (HOME) Act.

The HOME Act helps keep renters in their homes by preventing rent gouging, reducing displacement, and creating cost predictability for renters and landlords. The Act sets a limit on the allowable annual rent increase for units to follow the Voluntary Rent Guidelines (VRG) or 3 percent, whichever is lower. The Act would exempt certain buildings from rent increase requirements, including newly constructed units for ten years and units connected to government programs, healthcare facilities, nursing homes, and owner-occupied units. The HOME Act also permits landlords to request a fair return increase, establishes an excise tax on rental units that remain vacant for more than a year, and funds affordable housing acquisitions.

Per Montgomery County: The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT), in collaboration with the Washington Area Bicycle Association (WABA), will offer adult bike classes in April, May and June. The classes include a learn to ride and a basic skills class. MCDOT also will offer four free scooter classes in spring. Participants in the bicycle classes will learn how to start and stop, balance, glide, pedal and steer a bike. Each student will progress at their own pace. The classes will be led by experienced WABA instructors.

Advance registration is required to participate in the bicycle classes and cost $10 for Montgomery County residents. There is no charge for WABA or Capital Bikeshare For All members. The classes are open to residents 18 and over, are limited to 25 people and fill up quickly. Registration is currently open for April classes. Registration for May classes will open at 9 a.m. on March 27 and June class registration will open at 9 a.m. on April 24.

Per Montgomery County: The minimum wage will again increase in Montgomery County on July 1. Sponsored by then-County Council member, and current County Executive, Marc Elrich and signed into legislation on Nov. 17, 2017, Bill 28-17 raises the minimum wage incrementally each July 1. Based on the consumer price index for all urban wage earners and clerical workers (CPI-W) for Washington-Baltimore, the Montgomery County Chief Administrative Officer has set the rate for the increase of minimum wage for July 2023 for large employers (those with 51 employees or more) at $16.71 per hour.

After hitting the $15 minimum wage rate in 2021, the law requires the Chief Administrative Officer to adjust the rate each year. The change is based on the previous calendar year. Previous years were based on rate of increase determined by the Montgomery County Council to get to $15. Starting July 1, the County minimum wage will increase to $16.70 per hour for large employers. The rate for mid-sized employers will be $15 per hour. The rate for small employers will be $14.50 per hour.

Per Montgomery County: The joint Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education and Culture (EC) Committee will meet on Thursday, March 2 at 9:30 a.m. to discuss FY23-28 Capital Improvements Program (CIP) amendments for the High School Wellness Center and Expanded Wellness Services project. They will also receive updates on the implementation of expanded wellness services in high schools and the implementation of mental health supports for youth. 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 Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Committee will meet at 10 a.m. for a policy discussion about Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB). The committee will also review Expedited Bill 5-23, Personnel and Human Resources – Prospective Employees – Health Care Privacy, and Bill 8-23, Boards, Committees, and Commissions – Open Meetings – Supplemental Requirements. The members of the GO Committee include Chair Kate Stewart, Council Vice President Andrew Friedson and Councilmember Sidney Katz.

Per Montgomery County: Under requirements of Montgomery County law, the Voluntary Rent Guideline (VRG) is updated annually to represent the prior year increase in the rental component of the Consumer Price Index for the Washington Metropolitan Area. Based on that, the VRG for Montgomery County has been set at 5.8 percent. That guideline went into effect on Feb. 24. The VRG for 2022 was 0.4 percent.  Per the County law, a notice of rent increase must be in writing and delivered to a tenant at least 90 days prior to the effective date of the rent increase. The limit on rent increase notices applies to all County-licensed residential rentals, including rental units in multifamily buildings, houses, townhouses, individual condominium units and accessory dwelling units.

Per Montgomery County: On Tuesday, Council President Evan Glass introduced a resolution calling on Governor Wes Moore and the Maryland General Assembly to allocate $175 million in the fiscal year 2024 budget to help an estimated 17,000 Maryland families avoid eviction. The resolution is cosponsored by Councilmembers Natali Fani-González, Kate Stewart, Gabe Albornoz, Sidney Katz, Will Jawando, Laurie-Anne Sayles, Kristin Mink and Council Vice-President Andrew Friedson. The resolution can be read here.

“Anyone can find themselves temporarily unable to pay their rent due to a medical emergency, car accident, funeral expense or job loss. With over 130,000 households in Montgomery County struggling to make rent every month, we must do more to provide affordable housing and help those at risk of being evicted,” said Council President Glass.

The bill would establish the urban district to provide funding for, and support the work of, The Friendship Heights Alliance, a nonprofit organization that works on behalf of businesses and residents in Friendship Heights to further economic vitality and strengthen community in the area.  This legislation dovetails with legislation proposed by Washington, D.C. Ward 3 Councilmember Matthew Frumin to develop a Business Improvement District on the D.C. side of Friendship Heights. 

“The bi-jurisdictional Friendship Heights Alliance, strengthened as a D.C. BID and Maryland Urban District, will support a robust recovery for the Friendship Heights commercial district,” said D.C. Councilmember Frumin. “I look forward to partnering with the Montgomery County Council and the Friendship Heights Alliance to support the local business community along the Wisconsin Avenue Corridor.” 

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.